O’Neal to Spurn the Timberwolves?

Shaquille O’Neal reportedly has told the NBA he won’t play for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a newspaper reported Saturday.

O’Neal’s agent, Leonard Armato, has sent a letter to the NBA and the Timberwolves saying O’Neal is prepared to sit out the season if drafted by Minnesota, a sports agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Orlando Sentinel.

Neither O’Neal nor his agent could immediately be reached for comment, the Sentinel reported in Saturday’s editions, and officials for the NBA and the Timberwolves, who had the worst record in the NBA this past season, said Friday they hadn’t heard of such a letter.