Hardaway Wants to Stay

Penny Hardaway, the subject of trade talks with several NBA teams, reiterated Thursday that he doesn’t want to leave the Orlando Magic--now, or in the future.

The four-time all-star will become a free agent after next season but insists he does not intend to follow in the footsteps of Shaquille O’Neal, who left for the Lakers in a bitter split in 1996.

Hardaway, discussed Wednesday in an aborted three-way deal also involving the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors, said the one stipulation he has for remaining with the Magic for the rest of his career is that the team pursue and sign a top free agent this summer.

“I know the weight of the franchise is on my shoulders. I know if I leave, this franchise is going down. If that happened, I couldn’t live with myself,” he said.

“When does it come to a point where they believe an athlete when he says he wants to stay? Or do you just go ahead and trade him because you think, it’s going to happen again like Shaquille.”

Hardaway also said reports that he doesn’t get along with Coach Chuck Daly and plans to ask for an outrageous amount of money to re-sign are false.

“I get along fine with Chuck,” Hardaway said. “People say I’m going to ask for $250 million. Where does that come from? That’s ridiculous. We can’t even talk about money until after next season. Somebody just made that up, and now it’s being passed around like it’s fact.”

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Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag will be sidelined at least three weeks because of a stress fracture in his left leg, the team said.

Ostertag, averaging 5.6 points and 5.7 rebounds, could be lost for as many as six weeks. Greg Foster will start in Ostertag’s place.

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Chicago Bull forward Scottie Pippen, who has been relatively quiet since his trade demand earlier this season, now says he’d prefer to play next season on the West Coast.

“I want to go play probably on the West Coast,” said Pippen, who will become a free agent after the season. “Right now, that’s what I’m leaning towards. It’s a different type of game out there. It’s an open-court game, it’s a lot more up-and-down game. It’s much more fun to play in. The East is more of a half-court game.”