Riley Refused to Give Up Wade for O’Neal

If you wondered why the Lakers did not insist on Dwyane Wade being included in the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat two summers ago, Pat Riley said Sunday, “They did.”

But Riley held firm.

“I thought the deal was fair,” said Riley, the Heat president and coach, of the July 2004 trade that sent Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to the Lakers. “Giving up all three of those guys? Dwyane was the one guy that we didn’t want to let go. Not that we had a crystal ball, but we felt there was something there that might be better even than what we’d seen.”

Wade, who averaged 16.2 points as a rookie two seasons ago, has since blossomed into an All-Star, averaging 24.1 last season and 27.2 this season.

While the Lakers failed to reach the playoffs a year ago, Wade and O’Neal took the Heat to within one victory of the NBA Finals. This season, the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs and the Heat again reached the Eastern Conference finals. Wade, Shaq & Co. lead the Detroit Pistons, two games to one, going into Game 4 tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena.

O’Neal, hoping to avoid the conflicts that marred his time with Kobe Bryant, met with Wade soon after the trade was completed, Riley said.

“I think the genuine respect level from Shaq to Dwyane, Dwyane to Shaq, right from the beginning, has made those guys a perfect duo,” Riley said. “They’ve got a great feeling for one another and great respect for each other.

“Dwyane was a young, coming player, had not really established himself ... and Shaquille just gave him the platform and said, ‘Go get it.’

“I think when a player like Dwyane is young and a player like Shaquille knows he has this kind of greatness in him, I think you feel very confident in yourself. I think a lot of his confidence comes from Shaquille.”

-- Jerry Crowe