What we learned about the 1995 Orlando Magic from “Blue Chips” oral history

Shaquille O’Neal may have always wanted to go to Los Angeles… or just Disney

"Pat Williams: [O’Neal’s agent Leonard Armato] said, “Why don’t you trade him to L.A.? Trade him to the Lakers.” [I told him], “Leonard, we’re not going to do that. We’ll start him right here.” Armato: I’m not saying I didn’t say that, but I don’t remember saying that. John Gabriel: There was a crowd gathered, and Shaquille sort of had yet to say that he wanted to be part of the Magic. I remember him stepping to the podium and he said, “I want to be where there is” — and then he [sang] the old Mickey Mouse thing — “M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.” And everybody exploded in applause."

Yes, the world was very different when Shaquille O’Neal entered the league.

Orlando was nothing more than Disney with a three-year-old NBA franchise. There were no rookie-scale salaries and it was a task to sign a player that you drafted, not merely a formality.

It gave a lot of young players a lot of power (a lot more on that coming up later on in the post too).

It always seemed O’Neal’s presence in Orlando was larger than life. Actually, I am pretty sure that was the name of the VHS documentary on his rookie year. For the conspiracy theorists, O’Neal was always going to leave Orlando after his four years were up for Los Angeles specifically.

Feeding that conspiracy even more was a quote that came later in the piece. Armato said O’Neal’s initial inclination in free agency was to stay in Orlando. But his agent wanted him in L.A.

"Armato: Shaq told me, “I want to stay in Orlando.” Everybody thought I wanted him to come to L.A. In the back of my mind, I thought it would be cool if he came to L.A., but at the same time, if he wants to stay in Orlando, then that’s OK too. Jerry West: I think [Armato] was interested in having Shaquille here, but for a long time there was never any indication he would come. You’re just trying to pin people down and say, “Hey, look, if we do this, would you guys consider coming here?” When we traded Vlade [Divac], he knew we were serious about what we were trying to accomplish."

So, take that for what you will.

The story goes into detail what happened (or what everyone says happened) in the negotiations with O’Neal. Namely, several players in O’Neal’s draft class, without restricted free agency which did not exist yet, were getting $100 million contracts and the Magic were hesitant to give that to someone so young.

The market dictated he would get everything and more. The Magic balked and the Lakers swooped in. O’Neal repeated at his Hall of Fame entry earlier this year that it was a complete business decision. The Lakers had the money and got the man.

As O’Neal stated back in March at his Hall of Fame induction and said again in the oral history, he regrets leaving Orlando and the opportunity that remained to build a championship team. But business is business and he built his legacy elsewhere. It is all now part of O’Neal’s complicated legacy with Orlando.

For all it is worth, bygones appear to be bygones. Magic fans cheered O’Neal as he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.

Next: Anfernee Hardaway pushed himself onto the Magic's board