Ego, of course, always was at the center of the Kobe-Shaq feud and neither was without fault over a championship team's premature demise.
But Shaq wanted out. Try to remember that. He asked to be traded.
Since he still had a year left on his contract, the Lakers had two choices: Trade him or keep him and call his bluff.
Figuring it was no bluff, and they'd get nothing in return if he played out his contract and signed elsewhere, they understandably chose to trade him.
In return, they have essentially received forward Lamar Odom, center Kwame Brown (for Caron Butler), Miami's first-round pick next June and luxury tax relief of $30 million after releasing Brian Grant.
And by trading Shaq, they were able to re-sign Kobe.
Does that look like such a terrible deal? A trade that should be the end of general manager Mitch Kupchak or a call for the stoning of Jerry Buss?
Odom and Brown are starters. They have struggled with consistency, with learning the triangle offense, with living up to their potential.
But they have come on down the stretch and, it should be noted, both are still young - Odom is 26 and Brown 24. Promise remains.
Shaq, meanwhile, just suffered through the worst season of his 14-year career. Career-lows in scoring (20.0points per game) and rebounding (9.2).
And he is 34 and continually battling injuries. He played in only 59games this season, averaging 30.6minutes a game.
Shaq clearly is on the downside of his career. He's not the guy Buss wanted to tie up his payroll with by granting him a whopping extension.
Shaq seemed to grow tired of Los Angeles, of sharing the spotlight with Kobe, and wanted out.
He was paid $28 million in his final season, and said he would never sign for less than the maximum, as Kevin Garnett had with Minnesota so the Timberwolves would have payroll flexibility to sign additional players.
After Shaq got to Miami, however, he signed a contract that averaged $20 million a year ($100 million for five seasons).
There were no such deals offered to the Lakers.
Hey, he was great while he was here. The last three championship banners would not be hanging at Staples without him. Some day, they'll rightly hang his jersey up there and retire his number.
And he still is the best center in the game when he wants to be, though the overall depth at the position in the NBA is woefully thin.
Yet he is dramatically closer to the end than the beginning. And being the best current center is not the same thing as still being the game's most dominating player and expecting to be paid like it.
It's not that the Lakers are some serious title threat. They have a long way to go and no certainty they'll ever get there with this current core.
But Shaq essentially forced the Lakers to make a choice between him and Kobe, and Buss made the proper call.
The trade never will go down as one of the great deals in Lakers history, but neither will it live in infamy as the ruin of all things purple and gold.
Trades are best viewed in the long term, and another year later, this one isn't looking as bad.
