Associated Press
8/2/2005 2:05:35 PM
MIAMI (AP) - Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat agreed Tuesday on a $100-million, five-year contract, one that presumably will keep the 12-time all-star centre playing past his 38th birthday.
The deal will be signed later Tuesday, said O'Neal's agent Perry Rogers.
"We wanted to make sure that Shaquille was being compensated well into his career," Rogers told The Associated Press. "We also wanted to make sure he was paid his value. And it was important the Heat had flexibility they need in the short-term to win a championship.
"It's about winning."
O'Neal was vacationing Tuesday and not immediately available for comment.
Earlier Tuesday, O'Neal opted out of the final year of his existing deal, one that would have paid him $30.6 million this coming season.
The seven-foot-one, 327-pound O'Neal made an immediate impact during his first season with Miami, which acquired him in July 2004 from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for three players and a draft choice.
He averaged 22.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in the regular season, leading the league with a 60.1 field goal percentage. O'Neal ranked sixth in the league in blocks (2.34 per game), double-doubles (43) and rebounds.
A bruised thigh, suffered late in the regular season, limited his playoff effectiveness; the Heat were the No. 1-seeded team in the East, yet lost to Detroit in Game 7 of the conference finals - the finest post-season showing in the Heat franchise's 17-year history.
O'Neal had previously led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 2000-2002.
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