The Los Angeles Lakers are a class organization, arguably the most renowned in all of sports. Bundled in all of that, though, at least according to their former superstar center, Shaquille O’Neal, was a hint of a good old “What have you done me lately?” approach.

The Hall-of-Fame big man was on the radio show ‘The Odd Couple’ with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker this past Wednesday and shared a story on his dealings with the front office back in the day. It’s just in time as the basketball airwaves are currently crowded by chatter about team management and how unforgiving it can be when planning for the future, thanks to the success of first two episode of ‘The Last Dance.’

Shaq revealed that prior to battling the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, the Lakers management delivered him a stern warning:

O’NEAL: The same thing that was going on in [The Last Dance documentary] was going on with me … It was told to me that if we don’t win the series, I’m out of there.

BROUSSARD: It was told to you before the series started?

O’NEAL: Yes, from somebody upstairs in the office, “Hey, if you don’t win this series, they’re looking to make changes.” I knew once we lost that it was time for me to do something else.

As you know, he and the heavily favoured Lakers proceeded to lose the series in disastrous fashion. They got manhandled by the Pistons’ brash defense, 4-1, as the supporting cast basically got shut out offensively. L.A.’s brass then kept to their ultimatum by sending Shaq to the Miami Heat just one month later.

Looking at it from Shaq’s perspective, you can definitely understand the resentment. He was a cornerstone in the Lakers’ championship runs in 2000, 2001, and 2002 (won Finals MVP each time), and was easily the most dominant player in the league since Michael Jordan retired in 1999.

The Lakers, however, viewed it as an added signal that the dynasty is over. For one, the finals loss was the second-straight season they got exposed in the playoffs. The issues from their elimination in the 2003 postseason, which was courtesy of the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, were already addressed by bringing in aging future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton, and yet, they still failed to get things done.

Another reason was the growing beef between him and his buddying All-Star, the late Kobe Bryant. Being alphas and leaders of a powerhouse squad, the two were butting heads for the last couple of seasons. It was at its peak that year as it was mixed with off-the-court troubles on both sides.

Since Shaq was the older of the two (31 to 26), it’s only right that if they were to be broken up, the younger Kobe would be the one to stay in town.

Blowing up the dynasty eventually resulted in more rings for the two parties. Shaq went on to win a ring with the Heat, while Kobe went to three-straight finals and won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.