Shaq joins Heat

O'Neal had a poor season by his own high standards

LA Lakers' star centre Shaquille O'Neal has been traded to the Miami Heat.

The 32-year-old has been exchanged for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a future first round draft pick.

Forward Odom, a member of the US Olympic team, will be returning to Los Angeles where he began his NBA career with the Clippers.

The deal was completed on Wednesday when the two-week NBA moratorium on trades and free-agent signings expired.

O'Neal had a contract with the Lakers for two more seasons, worth nearly $59m.

But he was angered earlier this season when the team refused to offer him an extension and had a stormy relationship with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and guard Kobe Bryant.

Last year, O'Neal averaged a career-low 21.5 points with 11.5 rebounds and 2.48 blocks.

Today the Miami Heat took a giant step forward in our continued pursuit of an NBA championship - we feel that we have traded for the best player in the NBA Miami president Pat Riley

He began his NBA career with Orlando, leading the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995, and still has a home in South Florida.

He signed with the Lakers as a free agent after the 1995-96 season and helped them to three NBA titles.

In 12 NBA seasons, he has averaged 27.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.

Talk of O'Neal's trade, and a likely move by team-mate Bryant, partially overshadowed the formal announcement of Rudy Tomjanovich's hiring as the Lakers' new coach.

Bryant is free to sign with any NBA team as of 14 July, and reports in LA have said he is giving serious consideration to signing with the Clippers, who share the Staples Center with the Lakers.