Not from what I've read, Reality. The Maloofs say the price the Lakers want for trading Shaq is too high and would gut the team. That plus the fact that Shaq is on the downside of his career would make this a big mistake for the Kings. Petrie would never agree to a deal that would gut the youth of this team for an aging "superstar". They've already got one aging star too many.
As Jerry West stated, you never trade superstars within your own division. If the Lakers do trade Shaq, and that is questionable to begin with, he would most likely go east.
I expect Dallas to make the most Shaq noise in the Western Conference. Cuban is nothing if not a whore to dramatic trades. As for the Maloofs and Shaq, O'Neal has said publically that he likes and admires the King's owners, and the Maloofs have expressed similar sentiments regarding the Laker center, but Geoff Petrie rightly states that the asking price for the aging, injury prone, and perminantly out-of-shape O'Neal just would not be worth what the Lakers have suggested.
Yes, that means that the Lakers and Petrie have talked about the trade possibilities.
And hi everyone. Just got back into the U.S., and believe it or not, I only learned who won the NBA championship about a week ago. Travel is tough.