Miami Heat: The 5 best moves of the Pat Riley era

3. Shaquille O’Neal

July 14, 2004: Traded Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, a 2006 first round pick and a 2007 second round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Shaquille O’Neal

To get something you have to give up something, and that was definitely the case with this monster transaction.

Odom had just completed one super season with Miami. Butler was a very popular teammate with lots of upside. Grant was a sold, reliable veteran presence. However, the opportunity to land a player of the stature of O’Neal does not come along very often, and Riley saw the opportunity to pounce and made the bold move.

The first season as a member saw O’Neal team with Dwyane Wade to lead the Heat to the best record in the Eastern Conference. He could very well have led the Heat to the NBA Finals if it weren’t for an unfortunate injury sustained by Wade in their semi-final matchup with the defending champion Detroit Pistons.

Despite this inconvenience, the Heat took the Pistons to seven games. It truly demonstrated the value of O’Neal, a three-time NBA Finals MVP during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Following up the next season, O’Neal and superstar teammate Dwyane Wade went one better and led the Heat to their inaugural NBA title, whilst Wade was named NBA Finals MVP,

Next: 2. The franchise altering draft pick