Ira Winderman

As Shaquille O'Neal last week was praising Kobe Bryant as his greatest teammate, as he was extolling the merits of Phil Jackson as sheer sideline genius, the natural inclination was to wonder where the Suns center was going with all of this.

Hadn't he, in recent years, spoken of how Dwyane Wade was his ultimate sidekick, the perfect pairing he lacked first with Penny and then with Kobe?

Didn't he make Pat Riley dance on the front steps of AmericanAirlines Arena (much to the chagrin of the assembled crowd) in 2006 after Riley had positioned Shaq for that fourth championship many thought never would arrive?

Ah, but this is Shaq, and there always is an agenda.

So at a time when a lesser man (at least in terms of stature) might have been concentrating his rhetoric on Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and the incredibly uneven Suns, something else appeared to be at play.

At least to those in the know.

"Of course he loves Kobe and Phil now," an executive with another team said after watching replay after replay of Shaq's L.A.-bound bouquets. "He's trying to get back to the Lakers."

Anyone the least bit familiar with how it ended in L.A. couldn't possibly conceive of a reunion, not after the shouting at owner Jerry Buss during an exhibition game about not receiving an extension, not after the snide volleys directed at Kobe, not after Jackson had spoken of having coached only one star in his career who refused to put in the required work.

But with Shaq, there never is history. What's said today is smoothed over tomorrow. That Kobe freestyle rap? Marketing. The disputes with Jackson? Marketing. The ugly endings in Orlando and Miami? Somehow, although it defies how, marketing.

When the walls close in on Shaq, even at 325, 330, 350 or whatever the scale says that day, he still perceives room for an escape. Consider him an XXXXL Houdini.

Think back to just a year ago this week, of how ugly it almost ended last season, when he was trapped at the bottom of the standings with the Heat.

Shaq exiting in last place?

Slideshow   NBA All-Star starters and reserves A look at the lineups for the East and West teams. more photos

In his mind, couldn't happen.

So overtures, ever so clandestine, were made to see what it would take to get to the Mavericks, where another title might still be possible.

Failing that, there was a cry of medical foul against the Heat training staff and a getaway to the Suns, who were positioned for a run deep into the postseason.

But then the Spurs arrived in the first round, and that was it for 2007-08. One round and done, just like the previous season in Miami.

Then came this season, and a personal rebirth, if only because of incessant demands that the beast be fed. So as the Suns slowed down, Shaq's numbers soared. All was good in his world.

The same, though, couldn't be said for his team.

Nash never looked this average. Stoudemire never looked this miserable. The Suns never looked this pedestrian.

It wasn't quite as bad as last season in South Florida, but the NBA's biggest big man again was its biggest target. Beloved in Phoenix? Uh, not quite.

So Shaq did what he always does. He reached for the oversized escape hatch.

It worked in Orlando, when the lights weren't bright enough and the city not big enough.

It worked in L.A., when the biggest ego in the room no longer was the biggest talent.

And it worked in Miami, where a sit-down strike led to Riley's desperation move for the ill-fitting Shawn Marion.

At the start of this season, Shaq had already started a personal countdown clock to the expiration of his contract in 2010. At the time, not even he could have envision the statistical renaissance he is currently is enjoying.

Now there again is a future, albeit probably not one in Phoenix, where he more and more has become associated with the end of one of the most enjoyable eras of open-court basketball.

But in L.A. he was as revered upon his return as during the three championship seasons there. There never was the backlash upon his departure that he received in Orlando or probably will receive with his March 4 return to Miami.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

No, when Shaq made his return to L.A. in 2004, it was to a special pregame embrace, a video montage on specially designed curtains, an enduring ovation, genuine affection.

That is why he now loves, not loathes, Kobe, why Phil has again become his ultimate guru.

In some ways, it could make sense, as an aging mentor to Andrew Bynum, or the nominal fill-in when Bynum endures one of his all-to-frequent absences (Chris Mihm? Please).

Of course, the contract gets in the way, the $21 million in each of these next two seasons.

And it's not as if Shaq would give up a single dollar (not that the Suns wouldn't be more than willing to negotiate a buyout at this point).

Also on NBCSports.com PBT: KG could lead Celtics past 76ers in Game 7 Will Serena surive Week 1 at the French Open? 'Dancing' man Castroneves talks Indy 500 PFT: Jets' Scott doesn't want son to play football Follow us on Twitter: @NBCSports  |  And Facebook

The only contracts beyond Kobe's that would even come close in a deal would be Pau Gasol's (not happening) and Lamar Odom's (needed now more than ever amid Bynum's absence).