ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports that the Dallas Mavericks have ruled out adding free-agent center Shaquille O’Neal, which makes the Atlanta Hawks the league’s only team currently known to be interested in the all-time leading scorer among active players.
However, the Hawks are unwilling to break the bank for Shaq:
No team out there, including Atlanta, is known to be willing to pay Shaq more than $2 million for next season.
Stein says O’Neal is seeking a salary north of the $5.8 million mid-level exception. For him to wind up in Atlanta, the Hawks would have to change their financial stance, or O’Neal would have to be willing to accept less money. Neither outcome looks especially likely right now.