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Shaquille O’Neal took a seat in front of a microphone, welcomed everyone to his retirement press conference and began to discuss his decision to leave the game.

“I never thought this day would come,” he said. “Father Time has finally caught up with Shaquille O’Neal.”

Twenty-five seconds into his heartfelt speech, one of O’Neal’s friends approached the stage with a cell phone. Shaq was confused, but hesitantly answered the phone call.

“Who is this? Yes. For real? You want me to come up and apply for the New York Knicks’ general manager job? Okay, sure. I’ll be there right after the press conference. Sure, thank you. That was the President of the New York Knicks,” O’Neal said before breaking his straight face and cracking up with the assembled media.

O’Neal isn’t hiding the fact that he’s searching for his next job. While the Knicks aren’t courting him, he and his agent have already started to receive offers from various networks. ESPN has made it clear that they would welcome O’Neal with open arms, and TNT also appears to be interested in his services.

Rather than coaching or managing a team, O’Neal would much rather entertain the masses, as he always managed to do throughout his 19-year career. He has always been comfortable in front of a camera and, as he said on Friday: “I have a lot to talk about.” O’Neal’s larger-than-life personality, quick quips and honesty make him perfect for television.

“I love you and I will miss you, but I do plan on entertaining you for the next 19 years,” O’Neal said to his fans. “Whether it’s TNT, ESPN, CNN – whoever wants to hire me, my offices open up on Monday. Give me a call.”

He’s taking calls, but don’t expect to see him on-air anytime soon. He has higher priorities right now, including working on his PhD and undergoing surgery to repair his Achilles tendon, which played a large role in his decision to retire because he would have had to sit out for nine months had he played next season.

“One thing my mother and father always stressed was education,” O’Neal said. “They stressed having something to fall back on. I remember when I first started playing ball and got really good, I had 48 points and my mother and brother had smiles on their faces, but my father asked me, ‘What are you going to do if you blow your knee out?’ I didn’t have an answer. He used to throw that at me every now and then: ‘Yeah, you had 40 or you had 60 on your birthday, but what are you going to do if there’s a lockout next year?’ I really started getting more and more into education and business. I received my master’s degree from the University of Phoenix and I’m working on my PhD in Human Resource Development at Barry University in Miami. Hopefully, by December or January, I will only be called Dr. O’Neal.”

“I have a lot of options down the road and a lot of business opportunities,” he said. “Right now, I promised my parents that I would get my leg right so I’m thinking about surgery. I just have to get that right before I do anything.”

Once he does get healthy, don’t expect to see O’Neal back on an NBA roster. He stressed that he’s done and is ready to start a new life.

“I definitely won’t be back,” O’Neal said. “Let me tell you the reason why. Towards the end of my career, I started getting a little bit selfish. I’ve always heard that the two most dominant players were Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal. Wilt is at 31,000 [points] and I’m at 28,000. If I had, like, a hundred points fewer than him, I would have come back to pass him up and put me as the most dominant player of all-time. But I’m about three years away so I just have to remain at number five for now.”

“Me and my father were joking the other day. I was like, ‘I’m retiring.’ And he was like, ‘How many points you got?’ I said, ’28,000.’ He said, ‘You dummy! If you had shot those free throws like I taught you to shoot them, you would have 30,000 points!’ I was like, ‘You’re right!’”

O’Neal also sees floor seats to Orlando Magic games in his future as well as applying to be the undersheriff in Lake County, FL. He’ll also continue coaching his sons, but he stressed that those are the only young basketball minds he’s focused on molding. When asked if he would ever consider coaching at another level, he responded with a quick “no.”

“The only people I will coach will be my three sons,” O’Neal said. “I’ve been coaching them the last three summers and I’m the Phil Jackson of the little leagues around here. Really, I’m like 36-0.”

“I just want to continue to be the consummate professional,” he added. “The ultimate goal is to have my six children look at me like I look at my mother and father.”

There is also the possibility that O’Neal purchases an NBA team in the future. He and Grant Hill, who both live in Orlando, have discussed partnering up and owning a team. O’Neal often says that he hasn’t spent any of his contract money, choosing instead to invest it and live solely off of his endorsement dollars. O’Neal’s career earnings totaled $292,198,327 so don’t be surprised if he eventually tries to buy a franchise.

At the end of the day, O’Neal may be retiring, but he’s not going anywhere. In fact, he may be more visible in his new role than he was during his last few stops in Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston. O’Neal’s body couldn’t handle the NBA lifestyle anymore, but he’s only 39 years old and has a bright future in whichever path he decides to venture down.

Juwan Howard’s Unique Role: It took Juwan Howard 17 years, but he is finally playing in his first NBA Finals. The 38-year-old desperately wants to win a championship and he played well off of Mimai’s bench in Game 1.

“This is what you look forward to your whole life,” Howard said. “I had to wait patiently. I had to wait a long time. Some guys go one time early on their career and feel that they’ll have another opportunity to go again, but they never get to go back. It’s great to finally be here.”

While he has been featured in a limited role this season, Howard is a strong presence in the locker room.

“He’s been invaluable, to this group in particular, because of his veteran experience and his leadership,” Erik Spoelstra said. “The guys respect him and they did from the very first day of training camp.”

After ESPN aired their Fab Five documentary in March, Howard’s legend continued to grow in the locker room.

“It even went to another level,” Spoelstra said with a laugh. “Everybody knew he was a Fab Five guy. A lot of our players were big fans of that team and when the special came out, that kind of highlighted him even more in their eyes.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}Spoelstra may decide to use Howard again at some point during this series because he’s able to contribute the moment he steps onto the floor and provides energy in his limited minutes.

“He plays an important role for us, and it’s an unorthodox role,” Spoelstra said. “Because he’s been in and out of the rotation, and he can play short minutes, short bursts and be productive without being out of rhythm, he finds a way to contribute. We have had confidence in him all year long. It depends on who we’re playing and how we feel the matchups are. But he’s a very good team defender, and he’s certainly a great leadership voice for the rest of the team.”

The reason he’s able to be effective, even when his minutes are fluctuating, is because he does an excellent job preparing for games. He approaches every night with the mindset that he’ll play, and he has been in just about every situation so nothing fazes him when he steps onto the court.

“It’s about staying ready,” Howard said. “You never know when your name is going to be called so you approach every game like you’re a rotation player. You prepare like I’m going to play night in and night out. There are going to be some nights where they don’t play you and some nights where they do, but you got to be ready. You’re going to embarrass yourself if you’re not.”

After 17 years of patience, Howard is ready to win a ring. He’s not under contract after the season and the possibility of a lockout could limit his time in the league even further. This is Howard’s best chance to win a title, and he’s hoping to take full advantage.

HOOPSWORLD Chats: There are two chats on today’s schedule. Susan Bible, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and NBA for HOOPSWORLD, will be taking your questions at 11 a.m. EST. Then, I’ll be holding my weekly chat at 3 p.m. EST. Submit your questions early because these chats fill up fast. As always you can check out our entire upcoming chat schedule here.