Shaq takes a freestyle swipe at Kobe

NEW YORK — Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal, the big man sent out a reminder.

The Phoenix Suns center can be seen rapping that "Kobe couldn't do without me" in a video posted online at celebrity news and gossip site TMZ.com

During the two-minute video, a grinning O'Neal lurches through an improvised rap in which he skewers the Lakers' star, with whom he won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002 while with Los Angeles.

"I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever," O'Neal told ESPN.com Monday. "That is what MC's do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all."

O'Neal and Bryant last played together in 2004. After a long-simmering feud came to a boil in public, O'Neal was traded to Miami before the 2004-05 season, and won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.

Bryant and the Lakers didn't reach the finals again until earlier this month, when the Boston Celtics beat them 4-2.

"You know how I be," Shaq rapped. "Last week Kobe couldn't do without me."

NETS HIRE OVERTON: Former New Jersey Nets guard Doug Overton has returned to the team as an assistant coach to Lawrence Frank. Overton spent the past two seasons as an assistant on Phil Martelli's staff at Saint Joseph's. The Philadelphia native spent the previous season as director of player development for the Philadelphia 76ers, where he assisted the coaching and scouting staffs and worked with the team's community outreach. Overton joins Brian Hill and Tom Barrise on Frank's staff.

BUTLER FACES GUN CHARGE: New Orleans Hornets guard Rasual Butler has been charged with flashing a loaded gun near a South Florida nightclub. A witness told investigators that Butler pulled out a gun near a South Beach club early Monday, according to a Miami Beach police report. Butler was sitting in an SUV when officers arrived and found a loaded gun in the vehicle.

HEAT WAIVE JOHNSON: The Miami Heat have requested waivers for forward Alexander Johnson, who appeared in 43 games for the team last season. Johnson signed with the Heat as a free agent in August 2007. He played one season with the Memphis Grizzlies before joining Miami. Johnson, who averaged 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes for the Heat, missed five games during the final stretch of the season after he was struck in the temple in a collision with teammate Mark Blount.

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