Shaq calls out Magic GM

“I’m keeping my eye on the Orlando situation,’’ said Shaquille O’Neal, himself a former Magic center. “I’m anxious to see if they make the same mistake twice. They just built an arena, $550 million. It’s talks of trading him or keeping him, but I think they should keep him.’’

If you recall, O’Neal used an unusual clause in his contract 15 years ago that made him a free agent after four seasons in Orlando. And despite speculation that he would re-sign with the Magic, he was snatched away by the Lakers. O’Neal has blamed Orlando management for not being aggressive enough to bring him back and assuming he would return because the Magic were an Eastern Conference contender.

He chided the current management, including general manager Otis Smith, saying sarcastically that it “has been doing a good job with that situation’’ regarding Howard.

“Otis got on TV and said, ‘We’re gonna make strides to make this a championship team, but we’re not gonna do what Dwight wants us to do,’ ’’ O’Neal said. “Most general managers that I know always concur with their star players about what needs to go on.

“Otis is going to be famous for making the Rashard Lewis deal and letting Dwight Howard go, and hopefully he doesn’t let him go.

“One, they should show him a little bit more respect. And two, they should really get another dominant player in there.

“If you look at the history of the league, most [successful] teams have had a definite 1-2 punch. Right now in Orlando you only have a 1 punch, so . . .

“No one can really do it by themselves. When you have Otis on TV saying, ‘We’re not going to do what he wants us to do,’ you just give a guy ammunition to say, ‘You know what? I’m tired of this, I want to go somewhere else.’ ’’