Shaquille O'Neal hasn't seen a high school basketball game in years. He broke that drought on Wednesday night when he attended St. Vincent-St. Mary against Orange.

O'Neal was there to watch St.Vincent-St. Mary phenom LeBron James. It was worth the wait.

"I haven't been to a high school game in awhile but us No. 1 players must stick together," O'Neal said. "I knew who he was because I read Sports Ilustrated and I talked to a few people about him. He's a good player."

James scored 33 points in St.Vincent-St. Mary's victory. O'Neal said James has an excellent game on the high school level and he expects him to "do some damage" on the next level too.

That next level means professionally. O'Neal also said that he won't offer James any advice on going pro out of high school or going to college.

"I don't give out information because what happens to him, necessarily didn't happen to me," O'Neal said. "Experience is the best teacher. He'll have to do what's best for him and what's best for his family."

Second that emotion:

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has some advice for James if he asks.

"Do what you want. If you want to go to college you'll be able to learn a lot, I guess. I don't know," Bryant said. "But if you come to the NBA, you have to be ready to sacrifice. It might not be a business for you, but it's a business from other people's perspective."

Trades:

With the exception of the trades between Indiana, Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas and Denver, the trade deadline ended quietly yesterday. The Cavs didn't make any moves.

"It's been very quiet," said Cavs coach John Lucas. "One thing the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement] did was make it harder for teams to make major deals. That's why I'm sold on the way we're doing it by developing our players and trying to create franchise players."