Warm weather. Smaller centers. A star guard. Pat Riley. Life in South Florida sounds mighty nice to Shaquille O'Neal.

The much talked-about blockbuster trade between the Lakers and Heat involving the NBA's most dominant force has become all but a reality.

"I can confirm that all the parties have agreed to the deal," O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, told the Washington Post in a telephone interview Saturday night. "It's all pending [league] approval, but I can say everything has been agreed to."

As first reported by ESPN's David Aldridge on Saturday, O'Neal had agreed to accept a proposed trade that would send him to Miami in exchange for guard Caron Butler, forwards Lamar Odom and Brian Grant and a future draft pick. The Miami Herald on Saturday night reported that the Lakers will receive a first-rounder in 2006 or later.

The deal cannot be completed until Wednesday, when a two-week leaguewide moratorium on trades and free agent signings expires.

"It's very serious. I think it's very close to getting done," said Grant's agent, Mark Bartelstein.