Shaquille O'Neal hopes the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant doesn't drag on.

``It's an unfortunate situation. Kobe's a teammate of mine and a friend of mine,'' said O'Neal, who previously had been quiet during an extremely eventful summer for the Lakers.

``I'm very confident in the judicial system, so hopefully this will be resolved quickly. And hopefully it will be pain-free on both sides.''

He added, ``I've been instructed not to say anything about it.''