Jermaine O'Neal fired another round of volleys in his defense Tuesday to clarify his stance regarding his future with the Indiana Pacers.

Continuing to deny the gist of Internet reports out of Los Angeles that he wanted a trade, O'Neal volunteered for an afternoon interview on a local radio station and had the Pacers release a transcript and audio file of comments he made Sunday before a charity basketball game in Los Angeles.

Pacers president Larry Bird, meanwhile, downplayed the impact of O'Neal's interview with reporters from the Sports Illustrated and ESPN Web sites in which he discussed the possibility of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers or New Jersey Nets.

"He should have come in here and talked about it privately," Bird said in an interview with WNDE-1260 AM. "But it happens. I've been in this league for 27 years and I've seen (former teammates) do things like that. You don't like it to happen, but it happened, and we just have to move forward."