They're reunited, but does it feel so good? News Memphis Grizzlies

The reunion will be televised.

However, it should be noted that almost every event associated with the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Phoenix is being conducted under strict camera scrutiny, so this dysfunctional family reunion exists as only part of a large circus.

But this could be a real show-stopper, because the league is reuniting the only trio of tribulation that could eclipse the Trump-Rosie-Barbara Walters party for salty disregard of respectful conduct.

By achieving the rank of reserve for the Western Conference All-Star Team, Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns will team up — for one precious day — with former shotgun-rider Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson, who spirited this dramatic duo to three NBA titles as employees of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shaq's current crew isn't all that impressive, but he's making gobs of cash and really looks great.

Kobe is the defending league MVP and the leader of a Lakers team expected to blitz its way through the Western Conference playoffs for the second season in a row.

Phil is the Lakers coach and might consider a return to facial hair if it would inspire his team to more consistent feats of defense. Like Kobe and Shaq, Jackson still is considered highly successful, though, and will arrive at this reunion at the height of his powers.

To fully embrace the magnitude of where these three titans are in their careers, we first must revisit the circumstances that ruptured what had been a profoundly productive partnership.

Let's hark back to 1996, a year when then-Lakers General Manager Jerry West — through the gamesmanship of Kobe's agent — managed to snag the prom-fresh Bryant in the draft (in a trade with Charlotte) before persuading Vancouver Grizzlies GM Stu Jackson to take Anthony Peeler off the Lakers' books, enabling Jerry to have sufficient cap room to pry O'Neal out of Orlando.

Friday's action

Dunleavy leads Pacers over Heat
Bucks take down Raptors on road
76ers hang on to defeat Wizards
C's top Pistons, win 10th straight
Cavaliers pull away from Clippers
Johnson, Hawks pound Nets
Lakers top T-Wolves in shootout
Jazz snap 4-game losing streak
Nuggets win big in Melo's return
Warriors escape to beat Hornets
Bulls beat Kings for 2nd straight win

FOXSports.com analysis

Rosen: Magic won't disappear
Rosen: Mayo plays it too cool
Hill: Blockbusters that backfired
Galinsky: NBA Power Rankings

Video

Hill: Who were All-Star snubs?
Hill: Pistons have problems
Hill: Odd team out in West

Photos

Eastern Conference All-Stars
Western Conference All-Stars

In Miami, Shaq realized that making nice with a young, hotshot guard really was the way to go. He and Dwyane Wade snagged a title for the Heat, but O'Neal — despite sweating in the South Florida humidity — was unable to keep his weight in check during the offseason.

After providing diminishing returns on a huge salary, Shaq found himself in Phoenix, where the training staff discovered the large muscles in O'Neal's hips and buttocks weren't firing correctly.

With his hips and buttocks now in full compliance — and Mike D'Antoni in New York — Shaq has returned to statistical prominence with the Suns.

Things have been a bit more theatrical for Bryant, who — without Shaq or Phil — was unable to drag the Lakers anywhere near glory. And even though Phil rode back into town, a form of basketball intervention — Kobe going nuts on several radio shows regarding trade demands — didn't quite take root until a new big man emerged in Los Angeles.

After Bryant pinpointed 20-year-old Andrew Bynum as a major reason why the Lakers were goners in any playoff hunt, the young center began to make Mitch Kupchak — the man who drafted and refused to trade him or Kobe — look like a genius.

The Lakers were looking like contenders again and — through a Bynum injury that provoked the trade for Pau Gasol — wound up in last year's NBA Finals.

Phil was unable to coax quality rebounding or defense from the Lakers in that series, but he and his nine titles are safe from scrutiny.

So, with Shaq and the Suns struggling to stay alive in a Western Conference playoff chase the Lakers are winning, the former trio of tribulation will join forces when the All-Stars convene in Phoenix.

A Shaq-Kobe intersection that previously had been reserved for league use as a Christmas Day showdown could return to civility even though O'Neal immortalized Bryant's 2008 Finals defeat during an impromptu summer rap at a New York City nightclub.

Shaq even admitted that a return to work as a Laker would not be at all distasteful when his current contract expires at the end of next season.

At the moment, his rise to the level of All-Star teammate — after failing to carry China in the starter voting — qualifies as more than enough surprise.