LeBron James returned from rest at the weekend but only scored 18 points as the Lakers were trashed convincingly.
James also became the fifth-highest regular-season points scorer in NBA history.
But the story of the match was another off-night for several players amid speculation around New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis joining.
It is understood the Lakers have offered Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, and two first round picks for Davis and received little sign of willingness from the Pelicans.
And O’Neal, who won three NBA championships with the Lakers, felt the players didn’t give their all.
O’Neal said: “I’ve never been a part of trade rumours.
“But I am sure it’s hard for these guys to trust the Lakers process.
“Especially when you got to hear about being traded through the media.
“Guys hear about it in the media so they are probably like ‘you know what I ain’t playing hard today’.”
Meanwhile, James called on his team-mates to ignore the trade talk surrounding them.
“Umm.. I don’t know [if players were affected by trade talks],” he said.
“I mean, obviously we have a lot of guys that have been in trade talks the last couple of weeks that’s never been in that position before.
“So you have to ask those guys and how they’re dealing with it. You can’t really ask me.
“I’ve never really been a part of that, but I’ve been a part of teammates, but I know it has to be tough on a lot of our guys, especially our young guys.
“You know, right now they’ve just never really been a part of it, and you know they’re hearing it every single day.
“I know that the worst thing that you can do right now is be on social media and I know all young guys love being on social media, so that definitely can’t help.”