The Lake Show Part Ii

Sporting News, The, July 3, 2000 by Sean Deveney, Stephen Siegel

Small forward. The two options with free-agent shooter Glen Rice are sign-and-trade or let him go. The triangle offense does not include the kind of screens Rice needs to get his ideal shot Rice shot just 43 percent from the field, and 40.8 percent in the playoffs, and the triangle takes most of the blame for those straggles. Assuming Rice is gone, one option would be 76ers free agent Toni Kukoc, who is 6-11 and played for Jackson with the Bulls.

Power forward. This is the Lakers' top priority. A.C. Green was a stopgap, and though he played with heart and hustle, he is undersized (6-9) and old (36). His backup, Robert Horry, should be a small forward. The Kings' Chris Webber, the Suns' Clifford Robinson and the Trail Blazers' Rasheed Wallace dominated the Lakers' power forwards during the playoffs. The Lakers will have those three in mind in their search for a power forward. They don't need points from the position; they need someone who can throw an average of 10 elbows a game and grab nine rebounds. A trade with Toronto for Charles Oakley, depending on whether Oakley is gruntled or disgruntled by new Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens, would be a perfect fit, but there am others. Rice to Miami for P.J. Brown, for instance. Boston free agent Danny Fortson is another option. The team could go for long-lost Bison Dele, last seen sipping umbrella drinks on a beach in Fiji. Christian Laettner of the Pistons might be a good fit because he can be a power forward or a backup center.

Center. Next question.

Bench. The Lakers want to stay near their current payroll of $53 million, which might mean sacrifices will be made on the bench Buss made his millions the old-fashioned way, in real estate. He does not have the Internet billions of Portland's Patti Allen or Dallas' Mark Cuban, so expect a little frugality.

John Salley and Travis Knight do not figure into the team's future, but it might be difficult to find a taker for Knight's $3 million salary. Horry, Rick Fox and Brian Shaw are the team's main reserves, and they likely will return unless the Lakers have to give up one of them in a trade. The only major additions to the bench will be a big guard and a backup center, possibly a former Bulls center--Will Perdue, Joe Kleine or Luc Longley.

After his team bumbled away a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, Portland's Steve Smith stood in the somber visitor's locker room of the Staples Center and tried to describe what had just happened. Deep breath. "I don't know," Smith said. Another deep breath. "We had them. I think we had them." More breath. "We'll be back."

Indeed, several times during the playoffs, it appeared the Lakers could be had. They were pushed to five games by Sacramento in the first round. The Trail Blazers, as Smith pointed out, had them in Game 7 If you break down the six games of The Finals into 25 quarters, the Pacers won 13, the Lakers 10, and there were two ties. It's no cinch that there will be a dynasty in L.A., but opposing NBA teams with title hopes will have to start by solving the problem of the Lakers.