Lakers Sign Scott on Eve of Training Camp

The Lakers open training camp this morning in Palm Desert with all of their returning veterans under contract, after free-agent guard Byron Scott came to terms on a one-year contract Thursday night.

No details were announced, but Scott, who last season earned $440,000 in the final year of a four-year contract, probably will receive close to $600,000 from the Lakers. That’s an amount $12,500 less than the salary of teammate Michael Cooper, last season’s Defensive Player of the Year in the National Basketball Assn.

Backup guard Wes Matthews also agreed to terms Thursday. In addition, the Lakers have signed five rookies, including third-round selection Willie Glass of St. John’s, their top choice in the June draft; free-agent guard Milt Wagner, and former NBA guard Jeff Lamp, whose rights were obtained from San Antonio.

Second-year player Billy Thompson will not take part in the two-a-day workouts that begin this morning at College of the Desert. Thompson has not yet recovered from the injury he suffered in the first round of the playoffs last spring, when he collided with Denver’s Maurice Martin on a breakaway layup, hyperextending his left knee and incurring a deep bone bruise. Arthroscopic surgery was performed, and trainer Gary Vitti said it may be November before Thompson is able to play.

Scott, 26, originally sought a long-term deal with the Lakers when his contract expired in June. Failing that, Scott and his agent, Leigh Steinberg, opted for the one-year contract, apparently figuring that with the league expanding by two teams for the 1988-89 season and the future of the salary cap in doubt, it will be a potentially lucrative market.

It quickly became obvious that the Lakers were using Cooper’s contract as a cap for Scott.

“I can accept it because I know Coop,” Scott said. “That was pretty much the big issue.”

Steinberg and Laker General Manager Jerry West completed negotiations after several meetings Thursday.

Scott said earlier in the day that he didn’t want to leave.

“This is home for me,” he said. “I’ve never been with another team, and these guys are like my friends and family.”

Steinberg, who makes community service a prerequisite for any athlete he represents, said Scott intends to donate $100 to underprivileged children in Los Angeles for every Laker victory.

Laker Coach Pat Riley figured Scott would be present for the opening of camp.

“He sees all those off-guards we’re bringing in,” Riley said with a laugh.

There are only two Laker veterans whose contracts aren’t guaranteed, and they’re both guards: Matthews and second-year man Adrian Branch, who played very little last season. Theirs may be the only spots open on the roster, with a third spot possibly opening if Billy Thompson begins the season on injured reserve.

Wagner, Dallas’ 1986 No. 1 draft choice who played in the Continental Basketball Assn. last season; Lamp, Portland’s 1981 No. 1 who played in Italy last season, and Glass, a 6-6, 210-pounder cut somewhat in the Cooper mold, appear to have the best shots at earning positions. A longshot is fourth-round pick Ralph Tally, the National Assn. for Intercollegiate Athletics scoring champion from Norfolk (Va.) State.

“Specific needs for this team: Perimeter shooting and a ballhandler,” Riley said. “If we can get another big guy, fine, but we’ve got to have another guy who can stick the ball.”

Laker Notes

Coach Pat Riley on what he envisions this season for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the only member of the NBA’s over-40 club: “I don’t even know. A couple of years ago, I started a plan of decreasing his minutes. We’ve talked, and I’ve told him if it’s too much or not enough (time), tell me. He never says a word.” . . . Riley, on having Abdul-Jabbar for two more years instead of one: “I can see the headlines next year: ‘Now, Let’s See if Riley Can Coach.’ ” . . . The training-camp Lakers, by position: centers (3)--Abdul-Jabbar, Mychal Thompson, Mike Smrek; forwards (5)--James Worthy, A.C. Green, Billy Thompson (injured), Kurt Rambis and Ron Vanderschaaf; guards (11)--Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, Adrian Branch, Michael Cooper, Wes Matthews, Frank Ford, Willie Glass, Jeff Lamp, Ralph Tally, Kenny Travis and Milt Wagner.