Lakers : Right to Practice in Hawaii Is for Champions Only

Let’s see, now. The Clippers are training in Pomona. The 76ers are at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. The Bullets are in Gettysburg, Pa., the Hawks in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Bucks in St. Francis, Wis., and the SuperSonics in Kirkland, Wash.

The Sacramento Kings are staying in something called the Bonanza Inn in Marysville, Calif. The Suns have rooms at a Howard Johnson’s in Flagstaff, and the Pistons are in Canada.

The Celtics don’t go anywhere to train. They hold camp at the same place they practice during the regular season, Hellenic College in Brookline, Mass.

Have we forgotten anybody? Oh, yes. The Lakers.

Without so much as a single blush, they’re here in Honolulu, hard by the sands of Waikiki, staying in a hotel housing them in what is called the Ali’i Tower. In ancient times, the story goes, members of the highest social class were the ali’i, or chiefs, believed to be descendants of the gods.

Wait a minute. Clearly, Magic Johnson and Co. are special, and the Lakers do want to send Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out in style in his final season, but isn’t this a bit much? Does paradise found set up a season lost?

Not necessarily. The Lakers trained in Honolulu once before, in 1971, and went on to win a record 33 straight games and a National Basketball Assn. title.

“I just don’t want us to get away from what we’re here for, and I’ll find that out today,” Johnson said Friday morning.

What they’re here for is not the sailboarding, at least not Friday morning in the Otto Klum gymnasium at the University of Hawaii, where Pat Riley presided over the team’s first workout in what may be the most competitive camp in years.

The presence of forward Orlando Woolridge, a free agent who signed after a troubled season of injuries and drug rehabilitation; guard David Rivers, the No. 1 draft choice from Notre Dame, and aspiring backup center Mark McNamara promises the contesting of more than one job.

“And roles will change, too,” Johnson said. “We’re going to run more than we ever have.”

Johnson, at the suggestion of General Manager Jerry West, did not play basketball in the off-season. Instead, he ran--on the beach, on the track, 5-mile runs, 100-yard sprints.

He also altered his diet, switching to mostly chicken and fish and only fruit for breakfast, and reported to camp weighing 218 pounds, about 8 pounds lighter than last season. He also said his body fat was only 4%, compared to 10% a year ago.

“Gary (Vitti, the trainer) called me and said, ‘Congratulations, I don’t believe it,’ ” Johnson said. “I couldn’t give up eating cookies, though.

“It was good to get away from (basketball). I took the whole month of September off. That’s why I’m relaxed and feel good, and excited to be here.”

James Worthy, who finished last season with a flourish, winning the playoff MVP award, also stayed away from basketball last summer to give his chronically sore left knee a rest.

“It’s a known fact that the only thing that can cure it is rest, so I didn’t do some of the stressful things I usually do in the off-season,” Worthy said. “I couldn’t take the whole summer off, but I didn’t do as much stressful exercise.

“There was never a time I couldn’t work out on it--I did a lot of work on the treadmill and jogging--but I just stayed away from the cutting, jumping, playing, things of that nature.”

Abdul-Jabbar, meanwhile, practically could have commuted by canoe from his summer home in Kauai. The Laker captain, beginning his 20th NBA season, came into camp weighing about 274 pounds, almost 10 pounds heavier than last season, according to Vitti.

Already, the theme of winning one last title for Abdul-Jabbar has been raised--most poignantly at the team dinner Thursday night.

“A few people got emotional talking about it,” Johnson said. “They made us realize that this is his last year. I was thinking about it, and saying, ‘Damn, it really is.’

“It was emotional, (but) I’m going to hold mine back till the last day. It was a trip, man. I still can’t believe it’s his last year. I walked in here, and it was like old times.”

For Riley, who is beginning the last year of his contract that pays about $400,000 annually, this apparently is a time to have his contract extended by owner Jerry Buss.

“We came to a verbal agreement that we’re going to reach an agreement,” said Riley, who last spoke to the Laker owner a couple of weeks ago but suspects that terms will be reached when Buss arrives here. Buss was expected later Friday.

“I’ve been into the last year of my contract before and it’s not going to change anything,” Riley said, adding with a little smile: “I think we’ve proven we can win.”

Now, Riley would welcome Rivers’ proving that he can function as a backup guard to Johnson, which would open up a wide range of lineup variations.

With players such as Tony Campbell--who signed a guaranteed $250,000 contract for this season and an option for the next--backup center Mike Smrek and returning players Jeff Lamp and Milt Wagner clamoring for playing time, Riley said he may have to consider getting away from an 8-man rotation.

“Performances will take care of themselves,” Riley said. “They’ll have to show me right here.”

Woolridge, among others, was only too eager to start.

“I’ve trained in places like Beloit, Wis., and Princeton, N.J.,” he said. “This is exciting. It really is.”