THE NBA DRAFT : Lakers Trade In a Rolls-Royce at Center for a Yugo--7-1 Divac

The Lakers’ search for a replacement for retired center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, tops on their off-season priority list, turned global Tuesday night when they surprisingly reached all the way to Eastern Europe to select Yugoslav center Vlade Divac with the 26th pick in the first round of the National Basketball Assn. draft.

Divac, starting center for the 1988 Yugoslav Olympic team and an All-Star for a club team in Belgrade, was given permission by the Yugoslav government to play in the NBA. Listed at 6-foot-11 but measured Tuesday at 7-1, Divac, 21, was projected as a middle first-round selection. But, in a draft full of surprises, he went unchosen until the second-to-last pick in the first round.

Not expecting Divac to be available when the Lakers’ turn came, General Manager Jerry West said he abandoned plans to draft a backup point guard and did not hesitate to choose Divac.

Divac will not be the first European to play in the NBA. Georgi Glouchkov, a Bulgarian, played for the Phoenix Suns in the 1985-86 season. The Golden State Warriors last week signed Soviet guard Sarunis Marciulionis, and Yugoslav forward Dino Radja was selected in the second round, 40th overall, by the Boston Celtics.

Marty Blake, the NBA’s chief scout, listed Divac and Soviet center Arvydas Sabonis as the two best prospects in Europe. “He’s a great shooter, up to 15 feet and can rebound, run the court and play good defense,” Blake said.

Said West: “I think people look at this a gamble. But from a talent standpoint, there is no gamble. I think this is a risk, and it’s going to give you guys a lot of chances to second-guess us. But we think this kid can play basketball.”

West stopped short of saying this Yugo will immediately replace Abdul-Jabbar, who has driven into the sunset in his Rolls-Royce, or even significantly spell Mychal Thompson. But the Laker executive said that, given time, Divac could be the long-term answer to the club’s center question.

“But he’s not a ‘project’ player,” West added. “He can play.”

However, Divac will come to the Lakers--assuming contract terms can be reached before training camp opens in early October in Hawaii--with many questions looming.

One problem is that Divac speaks little English. He answered all questions from reporters in a conference call from New York Tuesday night through an interpreter who said that Divac is in the midst of a “crash course” in English. Marc Fleisher, Divac’s agent, said that he will ask the Lakers to provide language lessons for the player.

Another question is the level of competition Divac faced in international play and whether he can adapt his game, which features outside shooting and good ball-handling, to the NBA’s more physical style.

There also is the matter of Divac’s military commitment. All Yugoslav must serve one year in the service before age 27. However, Joanne Perica, the interpreter for Divac Tuesday in New York, said that the Yugoslav government has given Divac an extension on the commitment.

“They’ve given him up until age 30 to complete that and, even then, it’s negotiable,” Perica said. “So, he really has nothing to worry about for the next nine years.”

West said he has no worries about Divac’s skills, though he added that it may take the Yugoslav more time to develop because of the language problems and the adjustment to Western culture.

“He’s a young kid and played international basketball, but we had him (being drafted) anywhere from ninth to 16th,” West said. “There were a lot of surprises in the first round. Some teams backed off on him. You’ll have to ask (those teams) why. We just think this kid’s talents are unique. “If you look at negatives, one is his (inability) to communicate. But we have a tape of him against the Boston Celtics (last fall in an exhibition game in Madrid) and he played very well against Kevin McHale.”

In that game, part of an NBA tournament in Spain, Divac scored nine points and had eight rebounds. Starting at center for the silver medalist Yugoslav team in the 1988 Olympics, Divac averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. And, though his statistics while playing for the club team, Partizan, this season are unavailable, Divac was chosen to that league’s All-Star team by a panel of sports writers. “He’s a very fluid player,” said West, who has not seen Divac play in person. “He’s like American players in his ability to handle the ball.”

Divac watched the draft along with other prominent players in the front row at the Felt Forum in New York. By the time the Lakers made their first-round choice, 26th overall, Divac and his interpreter were surrounded by empty seats, as players left them after being selected. Divac was asked whether he feels he can replace Abdul-Jabbar. After translating, Perica said: “He says he will certainly do his best.”

The interpreter said Divac knows Magic Johnson and is “thrilled” to have the chance to play with him. She said Divac watched the NBA finals while participating in the World Championships, which his Yugoslav team won.