THE NBA / MARK HEISLER : Shaq’s Attaq Adds Variety, on the Court and Off

Shaq’s a rapper.

His new CD, “Shaq Diesel,” was shipped gold, as they say in the record business, meaning it sold 500,000 units before distribution started, even with mixed reviews. Says Houston’s Tree Rollins: “He’s a lot better basketball player than he is a rapper.”

The single, “(I Know I Got) Skillz,” is climbing up the charts.

Shaq’s a movie star.

He will appear in a basketball flick called “Blue Chips,” although his people, as they say in the film business, are wary of getting him typecast and costing him non-basketball roles.

Shaq’s an author.

He has a book out, “Shaq Attaq,” although a better title might have been “Shaq: The first 21 Years.”

Shaq’s on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Shaq’s on the cover of Gentlemen’s Quarterly.

What’s missing?

Oh yes, basketball.

Has acting in movies, singing (or chanting or whatever) on records, writing (or dictating), posing for magazines and touring the globe to harvest still more money softened Shaquille O’Neal, the game’s finest prospect since Michael Jordan?

Not so you can tell. In the early going, O’Neal, who averaged 23 points per game last season, is clicking along at 31. In his chosen profession, reviews aren’t mixed at all.

“He’s got more game,” Indiana General Manager Donnie Walsh said after seeing O’Neal score 37 points against the Pacers.

“He scored 14 points in the first quarter, and there was really only one power basket I saw. Everything else was hook shots or turnaround jump shots. Last year, everything was power and dunks.

“Now there’s not a whole lot you can do with him. I don’t see anybody stopping him one on one.”

The young O’Neal is reminiscent of the Jordan of the mid-’80s, who had already signaled his greatness, but would have to wait to receive his due until he played on a championship team. That’s a long way off for Shaq’s Orlando Magic, with its three-guard lineup plus gimpy Larry Krystkowiak.

But O’Neal has already carved out a niche alongside the big three--Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson--and he may not be the least of them, either. In time, and it may not be that much time, he’ll have his own niche.

Says Walsh: “Not yet, but I think the handwriting is on the wall.”

Coming next summer to a theater, record store and bookstore near you:

--Shaq signs a $150-million extension. Remember, his contract makes him a restricted free agent in another year. If Larry Johnson gets $7 million a year and Derrick Coleman turns down $8 million, what’s Shaq worth?

--Shaq plays Benjamin Braddock in a remake of “The Graduate.”

--Shaq puts out “Shaq Attaq II: The First 22 years.”

--Shaq becomes the first NBA astronaut, going on a tour of space to see if there’s any money out there.

HE’S GOT SKILLZ 2

O’Neal and Charlotte’s Alonzo Mourning met Thursday in Charlotte after re-denying their rivalry, each in his characteristic style.

O’Neal, who is determinedly low-key when he isn’t rapping, whispered.

Mourning, who has a bad case of Georgetown, sent word through the Hornets’ public relations office that he wouldn’t discuss O’Neal. When the subject came up anyway, he said the press was making the whole thing up.

Quoth Zo, rolling his eyes: “I don’t have a pen. I don’t write anything down. I don’t ask questions. Y’all do all that.”

Right on cue, Mourning and O’Neal went out, tried to behead each other and played to their usual standoff. O’Neal had 19 points and eight rebounds, Mourning 18 and 10. The Hornets won, 120-87.

The prodigies actually don’t like each other. Mourning, smaller (at 6 feet 9 and 250 pounds) and less gifted than the 7-1, 300-pound O’Neal, resents Shaq’s easy path. A few weeks ago, Hornet President Spencer Stolpen compared O’Neal’s dedication unfavorably to Mourning’s and wondered out loud if basketball meant as much to Shaq as rapping.

Hornet Coach Allan Bristow said if they’d had the first pick in ‘92, they’d still have taken Mourning. Said O’Neal: “If Charlotte had had the first pick in the lottery last year, they’d have picked me. They may say they wouldn’t have picked me, but they know they would.”

BIG D AS IN DISAPPEARING

Why did the Mavericks fight Jim Jackson for more than two-thirds of the season over a $19-million six-year contract, then turn around and give Jamal Mashburn $34 million over eight without uttering a peep?

Said owner Donald Carter: “If Norm (Sonju, the Mavericks’ general manager) said, ‘Hey, I can’t get them to talk,’ I’d say it would affect me the same way it did last year.

“The bottom line is they (Mashburn and his agent) have been communicating.”

English translation: Carter, who once owned the hot ticket in town, has dropped off the face of the map with the Cowboys taking Dallas back. The Mavericks’ season-ticket sales have been declining for six years and are now less than 9,000, down from 14,000. They have a new rival, the NHL’s Stars. New Coach Quinn Buckner gets what he wants.

They communicated, all right. Mashburn told them what he wanted. The Mavericks said: “Yes, sir!”

BULLS AT CROSSROADS

Even with Jordan leaving, there were a few things no one anticipated:

Scottie Pippen joining him.

The Chicago Bulls winning, anyway.

Pippen went on the injured list when the ankle on which he had arthroscopic surgery became sore, prompting General Manager Jerry Krause to bemoan the Bulls’ fate anew and Horace Grant to rip Krause by inference for bringing Pippen back too soon.

Said Krause: “It’s not raining. It’s not pouring. This is a monsoon.”

Said Grant: “I think it was ridiculous, having him come back so soon. . . . It’s amazing how people make you feel guilty to get you back on the court.”

Grant, the free-agent-to-be, is Pippen’s buddy and may be speaking for him. The logic is tortured, as usual. Pippen acknowledges he waited until Aug. 31 to have the surgery because “I wanted a summer.”

The Bulls surprised the gimpy Hornets in Charlotte on opening night, then set franchise records with six points in a quarter and 71 total in their first home loss ever to Miami while Heat players taunted them from the bench.

Yelled Grant Long at Toni Kukoc: “You’re not only a bum, you’re a European bum!”

Yelled Long at Bill Cartwright: “That’s you, Bill! Invisa-Bill!”

Yelled John Salley: “No more MJ, boys! No more MJ!”

The Bulls then surprised the Atlanta Hawks and beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Kukoc’s last-second three-pointer.

The Bulls are not expected to keep winning three of four. As Charles Barkley told Pippen recently: “Life as you know it is over.”

ADD BULLS: THE NEXT MJ

Who got the honor of taking Jordan’s position opening night?

Pete Myers, former Bull, Spur (twice), Buck, Knick, Net, and ex-CBA Rockford Lightning, became the new No. 2 guard and a celebrity for the moment, however brief. His answering machine threatened to burn out.

“That hasn’t happened in a long while,” Myers said.

When was the last time?

“Well,” Myers said, “never, actually.”

FACES AND FIGURES

Meet the new boss: Leslie Alexander bought the Houston Rockets’ from dead-duck owner Charlie Thomas over the summer, promising to be a “very, very, very hands-on owner,” always a sobering prospect since Alexander’s expertise lies in bond trading and his residence is Boca Raton, Fla. Last week, Alexander gave deserving Rudy Tomjanovich an extension, declaring: “As far as I’m concerned, Rudy Tomjanovich and Pat Riley are the two premier coaches in this league. And to be a premier coach in the NBA means you’re a premier coach in the world.” Rudy T, who began the season five titles and 573 victories behind Riley, must have appreciated the compliment. . . . Alexander’s wife is president of the Florida Animal Rights Assn. and he has told Rocket officials they can’t use balloons because they can float out to sea and choke wildlife. Said Alexander: “Why shouldn’t we lead the league in environmental issues?” . . . The Rockets are not leading the league in attendance, their years of wrangling and playoff flops having turned off once-fevered Houston. After 11,128 came out for the opener, new President Tod Leiweke said: “I’m disappointed. I’m embarrassed.” If it continues, he’s going to be unemployed.

Imagine that: The first player to get on the board under the NBA’s new flagrant-foul points system was last season’s champion, Charles Oakley of the New York Knicks, who took a charge in Cleveland while throwing a forearm. Four more like that and he’s suspended. . . . First player to record a two-point, very -flagrant foul was Indiana’s LaSalle Thompson, another past master of mayhem. . . . That Charles Smith deal looks better all the time for the Clippers: Smith, continuing to prove he can’t play small forward, averaged two rebounds per game and shot 41% in exhibitions, is sidelined for a week because of a sore knee and might not get his starting job back. The problem isn’t replacing him, because the Knicks have Anthony Mason and Anthony Bonner. The problem is that seven-year, $27-million contract they recently signed him to. . . . At least it looks good after Jan. 1: See if this sounds familiar: Stanley Roberts comes in at over 300 pounds, lurches into anyone moving in the lane, accumulates fouls and wonders out loud if the refs are out to get him. Last year, he played himself into shape, but right now the best move in the NBA is a fake against the Clipper center.

The TV ratings comparison showing the NBA finals (17.9) beating the World Series (17.3) for the first time was a loaded stat because Toronto is a non-metered market. But for pro basketball, even competing with once-distant baseball is remarkable. The storied 1969 Laker-Celtic final, when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell met for the last time, was beaten by the World Series, 26-8. In 1973, the World Series won, 31-11. . . . Fast learner: Says Chris Webber: “I don’t wear a seat belt because it’s the law, but because it’s the Warriors and anything can happen.” . . . Where’s Dr. Frankenstein when you need him? Hard-pressed Don Nelson would like to combine Golden State’s 1991 No. 1 picks, sleepy Victor Alexander and hyper Chris Gatling. Says Nelson of Alexander: “He really works, and I have no complaint about that. I have no complaint about his weight, either. At the same time, I pretty much decided that what we see is what we get and Victor’s not going to change. That’s his personality, and you have to live with it.” . . . It’s probably a coincidence: Cleveland’s Mark Price ate one of his new MarkBars at an introductory news conference and missed practice the next day because of a stomach virus.