Grant Was One Who Got Away

The one who got away came back, though still not nearly long enough for the Lakers.

Horace Grant was the player they wanted in the off-season free-agent chase, the player they thought would be an impact power forward and part of the foundation for the rebuilding, the player they believed would be the remedy for the considerable ailments associated with rebounding and interior defense. The player they thought they were going to get.

“Horace Grant was a big disappointment,” owner Jerry Buss said the other day. “I literally was waiting for the phone to ring.”

That’s how close the Lakers were to landing Grant. Except when the call came, it was to say they had lost out to the Orlando Magic, a second-best finish in the summer that hurt as much as the 18th-best finish last season.

“It was close,” said Grant, at the Forum on Friday and Saturday with the Magic for the GTE Everything Pages Shootout. “I respect Mr. Buss and especially Jerry West for their attitudes and their way of life, meaning they take care of people.

“This team (the Magic) and the Lakers, it was tough. But for some reason, Orlando wooed me a little bit more. I felt like I was in high school.”

Grant had 18 points and eight rebounds in only 27 minutes Friday night as the Magic defeated the Lakers, 125-100. Saturday night, in the championship game of the four-team tournament, he had five points and nine rebounds to help the Magic rout the Philadelphia 76ers, 116-88.

The Lakers got 34 points from Cedric Ceballos and 15 points, 17 rebounds and six blocked shots from Vlade Divac to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 114-107, in the consolation game.

After playing six games in nine days, the Lakers (4-2) conclude the exhibition schedule with a two-game trip, Tuesday against the SuperSonics at Vancouver and Thursday against the Jazz at Ogden, Utah. They open the regular season Nov. 4 at Detroit.