It’s All Centered on Center

At 2 p.m. Thursday, the embargo on contacting NBA free agents was lifted. At 10 minutes after, Jerry West stuck his hand into a jar of Tootsie Rolls in his office, returned to his desk and reached for the phone.

“Leonard Armato, please,” West said.

West is executive vice president of the Lakers. Armato is agent for Shaquille O’Neal. The pursuit had officially begun.

Emphasis on begun. There was no “done deal.” That very phrase made West livid. Never in his life had he seen such irresponsible reporting, heard such phony-baloney rumors.

“I haven’t spoken with Armato. I haven’t spoken with Shaquille,” West had said, half an hour earlier. “I can’t. Doesn’t anybody understand that?”

Filling the doorway was Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers’ 6-foot-9 general manager. On a sofa sat Del Harris, their coach. An entire wall behind Harris had been converted into a war-room chart, listing many of the NBA’s 170-odd free agents by position, some in red, some in black, a few with contractual dollar estimates jotted behind their names.

The three men felt like commodities brokers. Soybeans up. Pork bellies down.

“It’s like, ‘One from column A, two from column B,’ ” Harris said.

The A-list wasn’t long.

“Look, it’s not complicated,” West said. “There’s a chance, a very good chance, that this could be a defining moment in the history of the Lakers, for both our present and our future right into the next century.”

“Either way, what does happen or what doesn’t happen,” Harris interjected.

“We’ve already made one move,” continued West, “that we feel could have a long-term impact. Now, there’s a window of opportunity to do something on top of that, to bring in somebody who’s an important player, a movie star, somebody who can improve our team immediately and sell tickets as well.

“But we don’t know yet if that player can be gotten. That’s what I still have to find out.”

The first move was acquiring Kobe Bryant, the dream teen. Now that, that was a done deal. But until the 2 p.m. deadline, the Lakers couldn’t even call the Charlotte Hornets to confirm the trade for Vlade Divac or notify the NBA to have the deal rubber-stamped.

They were prepared, at least. A gold Laker jersey for Bryant--his number will be 8--was stashed away in a cabinet. Harris would personally accompany (baby-sit?) the kid to his California coming-out party, a Pro Summer League contest to be played this evening at the Pyramid arena in Long Beach. Kobe’s people were already talking with Jay Leno’s people about a talk-show booking.

Kid’s hot and he isn’t even here yet. Ito out, Kobe in.

And Shaq?

That was the catch of the day. Week, month, year. Except there was no way West could begin acting like Captain Ahab until somebody declared it open season on Moby Dick. A general feeling around the Forum was that O’Neal would probably stay put in Orlando. However, every time Shaq opened his mouth, on TV or in print, what the Lakers heard was a young man saying how much he dug L.A.

“I haven’t heard anything from him. I would love to hear it from him,” West said.

“First there’s this report out of New York and then there’s that report out of Texas. ‘It’s a done deal.’ ‘Jerry West thinks it’s such a done deal that he flew off to Hawaii for a vacation.’

“I went to Hawaii to attend Magic Johnson’s basketball camp and to meet with [Laker owner] Dr. [Jerry] Buss, because that’s where he was. It was a business trip. If Shaquille O’Neal was a done deal, believe me, I would be on vacation right now. I’d also be in hot water with the league.”

First things first. The big Bryant-Divac deal was a roll of the dice. But the hole Divac leaves is not one the size O’Neal would leave in Orlando. Divac averaged a little over 12 points a game and disappointed during the playoffs.

If there’s no O’Neal, then the Lakers can study their chart. They like Dale Davis, the 6-11, hard-rebounding Indiana Pacer. They like Brian Williams, the wayfaring Clipper. They like Chris Gatling, who’s 6-11 and looking to leave Miami. Jim McIlvaine, Sean Rooks, P.J. Brown . . . they’re all on the big commodities board. Even a 7-2, Yugoslavia-born center could replace Divac . . . 32-year-old Stojko Vrankovic, who played briefly a few years ago for the Celtics. Harris likes him.

A couple of these guys could start; several couldn’t. But if O’Neal’s a no-go, the Lakers will spend their dough on two players, not one. They won’t shell out $11 million for Dikembe Mutombo. They would add a physically strong center, plus Bryant, plus a shooter . . . Tracy Murray, for example, has their eye.

Michael Jordan?

“You make the phone call,” Kupchak said. “You’d hate to find out you had a shot at him, but were too lazy to make the call.”

Realistically, though, no. Jordan is considered a lock to stay in Chicago. For that matter, David Falk, the agent, let teams know that no fewer than three of his clients (Alonzo Mourning? Juwan Howard?) were uninterested in the West Coast. If Shaq says no, the Lakers will make a Howard inquiry, just to be safe.

Dennis Rodman? No.

Reggie Miller? Shooter, but probably staying East.

At the moment, the Lakers have a starting front line of Corie Blount, George Lynch and Cedric Ceballos. Their center is gone, their power forward, Elden Campbell, is a free agent himself and their temporary point forward, Magic Johnson, is re-retired. But the Lakers can’t go after other forwards and centers until they’re sure on Shaq, once and for all.

A voice from another room: “Leonard Armato calling.”

It was 2:20. Jerry West picked up the phone. He gave Shaq’s agent directions to his house. He grabbed a briefcase and his car keys.

“Go get him, tiger,” Harris said.

“That’s the plan,” West said, making his move.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Shaq’s Tale of the Tape

Thursday was the first day Shaquille O’Neal could be approached by the Lakers. Here is a look at some of the advantages Shaquille O’Neal would keep by staying in Orlando, or would gain by coming to Los Angeles.

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ORLANDO L.A. The “O” Arena HOME COURT Fabulous Forum Disney World THEME PARK Disneyland Penny, Nick A. TEAMMATES Kobe, Nick V.E. Gangsta pin-stripe UNIFORM STYLE Golden oldie “Li’l Penny” COURTSIDE FAN The Joker None PRO FOOTBALL None Singular TEAM NAME Plural “Shaq Attaq” TEAM MOTTO “The Lake Show” Donald Duck FAMILIAR VOICE Chick Kazaam LOCAL LEGEND Kareem Hurricane PUBLIC DANGER Quake Miami Hurricanes PUBLIC ENEMY Ex-USC RB “Knock 3 Times” FAVORITE SONG “I Love L.A.” Dennis FAVORITE SCOTT Byron Demi Moore FAVORITE STRIP Sunset Dunk STYLE OF PLAY Showtime 0 in a row CHAMPIONSHIPS None Since ’88 In Conference MICHAEL JORDAN Not in Conference

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--MIKE DOWNEY