Lakers Already Having Trouble Waiting for Shaq

Illustrating their concern that the process will drag out so long that it will result in a major setback, the Lakers gave serious consideration Saturday to pulling out of the Shaquille O’Neal sweepstakes to sign Dale Davis and eventually another big man, but instead decided to wait O’Neal out a little longer, sources said.

The Lakers and Davis’ agent, Steve Kauffman, had negotiated a seven-year contract worth approximately $43 million and were in position to finalize the agreement. This tore at Davis because his heart was with the Pacers, his team of four years, while the new job in Los Angeles had become so appealing. Also concerned about having his future put on hold, he told the Lakers he wanted to know their intentions by Saturday afternoon.

Team officials pondered having Davis--a talented, if less glamorous, power player--and money left over to beef up the front line even more with someone such as Brian Williams or Chris Gatling, and found the notion attractive. But in the end, they opted to give O’Neal more time to make up his mind.

“We called it off,” Kauffman said of the deadline that will result in the Pacers announcing as soon as today that the have re-signed Davis. “We couldn’t wait any longer.”

That the Lakers went that far with Davis indicates a willingness to walk away from O’Neal, painful as it would be. One alternative, though, would be even worse: passing on all the other free-agent centers to wait for O’Neal, then hearing that he will return to the Magic.

By letting Davis stay with Indiana when there was a good chance he could have been a Laker before the end of the weekend, they have increased the gamble of trading Vlade Divac without a starting center in place. Now Divac is gone, Davis is gone and O’Neal may never show.

If he does, the Lakers hit the jackpot. If he stays in Orlando, they could bust, landing neither a superstar center or even a good one, depending on how long O’Neal takes to make his decision.

It is known the Lakers have been talking with Fred Slaughter, the agent for Williams, the Clipper center who is coming off a career year. David Falk, who represents Gatling and Dikembe Mutombo, got a call from the Lakers soon after the moratorium was lifted. Shot-blocker Jim McIlvaine is a possibility. Maybe even Sean Rooks.

Leonard Armato, the agent for O’Neal, said it’s unlikely they will have a decision before Friday. Whether the Lakers can wait even a few more days, let alone late into the week, remains to be seen.

It doesn’t help the Lakers’ cause that all this comes with the seven-year, $95.5-million offer on the table while the Miami Heat reportedly is on the verge of re-signing Alonzo Mourning for $105 million over seven years. O’Neal may have been willing to take less from the Lakers than the Magic, even with Orlando officials believed to be offering a deal that would bring him more than $20 million for 1996-97 alone, but letting another center land a bigger contract may be more than he could take.