Rooks Looks for Minutes

About three weeks after being called invaluable by Coach Del Harris, Sean Rooks would settle for being called in.

Rooks, signed to a seven-year, $13.4-million free agent contract in July, was projected as the No. 1 big man off the bench. But once the season started, he dropped behind Corie Blount, all the way to getting 27 minutes the last five games when both were available. Blount, who sat out two contests in that stretch because of a bruised thigh, played 90 minutes the same five.

“The problem has been with matchups,” Harris said. “Shaq [O’Neal] is going to play huge minutes and we have had trouble finding another guy other than the center that Sean can guard.

“We’re working extra with him. I kind of feel he has gotten out of shape. We’re trying to work with him getting up and down the floor. He [Blount] has been more effective, more active defensively and rebounding better. But I’m not giving up on Sean.”

Heading into Tuesday’s game at Golden State, Blount was averaging 19.1 minutes, Rooks 8.3.

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Gail Goodrich will have his jersey No. 25 retired in a halftime ceremony tonight when the Lakers play the Utah Jazz at the Forum.