Richmond Would Provide More Than Just Scoring

My initial reaction to media speculation about an Eddie Jones-for-Mitch Richmond trade was that the Lakers should leave it as that, media speculation.

Jones, 26, is an all-star who will continue to improve, enough to become a Dream Teamer as one of the NBA’s elite. Richmond, 32, already has been a Dream Teamer and probably will not improve on the player he has been at Golden State and Sacramento.

I changed my mind Friday, the day Shaquille O’Neal slapped Greg Ostertag.

That happened a couple of days after O’Neal’s new teammate, former Boston Celtic Rick Fox, had told The Times’ Scott Howard-Cooper that other players in the league consider the Lakers talented but immature.

I’m not sure about all the Lakers, but that description fits their captain.

I don’t have a quarrel with O’Neal as captain. Nick Van Exel joined him as a tri-captain last season, indicating that the qualifications aren’t extreme.

Besides, the Lakers are Shaq’s team, just as they once were Magic Johnson’s. O’Neal’s teammates believe he’s a winner and that he will prove it by eventually leading them to a championship.

That will happen sooner than later if they also have veteran leadership, the kind Richmond would provide. He would be even more valuable in that capacity than Byron Scott and Jerome Kersey were last season because Richmond could accentuate it with his 21 points a game.

There are also tactical reasons for Jerry West to make the trade. With O’Neal fixed in the low post, the Lakers need a shooting guard who can shoot.

The fact he’s an underrated defensive player would take some of the sting out of losing Jones. So would the probability that the Lakers would speed up Kobe Bryant’s development if Jones went elsewhere.

It would only hurt on nights like tonight, when the Lakers are playing Sacramento.

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Team Valor, the Pasadena syndicate represented by Captain Bodgit in this year’s Triple Crown races, has bought another promising 2-year-old, Rodman. . . .

I can’t wait to see his colors. . . .

Hunch players shouldn’t bother searching for an entry named El Nino in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park. . . .

There is, however, a Richter Scale in the Sprint. . . .

The Washington Capitals basked in the positive press that should have shined on the Ducks on Monday, when Ron Wilson was appointed U.S. Olympic coach. . . .

It would have taken our minds off Paul Kariya for at least one day. . . .

Disney has success with animated characters because it doesn’t have to negotiate with them. . . .

Imagine if the Little Mermaid threatened to sit out if Michael Eisner refused to give her a new deal before her movie returns to theaters this month. . . .

Angel coach Larry Bowa is scheduled for a second visit Monday with the Toronto Blue Jays about their manager’s job. . . .

Baseball union chief Donald Fehr had never spoken to a club’s management team, outside the presence of players, until last weekend. . . .

He attended the Dodgers’ organizational meetings at the invitation of Peter O’Malley. . . .

Indicative of a growing concern within the sport, the Dodger doctor, Michael Mellman, lectured the organization’s young players about natural alternatives to steroids. . . .

One well connected baseball source estimates that half the position players in the major leagues use steroids. . . .

If Washington survives Oregon and UCLA isn’t penalized for its open date Saturday, it will set up the first regular-season meeting this decade of top-10 college football teams in Southern California. . . .

The No. 6 Huskies meet the No. 10 Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 15. . . .

When critics doubted UCLA’s defense before the season, Bruin coaches weren’t offended. Defensive line coach Terry Tumey said they also had doubts. . . .

As recently as three weeks ago, they still had questions about what would happen when a team tried to run over the undersized Bruins. . . .

They seem to have been answered Saturday, when Stanford’s rushing game was thrown for 34 yards in losses. . . .

David Duval won his third straight PGA tournament Sunday in the exclusive Tour Championships. . . .

That’s considered a good tune-up for the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout next week at Sherwood Country Club, where Duval will team with Scott Hoch.

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While wondering if the NBA would have been tougher on O’Neal if the Lakers weren’t playing the Knicks on Friday, I was thinking: at least Shaq, unlike Charles Barkley, picked on someone his own size, Jerry Rice couldn’t have done it better Sunday than J.J. Stokes, Traveler V will have to fill out the Breeders’ Cup field.