Bennett Becomes Pleasant Surprise

Maybe inactivity brought the high standards. Mario Bennett played only seven games in 1996-97, with Grand Rapids and Yakima, before deciding the Continental Basketball Assn. was not the right situation for him, then just sat out the rest of the season.

Maybe geography did. Bennett spent part of his youth living about two miles from the Forum.

But as he spent part of Monday afternoon downplaying his performance in training camp, going so far as to say he isn’t really pleased with the showing, the Lakers were calling him the pleasant surprise of the Palm Desert workouts that end today.

“It’s a surprise only because we didn’t know what we would be getting,” said Kurt Rambis, the assistant coach who works with the big men. “You’ve got to figure coming into camp he was a longshot, right? I think he’s done a good job opening the eyes of the decision makers in this organization as to whether he makes the team. Me not being one of them.”

Del Harris, the head coach, is.

“He has made the biggest rising, probably, among our players,” Harris said. “And yet I want to say that Sean Rooks and Corie Blount have done awfully well.”

The difference is that Rooks and Blount were already destined to make the opening-night roster. Bennett, on the other hand, arrived at College of the Desert last Friday on the bubble, almost certainly battling another young forward, James Forrest, for the final spot. He will leave today with the advantage in that race.

The Lakers knew the basics about Bennett coming in--that he is more athletic than Forrest, but not as good a shooter, and that he can defend both forward spots. The uncertainty as to what they would be getting came because the former Arizona State standout and late first-round pick by the Phoenix Suns in 1995 had missed so much time over the years because of a bad left knee that required two anterior cruciate ligament surgeries.

Bennett said the leg is 100% now. The spirit too.

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Nick Van Exel will miss the first two exhibition games--Thursday against the Denver Nuggets at the San Diego Sports Arena and Friday at Phoenix--because of a bruised left knee.

The good news for the Lakers is that Van Exel could play with the injury if these were important games. The bad news for the Lakers is that he did--it’s the same problem that lingered through much of the second half of last season, caused him to miss three games in early April and plagued him during the postseason.

Back then, he played in pain and hoped a summer of rest would serve as a cure. But Tuesday, an MRI exam confirmed the continued presence and he sat out the single workout. He was expected to return to Los Angeles later that night, and is scheduled to be examined by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo today.

“I was already hoping we could reduce his minutes this year,” Harris said. “He’s played more minutes than he probably should have the last couple years.”

Laughing, the coach added: “But as you know, he doesn’t take coming out of games too well.”