Lakers Might Be in a Fox Hole

Potentially turning the recruiting coup of last summer into the problem of the coming off-season, Rick Fox has backed away from his previous stance.

When he arrived, he said he would re-sign with the Lakers no matter what, even if it meant another one-year deal at far below market value. Now, he’s saying he will entertain offers from other teams.

Fox wants to stay, a feeling that is mutual, and even make Los Angeles his permanent home. But the prospect of turning down lucrative offers for the second year in a row, if the Lakers are again greatly restricted by salary-cap rules, has made him uneasy, especially with owners wanting to take a hard line against growing salaries.

“Could I see myself leaving?” Fox said. “If I was put in that situation, it’d be a difficult decision again, just like it was last year. It’d be a situation where if a very good team with a chance to win felt that I was the deciding piece and had money and came after me . . . I suspect something could happen. I don’t dwell on it because it’s nothing I can control right now. And who’s to say? We could be locked out [by management].

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve run into a road block, contract-wise. For some reason with my career, I’ve never truly been where I wanted to be until this year, and at that time I don’t get compensated what I’m worth. But there comes a point, I think, where the sacrifice of the financial side, you have to be responsible and say, ‘Hey, you can’t play but for so much longer.’ ”

Fox signed a one-year, $1-million deal to join the capped-out Lakers, after turning down a guaranteed $5.4 million over three seasons with the Boston Celtics. He also declined a four-year offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers worth about $20 million. He said he hasn’t regretted the decision for an instant, either.

Doing it again, that he thinks he might regret.

Rules of the new collective bargaining agreement have yet to be negotiated, and might not be negotiated until deep into the summer, making his decision not only difficult but drawn out. The guidelines expire June 30, but under them, the most the Lakers could offer their starting small forward for 1998-99 would be $1.2 million. And it would not be until after his third season that he could be signed without regard to the cap.

Meanwhile, other playoff regulars will be making much bigger offers. Among those figure to be the Atlanta Hawks, a finalist the last time around who should still have money and a need.

“I was affected already by that after being in the league for six years and being sought after by many teams but not being able to maximize my worth because of the rules,” Fox said. “And now it looks like they want to tighten the rules up even more when the summer comes and teams that did have money could spend it.

“It’s difficult because I’ve got to treat it the same way I did last summer, from the standpoint of ‘I’m a free agent again and I have to evaluate all the options and do what’s best for my career and my family.’ I long for it to be right where it’s at, but I don’t control those things.

“Things have changed. You can’t see into the future. We may be locked out, we may not be locked out. The rules may change, the rules may not change. Who’s to say? They may change the rules and nobody gets grandfathered into the old ones. I’ve got to be concerned from that standpoint.

“The No. 1 reason I signed a one-year deal was to keep all my options open. My feelings toward this organization remain the same. I would like to be a part of this organization. But when you start to see things happen--the collective bargaining agreement changes, the rules may change--I may not have the opportunity to get my [bigger payday] after next year.

“A couple things pop up and you say to yourself, ‘Hold on now, don’t be foolish.’ When you walk away from the game, you still have to look back and say, ‘Yeah, I maximized my earning potential at the same time I got the most out of my career on the court.’ ”

The team’s feelings toward Fox also remain the same.

“After probably the first 30 games of feeling his way around, these last 40 ballgames, he’s been a tremendously effective player,” Coach Del Harris said.

But the salary-cap restrictions might be a major hindrance. It’s not unlike the situation of a year ago with Travis Knight, who wanted to stay, even with the one-year deal that was required by a cap technicality. Then the Celtics came in with the financial security of seven years and $22 million, and he became a former Laker.

There is one major difference, though. Knight was coming off a promising rookie season and could have been a key contributor off the bench. Fox is more like a linchpin.

His arrival allowed Harris to alter the lineup to make it more about passing and quickness than power, which became a key part to the franchise-record 11-0 start and remains a foundation even as the Lakers back off on the frequency of traps and presses. Fox is shooting 48.1% and averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 33.8 minutes.

“I think that he’s the glue that holds that team together,” Detroit Piston Coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s the one guy there that they have to have out on the floor. He does all of the little things and he’s a great defender.”

Fox’s departure would cause a ripple effect that could not only alter the lineup but considered moves as well. Trade Elden Campbell in a salary dump? He might have to play power forward after Robert Horry moves back to small forward. Make that Kobe Bryant’s chance to start and let him wrestle full time with bigger forwards?

The Lakers will have to wait and see. Fox will have to wait and see. Or wait and listen.

“I’d like to think it could work out here,” he said. “I really would. I just don’t know.”