Blaming Van Exel Is Way Off Base

Dear Nick,

Now that the storm has settled, I thought I would take a few minutes to thank you for all your drive, persistence and ambition. Some of us true Laker fans painfully realize that you were the glue that made this unit stick. You were the one taking the three, trailing by two with the game on the line.

It isn’t any fault of yours that Shaq spends too much time practicing bad movies instead of good free throws. You aren’t the one who calls that mundane fist play (throw the ball to Shaq from a wing every time down). You didn’t sign Robert Horry, expecting a power forward but settling for a player who don’t got game. Last time I checked, you weren’t on the coaching staff that refused to make any adjustments.

What you are, Nick, is a scapegoat . . . and the Lakers will realize this sometime next season.

TRENT BRIDGES, Cathedral City