It’s Open Season on Lakers After Their Postseason Ends

And you wonder why Jerry West wants out?

ROBERT MOJONDER

Mar Vista

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One more postseason status report on the Lakers:

Shaq: Biggest, strongest body in the history of team sports. In a pushing/mugging/cheap-shot league is invaluable. Hugely effective, though ugly, offensive game. Personality like a ton of bricks. Great finger-pointer (“My team?” Did Jerry Buss die?) Only Hollywood could love him.

Nicky V: Living proof that human personality seldom changes. Same brooding adolescent we’ve come to know and doubt. Sure he enjoyed coming off the bench to back up a younger player. Sure he gave his all when things started unraveling. When is enough enough?

Elden: The $49-million dude. Is this a great country or what?

Del: Weird cross between Bill Clinton and Terry Donahue. Great spin moves, great hair. Always under siege because he usually underachieves, thus a tad defensive. Still believes strategy wins in the NBA. One more “players” coach who is invisible to his players.

Jerry West: If you need the money and aggravation, stay--you’ll get both. If not, move on.

CHARLES CHICCOA

Reseda

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Does anyone understand now how improbable the Laker Showtime era was, and how close to impossible the task of trying to re-create it has been?

In the wake of the current team’s disheartening sweep at the hands of the Utah Jazz, many of the mindless front-runners now abandoning the Laker bandwagon will do nothing but cry for the head of every man wearing purple and gold, never pausing to consider how close the team actually is to a championship--and how far it has yet to go.

The dynasty of the ‘80s that Jerry West has worked so masterfully to duplicate was made of three distinct components:

A one-of-a-kind, ballhandling superstar who could not accept losing under any circumstances; a smart, take-no-prisoners coach who demanded his players’ respect and utmost attention; and a talented, intelligent group of supporting players.

Putting pieces like these together in one franchise’s lifetime takes a combination of luck and skill that rivals planetary convergence for rarity.

So please, let’s give the two Jerrys (Buss & West) their due. Despite the odds against them, they’ve managed to assemble one of these three key elements already. Shaq and his “guys” are a fine cornerstone for the next Showtime era, give or take a comatose body or two. All the new Laker dynasty needs now is a point guard who doesn’t know the meaning of self-doubt, and/or a coach who can move the troops to something other than a mild state of pique.

GAR HAYWOOD

Los Angeles

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I believe that if something doesn’t work, you should make changes. As the Lakers keep losing to Utah (they have lost eight of the last nine playoff games against them), I don’t see Del Harris make any changes in the offense, the defense, or the substitution pattern. Magic Johnson, who should know better than I, said he saw no adjustments.

The Lakers looked lost when they were on offense and Utah scored almost at will against the Laker defense for the entire series. We never saw Mario Bennett, who looked sensational in his starts when Horry was injured. Kobe Bryant and Elden Campbell were used so sparingly they didn’t have a chance to get into the flow of the game.

For this reason, I hope the Lakers hire a coach who can adjust to different situations. Hopefully, Phil Jackson will be available.

WALTER HARRIS

Woodland Hills

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There are many difficult questions that need to be addressed, and no simple answers. One thing is for sure, the Lakers need some change, and first should be to fire Del Harris. Del is a good man, a good coach and probably a great father and husband.

But he doesn’t inspire players to win at the championship level--and as Del says, his “record speaks for itself.” He would be better off coaching in a town like Milwaukee or Sacramento, not L.A. It’s tough to let a good man go, but it’s time to make that change.

PETE SAUCEDO

Pacific Palisades

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The worst thing that could happen is to break up the best team in basketball because a coach is incompetent to lead them, but that’s what we’ll probably get, because Buss and Co. are dead to the truth.

MICHEL KASSETT

Los Angeles

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I’ve been trying to figure out what to make of the catastrophe formerly known as the Lakers. Then I chanced to be perusing the dictionary and “stumbled” (an apt activity for any true Laker fan this week) across the word “Ignominious.” The definition bore the unshakable odor of last week’s four consecutive Laker defeats:

“Shameful, humiliating, dishonorable. . . .” I can only assume Webster hadn’t seen the Lakers play when he forgot to include the words embarrassing and disgraceful.

JIM MALLON

San Luis Obispo

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The Lakers could really skip the entire self-examination process. Don’t fire anyone, don’t make any changes at all. Simply persuade Shaq to spend the summer learning how to shoot free throws. If he had brought his average up to 80%, the Lakers would be tied with the Jazz at two games apiece right now.

A free throw is just that, a gift--Shaq has made good use of his other gifts--why does he consistently throw these gifts away?

MICHAEL SIEVERTS

Santa Monica

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In a league where the entire compensation of a player who has jumped teams counts against the salary cap, the $120-million man should not be heard to complain about the caliber of his teammates. If Shaq wants the Lakers’ management to surround him with players who perform better, only he has the solution: Give some of the money back.

BART ROBERTSON

Torrance

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Dear Shaqophiles:

First, let me say I am oh-so-sorry for my earlier unkind words regarding Mr. O’Neal [Viewpoint, May 9]. In the past several days, the player Bill Plaschke refers to as the heart and soul of the Laker team has illustrated his worthiness in so many ways.

He inspired us all with “George Karl is a woman and you can tell him I said so,” and related remarks. I was delighted to read in the Morning Briefing of his wishes to perpetrate an act of violence worthy of a 20-game suspension on an opposing player who dares foul him the wrong way. I was also charmed Sunday evening by Mr. O’Neal’s graciousness as his deepest thoughts in the locker room had to be bleeped from the unsuspecting ears of his young admirers. Perhaps he didn’t notice the bouquet of microphones before he spoke.

In choosing Mr. O’Neal as the man to lead their team by example, the Lakers have gotten exactly what they asked for.

DAVID AMACK

San Clemente

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Anybody who thinks that the Lakers’ season was a complete failure needs to take a second look. They won 68 games and lost 27. They reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in seven years, bringing excitement back to L.A. for the first time since the Kings made the Stanley Cup finals. They went further than 25 of the 29 teams in the league. If success is only measured with rings, then guys like Ernie Banks and Elgin Baylor would not be in the Hall of Fame.

Although they lost to Utah in a very unpleasant manner, I am proud of the way they played this season. Win or lose, I’m behind them 100%. It’s too bad there aren’t more people like me.

JOSHUA SINGER

Valley Village

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The Lakers have replaced the SuperSonics as the most arrogant team in the NBA.

The whining started with Coach Leslie Nielsen and filtered through the team. They blame the refs, 175-pound guards beating up their big guys, the phase of the moon, etc., everyone but themselves. Never did anyone accept responsibility for their play or coaching for a loss. You never see Jerry Sloan whining, blaming or not accepting responsibility for a loss. Del is almost as big a whiner as Phil Jackson. And Shaq, going to “start elbowing everyone and breaking eye sockets or noses.” What kind of immaturity is that?

The dose of humility from the Jazz should make it a better team in the future, if the players will get the stars out of their eyes and play basketball and start accepting responsibility. Del is gone and probably Jerry West too. Maybe George Karl could bring this bunch of prima donnas together as a team, but as it stands, the Lakers have no leadership and no one willing to accept responsibility for the problems and give credit when they get beat.

JOHN STEWART

Salt Lake City

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When Shaq left Orlando for the fame and big bucks in L.A., we here in Orlando were shocked, to say the least. We naturally assumed that we had lost our chance at an NBA championship (and maybe we did).

The hue and cry at the time was, “Is Shaq worth $118M?” The Orlando Sentinel even conducted a poll and 95% of the people responding said that he wasn’t. I guess that now that the real Shaq has been seen in L.A., you’ll be asking yourselves the same question. Good luck.

JIM PIERSON

Orlando, Fla.

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Shouldn’t Kobe Bryant go to college?

FRANK THOMAS MURPHY

Glendale