If Buss Listens to West, Lakers Will Be Just Fine

It’s Jerry Buss’ money, but why does he pay so much of it to his resident genius, Jerry West, and then refuse to listen to him?

All Buss had to do last season was follow West’s instincts, trade Eddie Jones for Mitch Richmond and then watch as another NBA championship banner was raised in the Great Western Forum.

That might not have happened immediately, not while Michael Jordan was playing, but the Lakers this season would have been true contenders instead of pretenders.

But at least Buss had an excuse. He wasn’t sure he could afford a lineup that included Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Richmond, and when West didn’t absolutely insist on it, Buss gave the final vote to his accountant.

Buss has no excuse with Dennis Rodman.

West is absolutely sure he doesn’t want Rodman. When first asked about the possibility of signing him, his response was, “No way.”

But it appears as if Buss will sign him anyway.

I’m not one of those who says that Rodman signals the end of Western civilization. As long as he’s not breaking any laws, kicking photographers or head-butting referees, he has got a right to follow his own drummer.

A team with veteran leadership won’t follow along. The Bulls, with Jordan and Scottie Pippen, were never more than momentarily distracted by him.

The Lakers, however, don’t have that kind of leadership.

They are already combustible because of the dueling egos of O’Neal and Bryant. Several players are jealous of Bryant, who has done little to temper that because of his selfishness with the ball. Cliques have formed.

In a different time, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were mature enough to work through a similar situation for the betterment of the Lakers. O’Neal and Bryant are not that mature, not yet.

Add Rodman to that? You might as well throw in a match.

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Remember all those reports that Mike Tyson’s lawyers had a deal with the prosecutor that wouldn’t send the former heavyweight champion back to jail if he pleaded no contest for assaulting a couple of elderly motorists. . . ?

Not true, according to Sports Illustrated. . . .

After obtaining a copy of the plea agreement, the magazine reported that the prosecutor promised only that he wouldn’t recommend a specific sentence and that sentencing would be postponed until after the fight against Francois Botha. . . .

A boxer shouldn’t be held accountable for anything he says within a hour after serving as a punching bag for Ike Quartey’s jabs. . . .

So I’m hoping Oscar De La Hoya has reconsidered his declaration late Saturday night that he wouldn’t give Quartey a rematch. . . .

Next, De La Hoya probably has to fight a challenger who commands less money, such as Oba Carr, because of a commitment to HBO. The cable network doesn’t pay as well as pay per view. . . .

But De La Hoya’s next opponent after that should be against the winner of Saturday night’s welterweight fight in New York between Felix Trinidad and Pernell Whitaker. . . .

If that can’t be arranged, which is possible because De La Hoya and promoter Bob Arum would have trouble making a deal with Trinidad and promoter Don King, De La Hoya should fight Quartey again in the fall. . . .

Who proved more about his machismo last weekend, De La Hoya or Jeff Gordon. . . ?

NASCAR fans who believed Gordon was just a Yankee media darling who wins so often because of his car and pit crew had to rethink that after he held off Dale Earnhardt at Daytona. . . .

Who’s better, Tiger Woods or David Duval. . . .

Although world rankings going into the Nissan Open this week at Riviera have Woods No. 1, Duval has won nine tournaments since October 1997. No other player has won more than two. . . .

Lucky Nick Faldo. As it now stands, he has to play Woods in the opening round of the World Match Play Championship next week at La Costa. If one player withdraws before now and then, Faldo would have to play Duval. . . .

Don’t blame promoter Al Franken or USA Track & Field for the poor attendance Saturday night at the Sports Arena for the L.A. Invitational indoor track and field meet. They provided outstanding athletes. . . .

Maybe it’s the nature of the sport in the United States today. When more elite milers competed here, large crowds paid to see them run in races that often were main events of indoor meets. . . .

The star of Saturday night’s meet was Maurice Greene, who was on the track for 5.56 seconds in the 50 meters. If you blinked, you missed him. . . .

USC point guard Brandon Granville looked against Stanford like the player who beat out Kevin Augustine. . . .

Steve Lavin is right to revamp his first six for tonight’s game against USC. How else are some of his young players going to learn about discipline, from watching Rodman?

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While wondering what the question is if Trent Green is the answer, I was thinking: Jeff George can’t play for anybody if not the Raiders, I love it when Bob Knight complains about other people’s behavior, and they say you can’t buy a Heisman Trophy.

Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com