Gugliotta-to-Lakers Talk Turns Out to Be Nothing but That

Coming when it did, and considering the participants involved, it was an intriguing, if brief, sideline chat Saturday during the Lakers’ morning practice.

About the time the Lakers learned their pursuit of free-agent forward Tom Gugliotta had not succeeded, Executive Vice President Jerry West pulled aside guard Eddie Jones, whom West offered to Minnesota in a sign-and-trade scenario.

West spoke for a couple of minutes, Jones nodded, and then West smiled and tapped Jones on the rear.

Then Jones returned to the drills and shooting sessions at UC Santa Barbara’s Robertson Gym.

Later, the Phoenix Suns announced they had signed Gugliotta, reportedly to a six-year, $58.5-million deal.

So, what did West say to Jones?

Jones, for his part, declined to make the conversation public.

“Ask Jerry,” Jones said, “he should be the one to tell you.”

At the night practice Saturday, West also would not disclose what he told Jones.

But West did not deny reports that he offered Jones, Elden Campbell and a No. 1 pick to the Timberwolves for Gugliotta and former Laker guard Anthony Peeler.

Because the Lakers are over the salary cap, they could only have acquired Gugliotta, a 6-foot-10, all-purpose player who would have filled the Lakers’ void at power forward, in a sign-and-trade transaction with the Timberwolves.

“We made them an offer,” West said Saturday night. “We felt it was a very fair offer; we felt it was attractive. [But] I don’t think it appealed to them. . . .

“We were interested in making a change that would’ve been relatively major on our part. But obviously they didn’t want any part of the deal that we offered.”

When asked why Minnesota would allow Gugliotta to go to Phoenix with no compensation instead of taking a low-post center and an all-star guard, West shrugged.

“You need two to go dance, and we weren’t able to get another team to do something that might’ve been in both teams’ interests,” West said. “We did the best we could, and I can tell you it wasn’t from lack of trying.”

The Timberwolves apparently would not accept Campbell and the $40 million they would have had to pay him over five seasons (including a 15% salary increase his contract stipulates in event of a trade) and acknowledged they were worried that Jones, whom they like, would try to leave Minnesota as soon as he could if they acquired him.

At the 11th hour, Minnesota, which was informed that Gugliotta preferred to join the Lakers, reportedly left a tiny crack open, suggesting that the Lakers find a third team to take Campbell in the deal.

But, with Gugliotta (who has the same agent as Campbell--Richard Howell) pressed to make a decision, there was no time.

“To do things in this league is difficult,” West said, “and to add in a third party, then it really gets complex.”

So Gugliotta took less money than Minnesota could have given him under salary-cap rules, and the Timberwolves, who signed forward Joe Smith to a one-year deal Friday, received nothing for Gugliotta.

And, after all the rumors and weeks of speculation, Jones and Campbell remain Lakers.

“I’m a wanted man,” Jones said of his relatively calm handling of the trade rumors, which included an earlier report that he was offered to Chicago along with Campbell for Scottie Pippen. “I know a lot of teams out there want a guy like Eddie Jones. It’s always going to be around, no matter what anybody says.”

Jones said he didn’t know why Minnesota would take nothing instead of the Laker offer, but suggested one possible motive.

“Maybe [Timberwolves’ executive and former Boston Celtic Kevin] McHale didn’t like the fact that it was the Lakers--it was a Laker-Celtic thing back in the days,” Jones said. “Maybe he didn’t want the Lakers to have Gugliotta.”

Timberwolves’ General Manager and Coach Flip Saunders told Minnesota reporters he had his own reasons for refusing to deal Gugliotta to the Lakers: “We’re not giving anybody away. This is January, it isn’t Christmas.”

Laker Notes

The approximately 3,500 tickets available (the rest are for season-ticket holders) for Friday night’s exhibition game at the Great Western Forum will be distributed to various youth groups in Inglewood by the city. . . . Tickets for the regular season will go on sale today.