Reid Is Ready and Willing

Power forward J.R. Reid, traded in the middle of what was developing into by far the best season of his nine-year NBA career, said he isn’t coming to the Lakers expecting the same kind of playing time he was getting in Charlotte.

“I know I won’t get as many touches as I got in Charlotte with a depleted team,” Reid said before his Laker debut Friday. “But I just bring whatever I bring--physical play every night, shooting the ball, rebounding, do whatever Kurt [Rambis] wants.”

Reid, 30, a throw-in to the package that featured Glen Rice, was averaging 15.2 points, seven rebounds and almost 35 minutes a game with the Hornets as the team’s starting power forward.

With the Lakers, he is the No. 3 power forward, behind starter Travis Knight and mainstay Dennis Rodman.

“I know Dennis is going to get his minutes, and Travis has played some at [the position],” Reid said. “You want to put me in the lineup, give me more minutes, that’s all I can ask for. Whatever I do, just reward me. If I don’t do anything, then I don’t play.

Reid is making a prorated $760,000 this season, becomes a free agent in June, and said he was told by Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak (another North Carolina product) that, given his performance with Charlotte, his skills are known in the league.

“I’m not coming here pressuring for minutes,” Reid said. “I know I won’t get the same numbers. But I can still shoot the ball well. Mitch said teams now know what you can do. There’s no secrets any more.

“So just keep doing what I’ve been doing. If I’m here again after this season, great, if not, I’ll be somewhere else.”

Rick Fox, a teammate of Reid’s when both were at North Carolina and now a part of the same large group of backup Laker forwards, said that Reid can only be a plus with the Lakers.

“I think he’s already established himself in a number of different ways around the league as somebody who’s high-energy, obviously an offensive threat, defensively he’s very aggressive,” Fox said.

“To me, he’s like more of a wild-card in a positive way. He’s never going to hurt you. But when you stick him out there, he can be that wild-card that can get the momentum.”

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Forward Robert Horry was a late scratch from the starting lineup after he experienced lightheadedness and chest pains in the pregame warmups.

Horry, who missed seven games after an irregular heartbeat was detected earlier this season, was examined in the locker room during the first half and was cleared to play the second.