Not So Fast There, Rambis Might Stay

Maybe it’s only a trial balloon, floated to brace the jangled Laker populace and cautiously test the water for a coach who lost his last four playoff games.

It could possibly be a grand deception, designed to distract those who would over-analyze the process.

But, assuming no ulterior motives and only that the Lakers need to settle their coaching situation as soon as possible--maybe by late this week or sometime next--what it means is that they have come to a surprisingly swift and conclusive decision:

Several sources close to the situation indicated Wednesday that key Laker executives are leaning strongly toward rehiring Kurt Rambis as the team’s permanent coach.

The sources emphasized that neither Executive Vice President Jerry West nor General Mitch Kupchak have yet formally presented Rambis as their recommendation to owner Jerry Buss.

And the sources said that no contract negotiations have begun with Rambis, nor could they, until Buss signs off on the choice, and a meeting between West, Kupchak and Buss apparently is not scheduled for at least several days.

But as of now there apparently are no other candidates for the Laker job, and Laker management has found no compelling reason to look beyond Rambis, who took over on an interim basis from Del Harris in late February, dealt with the Dennis Rodman fiasco, led the Lakers past Houston in the first round and then ran aground against San Antonio.

“The feeling is, this team has to grow together,” said one source, “and you don’t do that by firing the coach after such a traumatic season.”

Team spokesman John Black, reached Wednesday, said the team had no comment about its coaching search.

“This is way too early,” Black said, pointing to comments by West earlier this week that suggested the Lakers would take a few weeks to determine the coaching situation.

“We are not ready to discuss that publicly yet.”

In the wake of the Lakers’ four-game sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, and the pointed absence of Shaquille O’Neal from the final players’ meeting Monday, it was widely assumed that Rambis was unlikely to be retained.

But several currents are pulling the Lakers toward Rambis, sources say:

* If there was any thought of pursuing former Chicago Bull coach Phil Jackson, it has been diminished by his believed price tag (about $6 million a season) and West’s inclination to hire coaches with either personal or historical ties to the Lakers or West.

* Another potential big name, Orlando’s Chuck Daly, 68, announced his retirement from coaching this week, and it appears unlikely that he would reverse field to take over a team as chaotic as the Lakers.

* West and Kupchak have for years eyed Rambis as a future Laker coach, do not necessarily want to give that up on the basis of three frantic months, and apparently are aware that a Rambis recommendation would probably be viewed favorably by Buss.

* As West and Kupchak surveyed key Laker players about Rambis, several said they would fully support his return, with Kobe Bryant voicing the loudest and most influential endorsement.

O’Neal, who left town immediately after the season, apparently has not given Laker management an opinion either way, and a source said that Rambis hoped to talk with O’Neal to smooth over the tension that surfaced in the Spur series.

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