One Way or Another, Rice May Hold Answers

The high points, low points and ticklish talking points of the weekend that was:

A lot of things have changed about the Lakers this season--their coach, their mood, their uniforms--but the Glen Rice question, for the most part, has not.

After a week of regular-season play, it’s all there: He still is a great shooter. He still isn’t completely comfortable in what the Lakers are doing, and the Lakers still aren’t completely sure he’s best-suited for a long-term stay.

He still wants a bountiful salary when his contract expires at the end of this season, from either the Lakers or whomever is willing to pay it.

And he still is the Lakers’ key dilemma--until they decide whether to trade him or keep him, they’ll never really be able to push forward or salvage anything lasting from the ill-conceived decision to trade Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell.

Are the Lakers the team best suited to his strengths and demands?

Remember, they didn’t make a move on Scottie Pippen, because he’s too old and expensive--but Pippen’s not much older than Rice, and, looking at Rice’s expected asking price, not vastly more expensive.

So, the real season doesn’t start until the Laker brain trust decides what to do about Rice, and that won’t happen until December, at the earliest, when Phil Jackson will have coached him for more than 20 games, when Kobe Bryant will be back at full speed, and when several strong power forwards probably will be available for trade.

If Rice adapts to the triangle offense and if he plays consistent defense, then he’s worth more than a spare forward, and the Lakers can either get supreme value (P.J. Brown? Antonio Davis? Pippen, perhaps?) or hold onto him.

If they hold on too long and his stock declines, then you’ve possibly frittered away another season without a power forward to match up against Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber.

The Lakers fixed almost everything by hiring Jackson. Except one final thing.

They have about a month for deep thought, before the Lakers take a long look at themselves and deal with their last dilemma.

THE BIG PICTURE

Baseball’s free-agent class of 2000 is awesome, and apparently, up for sale right now, which means a wild window of opportunity has opened wide.

Juan Gonzalez, a two-time most valuable player, traded. Ken Griffey Jr. about to be. Alex Rodriguez, possibly. Manny Ramirez, Andy Pettitte . . .

This is where the Dodgers could pounce, or else get stuck with the same old lineup filled with right-handed power-hitters who specialize in solo home runs, double-play grounders and clubhouse pouts.

For Raul Mondesi and a few throw-ins, the Dodgers might be able to land Toronto outfielder Shawn Green, who is 26, of good character, from Southern California, and probably would be the Dodgers’ first disciplined power-hitting left-handed hitter since Kirk Gibson gimped his way West.

OK, Green probably wants more than $10-million-per-year starting next season, and the Dodgers don’t want to trade for him unless they can sign him first.

But if you bring Green in, you erase Mondesi’s salary, and you probably don’t have to re-sign Eric Karros next season, when he becomes a free agent. Add those two salaries together, and there’s your Green money.

Everybody loves Karros as an incredibly steady producer and a stalwart part of Dodger tradition and all that.

But if he’s such a valuable player, with baseball’s balance of power basically being decided, why aren’t other smart teams bidding for him the way they’re bidding for Green or Carlos Delgado or Griffey?

WEEKEND TALKING POINTS

1. Ryan Leaf vs. Chargers: Latest suspension makes it official, he’s definitely the dumbest No. 1 pick ever. Literally.

2. Dennis Rodman: OK, now it makes sense. The basketball career was the publicity stunt. Everything else is his real life.

3. Lamar Odom: If I’m starting an NBA franchise, he might not be my top pick, but he’s in top three.

4. Marques Tuiasosopo: In conference’s daintiest season, Washington quarterback is damn-the-torpedoes breath of fresh air. Pac-10 player of year.

5. UCLA basketball: Great coaching, chemistry. Lots of talent. Final Four expectations. And oh yeah, the men’s team will be OK too.

6. IBF indicted for corruption: First the International Olympic Committee, then Microsoft, now boxing’s ranking “system” . . . You just can’t trust anybody these days!

7. Staples Center: The fans in the upper level are so high, so removed from the action, they don’t do “the Wave,” they do “the Ripple.”

8. Charlotte Hornets: An exciting young team, but only a few Derrick Coleman ride-shares away from the lottery again.

9. Paul Hackett, just the facts: First two years at Pitt, Hackett was 9-12-1, fired after third. So far, it’s 11-11 with USC.

10. Trainer Bob Baffert’s 0 for 8 at Breeders’ Cup: There won’t be a high-profile winless streak like that until . . . Hackett and USC in three weeks?

LEADING QUESTIONS

Is there an active NFL player today whose life and career will have anywhere near the impact and power of Walter Payton’s?

Brett Favre, maybe? Jerry Rice? Bruce Smith? Deion Sanders?

All just a bit dimmer than “Sweetness,” right?

When we look back on the great runners of this era, will we be split into those who loved Eric Dickerson, because he made it look so effortless?

And those who loved Payton, because he made it look so fun?

Payton, Wilt, Payne Stewart . . . I know sports is about wins and losses, but can we go at least one week without another staggering loss?