Lakers Appeared So Close but Now Appear So Far

Where have all the Lakers gone?

Was it only two seasons ago that four of them were all-stars? They were then the biggest, youngest, deepest, most athletic team in the NBA and it seemed that unless they messed it up, this had to work in the end.

Then they messed it up.

Now Phil Jackson plays slow, trying to scrape by until Kobe Bryant returns and they can discuss reconfiguring the roster--again. Meanwhile, Jackson trots out bedraggled-looking units like John Celestand, Brian Shaw, Travis Knight, Devean George and John Salley and you think, “These are the Lakers?”

How did it get to this?

The front office effort that rebuilt the team from the wreckage of the old dynasty, capped by the acquisitions of Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant in the giddy summer of ‘96, was brilliant. After that, however, things began to wobble.

When O’Neal arrived, the Lakers had a wild bunch of talented kids that they’d snatched up, no questions asked, when they had no talent at all. It took two seasons to weed out the problem children, while paying the price for trying to compete at the elite level with a teen, straight from high school, who wasn’t just a mascot, but in the rotation.

Then came The Year of the Worm and the arrival of Dennis Rodman. Now the only ones left besides O’Neal and Bryant are Derek Fisher and Knight, who were rookies when they arrived.

Some of the moves had to be made. Others represented failures to think things through, committee decisions, compromises between Jerry West’s vision and Jerry Buss’ budget.

Here’s how it went:

* Nick Van Exel--An all-star in ‘98, a Nugget in ’99. After years of trysting with Coach Del Harris, he had to go. He’d been given chance after chance and it kept ending the same way.

* Cedric Ceballos--He named himself “ ‘Chise,” for franchise, but flipped out when Magic Johnson came back, upset at no longer being the star, and went boating on Lake Havasu. After that, he was never the same. With his ability to move off the ball, he should have been great with O’Neal, but fizzled and was traded back to Phoenix.

Ceballos says he wasn’t really boating, he had a personal problem the Lakers helped him cover up. He thinks that may be why he has had few offers since.

The Lakers are still going with the original story. They say they confirmed Ceballos was in Lake Havasu, on their own.

By the way, Ceballos can still play, averaging 18 points off the Mavericks’ bench.

* Tony Battie--Came for Van Exel. Had he stayed he might be starting, but he didn’t make opening night, going to Boston for Knight in last season’s Great Power Forward Panic. The 6-foot-10 Battie, a fine athlete, is still developing and the Celtics just signed him to a long-term deal. Knight, a surprise under Harris as a minimum-salary rookie, hasn’t looked as good, with a $20-million contract, under subsequent coaches.

* Robert Horry--Acquired for Ceballos, he’s another 6-10 athlete but has lost confidence in his offense and has never been the player he was in his first two seasons in Houston. The Lakers gave him a $35-million deal and tried to make him a power forward with limited success.

* Eddie Jones--Here’s the one that really hurt. West thought he was on a collision course with Bryant, but then Bryant showed he could play forward. However, years of trade rumors had the fragile Eddie in a prime funk and they decided if they had to pay up, they’d do it for Glen Rice, a better shooter--ignoring the theory that their problem wasn’t offense but defense, at which Eddie excelled.

Worse, they cashed in their most marketable player on a small forward, committing themselves to their other starters--including the obviously troubled Rodman.

* Elden Campbell--I can’t lament his departure after complaining about him every day he was here. Nevertheless, even if he couldn’t play with O’Neal, he was fine as a backup center. But he was pricey, too, at $7 million a year.

Campbell is doing OK in Charlotte, as he did when he started and they pounded the ball in to him here. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen unless O’Neal was hurt.

Trading Elden and Eddie was one thing. Trading them and not getting what they needed, was something else.

* Ruben Patterson--The Lakers saw something in this tiger, nurtured it, then turned it loose, concerned about his shooting and ability to play with others. He’s now shooting 59% and playing with others, 14 points a game worth, as a starter in Seattle.

Of course, Bryant will return before too long. It’s not that the Lakers are chopped liver or the roster can’t be restocked.

It’s just that now, they don’t seem like a sure thing any more.

FACES AND FIGURES

Never mind: In the wake of the Pistons’ revival, the same Detroit Free Press writer who speculated on a Rice-Grant Hill deal, reported the team doesn’t want Rice because of his contract demands. . . . Ejection of the week: Philadelphia 76er Coach Larry Brown, who charged the New Jersey Nets brass had stabbed John Calipari in the back when he rehired his young protege as an assistant, got himself thrown out 1:29 into their recent game at the Meadowlands--enabling Cal to coach the 76ers to victory. Said Net General Manager John Nash: “I don’t know what to say other than it was highly unlikely that it was just coincidental.” . . . How long before the move becomes permanent? Longtime Brown watchers suspect that he brought Calipari in to have a coach ready, should things go badly and Brown needed to leave in a hurry, so stay tuned. . . .

What’s a mother to do: With things going bad for her Stephon, Mabel Marbury last week gave him a stern talking-to after a Nets loss, in front of several reporters: “You are a winner and the other guys on this team don’t care. You are a winner. Remember that. These other guys aren’t. It’s not important to them.” Turning to the reporters, she added: “All you need is some help. Write that. This team is burning you out and I don’t want my son burned out.” Replied Stephon, like any embarrassed kid: “Mom!” . . . Marbury’s recommendation is thought to have gotten Coach Don Casey hired, so it’s probably not good news for Casey that after fouling out of the 76er loss, Marbury stood behind him, making suggestions and later blew up in the dressing room--unhappy, said teammates, at the coaching staff. “We’re 1-9, how am I supposed to feel?” Marbury said. “If no one’s yelling and screaming and mad, then something’s wrong. But whatever goes on with us, we’re supposed to keep it in our house. That somebody is talking to you, just shows where we are as a team.” . . .

Where’s his mom when he needs her: Greyhound- turned-blimp Shawn Kemp stopped talking to the media after the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Burt Graeff, noting his fade-outs (13.4-point average in first halves over a five-game stretch, 7.4 in second halves, shooting dropping from 53% to 30%), called him “the Cavs’ too-big man.” . . . In preseason, Milwaukee’s George Karl named Cleveland’s Andre Miller, the Mater Dei grad, as one of the best rookies he had seen, along with Lamar Odom and Shawn Marion. Last week, Indiana’s Mark Jackson went to the Cavaliers’ dressing room to congratulate Miller. “So many of these young guys think everything is a home run,” Jackson said. “Here’s a polished young guy who knows how to play the game.” . . . Jerome Williams, a Rodman wannabe, though without the hair dye and metal, posted double-doubles in eight of the Pistons’ first 12 games--not bad for a reserve forward. Going into the weekend, he was averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes and leading the league in field-goal percentage (.667). Williams calls himself Junk Yard Dog, has licensed that name and has a mascot. . . . Van Exel after the Nuggets put the Lakers’ O’Neal on the free throw line 12 times in the fourth quarter of a 93-82 win at Denver: “I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, but no doubt it has to be the strategy. It may be cheap, but he’s Shaq. They have the best center in the league, so oh, well. They have a weapon and we have a weapon.”