O’Neal Gets With the Program

On a day the Lakers picked up a few loose pieces, the biggest piece of all showed up in good humor and, at least by appearances, in good shape.

Less than a week before the start of training camp, Shaquille O’Neal on Wednesday sweated through a brisk one-hour voluntary practice session run by new Laker Coach Phil Jackson--and several full-court games after that--then said he appreciated Jackson’s blunt coaching approach.

“He knows he’s not going to have any problems out of me,” O’Neal said of Jackson after the workout at L.A. Southwest College. “Whatever he says, I’m going to take it the right way.”

A few hours later, the Lakers scrambled to fill their big-man void by giving non-guaranteed contracts to two well-known players who haven’t played much in years but could potentially win backup roles on the Laker frontline:

* Benoit Benjamin, the enigmatic 34-year-old center who played in only six games for the Philadelphia 76ers last season. Among his seven other stops was a 28-game stint as a Laker in 1993.

* John Salley, 35, who has been out of the NBA since he played for Jackson’s Chicago Bulls in 1996-97.

“There’s no risk,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “Clearly, without getting into details, they have to earn their roster spots. There are no gifts here.”

Also, No. 1 pick Devean George confirmed he has agreed to terms with the Lakers on a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.12 million with incentives that could trigger $400,000 more. The Lakers hold an option for a fourth year.

The Lakers also announced the signing of rookie guard Melvin Levett, acquired from Detroit for Derek Harper last week.

Finally, in a development that could bring Scottie Pippen a step closer to reuniting with Jackson, the Houston Chronicle was set to report in today’s editions that the Rockets plan to trade Pippen to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Several sources say that, unlike the Rockets, Portland has a strong interest in Laker forward Glen Rice, and may have acquired Pippen mainly to use as bait for Rice.

George and Salley both practiced Wednesday, and Rice played--and looked much slimmer than he did last season--in the post-practice games.

Other Laker veterans, including Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Travis Knight, participated in at least one of the practices earlier this week.

O’Neal, who already has been instructed by Jackson to get in better shape, pointed out that, among other similarities, his new coach has the same first name as his father, Sgt. Phil Harrison.

“I can never let Phil down--Phil is my father too,” O’Neal said. “So I’m going to try my hardest not to let either Phil down. . . .

“[Jackson] reminds me of my father too. Bad back. Knows the game. Tells you like it is. When you do something wrong, he’s on you. When you do something good, he just [gives you a tap].

“He’s a one-second ‘good’ manager, a 30-second ‘bad’ manager. And that’s what I’m used to.”

O’Neal, while agreeing he should always be in the best shape possible, said there has been too much emphasis on his weight.

Jackson has noted that O’Neal, who weighed about 330 pounds last season, has gained weight throughout his career and said he gave O’Neal a specific number of pounds to weigh by training camp.

“Yeah, it’s a cool number,” O’Neal said. “But I’ve got to keep lifting [weights] because they keep beating me up [on the post], and the more I lift, the number’s going to be up there.”

O’Neal suggested that when he has struggled to run the court, his chronic stomach-muscle problems, and not his conditioning, were the cause.