Search for Third Scorer May Not Go Past Rider

The NBA trading deadline is two months away and there is not much out there yet, but the Lakers will troll for a third scorer in the weeks leading to Feb. 22.

That another offense-minded player would find his shots in a system already dominated by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal is questionable. But, on the subject of shot allocation and location and familial rants, it appears the New York Knicks have made Glen Rice available. Maybe not.

Even without the Knicks, General Manager Mitch Kupchak will be a popular man, because he carries a $3.2-million trade exception, which means the Lakers can accept that much more than they give in a trade.

Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Milwaukee have similar exceptions, give or take $1 million.

Meantime, the Lakers await the convergence of Isaiah Rider, whose sporadic minutes have led to a mercurial game, and the triangle offense. In all likelihood, Rider will have to be the third scorer, because any player being pushed in a trade is probably not very good or too expensive or possibly both.

“I think he’s improving game by game,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said of Rider. “I’m enjoying his play. He’s giving us something. He’s starting to find his way in the offense. [But] we’re still not running the critical strategies when he’s out there.

“It’s a different style of basketball, a different way to play it. It’s going to take time, to January or maybe February to play comfortably in it, maybe even not then. I always kid [Ron] Harper, it took him over a year to find it, and he’s got one of the best basketball minds I’ve been around as a player.”

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Jackson has toyed with his backcourt, finding repetitions for Mike Penberthy’s shot and possessions for Rider’s familiarization.

Given four road games decided by five or fewer points, however, Jackson very often stayed with Harper and went to Brian Shaw, both veterans.

“He just goes by matchups,” Shaw said. “I think Phil feels he can trust me at the end of the game. So, if he feels like there’s no need to put me in--I didn’t play [Friday] until the last three minutes of the second quarter, I didn’t play [Tuesday] in Miami until the fourth quarter--as long as we win, I don’t mind. I like being in there down the stretch when it really matters.”

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After a stretch in which they played five of six games on the road, and won all but one, the Lakers play eight of their next 10 at Staples Center. They also get a lot of rest in January, when they play only 12 games.

“I think it’s in the back of everybody’s minds that we can get something going,” Shaw said.

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Dallas Coach Don Nelson, he of the “clown” tactics, took most of the postgame abuse, but there was plenty to go around. Jackson reminded the Lakers before the game that owner Mark Cuban has belittled their bench and their owner, Jerry Buss, who attended the game.

“We were having fun. There’s been a lot said about this team and about this organization by you-know-who,” Bryant said, meaning Cuban. “That’s just Phil giving something to us players to use as motivation.”

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The Lakers are scheduled to practice early today. . . . Bryant shot 55.6% while averaging 35.8 points on the trip. . . . After Friday night’s game, the Mavericks held a birthday party for assistant Charlie Parker, the former USC coach. He turned 52.