Management Reaffirms Rice Trade Unlikely

By TIM KAWAKAMI

Feb. 2, 2000 12 AM PT

SAN ANTONIO —

General Manager Mitch Kupchak indicated Tuesday that trade talks seem to be heating up around the league, but said that the busy phone lines do not necessarily mean that the Lakers are looking to trade forward Glen Rice.

For months, the Lakers have answered Rice trade rumors by saying that they liked his game and had no desire to move him.

“It hasn’t changed,” Kupchak said from the Lakers’ offices at the Great Western Forum. “We feel that to have three go-to players gives us an incredible advantage. And we continue to feel the best place for Glen is here in Los Angeles.”

Are teams asking the Lakers about Rice? “We’re getting calls about almost all our players,” Kupchak said.

Kupchak acknowledged that the Lakers are looking at available big men to backup Shaquille O’Neal.

“From Day 1, we’ve said we’re thin in the frontcourt,” Kupchak said. “And if you play Shaquille 44 minutes a game and he plays like he’s playing right now, it’s not a problem.

“But you’ve got to question, can you continue to do that? . . . Do we need another big guy? We’d probably like to have one.”

O’Neal, for his part, said he didn’t expect any team to step up to try to help the Lakers.

“I’m not even thinking about it,” he said. “Right now, we’re a power. Nobody’s going to give us anything to make us a powerhouse.

“Personally, I don’t look for any changes to go down. We just have to play with what we’ve got. You know, we’ve got the guys. Guys just have to step up and do it.”

Wouldn’t he like a full-time backup, instead of having to play 40-plus minutes a game?

“That’s OK--I don’t have a problem with that,” O’Neal said. “It would be a wish, but no other organization’s going to make us a powerhouse. I don’t see that going down.”

Coach Phil Jackson, who has said he would have interest in acquiring Chicago forward Toni Kukoc, said he had heard the rumors that the Bulls were about to trade Kukoc to the Portland Trail Blazers.

“Yeah, sure [the trade would be] disappointing in a way,” Jackson said. “But it looks to me like Portland’s just doing it as a defensive measure [to keep Kukoc away from the Lakers].”

The Lakers were forced to spend several hours Monday evening out of their San Antonio hotel rooms after their hotel had a fire in the basement.

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Triple Plays / The Big 3

Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice have been the driving force behind the Lakers’ success. How they fared:

O’NEAL

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Tues. Season 31 Points 27.7 7 Rebounds 14.3 1 Assists 3.4

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BRYANT

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Tues. Season 19 Points 22.6 7 Rebounds 6.2 8 Assists 3.9

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