Maverick Owner Fires New Shot

It’s officially a feud now between Dallas owner Mark Cuban and the Lakers, Coach Phil Jackson in particular.

Privately, Laker officials are incredulous as to why Cuban has chosen to tweak the Lakers and Jackson, given their successes, both apart and together.

But, here goes, the latest of Cuban’s rants, this one in response to Jackson’s advice to back off and owner Jerry Buss’ observation that new owners such as Cuban often take time to mature into their positions.

Cuban told Dallas reporters: “As far as Phil telling me to keep my mouth shut, I will [when] he answers why the Lakers haven’t signed a single player above the minimum this year, why they still haven’t extended Shaq [O’Neal], and why they were trying to dump every multiyear contract they could other than Shaq and Kobe [Bryant]. I’m listening, Phil, because us new guys want to understand that strategy.

“And while you are at it, Phil, could you also help this new guy out and tell me what you plan to tell those big-salary [players] next year when they ask where the 10% that is being deducted from their salaries for escrow is going to go? It won’t be in your players’ pockets. Where will it be? Us new guys really want to know.”

The last comment is a reference to the collective bargaining agreement guideline that player salaries not exceed a designated percentage of the NBA’s basketball-related income. At the end of the season, the money could go to the owners or back to the players.

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There is Laker practice. And then there is guarding Bryant during Laker practice.

Both can be trying, given the mechanics of the triangle offense and the expectations of Jackson.

Only one, though, can be truly humiliating.

But that’s all right with Isaiah Rider. He’s game.

In less than a week, Bryant and Rider already have spent hours with a hand in the other’s face, straining to predict the next move, the next step, the next thought.

Bryant, 22, said this week that he welcomes the challenge. Rider, 29, said Saturday that he enjoys it as well.

“One thing I noticed with Kobe, he wants to get better,” Rider said. “He wants to play against the best and he’s willing to work, he’s willing to learn and he’s willing to do whatever he has to do to be the best. I respect that in him. We guard each other in practice. In drills, sometimes people are reluctant to step up and guard him, and I step right in. That’s just what it’s all about.

“He’s definitely in better shape right now. He’s definitely getting the best of me. Well, actually, in practice we go blow-for-blow. But, afterward, when we play one on one, he gets the best of me. I tell him, ‘We’ll keep on playing.’ And he says, ‘Until then . . .’ It’s fun. I make him work and he definitely makes me work.”

Rider has blended in. By all accounts has played hard. He is frequently seen talking and laughing with teammates and is among the last out of the gym at the end of the day, usually shoulder to shoulder with Bryant.

“We’re going to do this all year, hopefully, play one on one after practice,” Rider said. “It’s going to help us, because guards can’t really guard us. If we’re going after each other, we’re going to learn each other’s games a lot.

“He’s a very hungry player. He wants to score, he wants to win, he wants to do well and I’m the same way.”

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The Lakers had their first game-condition scrimmage Saturday night, the first time they’ve had two practices on the same day. They were scheduled to have today off. . . . Jackson expects to make his first cuts Tuesday, before the club leaves for exhibition games in New Orleans and Memphis. . . . There is still a chance the Lakers will visit the White House during the Clinton administration, perhaps in mid-December. . . . Eugenia Chow, 26, has been named the Lakers’ director of community relations.