A Contract Agreement Appears Near With Shaw

Laker officials appeared confident on Wednesday they were nearing a contract agreement with free-agent guard Brian Shaw.

“He wants to be here and we want him back,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “There have been some degree of negotiations and we feel we’re in a comfortable enough area that getting a deal done won’t be a problem. But, still, until a player is signed, we can’t count him on the board. These are things we want to get done. No doubt about it he’s important to this team.”

The stress fracture to Derek Fisher’s foot makes the signing all the more important for the Lakers, who last season frequently leaned on Shaw’s versatility.

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The Lakers introduced the players they hope will protect them from the Great Northwest Power Forward Accumulation of 2000, on Wednesday trotting out nearly 14 feet worth of Horace Grant and Greg Foster at their training facility in El Segundo.

Grant, 35, suggested that playing beside Orlando running buddy Shaquille O’Neal--instead of at center for Seattle--might add years to his career.

Foster promised not to make any throat-slashing gestures now that he has to guard Shaq in practice every day.

They are the centerpieces from Seattle in the deal that answered Portland’s front court additions of Shawn Kemp and Dale Davis to Rasheed Wallace, by himself a handful.

“Size me up,” Grant said of a championship ring, “because we’re definitely going to be hard to beat. I’m looking for a few championships here.”

As for Foster, who two seasons ago in Salt Lake City angered the Lakers with his over-the-top enthusiasm, he’ll now slash for the purple and gold.

“I’m a fiercely loyal person,” the former UCLA player said, smiling. “I played for Utah then. And now I’m going to be just as loyal to the Lakers.”

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Veteran forward Chuck Person met with Laker officials Tuesday morning to discuss his future with the club, assuming he has one. Person, 36, is said to be mulling retirement, though he did submit to a Laker physical. The Lakers already have Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Devean George, all of whom play at least part-time at small forward.

.As many as 15 players will participate in a Laker mini-camp in El Segundo beginning today, five days before training camp opens. Among those attending will be roster lock Mark Madsen, their first-round draft pick, and roster candidates Stanislav Medvedenko and Cory Hightower.