Dollar Move Doesn’t Make Sense

This might be moot by Friday. This won’t wreck the Lakers’ chances for an NBA championship this year. But a simple little transaction Wednesday--as in, “Lakers waive guard Brian Shaw”--could be an ominous signal of the way things will be in Lakerland for years to come.

The Lakers are willing to toss aside goodwill and championship contributions, willing to risk alienating players (including the biggest of them all), in the name of holding on to some extra dollars.

Shaw had a $2.3 million contract that would become guaranteed in December. The Lakers are gambling they can re-sign him at the veteran minimum of $1 million if no other team claims him within a 48-hour period that ends at 4 a.m. PST Friday. Only $600,000 of the new contract would count toward the luxury tax, and the savings should get the Lakers’ payroll right around the projected luxury tax threshold of about $54 million. Teams over that amount would have to pay a dollar for every dollar they’re over the threshold.

Laker owner Jerry Buss has been adamant about showing the way toward fiscal responsibility and avoiding the luxury tax. This has dictated transactions for two years, and now that the tax is coming into play this season, it jumped up and bit Shaw.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak tried to present it as an exchange of Shaw’s salary for the flexibility to bring in Samaki Walker, Lindsey Hunter and Mitch Richmond. In that scenario, anyone would make that deal.

But this didn’t have to be an either/or situation. It’s not a salary-cap issue, it’s a luxury-tax issue. Actually, if enough teams rein in their spending, the luxury tax won’t even kick in this year. That creates a league-wide incentive to hold down salaries. You could call it acting responsibly.

Buss will say it’s a matter of principal. What about the principals of rewarding service?

The Lakers are, in effect, saving about $2 million.

They’d make that money back within a couple of home playoff games.

But could they regain the great reputation they established under Jerry West? That reputation that allowed them to sign players such as Rick Fox below market value because league veterans knew the Lakers always took care of their guys in the end? That reputation (along with the knowledge that playing with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant is the closest thing to a guaranteed ticket to the NBA Finals) helped them sign Richmond at a 90% discount from his previous contract this summer?

Kupchak didn’t make it sound as if Shaw’s return is a sure thing, saying only that “We plan to talk to him and his representatives.”

There wasn’t any sweet talk coming from Shaw’s camp, either.

Shaw’s agent, Jerome Stanley, said of the waiver: “It’s not anything we agreed to.”

So much for any speculations that this is a mere salary restructuring, as has become so commonplace for NFL teams and players trying to work around the salary cap.

“No, we’re not working with them on this,” Stanley said. “If we were working with them, if we were working with them collectively, our suggestion [would be] leave the contract in place and leave the contract intact.”

Coach Phil Jackson put his stick shift in neutral, adopting a “Let it Be” philosophy.

“We’re just going to go about our business,” Jackson said. “I try not to get the worried aspect of that. I like to believe there’s a reason why we’re brought together....all things work together for good in some form or fashion.”

The Lakers were in good spirits Wednesday, with laughter all around as practice finished. But there was a sense that O’Neal was in a Bruce Banner mode, just waiting to turn into the Incredible Hulk if angered by the Shaw waiver.

“Hopefully that move doesn’t backfire,” O’Neal said. “If it doesn’t backfire, I won’t have anything to say. If it does backfire, I’ll have something to say.”

O’Neal is close to Shaw, dating back to their days together with the Orlando Magic. That seems to translate onto the court. Shaw is better than anyone on the team when it comes to reading O’Neal and getting him the ball, which could come in handy when teams are using the new zone defense rules to surround O’Neal.

Is Shaw worth keeping simply because he can throw the entry pass and O’Neal likes him? Why should anyone worry about a 35-year-old guard that would have trouble finding backcourt minutes behind Bryant, Fisher, Richmond and Hunter?

There’s more to it than that. O’Neal says the Lakers would only have one championship (this year’s) if Shaw didn’t make a three-point shot that kept the Lakers alive in their Game 7 comeback against Portland in the 2000 Western Conference Finals. He has played in almost 100 playoff games, which gives him an edge over the untested Mike Penberthy and Joe Crispin.

Shaw started 28 games last season and kept things from falling apart when Bryant and Fisher were injured. He made a couple of big shots in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Philadelphia after flying across the country to see the birth of his child.

And there’s something to be said about keeping the Big Dog happy.

If Chan Ho Park can dictate his catcher, O’Neal should be able to hold sway on a roster spot. Especially for a guy as popular as Shaw.

The Lakers didn’t bring back Ron Harper this year, even though Harper made just enough smart passes and clutch shots to help the Lakers through their rough spots in the playoffs last season. It might be too much to expect them to toss another million or two for a guy who would spend most of the season on the injured list just for a few more postseason moments.

But a guy like Shaw, who can help in the locker room and on the court throughout the season (including four assists and seven rebounds on opening night)?

Apparently, that’s a luxury the Lakers feel they might not be able to afford. Are they willing to pay for any repercussions?

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Brian Shaw

* Twelve-year veteran did not score in 15 minutes of Lakers’ opener, a 98-87 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. He had seven rebounds and four assists.

* Played in 80 games last season, averaging 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 22.9 minutes.

* Played in 74 games in 1999-2000, averaging 4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 16.9 minutes.

* Signed by the Lakers to a free-agent contract on Oct. 20, 1999.