Shaw Returns for Lesser Salary

Veteran guard Brian Shaw signed with the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, concluding a four-day ordeal in which he cleared waivers and mulled free agency before returning to the club.

The contract is for the veterans’ minimum $1 million, potentially a $1.25-million pay cut for Shaw, waived Wednesday morning because of owner Jerry Buss’ luxury-tax concerns.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak applauded the gesture by Shaw.

“To me it throws him into another category, going above and beyond the call of duty,” Kupchak said. “I’ll never forget that.”

Shaw had a cold, according to a team spokesman, and therefore remained at his home in Oakland rather than return in time for Sunday night’s game against the Utah Jazz. He could be in Los Angeles by today, though the Lakers might not practice. They won’t play again until Friday.

There was relief in the Laker locker room before Sunday’s game, though not surprise.

“Some guys play for championships and some guys play for the monetary rewards,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “You can’t play for both. One or the other.”

Except that he does.

“Well, I get both,” he said. “That’s because I’m damn good at what I do.”

His point, originally, was that Shaw would resume his Laker career rather than chase a few hundred thousand dollars as a free agent.

“He’s going to play,” O’Neal said. “I’m sure his spirits are shattered a little bit. But, hey, that’s business.

“He knows what to do. He knows where to be. He’s always been there for me. The Shaw-Shaq Redemption must go on.”

Shaw has a knack for finding O’Neal with alley-oop passes, but there is more to Shaw’s contributions, enough that many Lakers shook their heads at the risk taken by the team.

Shaw lost in the NBA Finals as a teammate of O’Neal’s in Orlando, and won the last two with the Lakers, experiences that make him a large part of their hopes to three-peat.

“He knows the good and the bad of it,” Rick Fox said. “That’s why teams around the league look for guys like that.

“Now, I don’t think Brian will have any discomfort with walking back into this locker room. He’ll go out and play just as hard, because he’s playing for all of us in here.”