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Lakers, Shaw Have a Deal

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Lakers and guard Brian Shaw have agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the veterans’ minimum of $1.03 million, league sources said Thursday.

A Laker reserve in each of the club’s three recent championship seasons, Shaw, 36, has become a reliable and triangle-savvy backup to Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, particularly in the postseason.

Coach Phil Jackson prefers tall, veteran guards, accounting for his affinity for the likes of the steady Shaw. Shaw, who is 6-6, averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 58 games in the regular season. By the end of March, however, Shaw was gathering minutes in preparation for the playoffs, during which he averaged 12.5 minutes, 16.3 in the NBA Finals.

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The Lakers released and re-signed Shaw for about half his potential salary early last season, a transaction designed to keep the club beneath the estimated luxury-tax threshold. A week ago, the league announced there would be no payroll tax.

The club also expects to announce a contract agreement with forward Slava Medvedenko shortly, along with a non-guaranteed, one-year deal for Jannero Pargo, a 6-foot-2 guard from Arkansas who played well for the Lakers in the summer league.

The imminent signing of Medvedenko will bring the Laker roster to 12 players under guaranteed contracts, with a slim chance General Manager Mitch Kupchak would add a 13th--a backup center, preferably--before training camp.

Meantime, Shaquille O’Neal will seek at least one more opinion regarding treatment on his arthritic toe before deciding on a course of treatment. So far, recommendations have ranged from surgery to a program of physical therapy.

The team expects O’Neal will be ready in time for training camp.

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The Golden State Warriors will make Atlanta Hawk assistant Eric Musselman, 37, the youngest head coach in the NBA today, according to team and league sources. Musselman, the son of late Minnesota coach Bill Musselman, would take over from interim Coach Brian Winters, who got the job when Dave Cowens was fired last December.... The Philadelphia 76ers signed guard Greg Buckner, 24, to a six-year, $18-million contract and forward Monty Williams, 30, to a two-year deal reportedly worth $875,000.... The Utah Jazz signed free-agent guard Calbert Cheaney, 31.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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