Camp Turns Gimpy for the Older Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal sat on a folding chair, rolling metal balls in his hand, and Rick Fox teetered nearby, his achy lower back not quite ready to support him while standing upright.

Robert Horry had a pad on his right knee and a scowl on his face, Tracy Murray didn’t practice at all because of pain in his right hip, still mending from surgery six months ago, and Samaki Walker left the practice floor with trainer Gary Vitti and a slight limp.

Spirited only a few days ago, Laker practice in El Segundo was a little glum on Wednesday, still nearly three weeks from opening night.

“It’s a hard time for the older players,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “It’s tough physically to get their game legs and to see the importance for enthusiasm for basketball.

“Right now, it’s time for young players with live legs and ambitions.”

Not that that necessarily would get them jobs. The Lakers have 12 players under guaranteed contracts, and while Jackson spoke well of guard Jannero Pargo and forward Guy Rucker, in particular, it would take something dramatic to have the organization carry a 13th player and push it further into the luxury-tax bracket.

“We’ll see,” Jackson said.

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O’Neal continues on his regimen of cardiovascular fitness, clearly pleased with his recovery and what it promises for his game.

“It seems like he has all the motivation in the world to come back and destroy these cats,” Kobe Bryant said. “It ought to be a fun year.”

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The Lakers travel after practice today to Little Rock, Ark., where they’ll play the Memphis Grizzlies, run now by Jerry West, in an exhibition game on Friday night.

After the game, they’ll fly to Oklahoma City to play the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.

The team is not scheduled to practice Sunday, starting a week that will have exhibition games Thursday at the Arrowhead Pond against the Golden State Warriors and Saturday in Las Vegas against the Phoenix Suns.

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The Lakers waived Nick Sheppard, the forward from Pepperdine. Their roster is at 17.... Jackson said Murray’s sore hip is not considered serious and was not unexpected. Though not yet comfortable, Fox practiced and then stayed late, shooting jumpers.... The Lakers did about six sprints after practice. Bryant led them all.

Tim Brown

Andre Miller bounced one pass through a tangle of legs and arms, into the waiting hands of Corey Maggette, who dropped the basketball into the basket during the Clippers’ 101-99 exhibition victory Tuesday over the Lakers.

Miller airmailed another to Maggette, who leaped to gather the ball in his hands before slamming it through the hoop.

The Clipper bench, and a predominantly pro-Laker sellout crowd of 10,097 at Bakersfield, gasped and cheered after two of Miller’s more remarkable assists.

After only one exhibition game, it’s clear the Clippers are richer at the point guard position than perhaps at any time in their woebegone history.

Miller and Marko Jaric, who did not play Tuesday because of a groin strain, have moved the ball at a remarkable pace during training camp.

“Guys are going to love playing with them,” Coach Alvin Gentry said recently. “They tend to pass the ball as soon as they get it, which is a novel approach.”

Seeking help at the point, the Clippers acquired Miller in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed Jaric, a second-round draft pick in 2000, and said farewell to Jeff McInnis, who signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Gentry said he is considering playing Miller and Jaric together at times during the Clippers’ exhibition schedule, which continues tonight at Portland.

If that goes well, you can count on seeing them together when the regular season begins Oct. 30.

“We played well,” Miller said after finishing with 17 points, six assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes against the Lakers. “We played together. Everybody was involved. Everybody made plays. We’re athletic. We have a lot of depth. We have guys who can step in and make plays.”

Elliott Teaford

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Center Wang Zhizhi has been kicked off China’s national team for choosing to play with the Clippers instead of at the Asian Games, state media reported in Beijing. Wang signed an offer sheet last week with the Clippers that the Dallas Mavericks have until next week to match.... Minnesota Timberwolves’ guard Wally Szczerbiak is expected to be sidelined for up to two weeks after dislocating his little left toe in Tuesday’s exhibition opener.

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Chinese center Yao Ming, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, agreed to a four-year, $17.8-million contract with the Houston Rockets.

Yao, competing in the Asian Games, is expected to join the Rockets by Oct. 20.

Associated Press