Malone Won’t File Grievance

Speaking publicly for the first time about his one-game suspension, Karl Malone expressed “disappointment” at sitting out tonight’s game against Utah.

Malone was suspended Friday by the NBA after elbowing Dallas guard Steve Nash in the face during Thursday’s Laker-Maverick game. Malone was unhappy he was not given a chance to present his side of the incident before being punished. But he also said he would not file a grievance with the players’ union to try to retrieve his lost salary for tonight’s game.

“Why don’t they take my whole salary and let me play the way I want to play?” Malone said, half-kiddingly. The decision “is what it is. You can’t do anything about it. I don’t have a reason to file a grievance. The money’s not important anyway.

“As I’ve said, a Mack truck and a Volkswagen don’t mix. If I want to hurt someone I could do it every play. This is disappointing but

Malone was looking forward to facing the Jazz for the first time since leaving the team he spent his first 18 NBA seasons with and signing with the Lakers this summer as a free agent.

“I was approaching it like another game. But as it got closer, my teammates were reminding me more and more about it.

“But now I figure the NBA is marketing it so it will make it good for the first game back in Utah.”

And how will he spend his unexpected day off?

“My kids have their games to play in the morning, and later watch movies. As for the game, I’ll listen to it. It’ll feel weird because this is my job. But this is one of those things, and I better stop short or it might cost me some more games.”

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Coach Phil Jackson said he was “deciding between three options” on replacing Malone in the starting lineup.

“I haven’t looked at Utah long enough to really determine what the matchups will be,” Jackson said. Forward Andrei Kirilenko “would be the matchup that would have been Karl’s, so we’ll have to look at that and make a decision.”

Jackson expressed dissatisfaction regarding Malone’s suspension.

“I went to Karl after the game and said ‘I know [the NBA] will make a stink out of that.’ Because I know how [Dallas owner Mark] Cuban will react,” Jackson said.

“But you guys have also heard me beef for quite a while about protecting rebounders. I got a technical on the play because they let Nash come across [Malone’s] arm to start it. When the guy with the ball is in jeopardy and he wants to protect the ball, he’s going to do it.

“We’re dealing with the incident instead of the problem. At one time this league had a rule that if there was a backcourt foul it was a two-shot violation automatically. It prevented this kind of thing, attacking guys who rebound the ball. But now we’ve gotten away from protecting the rebounders, so the big guys are going to protect themselves.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Utah, 6:30, Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570).

Records -- Lakers 16-3, Jazz 11-7.

Record vs. Jazz (2002-03) -- 3-1.

Update -- The Jazz has won seven of 10 and is tied for third in the Midwest Division with Houston. But Utah is 1-6 on the road, the win coming Nov. 14 at Minnesota. Matt Harpring (17.2) and Andrei Kirilenko (17.1) are the top Utah scorers.