Lakers’ Star Power Gets Even Stronger

It would rank among the biggest coups in basketball history, two deals that would transform the Lakers into a dream team of superstars -- and a nightmare for their rivals.

Gary Payton, a perennial All-Star and perhaps the best defensive point guard in the game, has already committed to joining the team.

Now it appears Karl Malone, who many consider the best power forward in league history, might break from the greedy image of the star athlete and take a multimillion-dollar pay cut to play with Payton alongside the Lakers’ resident superstars, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

If the Lakers can pull it off, they will have four of the biggest names in the game -- a remarkable gathering of future Hall of Famers. As Mel Helitzer, an Ohio University professor of sports administration, commented: “The New York Yankees of basketball.”

As a rival general manager remarked: “That’s got to scare a lot of people.”

Other teams in the National Basketball Assn. are scrambling to break up that lineup before Wednesday, the first day the league allows free-agent players to sign with new teams. It is no secret the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and others in the Western Conference have offered Malone more money.

“I’m sure Dallas is looking at this as something they don’t want to contend with,” said John Paxson, the Chicago Bull general manager.

More than just wins and losses are at stake. There is also the matter of dollars and cents.

Already a proven winner in ticket and merchandise sales, the Lakers could become even more profitable -- and a bigger financial boost to the NBA -- by adding to their star power.

“I don’t know if this will make them a better team,” Helitzer said, “but I know it will make them a better ticket.”

The foursome of O’Neal, Bryant, Payton and Malone would rival a former Laker squad that, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, featured Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. Other star-studded teams come to mind.

The Boston Celtics of the late 1950s and ‘60s had Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Sam Jones and John Havlicek. The Showtime Lakers of the 1980s matched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

The Chicago Bulls of the late ‘90s had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

The allure of creating such a historic team might explain why Payton and Malone would choose the Lakers -- whose hefty payroll leaves them little to spend -- over richer playoff-caliber suitors.

Another reason: Neither player possesses a championship ring. If they sign with the Lakers, they join a team that will be a favorite to win the title next season, basketball experts said.

Though the Lakers suffered injuries and spent much of the playoffs on the road last season, they came close -- perhaps as close as power forward Robert Horry’s in-and-out jump shot in the final seconds of Game 5 of the conference finals against the Spurs -- to capturing a fourth consecutive title.

“They’re going to be a lot better,” said Donnie Walsh, president of the Indiana Pacers. “They’re getting a power forward who is better than what they had and they’re getting a great point guard.”

Yet another reason comes in the form of a 7-foot-1, 338-pound center who ranks among the most-dominant players ever.

“I think L.A. has got a lot of things that are attractive to [Malone],” said Dwight Manley, his agent. “But I would say the No. 1 thing on the list for a power forward like Karl is the opportunity to play with Shaq.”

Malone, who according to the Salt Lake City Tribune earned more than $19 million with the Utah Jazz last season, has told the Lakers he might accept as little as $1.5 million, the amount league rules allow teams that are over the salary cap, such as the Lakers, to sign new players.

If the deals go through, there will still be skeptics with questions.

Some say Malone, who will be 40 on July 24, and Payton, who will be 35 on July 23, are past their primes. Others wonder how four marquee players will find a way to share one basketball.

Paxson thinks Coach Phil Jackson is just the man to solve the latter problem. The Bull executive played for Jackson in Chicago on teams led by Jordan and Pippen.

“I don’t think a lot of coaches could have managed that,” he said. “Phil knows how to mesh strong personalities as well as anyone.”

Walsh, of the Pacers, agreed. “I never worry about” having too many stars, he said.

But that doesn’t mean the Lakers with Payton and Malone would blow through the rest of the league. It might take time for the newcomers to learn Jackson’s system and become accustomed to each other.

If anything, the team would be geared for the postseason, when half-court offense and staunch defense become the rule.

With O’Neal and Malone, the Lakers would have two inside scorers. Bryant and Payton could supply defense on the perimeter.

“What they’ve set themselves up for is a very good playoff team,” Paxson said.

And that could be good news for the league.

In the first year of a new television contract, ABC suffered through dismal ratings with an NBA Finals that featured the Spurs versus the New Jersey Nets.

Several experts in the sports business field predicted a star-studded Laker team would almost certainly boost viewership. And the NBA makes more money with its best players in cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“San Antonio is a great team, but it doesn’t mean a heck of a lot to the league,” Helitzer said. “The major markets are where the advertisers want to go because that is where they’re selling their product. They’re selling a lot more product in L.A. than they ever will in San Antonio.”

Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., wonders whether there will be a spillover. “The combination of the two new guys and Kobe and Shaq could have a kind of Michael Jordan effect and help attendance on the road,” he said.

Of course, if fans believe the Lakers have become too dominant, the addition of Payton and Malone might have the opposite effect, he said.

But in Los Angeles, where the Lakers sold out 38 of 41 games last season, the team will have more to offer ticket-buying fans.

And as the league’s No. 1 team in merchandise sales, according to NBA.com, they will have two more recognizable names to print on the back of jerseys that hang in stores.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean these players will pan out, but the old-timers still draw people and that’s still the name of the game,” Helitzer said. “It’s smart of the Lakers to go after heavyweight talent.”