Buss Ready to Pay to Keep Core Intact

By the end of the summer, owner Jerry Buss could spend in excess of $185 million in upkeep and improvements for the Lakers, most of that in extensions for franchise cornerstones Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Buss, before Wednesday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, said he hoped to extend the contracts of O’Neal and Bryant, along with Coach Phil Jackson’s. He also said he would not hesitate to spend the mid-level exception -- around $4.5 million -- for an impact player who would fill out an aging roster that has shown signs of wear.

“Certainly we’ll try to extend Shaquille,” Buss said. “We’ll attempt to extend Kobe. That’s our goal.”

O’Neal is eligible to be extended by three years and a maximum of $121.5 million, a contract that would take him through the 2008-09 season and pay him $44.6 million in his final season, at 37 years old. He turns 31 today.

Bryant for nine months has sat on a three-year, $54.8-million extension offer, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. The assumption is Bryant will wait to see the terms of the next CBA before agreeing to an extension or a new deal. Bryant could opt out of his contract after next season. The current CBA runs through next season and the owners have an option for the following season, matching Bryant’s options exactly.

Jackson, who has this year and next on a five-year, $30-million contract, has spoken briefly with Buss about an extension, telling him before the season, “I want to finish this year, and then we’ll talk.”

Though he said General Manager Mitch Kupchak would handle negotiations with all three, Buss did not flinch at the potential cost of the players or coach.

“I certainly would like to keep Kobe and Shaq and Phil,” he said. “I think the future lies with them.”

Asked if the numbers are daunting, he said, “Not really. I get more upset at the thought of not extending them.”

It is believed that O’Neal, who at times has said he’d consider retirement long before 37, will seek the maximum extension.

“They know that I’m someone who perseveres,” O’Neal said recently. “They know that whatever’s said, whatever’s written about, I’m not going to quit. They know I’m a fighter.”

Negotiations cannot begin until after the season.