Advertisement

O’Neal Will Bide His Time

Share
Times Staff Writer

The Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal are about $10 million apart over the course of his proposed two-year contract extension, according to a source close to the negotiations.

O’Neal appears to be satisfied to have the talks continue at a deliberate pace, however, for two reasons: On July 1, O’Neal becomes eligible for a three-year extension, which he would prefer; also, just as Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson will gauge the Lakers’ direction this summer, so too will O’Neal.

If Bryant opts out of his contract and signs with another organization, and Jackson and owner Jerry Buss are unable to agree to terms, causing Payton or Malone or both to reconsider their championship opportunities in Los Angeles, O’Neal could rethink his future with the Lakers.

Advertisement

O’Neal is under contract for $27.7 million next season and could then opt out. Or, he could stay for $30.6 million for the 2005-06 season, the more likely scenario.

But, on Tuesday, as talk of the Lakers’ future without Jackson and/or Bryant lingered, O’Neal stated again he’d be happier if both stayed, particularly Jackson.

“When it comes to Phil being here or not being here, even though we struggled last year and you guys think we’re struggling this year, I’m not turning my back on Phil,” he said. “He’s the guy who took me to the next level, and he’s the guy who’s going to continue to take me to the next level, and nobody else can do that for me. I don’t [care] if we lose 115 games in a row. Phil’s my guy. Period.... If he’s gone, I’m gone.”

Asked whether he really would leave tens of millions of dollars on the table, O’Neal said, “I don’t walk away from nothing.... I’m just saying I want Phil around. So, if my worth, my value, is important to this organization, Shaquille O’Neal wants Phil around.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers began negotiations with O’Neal using the average annual value of Kevin Garnett’s new five-year, $100-million contract extension as a starting point, according to the source.

Garnett, who like O’Neal signed his deal before the current collective bargaining agreement, will earn $28 million and so, at the top of his game, took a massive pay cut. O’Neal has been asked to do the same, though his representatives apparently have the extension starting in the range of $26 million.

Advertisement

*

O’Neal said he expected to be fined for missing Monday’s practice. The team said Monday that O’Neal called in sick, and O’Neal admitted Tuesday he’d needed a personal day after a 12-day trip and a hectic All-Star weekend.

He laughed and said he’d actually come upon a chicken truck overturned on the freeway.

“It was something I couldn’t get around,” he said.

Or, was it “a cow truck?” he asked.

“There was milk all over the highway,” he said. “Wait, it was a pig truck. Pork chops all over the highway.... I mean, I didn’t make any excuses for the fish truck turning over.”

*

In a light, free-flowing pregame conversation, O’Neal struck a conciliatory tone regarding Bryant. The two have had their tense moments this season, according to teammates, but O’Neal admitted again they’d need each other to win more championships.

But, he said, he won’t beg.

“If one wants to be here, then persuasion is not necessary,” O’Neal said. “Like, I don’t need my wife to come home and bring me flowers and be nice to me to get me to stay, because I already want to stay. Make sure you print that, so she reads that.”

*

Rookie Brian Cook, who fractured his right pinkie Jan. 22, has been fitted with a splint and cleared for full participation in practices for the next three weeks.... Bryon Russell, who played two minutes over the final three games before the All-Star break, will be “a spot player” the rest of the season, Jackson said Tuesday. In the meantime, Jackson said, Devean George or Rick Fox must make the three-pointers Russell made over the previous two months. Russell goes to the bench as the league’s 17th-ranked three-point shooter.

Advertisement