Lakers Shift Their Focus

Mike Krzyzewski declined, so the Lakers turned Monday to the process of hiring Rudy Tomjanovich or, perhaps, Roy Williams, as coach and then to measuring the consequences of that on Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, their in-limbo superstars.

While the folks at Duke held a group-hug/news conference, Krzyzewski quite sure new school President Richard Brodhead understands who’s who around campus, Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak got back to Tomjanovich, though on Monday he would not identify Tomjanovich as his sole focus.

That’s because Kupchak also has spoken to Williams, the coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, about Phil Jackson’s old job, according to sources close to a search going on three weeks.

A year removed from Kansas, where he advanced to four Final Fours but did not win one, Williams has revived a Tar Heel program that had stumbled under Matt Doherty. Williams played at North Carolina just before Kupchak arrived, was an assistant under Dean Smith for a decade and, emotionally so, returned after leading Kansas to the 2003 NCAA championship game, where it lost to Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse team.

The Tar Heels were 8-20 two seasons ago under Doherty and 19-16 last season under Williams. Kupchak was granted permission by North Carolina to interview Williams, and they spoke recently by telephone.

Still, it is believed that Tomjanovich is Kupchak’s next choice, after checking first with Pat Riley and Krzyzewski. A team official expected Tomjanovich to be hired within the week, because the Lakers need a coach, and Bryant has not yet committed to re-signing with them, O’Neal still has to be traded, the free-agency period is half-done and the summer-league season starts Saturday.

As O’Neal’s people continued to push for a trade, Bryant is expected to meet with Clipper management this week. According to sources in Denver, Bryant and his agent met Monday with Denver Nugget General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe at Bryant’s Newport Beach home. Sources close to Bryant also said he’d set up meetings this week with the San Antonio Spurs. Like the Clippers, the Spurs and Nuggets are well under the salary cap and could offer Bryant six-year contracts worth about $100 million.

The Lakers have offered seven years and about $130 million, as much as they can but not good enough yet, and did solicit Bryant’s help with Krzyzewski.

“My guess is Kobe will survey the landscape and that would justifiably include the coach, players, the organization,” Kupchak said. “To what degree, how heavily weighted one issue will be over another, I don’t know.”

The Krzyzewski era in Los Angeles lasted one holiday weekend, from Thursday night’s offer to Monday morning’s rejection.

The Laker off-season remains that, nothing solved, Kupchak’s office light glowing late most nights, a city tapping its foot, the owner half a globe away. If there is an answer to all of this, Kupchak hasn’t yet found it, because Bryant hasn’t told him anything and O’Neal wants out in the worst way.

The Krzyzewski fling was simply that, a weekend getaway with little hope for permanence, and if it got Bryant’s attention too, even better.

“Kobe and I are very close. We got close in recruiting,” Krzyzewski said Monday, meaning Bryant’s to Duke, not his to the Lakers.

Still, he said, “I was considering the Lakers whether Kobe Bryant was going to be there or not.”

The Lakers are a tough rebuild, whether it’s in bodies or psyches. Karl Malone gets the midlevel exception if he is healthy and he wants it. Bryant gets the big money, if he wants it. O’Neal brings the bodies, but, perhaps not the ones Kupchak has in mind, and no one is sure what will happen if O’Neal is still on the roster come July 14, when Bryant could sign with, say, the Clippers.

There are no developments that would have O’Neal rescind his trade demand, it appears.

Those close to O’Neal are more adamant than ever that O’Neal be moved and that his list of acceptable destinations -- Dallas, Sacramento, Orlando, New Orleans, Miami and, apparently, a couple of others -- be honored.

NBA insiders believe trading O’Neal will be so complicated that negotiations will drag into fall, and that by then the benefits of being in shape and playing the season with the Lakers would reveal themselves to O’Neal.

O’Neal views the Lakers’ pursuit of Krzyzewski, however, as more proof of their dedication to Bryant. He is convinced Kupchak and owner Jerry Buss will continue in that regard, from building the coaching staff to retooling the roster.

O’Neal’s agent, Perry Rogers, declined to speak in detail about possible destinations, but did reveal O’Neal entertained his Orlando neighborhood Sunday night with a 20-minute firework display from his backyard. Rogers said he took the methods of the Lakers’ coaching search as a sign they’ve taken the trade demand in the spirit it was intended.

“We’re not bothered Shaquille hasn’t been consulted in the coaching search,” Rogers said, “because the organization realizes Shaquille won’t be a Laker next year.”

And neither, as it turns out, will Krzyzewski, who will get some concessions for his four-day Laker dalliance, including a contract upgrade and that practice gym he’s had his eye on.

“We’re disappointed to some degree that Coach K won’t be coming to Los Angeles,” Kupchak said. “We thought he would be a wonderful coach.”

He said he believed the luring of Krzyzewski was a “remote” possibility from the start, despite the $8-million annual salary.