Out With the Old, in With Older

As far as the real-estate market is concerned, Vlade Divac’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Three months ago, eight years after his Laker career ended, Divac finally sold his home in Pacific Palisades.

As far as the Lakers as concerned, the timing couldn’t have been better. With Shaquille O’Neal traded to the Miami Heat last week, leaving a gaping hole in the middle, and the Sacramento Kings willing to let Divac go because of financial considerations, the Lakers signed their former center to a new deal Tuesday, $10.3 million over two years.

“An old friend is now back,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak told the media at a Tuesday news conference to reintroduce Divac.

He’s also an older friend, one who is 36, past his prime.

“If you made a list of the top 10 centers in the league,” Kupchak said, “I think Vlade would be close to that list even at his age. We are getting some size, although I can’t overemphasize the fact that we can’t fill Shaq’s shoes.”

For Divac, it’s a case of been there, struggled through that. In his first tour of duty with the Lakers, he was also asked to fill the large shoes of a departing Laker center: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

This time, the 7-foot-1, 260-pounder will share the center spot with Brian Grant, obtained in the O’Neal deal.

“It’s definitely tough, but it’s a team sport,” Divac said, “and we all have to be on the same page and support each other.”

The 26th pick by the Lakers in the 1989 draft, Divac, who was born in Prijepolje in what was then Yugoslavia, played seven seasons for the Lakers. He left in the summer of ‘96, traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to a hot, 17-year-old high school kid from the Philadelphia suburbs named Kobe Bryant.

Divac returns to what has become Bryant’s team. But, Divac admitted Tuesday, he returns only because it is Bryant’s team. If Bryant, who re-signed with the club last week after opting out for free agency, had gone elsewhere, Divac might have done the same.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “It would have been tough to make that decision ... because I really want to play for a team that can do something.”

Divac is hoping veteran power forward Karl Malone, also a free agent, will follow Bryant’s example and re-sign with the Lakers. Malone could have received the Lakers’ midlevel exception, worth $4.9 million, but passed on the chance, saying he did not want to hold the Lakers up while he ponders his future.

“Not too many people would do that,” Divac said. “That shows Karl is not only a superstar, but a very good sportsman. I use this opportunity to thank him because, basically, he brought me back.”

Divac hopes Malone comes back as well. “It would be a big difference playing with him instead of without him,” Divac said.

It was obvious that Divac never cut his emotional ties to the Lakers.

“This was my home in America when I came here in ‘89,” he said. “This team was always special for me ... Obviously, when you leave a situation like [Sacramento where he spent six seasons], there is sadness. Someone asked me, ‘How did you choose the Lakers?’ It was easy for me.”

The Lakers also signed their first-round pick, Sasha Vujacic of Slovenia, to a three-year, $2.5-million deal, with an option for a fourth year. The 20-year-old Vujacic was five when Divac broke into the NBA.

“He was one of the first to come over from Europe to the NBA,” Vujacic said. “To me, it is incredible news that he is coming back to the Lakers.”

There is one big difference in Divac this time. The man who had trouble communicating in English as a rookie had no trouble delivering a string of one-liners Tuesday with the confidence of a stand-up comedian. For example :

* Has he shifted his emotions from Sacramento to Los Angeles?

“I’m in between. Around Bakersfield.”

* Can he be an effective passing center?

“Well, we are going to see if they are going to pass me the ball.”

* How has he changed since he was last a Laker?

“I speak English.”

* And finally, Divac’s reaction when they held up his new/old uniform No. 12, which has also been worn by Jerome Kersey, Derek Harper, Mike Penberthy and Jannero Pargo.

“Why did you give it to them?”