Malone Will Skip Olympics

Karl Malone said Wednesday he had notified USA Basketball he would not play for the Olympic team this summer in Athens, a decision he had been hinting at for months.

He had delayed a final judgment in order to gauge the condition of his body and his emotional commitment to the team after the death of his mother last August.

Malone experienced swelling in his right knee after Monday night’s Western Conference finals clincher against the Minnesota Timberwolves and said he had a significant amount of fluid removed in a procedure Tuesday.

He tore a ligament in the knee in December, causing him to sit out half the season, and has decided that the joint probably would not carry him through the Olympic schedule, closely followed by another NBA regular season, should he choose to return.

Nearing the end of his 19th NBA season, Malone will determine this summer if he will play a second season for the Lakers or retire.

On a light practice day at the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility, Malone received treatments of ice and electrical stimulation, which he was to continue through the night. Trainer Gary Vitti sent a portable stimulation machine home with Malone.

Immediately after his knee was drained, Malone said, he experienced less pain and greater flexibility and did not expect it to limit him against the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

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Shaquille O’Neal said he didn’t want to ponder the possibility of the Lakers splitting apart once the season is over.

“The owner’s a smart guy,” O’Neal said. “He knows what he’s doing and hopefully he makes the right decisions. But if not, we have to live with those decisions and move on. That’s what you have to understand in this business.

“I was watching TV yesterday and [St. Louis Ram quarterback] Kurt Warner got cut. I know that if Kurt Warner got cut, there is no loyalty in this league and nobody’s safe. That guy got cut, Vinny Testaverde got cut, they’re talking about cutting Eddie George, There ain’t no loyalty in sports. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

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Phil Jackson, who last month labeled San Antonio a “tourist trap” and in the past has sent several verbal jabs at the city of Sacramento, declined to share his thoughts on the city of Detroit.

“I don’t want to say anything about Detroit because I’ve already started that with so many other towns,” he said. “We all know about Detroit.”

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Tickets went on sale Wednesday for the Lakers’ “Homecourt Advantage,” which allows fans to watch Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals on big screens inside Staples Center. Tickets are $15 for adults and are available at Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or the Staples Center box office. Proceeds are donated to the Staples Center Foundation and the Lakers Youth Foundation.