Lakers Rush in Candidate

Rudy Tomjanovich is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles tonight and meet Tuesday with Laker owner Jerry Buss and General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

In a harried period for the Lakers, Tomjanovich appears to be the leading candidate to replace Phil Jackson as coach. Jackson was told Friday night he would not be back for a sixth season, after five seasons brought three NBA titles.

Jackson assistants Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons have been told they will be considered for the vacancy, and the Laker list also includes former Laker coach and current Miami Heat president Pat Riley and former Seattle SuperSonic and Milwaukee Buck coach George Karl.

According to NBA sources, neither Karl nor Riley has been contacted by the Lakers, so it is believed that Tomjanovich is the organization’s first choice. A decade ago, Tomjanovich won back-to-back NBA championships with the Houston Rockets, one of them in the Finals against Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic.

Riley issued a statement Saturday saying he’d more likely stay in Miami, where he is negotiating to extend his contract. Karl, like Cleamons, is among the candidates to replace Jim O’Brien at Ohio State.

The Lakers would prefer to have a coach in place by Thursday’s draft, though it would be difficult. The expansion draft is Tuesday, the amateur draft Thursday, Gary Payton and Derek Fisher could become free agents by Thursday and one team official doubted Kupchak and Buss would reach a decision after interviewing one candidate, Tomjanovich.

Still, if Buss is comfortable with Tomjanovich, the process could move fast. Buss is expected to board a plane for Italy on Wednesday.

As league general managers prepared to throw their rosters at Kupchak in order to acquire O’Neal, it appeared that Tomjanovich would be a popular choice on a roster threatening to disintegrate.

Payton played on two teams coached by Tomjanovich, the 1998 World Championship and 2000 Olympic teams, and liked Tomjanovich’s philosophies and methods. O’Neal, who has demanded a trade, holds Hakeem Olajuwon in high regard, and Olajuwon played most of his career for Tomjanovich.

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Expected in the same section of Dodger Stadium on Sunday: Kupchak, Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy and Kobe Bryant. Kupchak is from Long Island, Dunleavy is from Brooklyn and Bryant is from ... Philadelphia.