Fisher Is Latest Laker to Enter Market

Pat Riley isn’t coming and Rudy Tomjanovich isn’t hired, not yet. Shaquille O’Neal is still pulling a Laker paycheck, but Derek Fisher told the Lakers on Wednesday he would opt out of his contract, as they figured he would.

Life inched along for General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who might laugh if he was sure the joke wasn’t on him.

In Los Angeles, one Laker official said wryly, Kupchak fielded calls regarding O’Neal from the handful of general managers who didn’t call the day before. O’Neal, at 32, is still capable of creating championship expectations by himself, and his availability has generated uncommon interest around the league.

There is a sense the Lakers are operating under the notion Kobe Bryant will re-sign with them, that, as one official said, “He has every intention of coming back.” To what, exactly, will be played out through the summer, starting, perhaps, with O’Neal’s destination.

The Dallas Mavericks, because of their talent, large payroll and hard-charging owner, have drawn much of the early attention, particularly if a deal was to bring Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash.

O’Neal has told his representatives, Perry Rogers and Mike Parris, to concentrate on those organizations with a chance to win a championship, which narrows the field to about eight plus, perhaps, his sentimental favorite Orlando Magic.

Trade discussions have become something of a cooperative effort between O’Neal’s people and Kupchak, though Kupchak admitted Wednesday, “I’m always optimistic that things work out for the best and I feel this will also. Obviously, in the best of all worlds, we keep this team together and we carry on and win.”

O’Neal’s best world does not appear to be in Los Angeles anymore.

Perhaps he would return to his childhood home, Newark, to play for the New Jersey Nets. It has been reported there that the Nets might not part with Richard Jefferson or Jason Kidd, however. If, in kind, the Indiana Pacers won’t part with Jermaine O’Neal, the Houston Rockets won’t part with Yao Ming, the Minnesota Timberwolves won’t part with Kevin Garnett, then, perhaps, a trade gets more difficult to make.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, O’Neal was in Las Vegas this week dropping hints he’d like to play for the Sacramento Kings.

Kupchak declined to comment on the process or what had brought them to the process, saying only, “We all know what happened last week.”

In Miami, Riley explained his whereabouts for the past several days, declaring himself out of the Lakers’ search for a new coach, a situation he once said he was not in and had no plans to join. Anyway, it appears Riley will continue his duties as president of the Miami Heat and his path toward becoming vested in a percentage of that franchise.

Riley issued a statement.

“Several days ago,” it read, “Dr. Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak contacted [Heat owner] Micky Arison to seek permission to talk to me about the Lakers’ situation. Micky granted permission and I chose to speak with them. ... During our discussion, which lasted a few hours, there was never any demands made by me nor was there ever an offer presented by them. ... It was simply a long philosophical discussion about the situation.

“I have great respect for the Lakers, Dr. Buss and Mitch Kupchak; they’ve built one of the premier franchises in the NBA. ... For the past 34 years the Lakers have been a big part of my life and I would like to thank them for the opportunity to talk.

“While it was a great trip down memory lane, we have mutually decided to end our conversation in regards to their situation.”

According to the Lakers, they mutually ended the conversation when it became evident Riley would require a large salary, at least some control over personnel decisions and other amenities, including a mention of access to a private jet.

Kupchak still has assistants Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons to interview. But after meeting with Riley on Monday and Tomjanovich on Tuesday, Buss left for Italy on Wednesday, leaving the rest of it to Kupchak. Buss, Kupchak and Tomjanovich left Tuesday’s meetings with favorable impressions of each other, though Laker insiders believe a coach -- Tomjanovich, it appears -- won’t be named until just after the weekend, at the earliest. Kupchak specifically mentioned the period between today’s draft and July 1, when teams can begin negotiating with free agents.

Trade discussions involving O’Neal, Kupchak said, are unrelated.

“I don’t think it has to be resolved prior to us getting a coach,” he said.

Fisher, who arrived with O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and for eight years lived in the eye of that storm, told the Lakers he would opt out of his contract, making him a free agent.

Known for his steady game, cooperative demeanor and the three NBA titles he won playing beside his more famous teammates, Fisher, a career role player, briefly joined them in celebrity with a single shot against the San Antonio Spurs.

With four-tenths of a second left in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, Fisher caught a pass and made a turnaround 18-foot jumper that defeated the Spurs, 74-73. The Lakers finished the Spurs in Game 6, then beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

Fisher, 29, referred calls to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, who said Fisher hoped to return to the Lakers, presumably for more than the $3 million annual salary he was leaving behind.

“You only get so many opportunities to be a free agent in your career,” Bartelstein said, “especially when you’re in the prime of your career. ... It doesn’t mean by any stretch he wants to leave the Lakers.”

Fisher yearns to at least have a chance to be a starter, a position he lost when Gary Payton was signed last summer. Payton notified the Lakers on Tuesday that he would return, probably clinching Fisher’s decision to opt out.

“It’s my understanding Derek does want to finish his career here,” Kupchak said. “That is something we’d like to see happen.”