No One Claims Fifth Starter Job

The search for a fifth starter continues, and probably will for a while, because of injury and inexperience in the triangle offense.

Luke Walton might have taken the spot, but he sustained a severe left hamstring pull Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors and will be out two to six weeks.

Smush Parker, who started the Lakers’ first exhibition, a 101-93 victory, didn’t earn bountiful praise from Coach Phil Jackson. Asked whether he liked how the starters played with Parker, Jackson said, “Not particularly. We can do better than that.”

Then there’s Aaron McKie, signed to a two-year contract after the Philadelphia 76ers waived him but not firmly enmeshed in the complexities of an offense that took Laker assistant Tex Winter 320 pages to detail in a book.

“It’s taking some time, but I think for the most part I’ve gotten it down to where I need to be,” McKie said. “It’s just some of the smaller details that I’m going to need to learn.”

McKie, 33, who started Wednesday’s exhibition, has averaged 7.6 points in his career, but tumbled to a career-low 2.2 points last season when he was taken out of the rotation at the start of the season.

“Sometimes change is good,” he said. “They were going in a different direction. They’ve got some young guys that they want to play there, so good luck to them.

“I’m not putting any unnecessary pressure on myself. Just go out and play basketball, do what the man asks me to do and do like I did throughout my whole career and that’s just be solid.”

The fifth starter may not be established before the exhibition season ends.

“We hope so, but there’s absolutely nothing that we can put our money on right now,” Jackson said. “Obviously, Aaron is somebody with experience who has the ability to step into that position. Six days of training camp is certainly not enough for him to stand in there and feel comfortable. We’ll be watching that position and we’ll be starting different people and putting different people with that unit the whole time.”

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Walton, who had been hitting his shots and passing with his usual clarity, will miss significant time for a second consecutive exhibition season.

He sustained a sprained ankle in the last training camp and tumbled down the depth chart at an overcrowded small-forward position. Tuesday, he felt his hamstring snap in the fourth quarter while making a back-door cut against the Warriors.

“I felt like I made a lot of progress this whole off-season,” Walton said. “That’s why it’s kind of frustrating to get hurt in the first game. When I can get back out there, I’ll try to make up for lost time.”

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Kobe Bryant had 28 points Tuesday on 10-for-19 shooting. Kwame Brown had six points and four rebounds in 23 minutes before leaving when he was elbowed on the left cheek. He needed seven stitches.

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The Lakers’ exhibition Wednesday against the Warriors ended after press time.