[Sun-Sentinel] Year later, L.A. sitting pretty

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-ira17jul17,0,7197783.column

Year later, L.A. sitting pretty
Published July 17, 2005


Shaquille O'Neal might not wind up with the last laugh after all.

Put in the unenviable position of dealing O'Neal last summer when the economics and antipathy became overwhelming, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak set himself up for a season's worth of ridicule from the massive center.

Yet, a year later, as the Heat crosses its fingers that a newly rewarded O'Neal will be as driven as a contract-hungry O'Neal, the Lakers have emerged with both a present and a future.

In dealing O'Neal to the Heat almost a year ago to the date, the Lakers received forwards Caron Butler and Lamar Odom, center Brian Grant and what will turn into a 2006 first-round draft choice.

The immediate result was a 34-48 mess of a season.

But, through that misery, the Lakers now have both immediate and long-term hope.

With Odom, Kobe Bryant and the savvy of Phil Jackson, there is promise for the type of Michael-and-Scottie chemistry that Jackson forged in Chicago (OK, or, at worst, at least a competitive bid for a playoff berth).

And by agreeing to trade Butler to the Wizards for Kwame Brown, there is the combined promise of the youthful former Washington forward and teen first-round 7-footer Andrew Bynum.

Suddenly, this no longer has the look of the crash and burn the Bulls endured upon the retirement of Michael Jordan.

Kupchak, to his credit, has maintained a forward-thinking approach, while also respecting the present-day reality of filling costly seats.

With Brown to be signed for only two guaranteed seasons, the Lakers also retain the flexibility of jumping into the 2007 free-agent market, when Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire could become available.

Plus, with the one-time amnesty rule coming into play this summer, the Lakers will be able to realize a $30 million luxury-tax savings by cutting Grant.

In essence, for O'Neal, the Lakers received Odom, Brown, a first-round draft choice and luxury-tax relief. There is enough for Jackson to work with today; there will also be enough to bridge to a future when O'Neal is off playing policeman somewhere in Florida.

While July 14, 2004 might be a date that lives on in infamy for the Lakers, July 2005 has brightened the mood at Staples Center.

Draft disadvantage

While it's probably too late in the collective-bargaining process to address the oversight, the lack of guaranteed contracts for second-round picks has left those prospects at a decided deficit to undrafted free agents.

Three collegians who went undrafted last month -- Florida's Matt Walsh, Charlotte's Eddie Basden and St. Joseph's Dwayne Jones -- all agreed to partially guaranteed contracts last week.

Had the three been drafted, each likely would have had to sweat out training camp without a guarantee, possibly to be cut too late to latch on with another NBA team. Instead, Walsh faces a smoother transition with the Heat, Basden with the Bulls and Jones with the Timberwolves.

In the end, being drafted in the second round, especially late in the second round, turned into a penalty for others unable to leverage their way into guaranteed money.

The right thing would be to either guarantee the contracts of all second-round selections, or simply reduce the draft to a single, all-guaranteed first round.