Columnist Dean Juipe: Lakers luck into solution to problems

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 18, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

It is one of the most glamourous franchises in all of professional sports.

It's a team with a rich owner, a wealthy fan base and the type of luster that can only be achieved when years of success are measured in decades.

In terms of image, the Los Angeles Lakers have built themselves quite a legacy. They also have the financial wherewithal to be assured of placing competitive teams on the floor on an annual basis.

That packed-to-capacity vault came in handy again this week when the Lakers were fortunate enough to be able to afford the asking price Phil Jackson had requested for his services. Jackson, who coached the Chicago Bulls to six world championships and who was an astounding 545-193 with the Bulls, has signed to coach the Lakers for the next five years at $6 million per season.

Signing Jackson is the first good move the Los Angeles front office has made in a year, although team owner Jerry Buss repeatedly looked away rather than hold his staff accountable for mistakes that looked like mistakes even as they were being announced to the public.

In essence, the Lakers may have lucked into a solution to their problems by being able to meet Jackson's demands.

If nothing else, general manager Mitch Kupchak and executive vice president Jerry West should be taking Jackson to lunch -- or to as many lunches as he cares to put on their tab -- for coming to their rescue.

With most other franchises, Kupchak and West already would have been fired.

Now they get a reprieve.

West has been acting indifferent toward his job and what has Kupchak done since trading in his uniform for a fancy suit? They had so many blunders just this year that one followed another like a succession of tumbling dominos.

First, they panicked early and fired a very strong and able coach, Del Harris.

Next, they took a chance on Dennis Rodman without first getting the ingrate's commitment that he would have basketball prioritized above marathon gambling sessions in Las Vegas.

And then to truly disrupt the team and leave it without a ghost of a chance in the playoffs, they traded the multi-faceted Eddie Jones to Charlotte for the very one-dimensional Glen Rice.

Jones is a budding superstar, a two-way player with excellent abilities. He's certain to be a great player for many years.

Rice, meanwhile, has a nice shot from beyond the three-point line but nothing else for the plus side of the ledger. Fact is, he's a detriment to any team that uses him in anything other than spot situations.

While interim coach Kurt Rambis felt obliged to play Rice and hope for the best, Jackson may be able to niche him into the team's offense and keep his minutes curtailed. The Lakers do, after all, have plenty of talent and scoring power, what with mammoth center Shaquille O'Neal and perhaps the best 20-year-old in history, Kobe Bryant, backed by the likes of Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Derek Fisher.

The Lakers may not have won a championship since 1988 but resuscitating this storied franchise is not an impossible task. Jackson may get them to click.

If he does, West and Kupchak -- who could easily be in the unemployment line -- will be the beneficiaries of a good fortune they arguably didn't deserve.