Zone no problem for Lakers

Zone or no zone, the Los Angeles Lakers are determined to build a dynasty in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Shaquille O’Neal plans to weigh 295 pounds when the next season starts. That’s to make himself more mobile in the NBA’s "liberation" era where the rules will allow any kind of defense. The word is Shaq was in the 340-345 range when the Finals ended last month. So Shaq’s got until October to lose about 50 pounds. Can he do it? The betting is before Shaq slims down to less than 300, Allen Iverson will shave his head and remove the tattoos from his body. The chances are slim.

But O’Neal insists he’s serious. He’s dreaming of a "bling" dynasty. For the uninitiated, "bling, bling" is rap code for light bouncing off shiny jewelry. When O’Neal held up his second NBA championship trophy, he liked the "bling" reflection. Coach Phil Jackson liked it, too.

Jackson has a habit of winning titles in bunches of threes. His first trio came with the Chicago Bulls in 1991, 1992, and 1993. His next threesome was also with the Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Now that Jackson has back-to-back crowns at Los Angeles, he’s going for a third trio.

A week ago, Jackson – who’s not the type to rest on his laurels – began to load up for the coming season. He traded frontliner Greg Foster to Milwaukee for 6-2 guard Lindsey Hunter. The deal made good sense – for the Lakers. Foster didn’t play a single game in the Finals and is miscast in a zone. Hunter is a long-distance shooter and a competent ballhandler who should be useful in beating the new eight-second backcourt rule.

Jackson picked up Hunter as insurance in case Tyronn Lue, a free agent, jumps ship. In the Lakers lineup, there are three guards who stand 6-2 or less – Lue, Hunter, and Derek Fisher.

Other Laker free agents are Ron Harper, Horace Grant, and Isiah Rider. The Lakers had no picks in the recent draft so Jackson is expected to explore more trades and sign up free agents. Under NBA rules, teams may start signing free agents on July 18.

Among the popular free agents in the market are Joe Smith, Mike Finley, Chris Gatling, Chris Webber, Shandon Anderson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Allan Houston, Dikembe Mutombo, Rod Strickland, Arvydas Sabonis, David Robinson, Pat Ewing, Antonio Davis, and John Stockton.

Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter says he’s not worried about the zone. "We’re fortunate because our offense should work well against zones with the player movement and ball movement we have," explains Winter. "One reason it’s successful now is that it works against illegal defenses. The best way to beat a zone is to get downcourt before they set it up. But I don’t think the zone will be a big factor. Not many NBA coaches know (how) to teach it and the shooters in this league are just too good."

Collegiate coach John Chaney of Temple University says he expects a lot of NBA teams to employ the 3-2 zone. "Whatever happens, there’s no way it’s going to bother Shaq," he notes.

As for a revamp, Jackson doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get rid of the Lakers’ oldies. Harper, Grant, Brian Shaw, Rider, Rick Fox, and Robert Horry are all 30 and over. There was once a rumor that Jackson considered trading Kobe Bryant to Toronto for Vince Carter and Antonio Davis. But that was at the height of the Bryant-Shaq feud last March. Winning has a way of smoothing hurt feelings. Now, both Kobe and Shaq swear they’re partners for life.

As for Philadelphia, it’s still not sure if coach Larry Brown or the Sixer free agents will be back. Philly’s free agents are Mutombo (being pursued by Orlando), Rodney Buford, Todd MacCullough, Aaron McKie, Kevin Ollie, and Pepe Sanchez.

In the draft, the Sixers chose three big men – 6-11 Samuel Delembert, 6-9 Damone Brown, and 6-11 Alvin Jones. Clearly, the idea wasn’t to crowd Iverson in the perimeter.

Some NBA teams are hiring collegiate coaches to teach players how to attack the zone and how to use it on defense. Seattle, for instance, brought in Missouri-Kansas City coach Dean Demopoulos to teach the zone. Other teams aren’t panicking to cram because they’ve been playing a disguised zone all along.

Whether the zone will be in the NBA to stay or not remains to be seen. Whatever, the Lakers are confident they’ll three-peat.