Lakers positively need some kind of charge

Deja vu all over again, Lakers-style . . .

Down to one superstar whom he just all but announced he will trade, you could say Jerry Buss picked a bad time to go from forgiving paterfamilias to hard-eyed realist.

On the other hand, that’s life in the fast lane. These are the Lakers, who may not have invented diva behavior but certainly carried it to new heights.

We’ve seen this stuff before.

Three years ago, with Kobe Bryant thinking of leaving, Shaquille O’Neal turning up his nose at a $22 million-a-year extension and the organization worn out by eight years of their soap opera, Buss broke up the mightiest tandem the game had ever known without looking back.

When Pat Riley, who flew here to discuss the vacant coaching job, asked for the players’ numbers to try to turn them around, Buss let the subject drop.

“They had already made up their mind,� Riley said later. “They didn’t want to keep them together.�

Not that that turned out so great.

Three years later, the Lakers’ shot at keeping Bryant depended on his willingness to make things right . . . which he did on media day, apologizing to almost everyone.

The exception was Buss, whom he had called an “idiot� and a “liar.� Asked about the “pointed things� he’d said, Bryant replied only that he’d been told that Buss hadn’t been actively involved in running the team but would be now.

Nevertheless, after a nightmare summer, the organization breathed a sigh of relief. As a Lakers official put it, “Now it’s about winning or losing, which is the way it should be.�

Well, that’s the way it was for nine tranquil days in Honolulu.

Unfortunately on the 10th day, Buss shocked everyone used to his gentle speech patterns. Instead of one of his sunny forecasts, he not only said he would consider offers for Bryant, he seemed ready to sever ties on the spot (“You can’t keep too many loyalties.�)

The renowned poker player had just shown his cards, which could only limit his options and offend the player he hoped to keep. Because no one has to tell Buss how things work, this suggested even darker feelings within -- hurt at Bryant’s slurs, skepticism that they can keep him, or both.

Now, as to the damage . . .

“I just think his explanation of the parameters of this kind of changed the valence in some way or other,� Phil Jackson said Saturday.

“Does that make sense?�

Valence is a scientific term denoting whether an atom is positively or negatively charged, according to whether it gains or loses electrons.

Follow the Lakers, get an education. Now to figure out whether the valence has turned positive or negative.

“I just think the cold bare facts of this situation are kind of sobering,� Jackson said. “And yet the reality of it is that his [Buss’] first statement still stands most importantly, that we don’t want to trade Kobe and if we win, everything will be OK here. . . .

“If we don’t win and we don’t play well, everything’s not going to get better and it won’t be if people can’t get their hearts to what they have to do here.�

If that’s the positive interpretation, you can tell this is going to be some rough season.

In a less positive vein, Stephen A. Smith, who’s close to Bryant, almost came out of his seat in one of those ESPN exchanges of ideas when Skip Bayless mentioned Buss’ claim that the Lakers made the best offer for Kevin Garnett.

“Of course, I don’t believe that,� said Stephen A., dripping enough scorn to curdle Skip’s blood.

“Of course, I know better than that. You know I know better than that. He didn’t make a better offer.�

Actually, the Lakers’ offer of Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom was at least arguably better, not that it matters.

Welcome to your 2007-08 Laker season.

Jackson has always done his own brutally candid assessments, but his have unifying themes his players can rally around. That’s missing here unless they’re going to throw darts at a picture of Buss.

In Chicago, Jackson did side with the players against GM Jerry Krause, which was a good idea, seeing as how one of the players was Michael Jordan.

This is different. The Lakers still have an extension offer on the table for the coach, and Jackson found out the last time he retired he wasn’t ready for retirement.

See, it’s not all bad news -- someone wants to stay!

“It’s probably best that it comes out now, we get everything straightened out and we can start the season the right way,� Jackson said. “That’s what I believe will happen.�

It’s always nice to end on an up note, isn’t it? Even in a disaster area.

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