Shaq’s Ball in Lakers’ Court

From Magic to Magic.

From “the Big Dipper and “the Big Fellow” to “the Big Rapper.”

It all seems so natural, so obvious, maybe even inevitable.

Having finally hammered Magic Johnson’s retired jersey back onto the Forum wall, and having long searched for the next superstar who will enable them to hammer yet another championship banner on the opposite wall, the Lakers have their sights set on the man they think can make that happen.

He’s Orlando Magic center Shaquille O’Neal, part-time rapper, part-time movie star and full-time NBA force, a logical successor to centers Wilt Chamberlain, “the Big Dipper,” and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “the Big Fella.” Chamberlain was the center on the Lakers’ first NBA championship team in Los Angeles and Abdul-Jabbar was the center on the five others.

The Lakers love O’Neal. He loves L.A. And come July 1, he is a free agent.

So what’s the problem?

Actually, there are several:

--The Competition.

Nobody can make a move for 30 days. At that point, the offers are expected to come flooding in to O’Neal from every general manager with a working phone.

Before then, any official on any team making any statement that indicates an interest in O’Neal is risking a tampering charge that could result in a league fine in the millions.

Asked about the Lakers’ interest in O’Neal, Jerry West, the team’s executive vice president, said, “Call me on July 1.”

But several sources close to the team concede the obvious, that the Lakers would rid themselves of everybody short of Chick Hearn and the Laker girls if that’s what it would take to clear a spot for O’Neal, arguably the next dominating force in the game once Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon have faded.

--The Current Employer.

Magic officials are declaring, publicly at least, that they fully expect to keep the 7-foot-1 center.

O’Neal has indicated that his first choice is to remain in Orlando, but he has also indicated he will explore other possibilities.

Translation: No matter what you hear, don’t expect a Shaq signing party in Orlando on July 1. Rather, expect O’Neal’s exploration of possibilities to stretch through July and possibly beyond.

“We’re going to sign Shaq and we’re going to sign [forward] Horace [Grant],” Magic General Manager John Gabriel told the Orlando Sentinel.

Said teammate Dennis Scott, “I expect Shaq to be my neighbor next season.”

--The Price Tag.

Sources say O’Neal may be looking for as much as $10 million for a single season or $25 million over two or three seasons.

“We’re going to be fair, but we’re not going to go crazy,” said Magic owner Rich DeVos.

After the Chicago Bulls had swept Orlando in four games in the Eastern Conference finals, DeVos was overheard in the Magic locker room telling O’Neal, “I don’t want just your body, I want your heart. I want you to love playing for this team. If not, then you should go to another team.”

Which way is O’Neal leaning?

Although he has tried to remain silent until negotiations begin in earnest, his actions tell a story all their own. O’Neal skipped a season-ending Magic team meeting Wednesday, leaving team officials openly disgruntled.

Where was O’Neal?

In Southern California, of all places, here to promote his role as a rap-singing genie in a new movie. There was also an unconfirmed report that O’Neal had lunch with Laker guard Nick Van Exel.

But it will take a lot for O’Neal and Van Exel to start having pregame meals together.

Assuming the salary cap will be $24.3 million, and it may rise a little when all the calculations are in, the Lakers could get down to $15.1 million, giving them just about what O’Neal is asking for, if they renounced the rights to all their free agents--Elden Campbell, Sedale Threatt, Derek Strong, Fred Roberts, Pig Miller, Frankie King and Johnson, who has already indicated he won’t be back. The Lakers would then be unable to re-sign any of those players until January if, indeed, they were even still available at that point.

The key to the whole deal might be Campbell, and West’s ability to juggle both Campbell and O’Neal without tossing away his chances at one or the other. A quick decision by O’Neal to come to L.A. would be the Lakers’ ideal scenario. That way, they could pay him what he wants and still re-sign Campbell because, as the Lakers’ own free agent, Campbell could get a fair salary regardless of the cap.

But if the O’Neal situation drags on and Campbell grows restless, the Lakers might be faced with a tough choice. Sign Campbell and lose money they need to land O’Neal, or let Campbell go and hope they wind up with O’Neal. That dangerous course could leave the Lakers with two empty hands.

There are other considerations. Threatt is their backup point guard, Strong is a backup power forward. Losing them would hurt the Lakers’ depth.

There are other moves West could make. The Lakers are allowed to sign O’Neal to a contract that gives him a 20% annual raise for up to seven years. They could also make a trade.

The Lakers have just lost their last superstar in Johnson, the only man they could depend on to fill Forum seats. The curtain has fallen on Showtime. But the script has been written for the next act, if only the Lakers can get O’Neal to be their new leading man.

And why not? He likes the neighborhood. He likes the spotlight. He likes the money.

And he figures to like what he hears from Jerry West on July 1.