Here’s the Deal on All the Laker Trade Rumors

PHILADELPHIA —  The high points, low points and ticklish talking points of the weekend that was:

I’m making trades, and taking numbers . . . Got the phone ringing, the Internet humming, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement cheat-sheet spread across my desk.

I see Bush beat McCain, wonder how that affects the Lakers’ cap space, and if that might drive McCain to make the ultimate sell-your-soul deal with Washington--trading for Juwan Howard.

Some random thoughts and wild mumbo jumbo on the road with the Lakers, as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline nears:

Who the Lakers won’t get: This is the easy part. Owner Jerry Buss vetoed Scottie Pippen months ago because he has mandated that the team not put itself in position to incur the luxury tax when it is implemented after next season.

So anything you hear about Howard, Shawn Kemp and any of the other gigantic-salaried, over-the-hill cap-cloggers coming to L.A. is merely chatter.

Who the Lakers wanted: There was a pitch made for Toni Kukoc, the perfect fit for Phil Jackson’s team. But the Bulls valued a No. 1 pick from Golden State over Larry Hughes, who would’ve been acquired by the Lakers (for Rice) and then sent to Chicago for Kukoc.

Hughes ended up in Golden State, the 76ers ended up with Kukoc, and the Lakers ended up hoping that Rice’s recent play means his confidence and aggressiveness are back.

Who else is out there: Mid-level names that have popped up as possible last-minute acquisitions include Christian Laettner, Antonio Davis, Isaac Austin and Tom Gugliotta, which leads us to . . .

An ideal scenario: Phoenix dumps Gugliotta for Rice at the deadline. The Lakers go the rest of the season with Gugliotta, a nice complementary player they tried to get last season. If it doesn’t quite work, or even if it does, they have a mighty interesting bargaining chip if Detroit has to deal Grant Hill in the off-season.

An ideal scenario 2: Somehow, some way, Jerry West figures out a way to land his favorite available player, Toronto’s Tracy McGrady.

THE BIG PICTURE

This is the time, from the end of the Super Bowl to the beginning of March Madness, that the sports world takes a breath or two, thinks about spring training, takes a glance at the Daytona 500 and rests up for later adrenaline rushes.

So here is a personal selection of five favorite things from February 2000:

1. Tiger Woods, chasing down the leader on any given Sunday. Ever remember paying this much attention to golf months before the Masters? These days, every tournament Woods plays is a major.

2. Vince Carter, attacking the rim with a big man in front. The slam-dunk contest was great. Watching him practically tear off Patrick Ewing’s arm or kick some poor defender’s shoulder on the way up in a real game is better.

3. Pacific 10 guards Gilbert Arenas, Jason Gardner, Casey Jacobsen and swingman Jason Kapono. This might be the best conference class of freshman guards in the history of college basketball. There should be at least one and maybe two or three national championships out of this group before it is done.

4. Ken Griffey Jr., smiling. Maybe he’ll go sour in Cincinnati too, but at least for a few years, watching the best player in baseball play loose and giggling ought to be thrilling.

5. Shaquille O’Neal, 75% free-throw shooter. That’s four or five more points a game for him, and the Lakers, and incredibly more confident play in the fourth quarter, which could be enormous if he keeps it going through the playoffs and in games at the Alamodome or Rose Garden.

WEEKEND TALKING POINTS

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, new Clipper assistant coach: He wants to work in the NBA, so I guess this is a step closer.

2. UCLA’s lost Arizona weekend: My mistake, none of this is Steve Lavin’s fault. He gets the best out of his players NIT-in and NIT-out.

3. Pepperdine, what-if: The Waves deserve to be in, either way. But if they had received the right call and been able to defeat UCLA back in December, they’d be an NCAA tournament lock.

4. USC-Arizona State postgame brawl: If Jeff Trepagnier is suspended, Avondre Jones might still have some eligibility left.

5. Nissan Open: On TV, Riviera looks like one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world. Oh, that’s right, it is one of the most beautiful.

6. Daytona 500: Because of new regulations, passing was so rare I thought I was watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

7. Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera slugfest: If you want an antidote to boxing ugliness, turn to the lower weights and banish Tyson from your thoughts.

8. The NFL: Will somebody please fix this numskull, numbing hard salary cap? The league was built on teams growing up great together (Pittsburgh, Dallas), and now the inflexible cap makes that impossible.

9. Kobe Bryant: The greatest thing about him is that the better he gets, the better he will want to be.

10. Staples Center, dark for Grammys: With Kings, Lakers, Clippers all on road to set up for the music show, this building hasn’t been this quiet since . . . well, it’s actually almost always this quiet.

LEADING QUESTIONS

Is it time to recognize that things are happening more deftly and thoughtfully in the early tenure of new Dodger boss Robert Daly?

Even if he overpaid a bit to re-sign Eric Karros, isn’t it clear that Daly wanted to keep Karros’ mind clear for at least a few seasons--

and avoid anything close to the Mike Piazza contract-talk circus?

And if they want to trade Karros in two years, when the Shawn Green big-time cash really starts kicking in and maybe when they can find another first baseman, they’ve allowed themselves the room for that too, right?

Could you imagine Chase Carey or any of the other Fox drones (and the Disney-Angel drones too, for that matter) understanding the importance of any of this?