Age Rule Clouds O’Neal Extension

The Lakers’ apparent reluctance to give Shaquille O’Neal a maximum-term contract extension has to do with restrictions in the collective bargaining agreement, though it does not necessarily temper their fear that a massive extension would paralyze their payroll in future seasons.

A passage of the complex agreement called the “Over-36 Rule” will limit O’Neal’s extension to two years, according to parties familiar with the intricacies of the CBA. The rule attempts to close a salary-cap loophole that otherwise would allow teams to continue to pay players into retirement, thus undermining the intent of the cap.

Because O’Neal would start a sixth season at 36 years old, his final year’s salary would have to be spread over the length of his contract in terms of salary-cap accounting, according to league sources. The Lakers cannot roll back the final year because O’Neal already has a maximum-type deal, signed three years ago, which leaves only a two-year extension.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak was alluding to the rule last week, when he told reporters not to assume details of O’Neal’s contract, creating confusion that at least contributed to O’Neal’s subsequent behavior on the matter.

O’Neal waved off talk about the contract Monday, saying, “I’m not worried about anything.”

Either way, O’Neal will become the NBA’s highest-paid player next season, replacing Kevin Garnett, whose new five-year extension begins next year at about $16 million, a $12-million cut from this season. Garnett, at 27, is closer to his prime than O’Neal, at 31, but has never won a postseason series.

It is in a mixed climate -- stars such as Garnett, Karl Malone, Gary Payton and Juwan Howard, among others, have accepted significant salary reductions, whereas Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury have received maximum extensions -- that negotiations between O’Neal’s agent, Perry Rogers, and Kupchak are expected to begin.

O’Neal could add those two years and more than $70 million to a contract that will pay him nearly $90 million over the next three seasons. He is more likely to be offered a pay cut from the $32.4 million he will earn in 2005-06, however, perhaps in the neighborhood of $20-25 million a season. At that salary, O’Neal probably would remain the league’s highest-paid player. Although it remains to be seen if that will be enough for O’Neal, his only recourse would be to opt out of his contract after next season, a longshot considering no other team could offer him nearly as much.

For Laker ownership and management, negotiations would appear to be as much about their future ability to field a team around O’Neal as about their concerns about overpaying O’Neal into his middle and late 30s. Kobe Bryant, Malone and Payton can become free agents after the season, so owner Jerry Buss and Kupchak figure to keep one eye on a potential rebuild around O’Neal.

“There’s no doubt this is the most talented, aggressive big guy who’s played a basketball game,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “For him to have any letdown is going to be either through motivation or he’s not kept himself in the kind of condition he has to in the off-season, hasn’t taken it that seriously. And injury, to his legs, knees, toe, whatever. That’s an important factor for the big guys. But, we watched David Robinson [play nearly to 40] and you look at [Kevin] Willis. They still can play basketball. The big guys can play basketball in their late 30s. There’s no reason Shaq shouldn’t be a real good player in his late 30s if he still has an appetite for the game.”

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An MRI exam on O’Neal’s left heel revealed no structural damage.

O’Neal had hoped the test, which he requested before sitting out Monday’s practice, would determine the cause of his pain, diagnosed as a bruise at the start of camp.

“I just want to check it out,” he said before the appointment. “It’s still a little bit sore.”

The Lakers play the Phoenix Suns tonight in San Diego. Jackson said he did not know if O’Neal would play, though team spokesman John Black said after the MRI that O’Neal was presumed to be available.

The team’s assumption is that Bryant, who must attend a hearing Wednesday morning in Eagle, Colo., could attend the game but will not play, though Bryant and the club have been vague about Bryant’s schedule.

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Rookie forward Brian Cook, the Lakers’ first pick in the June draft, will miss at least six weeks because of surgery to repair a fracture-dislocation of his left ring finger. Cook, who dislocated the finger a few times while at Illinois, aggravated the injury several days ago, according to Black. Dr. Norm Zemel will perform the surgery today at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic.

Cook was not expected to be a regular part of the rotation.