Young Lakers Brace for Changes

Kareem Rush and Brian Cook were about to put on their uniforms Saturday for the Lakers’ first Southern California Summer Pro League game when a reporter told them that Shaquille O’Neal had been traded to the Miami Heat.

At first, the players stood motionless outside the team’s locker room at The Pyramid at Long Beach State.

“That’s just a rumor isn’t it? Tell me that it’s not really true,” said Rush, a key contributor during the playoffs in his second season out of Missouri. “I never thought it would be possible that Shaq would be traded.”

Added Cook, who just completed his rookie season out of Illinois: “I’ve learned a whole lot since I’ve been out here and it’s a lot different from where I came from. But I’ve mainly learned that it’s just part of the business.”

By acquiring versatile Lamar Odom, swingman Caron Butler and forward-center Brian Grant, along with a No. 1 pick, the Lakers would transform from an O’Neal-dominated power team into a Kobe Bryant-led running squad -- if Bryant re-signs with the team.

“They [Lakers] certainly picked up some guys who can run and with Miami.... it’s better to have [O’Neal] in the East than the West,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said. “I think the Lakers are putting a team on the floor that is going to run a little bit more and that’s what they did. When you look at Odom and Kobe and the people that they have, they are going to be a good team. But you still have to wait until they put together all of the pieces.”

Rush and Cook spoke highly of the players who would be coming to the Lakers.

The 6-foot-10 Odom, a former Clipper No. 1 draft choice in 1999, is capable of playing four positions. His style of play should fit nicely in new Coach Rudy Tomjanovich’s system.

Butler gives the Lakers another thoroughbred. At 6-7, he can play shooting guard and small forward. He should thrive in an up-tempo offense.

In Grant, the Lakers add a hard-working 6-9 player who has spent considerable time at center. Although he’s more suited to play power forward, Grant can be an effective post player.

“[Odom] is going to be a big asset for us; Brian Grant is going to give us that much needed physical presence down low and Caron Butler is just an all-around good player,” Rush said. “I look forward to meeting those guys and getting them acclimated into our system. It’s a whole new team now. New coach. New players. It’s going to be an adjustment for all of us.”

Cook is ready.

“Being around all the superstars that we’ve had [last season], their egos and stuff like that will better prepare me,” he said. “They are all great players who have established themselves.... I’m sure that I will learn a whole lot from them too.”