Buss Has Always Tried to Make His Best Move

I’m a little surprised by all the criticism that Laker owner Dr. Jerry Buss has received. To listen to the radio and read the newspapers, he has no idea what he’s doing.

I don’t know, I’ve always thought the guy had a keen eye for talent, and more than that, a willingness to cut ties when someone grows old and move on to the next show-stopper. In fact I can’t think of anyone who has had more experience in getting the most out of someone’s talent before starting all over again. OK, Hugh Hefner comes to mind.

The point is, the Doc knows old when he sees it, knows when it’s time for a change and when to go with a new model. You’ve got to give Doc his due, because he was way ahead of us when it came to Shaquille O’Neal.

Doc figured out Shaq was in decline halfway through last season. He cut off contract talks, and it wasn’t until then that some of the media started to notice how much Shaq had lost on the court and how much he had gained around the middle.

Shaq was still calling himself the “Most Dominant Ever,” but maybe for the first time folks began to notice he was talking a better game than he was playing. There were still dominant performances, but they came infrequently and apparently the guy who signs the payroll checks took notice.

It’s not your money, so it’s easy to spend $60 million for the next two years on a center slowing down. Easier still to sign off on a contract extension for another pile of money to make the Big Guy feel loved.

Come on, it’s not like the Doc isn’t generous. I’ve seen him with the young ones time and time again, and he believes in showering them with gifts and attention just as long as they are in their prime.

I’ve never seen him with anyone past their prime, which makes him a little different than you and me. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it too, because we’re still required to shower them with gifts and attention -- but then I guess you and I would understand what it’d be like to watch Shaq chug up and down the court at age 40 better than anyone. Not a pretty sight.

Laker fans are ticked, of course, because sports is all about immediate gratification and the Lakers without Shaq makes the unknown look pretty lousy.

But I don’t think there’s anyone who knows more about immediate gratification than Doc. OK, Hugh Hefner comes to mind again. But if you take into consideration the Lakers didn’t win the NBA title the last two years with Shaq, maybe Doc is on to something and it really is time to start all over again and go young.

It’s a gamble, but then that’s what Doc does when he’s not devoting his attention to young talent, so I don’t know why anyone is surprised by what he has done.

*

LAMAR ODOM makes the Lakers more exciting, which should be good news for those buying tickets. Initially, he might not make them better than the Lakers with Shaq in the lineup, but if he doesn’t add another marijuana strike, he has the potential to be one of the NBA’s 10 best players -- competing long after Shaq has called it quits. Of course, Shaq has called it quits at various times during the season the last few years, so Odom might be an upgrade sooner than later.

*

DAN Le BATARD, a columnist for the Miami Herald, wrote Tuesday: “This is how large Planet Shaq is: It comes with its own gravitational pull. He doesn’t just bring an enormous electrical current of buzz ... he brings better players. Karl Malone and Gary Payton ... “

We can only hope he pulls Payton along with him to Miami.

*

Le BATARD ALSO wrote: “The moment O’Neal plants one of his giant sneakers in south Florida we become the center of the sports universe.”

So much for Athens and the Olympics.

*

THEY INTRODUCED the baseball All-Stars to the theme music from “The Natural,” a reminder, I guess, that none of them use steroids.

*

LANCE BERKMAN said he hit right-handed in baseball’s Home Run Derby, although he’s a better from the left side, because the contest messed up his left-handed swing for the rest of the season after the 2002 event. I wonder if that’s why Shawn Green didn’t participate in the contest -- for fear of messing up his swing for the rest of the season.

*

IT DOESN’T appear John Wooden will go hungry any time soon. Wooden donated his time on behalf of the ninth annual Rod Carew Children’s Cancer Golf Classic this week. When it came time to auction off a meal with Wooden for six, it generated so much interest, one lunch became four with Wooden for four different bidders -- each putting up $7,000 to spend time with him.

Scott Ecker, a senior manager for Deloitte & Touche, who once again donated his time to oversee the Carew Classic, reported more than $200,000 was raised for charity.

*

IT’S TOUGH to say after consecutive All-Star nights with ESPN and Fox who does more self-promoting. I know this, whoever came up with the idea of the “mute” button had to be listening to Chris Berman at the time.

*

DID YOU notice “Scooter,” the hyper, chipper cartoon character that Fox went to during the All-Star game? Yeah, it reminded me of Rex Hudler too.

*

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Phil Palmquist:

“As an avid Dodger fan over the past 40 years, I just wondered how you feel about the Dodgers being in first place at the All-Star break? You’ve been denigrating the Dodgers (all year); have you finally been fired by The Times?”

The Dodgers and I have something in common -- we’re both lucky so far.

*

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.