`SACRIFICE' WILL HELP LINEUP WORK JACKSON SAYS ALL-STAR ADDITIONS PRESENT MAJOR CHALLENGE.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - A gift for massaging egos and competing agendas has earned Phil Jackson a record nine NBA championships. But there is no modern precedent for the task that now lies before him:

Blending the best tandem in league history and two more Hall of Fame players in a lineup ripped from an All-Star program. Shaquille O'Neal to Kobe Bryant to Karl Malone to Gary Payton.

``It's one of the biggest challenges I think I've ever faced,'' said Jackson, entering his 14th season as an NBA head coach. ``There's not too many teams that have had four 20-point-per-game scorers, let alone guys that average 30, which is close to what Shaq and Karl have averaged, that have been able to play together. So we're going to have to have a big sacrifice, from players, from stars, from everybody, to make this thing work.''

Jackson already is planning ``subtle'' changes in the offense, mostly in the transition game, to take advantage of Payton's speed and Malone's post- sprinting abilities.

O'Neal will continue to be the focal point, though Jackson frowned at his center's clamoring to get the ball 40 times a game.

``He has a myopic view of the game,'' Jackson said. ``And that's natural. But Shaq's always kind of felt that way. I told him what I want to see out of him is that if he does get the ball as often as he wants to, that those assists go up to seven or eight assists per game.''

Payton and Bryant will start in the backcourt, pushing Derek Fisher into a reserve role. Devean George is penciled in at small forward while Rick Fox recovers from foot surgery. Horace Grant, returning for a second tour with the Lakers, will be the primary backup to Malone and O'Neal.

Defensive assignments also will change. Bryant wants to defend opposing point guards, a role he relished and thrived in three years ago. Jackson agrees, and will use the 6-foot-4 Payton to defend shooting guards.

``That's one of the things that I think is going to make a difference in this ballclub, is that we're going to have that defensive attitude again that we need,'' he said.

In retrospect, Jackson believes the Lakers lacked discipline last season - ``We were fat and happy'' - and for that he accepts the blame.

``I came back with the resolve that we're going to be more disciplined with this team this next year,'' he said. ``I'm looking forward to a training camp that's a little more intense than we've had in the past, a season where we share the ball a little bit better than we have in the past and where we use passing as really a virtue and really a habit on this team, rather than just a bailout.''