BERTKA HAS PERPETUAL CONNECTION WITH LAKERS.

Byline: Karen Crouse

Bill Bertka has survived four decades in a profession that eats its wise.

It's little wonder why. Bertka is universally respected and genuinely liked in pro basketball circles. He has friends everywhere and not one adversary, which makes him about as rare in the buck-passing, backside-covering, ego-levitating NBA as the player who wins league titles in both scoring and rebounding.

His affiliation with the Lakers pre-dates Jack Nicholson's. He has a better seat than Dyan Cannon, even if he is less visible.

In two tours with the team, Bertka has outlasted nine head coaches and the Forum, too. He has stories older than any of the Laker girls, fond memories of a game predicated on passing and defense and a mindset as obsolete as the set shot.

``I appreciate the privilege of earning a living in the NBA,'' said Bertka, the only assistant from the 1998-99 staff to be retained by new coach Phil Jackson.

Bertka is joined by Frank Hamblen, Jim Cleamons and 76-year-old Tex Winter. Contrary to popular belief, Jackson did not approach Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon about the role of scout/stat man before offering it to Bertka, who is 72 but, as far as we can tell, as ageless as Ann-Margret.

``He's got the respect of everybody in this business,'' Hamblen said of Bertka, who is in his 19th season with the Lakers. ``We're happy to be associated with him.''

Yes, all blended families should get along so famously.

Over a late snack on the second day of training camp, Winter was completing Bertka's thoughts and Bertka was finishing Hamblen's sentences and their conversation flowed without the slightest break. Oh what rejoicing there'd be if the Lakers could run the triangle offense so seamlessly.

Bertka's enduring place on the Lakers' bench attests to life's weird geometry.

He is close as kin to Winter. The two have known each other since their undergraduate days at USC in the 1940s. Bertka met Hamblen 20 years later when both were scouting for NBA teams (the Lakers and San Diego Rockets, respectively). In those years, Bertka and Hamblen spent more time hanging out with each other than with their respective families.

One of the players the Lakers drafted, based on Bertka's legwork, was Cleamons in 1971. Another player Bertka evaluated went on to have a decent career with the Knicks. He was a kid whose effort far exceeded his talent. A fellow by the name of Phil Jackson.

``It's really ironic,'' Bertka said. ``It just goes to show you never know how many times your path is going to cross with people. You never know what your fate might be.''

When the Lakers fired Del Harris in February and dismissed Kurt Rambis three months later, Bertka figured the only organization in his future might be AARP.

He didn't need his bifocals to see the writing on the wall. He could understand Jackson wanting to bring in his own staff. Out with the old, in with the new. Bertka braced himself to hear he was finished.

Winter, though, had other ideas. No sooner had the longtime assistant packed his bags for Southern California than he started politicking on Bertka's behalf.

``I pushed hard for (retaining) Bill,'' Winter said. ``I thought it was very important we utilize Bill's background and experience.''

Bertka long had been the good solider, doing whatever was asked of him without complaint. He assiduously kept all the statistics only a defensive player could love (not surprisingly, Robert Horry has a special place in his heart for Bertka). He kept the head coach's seat warm for one game against the Clippers after Harris was fired and before Rambis was promoted.

And when he met with Jackson over the summer, Bertka kept it real.

``I let him know I've been with the Lakers all my adult life (save for a seven-year stint with the expansion New Orleans Jazz),'' Bertka said, ``and that they can bury me in the organization as far as I'm concerned. I told him I've never looked for a damn job anywhere else and I wasn't about to start.

``I would have done whatever they wanted, though a (front-office) position (such as the one Rambis was force-fed) wasn't my preference. I enjoy working with the guys. I like to teach. It's the thing I like to do the most.''

He can instruct us all, this genial man who loves the life he leads and has a kind word for everybody he meets. The lesson? Ambition takes tricky bounces, but decency's rebound always comes back to you.

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PHOTO Longtime Lakers assistant Bill Bertka, right, with owner Jerry Buss, handles scouting and statistics.

Victoria Arocho/Associated Press