DISMANTLED CRUSHING FINALS LOSS BEGINS EXODUS; JACKSON `SLIM' TO RETURN.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - At the end of it all, as the brilliance of the era grew dimmer by the second, the three great pillars of a proud Lakers dynasty fell away from each other, set upon individual paths once more five years after they united and conquered a league.

Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal exited quickly Tuesday as the confetti fell over the Detroit Pistons, crowned champions after completing one of the great upsets in NBA history, a 4-1 Finals victory over the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant was the only one to linger on the court, soaking up the final bitter minutes.

Detroit finished off the former three-time champions with a 100-87 rout at The Palace on Tuesday, sending the Lakers into their most unsettled offseason of the millennium.

They will spend the coming months deciding their individual paths, but a dramatic breakup is all but certain after a second consecutive spring that ended short of glory.

After the discontent and the sadness, resignation fell over them all.

``It's a business. Whatever happens, happens,'' O'Neal said.

Bryant can become a free agent as soon as Monday, plans to exercise that option and can't guarantee he will re-sign with the Lakers.

O'Neal is under contract but could be traded, and he might even demand a trade.

Jackson, whose contract is expiring, apparently will be the first to go.

``I would say it's a pretty slim chance that I'll be back coaching next year,'' Jackson said, with his four grown children - Ben, Charley, Brooke and Chelsea - at his side. ``I've had a lot of persuasion given to me by these kids. They were hoping I could win the 10th (championship) and retire, but maybe losing this one, this opportunity is enough for me to say that it's time to give it up. But right now, I'm not going to make that decision, or give that statement.''

It was the fortuitous union of Jackson and the two sometimes-warring superstars, O'Neal and Bryant, that ushered in the Lakers' most successful run in decades. The Lakers hired Jackson almost exactly five years ago, and three consecutive championships followed.

But relationships frayed in the last two years of the Shaq-Kobe-Phil partnership, and the final two seasons ended with a second-round collapse and a Finals nosedive.

Gary Payton and Karl Malone were brought in to prop up the dynasty this season, but the former never fit in and the latter finished the season in street clothes, taken out by a knee injury that hastened the Lakers' demise.

Before going their separate ways, O'Neal, Jackson and Bryant all spoke earnestly of their mutual respect for each other. Jackson said O'Neal and Bryant could, and should, remain together, though it isn't clear what other coach can manage their uniquely difficult partnership. O'Neal and Bryant pledged their desire to keep working together.

Bryant's intentions are anything but clear. He has sent mixed messages all season, one day saying he'll be a ``Laker for life,'' the next saying he'll listen to any and all offers. He also has a sexual-assault trial to navigate before next season begins.

Asked if this might have been his last game as a Laker, Bryant peered out from under a visor pulled tight on his forehead and said, ``I don't know. You know, we have to wait until the summer to find that out. I really can't answer that question, because I don't know.''

If he does return, Bryant said he would welcome a future that includes O'Neal and Jackson, though he called his teammate ``fat'' and ``unprofessional'' last fall and said he didn't like his coach as a person at midseason.

``I loved playing for Phil. I learned so much playing for Phil and playing with Shaquille, too,'' Bryant said. ``I think we got a lot of great things accomplished despite our differences that we've had in the past. We've played extremely well together. We've had an incredible run.

``So I would not be opposed to playing with them forever. It's just not up to me. It's not my decision.''

In recent weeks, O'Neal has told friends he thinks he might be traded. Asked Tuesday night if that was possible, O'Neal said, ``Probably. ... Because people upstairs don't know how to take care of their business. They better take care of business. If not, hey.''

O'Neal still wants to be a Laker, ``But everything has to get done right.''

The burden now falls to owner Jerry Buss, who has said little about any of this, and to general manager Mitch Kupchak, who was in no mood to discuss such matters late Tuesday night.

``I'm not going to talk about our team,'' Kupchak said. ``I just want to say that Detroit had a heck of a series. ... Defensively, they were just overpowering. And they play with a lot of energy, and the city of Detroit should be proud of the team they have.''

Chauncey Billups, who has never been an All-Star, was named the Finals MVP after averaging 21 points on .509 shooting for the series. The Pistons became the first team to sweep the middle three games at home since the league adopted the 2-3-2 format. And Larry Brown, the former UCLA coach who resides in Malibu, finally won his first NBA championship, the crowning achievement in a Hall-of-Fame career.

Appropriately, the team without an established superstar finished off the series with all five starters scoring in double figures. And at the end of the Lakers' run, they were again reduced to a two-man crew.

Bryant scored 24 points in the finale, O'Neal 20. But Bryant had one of the worst playoff series of his spectacular career, averaging 22.6 points on .381 shooting.

A collection of rookies, unpolished prospects and aging old friends moved in and out of the lineup around them, to little effect. Slava Medvedenko, who replaced Malone in the starting lineup Tuesday, and Derek Fisher each scored 10 points, the first time in the series that any Laker other than O'Neal and Bryant hit double digits.

Malone, his knee too weak to make a contribution, watched from the bench in street clothes as his championship dream was stolen away once more, possibly for the final time. He'll turn 41 next month and could retire to his Arkansas ranch. It's a decision he won't make until he knows the status of his knee.

``It's a little early to say,'' Malone said.

Malone's first move is certain: He plans to decline his option today and become a free agent. The move could be a precursor to signing a more lucrative deal with the Lakers, or the first step toward retirement. He does not plan to play for anyone else.

Payton has a few more days to decide whether to exercise his option to return. Fisher has until Friday.

Despite their considerable star power, and the vast championship experience lining the bench, the Lakers never could muster the wit and the will to contend with Detroit's muscle. With every Ben Wallace dunk, rebound and block, the prerecorded Big Ben ``bong'' tolled again, ushering in the first Pistons championship in 14 years and signaling the end of a Lakers dynasty.

Late in the third quarter, Payton's arm whacked the plastic shield that protects Richard Hamilton's broken nose. The two came away jawing and were assessed a double-technical foul.

Emblematic of the series, the conflict merely showed the Pistons at their toughest and the Lakers at their most volatile, their most self-destructive.

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

14 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lakers guard, right, hugs coach Phil Jackson after the Lakers lost 100-87 - and the NBA Finals - to Detroit.

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

(2) Detroit's Ben Wallace (3) and Tayshaun Prince celebrate the Pistons' NBA title on Tuesday, the franchise's first since 1990.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

(3) KOBE BRYANT

(4) GARY PAYTON

(5) SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

(6) KARL MALONE

(7) DEVEAN GEORGE

(8) LUKE WALTON

(9) RICHARD HAMILTON

(10) CHAUNCY BILLUPS

(11) BEN WALLACE

(12) RASHEED WALLACE

(13) TAYSHAUN PRINCE

(14) CORLISS WILLIAMSON

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) NBA FINALS: LAKERS vs. PISTONS: Pistons win best-of-seven series 4-1

(3) A CLOSER LOOK: GAME 5

By Lauren Gustus

(4) REPORT CARD