FOR KUPCHAK, IT IS A COUP SIGNINGS PROVE MOXIE OF GM.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

With a few swift strokes of the pen late Tuesday night, the Lakers restored their supremacy, renewed a city's faith and sent shock waves across the NBA landscape.

And as the effects rippled from one city to the next, Mitch Kupchak secured himself a legacy.

There was a bottle of champagne to mark the occasion when Karl Malone and Gary Payton signed their contracts Tuesday evening. A day later, in the giddy aftermath, the Lakers' office staff feted Kupchak and his assistants with a surprise party at the team's El Segundo headquarters.

The abundance of smiles and laughter and optimism will spill into a third day when the Lakers introduce their new superstar tandem this morning at Staples Center. Kupchak, of course, will take his place in the middle of it all, as is required by his general manager title.

But he will not indulge in the glory of what is, indisputably, one of the greatest free-agent coups in sports history.

``It's hard for me to think like that,'' Kupchak said Wednesday afternoon. ``It's a game. I can't use words like `historic.' I just can't do it. The way my mind works, I'm trying to figure out who that 13th player is going to be right now. I'm trying to work out the logistics of training camp.

``I do know I'm probably more fun to be around than I was (Tuesday). ... That's probably a good thing.''

It was a nervous, edgy two weeks for Kupchak as he recruited Malone and Payton, first separately and then as a package. Magic Johnson lent his own considerable influence and savvy. Shaquille O'Neal lent his powerful voice and unique charm.

But it was Kupchak who took all the heat when the Lakers' three-year championship run came to a crashing halt. And so it will be Kupchak who will, rightfully, receive most of the credit for the most significant talent haul since the Lakers acquired O'Neal and Kobe Bryant seven years ago.

Yet the outcome was in doubt right down to the last 24 hours.

``I felt I was going to have a heart attack (Tuesday), to be honest with you,'' Kupchak said. ``I probably made people nervous around me the last couple weeks. I know they're glad to have me back to normal.''

It took years for Kupchak to emerge from the shadow of Jerry West, his mentor and close friend. But Kupchak greeted the occasion with a typical detachment, as though he just happened to be standing nearby, rather than orchestrating the show.

A legacy? Kupchak won't even use the word.

``If we don't have Kobe and Shaquille here, we probably don't get Gary or Karl. And why do we have Kobe and Shaq? Because of Jerry,'' Kupchak said. ``Let's win. `Give our coaches the most talent we can give them. Then let's win. That would make me happy.''

In truth, it all came together more by happenstance than design.

Kupchak wanted to sign Payton. He wanted to sign Malone. He hoped one of the two might take the midlevel exception, $4.9 million, for the chance to win a championship.

``Quite frankly, I wasn't sure we could get one player of that magnitude with our midlevel,'' Kupchak admitted.

Then a strange thing happened. Malone's longtime agent, Dwight Manley, told Kupchak his client would be willing to play for the $1.5 million exception if it meant the Lakers could secure another star with the bigger exception. He mentioned Payton as a possibility.

``I was kind of dumbfounded by the whole meeting,'' Kupchak said. ``Karl said, `Mitch, you act like you don't believe what I'm saying.' I said, `Karl, this is unusual. I'll be honest, it's taking awhile to sink in.' ''

Malone later indicated he would play for the Lakers with or without Payton - ``a coup in itself,'' Kupchak said.

``Karl was committed, that was kind of the beauty of the whole thing,'' Kupchak said. ``Somewhere in the process ... it got to be more meaningful, that Gary did commit to Karl, and Karl committed to Gary and they kind of forged a bond.''

The monetary sacrifices have been made. The pair accepted a combined $26 million pay cut. They might be here only a year. Each signed two-year deals, each with an option to leave next summer.

So there will be little time to establish pecking orders and massage egos. The Lakers believe it will work, and that Phil Jackson is the perfect coach to make it work.

``You kind of wonder, `Is it too much?' But it's something you have to do,'' Kupchak said. ``I think there's a greater chance that it would work out, a much greater chance, vs. a chance it wouldn't work out. I say that because of the spirit (of the financial sacrifice), because of the age of the players, because of what happened last year and because these guys have been around and have not won a championship. I think all those things bode well for a harmonious team.''

--Also: Derek Fisher probably lost his starting job when Payton decided to join the Lakers, a subject he and Kupchak discussed in a meeting late last week. ``We had a nice, long talk and we walked through the different scenarios,'' Kupchak said. ``It was a good meeting. You can't have a bad meeting with Derek Fisher. He speaks directly, and he speaks from his heart.'' Naturally, Fisher wondered about his future. ``I said we can't plan right now for things we don't know will happen a week from now,'' Kupchak said. ``I said, `You're under contract and they're out of your control. All you can do is continue to work hard.' '' Kupchak said Fisher felt ``pretty good'' about the discussion, then added, ``but he wants to play.'' Although there have been rumors of a Fisher trade, the Lakers seem inclined to keep him, knowing Payton's career here might only last one season.

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com