LAKERS GOT BEST OF THE DEAL.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Letters of apology can be addressed to Mitch Kupchak, care of the Lakers' offices in ElSegundo.

The Kupchak tar-and-feather crusade reached its zenith in the summer of 2004, when the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat for a package of players widely deemed to be insufficient.

But as the Heat limps and stumbles into Staples Center on Monday for a rematch of its Christmas Day beatdown of the Lakers, who is in better shape today, and for the future?

It's the Lakers. And it's not even close.

Yes, the Heat won the NBA title. Yes, Dwyane Wade is the most dynamic young player in the game today (sorry, LeBron).

Yes, Shaq proved he could win a title without Kobe, something Kobe has yet to do.

But beyond Wade, what exactly is there to suggest that the Heat are set up for a great future?

Shaq is in semi-retirement. Since joining the Heat he has missed 64games out of a possible 200, not exactly a stellar attendance record, and his points and rebounding totals will continue to drop.

Udonis Haslem is a solid player, but beyond that, what's there? Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton are soon to join the rocking-chair crowd. Jason Williams? Dorell Wright? James Posey? No thanks.

It's no coincidence that coach Pat Riley decided to get his surgeries done during the season. Riley was in pain, and not just from the headaches of watching the Heat stumble to a sub-.500 record.

It wouldn't be a surprise if Riley just called it a career. He thought about retiring after the championship season but got talked into returning this year. It didn't work out, so why come back again?

Without Riley, and soon without Shaq, what is the Heat? A less-talented version of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Meanwhile, look at the team Shaq left behind. Lamar Odom, the centerpiece of that criticized trade, has figured out what Phil Jackson wants from him and would have been an All-Star this season if healthy.

Caron Butler didn't work out, but the Lakers got Kwame Brown for him, and there are signs of life there. And the first-round pick the Lakers received was used to draft Jordan Farmar, who is shining already.

Also, in a roundabout way, because the Lakers struggled in the first season post-Shaq, they climbed high enough in the draft to select Andrew Bynum, a possible franchise player at center.

So, take a deep breath and a look back. The Heat got a title, which was important because it legitimized the franchise.

In the short term, the Lakers took their lumps, but in hindsight, the trade worked.

Second chance: If nothing else, the Heat is in better shape than the last time Ron Rothstein coached them.

Rothstein, who has taken over for Riley on an interim basis, has been there before. Rothstein coached the Heat in its inaugural season (1988-89) and for two more dreadful seasons after that, and told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that not much has changed in the last 18 years.

``Players' attitudes?'' Rothstein said. ``You always find something to complain about as a player, and you always find something to complain about as a coach. That hasn't changed, no matter what it is, there's always going to be some dissatisfaction. So from that point of view, nothing's really changed.''

Young blood: Just when David Stern had finished banging his head against a composite wall, 19-year-old rapper Bow Wow (his real name is Shad Moss) said he wants to buy the Atlanta Hawks.

Moss is starting off slow, of course. He owns a shoe store in Atlanta and he wants to buy ... a McDonald's. Well, with those credentials, he probably can't do much worse than the current Atlanta ownership.

The franchise: As Philadelphia's buyout of Chris Webber's contract dominated the NBA news this week, another team sought to cut ties with a player who was formerly a bright star in the league.

The New York Knicks, tired of Steve Francis, reportedly are looking for a team to buy out his contract. Francis, who has clashed with coaches and management, has appeared in just 21 games this season.

There could be time for a revival here. Francis, who turns 30 in February, was a consistent 20-point, five-rebound, five-assist player early in his career, before conflicts bounced him back and forth between Orlando and New York. A trade back to the West, and a fresh attitude, could benefit Francis and his new team.

Numbers don't lie: The Lakers are winning without Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, but are they putting the best starting lineup on the court? The analysis of one Web site says no.

The site 82games.com, which compiles and analyzes a dizzying amount of stats, doesn't give much love to the Lakers' lineup of Kobe Bryant, Smush Parker, Andrew Bynum, Brian Cook and Luke Walton.

According to a ``winning percentage'' formula that takes into account how many points a five-man unit scores and allows, that particular starting unit has a winning percentage of just 36.3.

The numbers indicate that the Lakers would be best off by starting Bryant, Bynum, Walton, Jordan Farmar and Maurice Evans, although the sample size is fairly small there. Listening, Phil?

Make up your mind: Think the controversy over the NBA ball is dead? Of course not. These are professional athletes, who, as a lot, tend to thrive on finding things to complain about.

Phoenix guard Steve Nash, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: ``... just when you get used to it, we're going back to the new ball again. It's almost harder to get used to playing with the old ball again.''

Sacramento guard Kevin Martin, in the Sacramento Bee: ``I liked (the synthetic ball -- from Day One, even in summer league when my percentages weren't that good.''

The answer here, clearly, is to make these guys play with volleyballs. Or hockey pucks.

Sitting and learning: It's been a tough rookie season for Orlando's J.J. Redick, the former Duke star who has been bolted to the Magic bench for most of this season.

Orlando took Redick with the No.11 overall pick, but heading into Friday's game against the Lakers, Redick had appeared in only eightgames and played 95 minutes for the season.

``Hopefully I'll tip 100 soon,'' Redick told The Associated Press. ``They're still paying me.''

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1) With players like Gary Payton, left, and Shaquille O'Neal aging fast, Miami doesn't look like a reigning NBA champion.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

(2) The Nets' Jason Kidd has played well despite going through a nasty divorce.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Box:

(1) DAILY NEWS CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER

- Ross Siler

(2) THEY SAID IT

(3) DIESEL PARKED

(4) THIS ONE REALLY HURTS

(5) MY BAD!

(6) THIS WEEK'S BEST BET