LAKERS NOTEBOOK: GRANT LEAVES WITH FOURTH RING, `NO BAD FEELINGS'.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

All things being equal, Horace Grant might have been in a Lakers uniform Sunday, and not opposing them as a member of the Orlando Magic. But then, all things weren't equal in July, when Grant was a free agent deciding where to end his NBA career.

The Magic offered $7 million over three years, two of them guaranteed. The Lakers, fearful of the luxury tax and conscious of Grant's age (36), couldn't compete - although at the 11th hour, there was talk of matching Orlando's offer.

Grant chuckled Sunday upon hearing that.

``This is a great organization,'' he said, then added, ``They didn't match the offer. If they had matched the offer, it would have been two years.''

So Grant returned to Orlando, where he spent some of his best years and where he had built a sizable mansion near town. He left L.A. with a championship, his fourth (he received the ring Sunday), and with a little disappointment, but ``no bad feelings whatsoever.''

``This is a business,'' he said. ``I helped this team win a championship, and I'm grateful for them giving me the opportunity to come here and play.''

There were other lures in Orlando, including the chance to play on one of the NBA's up-and-coming powers, alongside stars Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. No one would be surprised if Grant was competing against his old team in June.

``I felt that with this team we have a very good chance of coming out of the East and playing for a championship,'' he said.

The Lakers remain a bit unsettled at power forward, where Samaki Walker and Slava Medvedenko are still learning and Robert Horry is still valued primarily as a backup.

But Grant said that threesome is doing just fine in his place and his assessment of the Lakers required only one word: ``Wow.''

``Whenever you have a Shaq (O'Neal) and Kobe (Bryant), man, you really don't need that much more. ... I don't see any slippage.''

--Magic's kingdom? Coach Phil Jackson ranked the Magic among the best offensive teams, but not necessarily one of the best teams overall.

``They haven't got really what I would consider a lot of size or speed in the blocks,'' he said.

Much will depend on what Grant can provide.

``I bought him another year or two by only playing him 18 or 22 minutes a game,'' Jackson quipped. ``They can't play him 30 minutes a game and have Horace have any value after February.''

--Ouch report: Bryant suffered a bloody nose in the first quarter when Hill and McGrady converged on him near the 3-point arc. Bryant darted to the locker room but returned three minutes later. He'll be examined today to determine whether there was a fracture.