LAKERS NOTEBOOK: JACKSON: SHAQ STILL A BIG LOSS.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. - Straight from the best-selling pages of ``The Last Season'' are Phil Jackson's thoughts on the direction of the Lakers after the decision to trade Shaquille O'Neal following the 2003-04 season.

``I certainly could not endorse the decision to trade Shaquille,'' Jackson wrote. ``I acknowledge that his skills and athleticism are declining, and that his market value will never be better, but this is still Shaquille O'Neal, the most dominant big man in the game today, maybe ever. Nobody can replace him.''

With that, Jackson turned down owner Jerry Buss' offer to remain with the organization as an executive after parting ways as coach.

Nearly 18 months after that day, with a Christmas showdown against O'Neal and the Miami Heat upcoming on the schedule, Jackson was asked before Friday's game whether his return as coach came with a change in perspective about the trade.

``The problem with trading dominant players of that size is you can never get in return what you bargain away,'' Jackson said. ``That's the biggest problem with trading big guys.

``You go back historically and look at the trades, it's an unfortunate thing but sometimes one dominant player is more effective than maybe four players.''

Jackson went on to reference the championships the Lakers won after acquiring both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (one). The Milwaukee Bucks, as Jackson noted, have not won a title since trading Abdul-Jabbar.

``It's pretty obvious that the replacement takes a tremendous amount of culture to kind of germinate it the right way,'' Jackson said. ``I think Dr. Buss had that in mind and knew what he was trying to get accomplished. But still, in all, it never quite seems to match up.''

The Lakers have only one player, forward Lamar Odom, still remaining from the O'Neal trade. With Caron Butler in Washington and Brian Grant in Phoenix, the reconfigured trade in present terms was O'Neal for Odom, Kwame Brown, Laron Profit, a 2006 first-round pick and about $30 million in luxury-tax savings from waiving Grant.

--Profit update: Profit had surgery Friday to repair the left Achilles tendon he ruptured in the fourth quarter Tuesday against Dallas. The Lakers said Profit would need four to six months to recover and that his season was finished.

With Profit, Aaron McKie and Slava Medvedenko all injured, the Lakers will be forced to go with three rookies - Andrew Bynum, Devin Green and Von Wafer - on the active roster.

--Welcome back: This three-game trip has a secondary storyline in Brown's return to Washington on Monday night. Not that Brown has any questions about how he will be received in the city where he spent four turbulent seasons.

``I already know what reception I'm going to get,'' Brown said of the expected boos. ``The Juwan Howard-special, baby.''

Brown was asked if he is happier in Los Angeles than he ever was in Washington. He was taken No. 1 overall out of high school by Michael Jordan and the Wizards in 2001.

``I can't say that because I haven't been here long enough and, at the same time, I had some good times in Washington,'' Brown said. ``There were times when MJ was there and we were rolling, we won a couple of games, had great times.

``There were times my third year when I was healthy, we had it going, even though it didn't translate to a lot of wins. There were still some good times in Washington.''