LOCKOUT LEADS TO ALL KINDS OF CHARITY; O'NEAL, JONES TO PLAY AT PAULEY PAVILION ON SUNDAY.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

It's the giving season, so locked-out NBA players are returning to the hardwoods this month to play not for championships but for charities.

In Los Angeles, the beneficiaries will be children, while in New Jersey the pros will be playing to support their favorite cause - themselves.

Lakers Shaquille O'Neal and Eddie Jones top a list of 11 NBA players scheduled to play Sunday in the Chris Mills Charity Game at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Proceeds will go to reading programs and the United Way via a foundation established by Mills, the former Fairfax High standout.

Meanwhile, Showtime announced it will televise an agents-organized exhibition game Dec. 19 in Atlantic City, N.J. That game will also raise money for charity, but is intended primarily to bolster the lockout fund for out-of-work NBA players who run short on cash.

``If you look at people who play professional sports, not a lot of them are financially secure. They make a lot of money and they also spend a lot of money,'' explained union president and Knicks star Patrick Ewing. ``No matter how much money (some NBA players) have made throughout their careers, if they're in need now, then it's up to us to try and help them.''

The event aims to raise at least $1 million.

Thirteen players, including Ewing, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller and Mitch Richmond, are committed to play in the uncreatively named ``The Game on Showtime.'' Organizers are trying to field up to 16 players from the four Dream Teams - the 1992 and '96 Olympic teams and the '94 and '98 World Championship teams.

Michael Jordan will not play, despite the fact his agent, David Falk, is one of the primary organizers. Jordan, still waffling on retirement, ``wouldn't want to send the fans a sort of mixed message by his participation,'' explained Curtis Polk, president of Falk's agency.

O'Neal, a former Dream Teamer, has not yet committed to the Showtime game, but has confirmed his participation in Sunday's 3 p.m. charity game at UCLA - provided organizers can find sufficiently-wide shorts for the big man.

O'Neal was supposed to play this past weekend in a Dallas-area charity game organized by Kenny Smith, but the triple-extra-large shorts provided by organizers didn't fit the 7-1, 315-pound center.

``They looked like biker shorts on him,'' Smith said. ``I said, `Darn, Shaq, you must have put on weight.' ''

An organizer told the Dallas Morning News that O'Neal abstained because he objected to the Rawlings insignias on the uniforms (O'Neal is loyal to his own sponsors), but O'Neal insisted that was not the case.

``It was the pants, man,'' he said.

Also playing Sunday are Pooh Richardson of the Clippers, UCLA alum Tracy Murray of the Washington Wizards, former Laker Cedric Ceballos and Boston Celtics guard Kenny Anderson.

Lakers swingman Kobe Bryant has been invited to Sunday's game but has a possible scheduling conflict and has not committed. Organizers expect a response from Jordan by the end of the week.

Tickets for the Chris Mills Charity Game are available at the door. Upper-level seats are available for $10 and a toy donation for Toys for Tots. Lower-level seats cost $25. Information: 310-284-2090.

EXHIBITIONISTS

Some locked-out NBA players have organized two exhibition games to benefit charities as well as out of work players' pocketbooks.

Date: Sunday 3 p.m.

Site: Pauley Pavilion

Main charities to benefit: Chris Mills Youth Foundation, Hollenbeck Youth Center, United Way

Participants include Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Pooh Richardson, Kenny Anderson, Brent Barry, Cedric Ceballos, Jimmy Jackson, Tracy Murray and Charles O'Bannon. More players will be added. Tickets ($10, $25) are available at the door. Information: [phone].

Date: Dec. 19

Site: Atlantic City, N.J.

Main charities to benefit: NBA lockout fund

Participants include Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller and Mitch Richmond. The agents-organized game will be televised on Showtime.

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BOX: EXHIBITIONISTS (see text)