SHAW DOES `RIGHT THING,' RETURNS.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Shaquille O'Neal and Mitch Kupchak are happy. Lakers fans are, too. Brian Shaw is, well, a professional.

Back in the fold after spending four days in salary-cap limbo, a little lighter in the wallet for the experience and feeling very much a pawn in a complicated game of financial chess, Shaw expressed eagerness in putting money issues behind him and rejoining his Lakers teammates Monday.

Shaw re-signed with the Lakers on Sunday, four days after the team waived him in a cost-cutting move, for one year at the veteran's minimum of $1 million. The Lakers, who needed to shed salary to avoid the NBA's luxury tax, will save $1.3 million. Shaw isn't happy about having to sacrifice money, but he understands the situation and appreciates the Lakers' predicament.

``It's something that I didn't look forward to and I never agreed with it, but unfortunately for me, with the rules the way they are, it had to happen,'' Shaw said.

The Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies all expressed interest in Shaw, who considered offers for more money and more years but decided the opportunity to win another championship with the Lakers outweighed the extra money and security.

``My teammates have been very supportive, they kept in contact with me and expressed that they missed me and wanted me back,'' Shaw said. ``And the fans here in L.A. have embraced me in a way that none of the fans for teams I've played with before did. So for the fans and my teammates, I wanted to remain where I was.''

As for any animosity he has with the organization, Shaw insists he never was angry with the Lakers.

``I feel like I'm a professional, so you don't harbor any resentment or anything like that,'' Shaw said. ``You understand first and foremost that this is a business and there are certain things that happen that sometimes don't work out in your favor. So I understand that and I respect the organization and what they felt like they had to do to play within the rules that were given from the league. I respect that, but I don't agree with it, but as a professional I'm going to come in and put my uniform on and I'm going to play just as hard as I played before.''

On Sunday, Kupchak said Shaw's decision to forfeit more money to come back to L.A. put him ``into another category of people that have really gone above and beyond the call of duty to win. I'll never forget that.''

Shaw hopes that means the Lakers will remember his gesture during contract talks this summer.

``There is nothing promised, but I just think if I do the right thing for the right reason, that the right things will happen for me when the time comes,'' Shaw said. ``That's the way I've always worked.''