THE DAYS OF DIVAC VLADE HAS FOND MEMORIES OF TIMES WITH LAKERS.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

It was a longshot from the beginning, bringing a 21-year-old Serbian 7-footer to Los Angeles and expecting him to replace Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the final stages of the Lakers' wondrous run of the 1980s.

And not only Abdul-Jabbar, but George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain as well.

Every Lakers championship - 11 in all - came with one of those three patrolling the middle.

In Divac, the Lakers felt they'd found their fourth great center.

It never happened. The Lakers were an ordinary team when Divac was here from 1989 to 1996 - nothing more, nothing less. Divac was decent, certainly respectable, but not great.

That might sell in Sacramento, where Divac now plays, averaging 12.3 points, eight rebounds and three assists, but not in Los Angeles, where championships - not mere playoff appearances - are expected.

Divac was an easy target, a symbol of what the Lakers didn't have: A dominating center and championship rings.

``There's a lot of pressure, coming through (Los Angeles) as a center and following those kinds of footsteps,'' former Laker Michael Cooper said. ``Maybe that's unfair to him, because I'm not sure he was ready at that point in his career. But that's the way it is in Los Angeles. It can be vicious.''

Divac's stay ended when Shaquille O'Neal wanted to become a Laker, and owner Jerry Buss decided to pay whatever it took to get him.

Soon after, Divac was banished to Charlotte for the draft rights to some 17-year-old kid named Kobe Bryant.

Maybe that's Divac's Los Angeles legacy. Kareem gave us the skyhook, Divac gave us Kobe.

Of course, all of this adds to the intrigue of the Lakers' first-round playoffs series against the Kings, which starts Sunday at Staples Center. How ironic would it be if Sacramento knocked Los Angeles out, ending its best chance of winning a title in 12 years?

With Divac playing center?

The early years

When the Lakers chose Divac with the 26th pick in the 1989 draft, they were looking to replace Abdul-Jabbar, who retired that summer. They were lucky in a way. Mobile 7-footers with multiple skills rarely fall so far in the draft, but the NBA was skeptical of European players at the time - a notion Divac helped change.

It was a classic Jerry West pick. Others in the organization were leaning toward safer American players, but West was fascinated by the multidimensional Divac after watching footage of him with the Yugoslavian national team against the Boston Celtics.

``You could see the skill right away, that was pretty obvious,'' West said. ``On film, we saw a very gifted player who could do a lot of things well. We felt there was a place (in the NBA) for someone with that size and that skill.''

For Divac, it was a dream come true. He grew up idolizing the Lakers, particularly Magic Johnson.

``One day I woke up and boom, I am part of them,'' Divac remembered.

If there was pressure following Kareem, he never showed it. Like most young players, he was more concerned with surviving.

``He didn't look at himself like that,'' West said. ``He was trying to establish himself, create a niche. But he showed at a very early stage that he belonged with the best players in the world.''

The transition wasn't smooth. In Europe, Divac played on the perimeter and shot when he wanted. He was bigger and stronger then most of his opponents, able to take games over whenever he pleased. And he played with a flair, dribbling the ball between his legs and firing no-look passes behind his back.

Some of that hurt him in Los Angeles, where Divac was a casual worker in practice - to the displeasure of Pat Riley - and didn't understand the concept of NBA defense. He showed flashes offensively but was often punished by more physical opponents.

And sometimes his teammates.

``He was lazy at first, he didn't really know how hard you had to work in the NBA,'' Cooper said. ``We tried to push him, and when you have a guy like Magic bouncing passes off your forehead because you're not ready, you start to get the point.''

Divac's nonchalant work habits, a common trait of European players, frustrated his proud Lakers' teammates. They saw Divac's raw skill but worried he'd waste it, and their chance to win more titles, because he was too cavalier. So they went to work on toughening him up.

``Magic and Coop and myself and some of the other guys, we made it a point to embarrass him in front of other guys, to scream and yell at him sometimes,'' said Byron Scott, now an assistant coach with the Kings. ``He was really light and skinny, but he could really shoot and pass the ball. And we figured we would just beat him up and figure out what type of heart he has.''

Divac improved every year in Los Angeles, his scoring average rising from 8.5 points to 16.2 in 1994-95. Aside from 1991-92, when injuries limited him to just 36 games, his rebounding and blocked shots steadily increased as well.

With Divac and Mychal Thompson sharing duties at center and Johnson leading the way in 1990-91, the Lakers reached the NBA finals, losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

But there were limitations. Divac had difficulties against the better centers in the league, physical players like Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and O'Neal dominated him with brute force.

The deficiencies, always noticeable, became glaring when Johnson retired in 1991-92. Up until then, Johnson helped mask Divac's shortcomings, as he did other players' through the years, by understanding Divac's strengths.

When Johnson left, and with an ailing James Worthy unable to play at the level he did in the 1980s, the Lakers needed Divac to grow into a dependable force. Instead, he was inconsistent, teasing with stretches of brilliant play, only to follow with disappearing acts.

``I don't think it was fair for people to expect so much from him at that point; he wasn't ready,'' Cooper said. ``But in the Lakers' system, the offense goes through the center, so they fed Vlade.''

What would have happened if . . .

If Johnson had played longer, perhaps Divac's legacy here would be different.

``It's hard to say, but probably we would win a couple of more championships, and it would have been a different story'' Divac said.

Certainly Divac's progression would have been accelerated. Johnson was sometimes vicious with Divac, scolding him at practice and in games. But Divac understood his mentor's passion.

``That's how it goes; he was always trying to find the best way for me,'' Divac said. ``He was trying to teach me the NBA game . . . run and catch the ball.''

Johnson had a special relationship with Divac, and his absence was felt.

``Magic was one of those impact-type people, he led people and prodded them, and sometimes Vlade was a guy that needed to be prodded,'' West said. ``At times, he would settle for being a good player that was content with being just a good player.''

Scott left in 1993, Worthy in 1994. The Lakers didn't reach the playoffs in 1993-94, lost in the second round in 1994-95 and the first round in 1995-96.

In L.A., that's unacceptable.

A year later, Divac was with the Hornets; O'Neal and Bryant came to Los Angeles.

Former teammates say it would be a mistake to blame Divac for the Lakers' malaise during those years.

``You see what Vlade is doing now with Chris Webber and Jason Williams, they're playing really well. That shows what Vlade is capable of doing,'' Cooper said. ``Think of it this way, if he had been with us earlier, when Magic and James were younger, Vlade could have been our third guy.''

New surroundings

Divac looks back fondly on his years in Los Angeles, where he grew into a man and developed as a basketball player. This is his home, where he lives in the offseason and where he will return permanently when he retires. During the season his wife, Ana, and three children live here, visiting Divac in Sacramento on weekends. On off days, Divac returns home.

``I have nothing but good things to say about my seven years here,'' Divac said. ``It's one of the best organizations in sports, and I was proud to be a part of it. In many ways, I still feel I am a big fan of the Lakers, even though I play in Sacramento.''

Divac fits well in Sacramento, a less demanding city that appreciates the fact the Kings are competitive after years of mediocrity.

With the Kings, Divac can pass and shoot on the perimeter while Webber cleans up inside. He's always run the floor well, and with the frisky Williams at point guard, Sacramento is deadly in transition.

``It's different, when I was (in Los Angeles) I was a young, and I had my man Magic on my side, supporting me,'' Divac said. ``Here I'm the oldest guy, I'm the captain so I try to help the younger guys. It's nice.''

Scott has seen the transformation, beginning as a teammate and now as his coach. He's not surprised.

``He's always been emotional, he's always been a talkative guy and those are the kind of guys you need to be your leader,'' Scott said. ``You also need a guy who's going to go out there and do what he says. He's always been the type of guy that gives his heart out there.''

LAKERS vs. SACRAMENTO

Game 1

Where: Staples Center

When: Sunday 2:30 p.m.

TV: Ch. 4

VLADE DIVAC THEN AND NOW

A Comparison of his regular-season statistics with the Lakers and the four years since he left Los Angeles (rebounds, assists and points per game):

Year...Team........RPG...APG...PPG 

89-90..Lakers..... 6.2...0.9... 8.5

90-91..Lakers..... 8.1...1.1...11.2

91-92..Lakers..... 6.9...1.7...11.3

92-93..Lakers..... 8.9...2.8...12.8

93-94..Lakers.....10.8...3.9...14.2

94-95..Lakers.....10.4...4.1...16.0

95-96..Lakers..... 8.6...3.3...12.9

Totals............ 8.7...2.6...12.5

Year...Team........RPG...APG...PPG

96-97..Charlotte.. 9.0...3.7...12.6

97-98..Charlotte.. 8.1...2.7...10.4

98-99..Sacramento 10.0...4.3...14.3

99-00..Sacramento. 8.0...3.0...12.3

Totals............ 8.7...3.7...12.3

Overall totals.... 8.7...2.9...12.4

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Vlade Divac)

(2) Vlade Divac of the Sacramento Kings defends his successor as Lakers' center, Shaquille O'Neal.

Kirby Lee/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4) no caption (mug shots of Vlade Divac)

Box:

(1) Lakers vs. Sacramento (see text)

(2) Vlade Divac then and now (see text)