TIME FOR SHAQ TO BE ADULT, MORE RESPONSIBLE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Just because Shaquille O'Neal is thought of as this big kid, it doesn't mean he has to behave like one.

It's tough to rely on kids to be responsible. To always do right. To think of others first, instead of themselves.

Disappointment is natural to the development process, but the calendar tells me Shaq is 30 years old. And it tells me it's been 70 days since he led the Lakers to their third consecutive NBA title.

Numbers that don't compute. We're talking 70 days until determining how to resolve the arthritic big right toe that caused him pain throughout the 2001-02 season.

Wednesday, his agent, Perry Rogers, said Shaq will have surgery to remove bone spurs on both sides of the toe joint, a procedure that typically requires three months to heal.

That means he will miss training camp and two to four weeks of the regular season. That he won't be getting in shape in September but during the season.

This is being irresponsible to the franchise, to teammates and, most important, the fans. Fans who are buying expensive season tickets expecting to see the most dominating player in the game for the full season, not just the portion he plays.

Shaq got away with a similar delay last year, when he waited until a month before training camp to have surgery to correct a claw toe on his other foot. And look what happened! Shaq averaged 27.2 points and 10 rebounds despite playing with the painful right toe. He turned it on in the playoffs. The Lakers won again.

Of course, it took an overtime victory in Game 7 at Sacramento. Not exactly a lot of wiggle room. But you have to wonder if Shaq hasn't been lulled into some comfort zone where he believes it doesn't matter what he does, he'll pull it out at the end.

Right now, I'm liking the Kings. They added 6-foot-11 Keon Clark, re-signed Mike Bibby and are hungry. You just hope Shaq hasn't got fat, in spirit and waistline.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Shaq is reportedly lifting weights this offseason and working out, which he takes as a positive sign.

Kupchak and coach Phil Jackson made simple requests of Shaq after the Lakers swept the Nets in the Finals last June 12th - figure out what you're going to do about the toe, get it done in a timely manner and show up to camp in shape.

``I don't know what the timetable is going to be,'' Jackson said at the June 26 NBA Draft, ``but my only input to Shaq is, 'Let's get this done before September so it doesn't affect our season.' ''

Ten days left until September.

``I would have hoped that by this point and time, there would have been a definitive decision made on how to approach the injury,'' Kupchak said Wednesday afternoon, before Rogers' announcement.

Rogers said he and Shaq were simply being diligent after receiving conflicting recommendations from doctors.

Rogers said during the season, Dr. Robert Mohr, chief of podiatric surgery at UCLA Medical Center, had recommended the cheilectomy procedure. In mid-July they sought a second opinion, and that doctor recommended the first procedure, plus a second more-radical one. That led to a third opinion, which agreed with the original recommendation, if Shaq was sure he couldn't play without surgery.

``Shaq said there was no way he could make it through another season,'' Rogers said. ``So he decided to have the surgery Aug. 13. Then he got sick.''

Shaq spent a night in the hospital last week with a viral infection, which Rogers said inflamed his liver. Rogers said Shaq is back in Los Angeles and will have the cheilectomy as soon as he completely recovers, probably within two weeks.

``There was no desire to delay any of this,'' Rogers said. ``I don't know what else we could have done.''

This has been a tough summer for Shaq. He and owner Jerry Buss were conspicuously absent from Chick Hearn's funeral. Then last week he got bad press for not calling a charity function he was supposedly scheduled to attend when he was sick.

Apparently, Shaq never did agree to attend the event, but just that people would assume he was in the wrong is telling.

You know how kids are. And that's the way it is with Shaq. People make excuses for him, make allowances. Yet it's one thing to be this big, playful, personable, overgrown kid. And another to act immaturely.

OK, a certain amount of chill time is understandable. Take a little time off. Meet your obligations. Talk to several doctors.

But people don't take this long to reach a determination on much more serious surgeries. Just how many Superman toys are there?

Shaq doesn't take criticism well, but then most kids don't. When Jackson justifiably disparaged Shaq's free-throw shooting last exhibition season, Shaq became predictably miffed and wondered how many Finals MVP trophies he had to win before people would get off his back.

Sniff, sniff.

Answer: Not three.

The more he wins, the more he seems to try and get away with. This is called flirting with disaster. It will catch up to him at some point. And when it does, it won't just affect him, but the whole team.

A team that needs him to act like a dedicated leader. He's going to earn $25 million next season, and you don't start earning it at the end of November.

Hey, Big Whatever You Are This Week, you have a responsibility to your team, organization and fans. Play time is over. It has been for a long time. This all should have been addressed long ago.

Kids, they always want more.