Walker Steps Forward

Samaki Walker arrived at the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility for an introductory news conference Tuesday morning looking like a man who had won the lottery.

Even though his two-year contract reportedly is worth a relatively modest $3 million--the team has the option on the second year--Walker said joining the Lakers at this stage of his NBA career is an invaluable opportunity.

“Everything is about opportunity,” said Walker, 25, a 6-foot-9 power forward originally drafted ninth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in 1996. “They have two great players in Kobe [Bryant] and Shaq [O’Neal] who are the foundation of the team, which means everyone else has to fill a role.”

With Horace Grant signing as a free agent with Orlando last week and Mark Madsen expected to be out for the early part of next season because of wrist surgery, the Lakers want Walker to be their starter at power forward.

But after averaging only 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in his first five seasons, Walker knows he has critics who wonder if he can do the job.

“Sometimes you get an opportunity, sometimes you don’t,” said Walker, who played the past two seasons for San Antonio before the Spurs exercised a buyout option on the final year of his contract. “Certain players jell right away, some take a few years. . . . Everybody has opinions. This is a chance to [change negative perceptions].”

General Manager Mitch Kupchak said the Lakers have liked Walker since he left Louisville for the NBA after his sophomore season. When the Spurs dropped Walker because of salary cap problems, they had their opportunity to sign him.

“His name was never on the [future free agents] list because we never expected him to be one,” Kupchak said. “But once we started hearing word that they may release him . . . it became clear very quickly that he was the [player the Lakers wanted]. We feel that he’s going to benefit from stability and the constants that this organization has.

“Our coach is not going anywhere and neither is the core of our players.”

Without Grant and, at least for a while, Madsen, Walker seems like the team’s best option as a starter, ahead of Robert Horry and Stanislav Medvedenko.

But don’t think that the Lakers are going to hand him the job. That’s not Coach Phil Jackson’s way.

“There’s been a lot of talk about projecting him as a starter, and I don’t know why he can’t start, but nothing is going to be given by anybody,” Kupchak said. “If you know our coach, you have to earn it.”

Before signing with the Lakers, Walker weighed more lucrative offers from other teams. But after talking with Magic Johnson, O’Neal and Bryant, Walker knew he wanted to play for the Lakers.

Laker assistant Jim Cleamons was Walker’s coach for his rookie season and thinks highly of his former first-round draft choice.

“One of the reasons why I drafted him in Dallas was because he reminded me of a young Horace Grant,” Cleamons said. “I saw a lot of potential in him. I liked his work attitude and his working mentality.

“It’s a wonderful challenge for Samaki and hopefully he’ll be up for the task. . . . [But] nothing will be given to him. With [Madsen] out for a while, [Walker] will get a chance to grow, learn the system and how to play within it.”

Playing well with the Lakers and proving people wrong is strong motivation for Walker, who is considered an underachiever by some after falling out of favor with Dallas Coach Don Nelson.

Things seemed to improve for Walker when he left Dallas and signed a three-year, $8.8-million deal with the Spurs in 1999. But Walker never played up to San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich’s expectations either.

Except for a 10-game stint late last season when he averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding as a replacement for an injured Tim Duncan, Walker never established himself with San Antonio.

“[Dallas] was not a good organizational fit for a young player at that time and [San Antonio] had two established players who were not going to allow him to get much time in the frontcourt,” Kupchak said.