Gary Payton banished to Boston

Greenblood94 · August 6, 2004

So much for Gary Payton's chances of getting a ring...

Friday, August 6, 2004

ESPN.com news services

BOSTON -- The rebuilding Lakers, in need of a big man since trading Shaquille O'Neal to Miami, had to give up Gary Payton to get one.

Los Angeles resumed its makeover Friday by trading Payton and Rick Fox to the Boston Celtics for Chris Mihm, Chucky Atkins and Marcus Banks.

The Celtics also received a conditional first-round draft pick and cash in the deal and sent a second-round pick to the Western Conference champions.

The teams were once among the NBA's fiercest rivals, but Boston has fallen on hard times since winning its 16th championship in 1986. Since then, the Lakers have won five titles and lost three times in the Finals, including this year's five-game upset by the Detroit Pistons.

The Lakers then traded Shaquille O'Neal to Miami and replaced coach Phil Jackson with Rudy Tomjanovich. Derek Fisher left for Golden State and Vlade Divac, Los Angeles' center from the early '90s, was brought back for another stint.

Payton and Karl Malone took large pay cuts to join the Lakers as free agents last summer, each All-Star hoping to win his first championship.

Despite struggling through his first year with the team, the 36-year-old Payton exercised a $5.4 million option to come back for another season.

A nine-time All-Star who averaged 18.3 points per game over his first 13 seasons, Payton averaged 14.6 points -- his lowest since the 1992-93 season -- and a career-low 4.2 assists in the regular season last year. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.3 assists in the playoffs.

The 36-year-old point guard's departure is just the latest in a series of radical offseason changes in L.A. In the weeks following the Lakers' loss to Detroit in the NBA Finals:

O'Neal accepted a trade in early July, with Los Angeles receiving guard Caron Butler, forwards Lamar Odom and Brian Grant and a future draft pick from the Heat.

Tomjanovich succeeded Phil Jackson as coach, but only after Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski turned down the Lakers' multiyear offer. The Lakers announced three days after losing to the Pistons that Jackson would not be returning

Kobe Bryant flirted with the Clippers as an unrestricted free agent before re-signing with the Lakers for more than $136.4 million over seven years.

Fisher, frustrated with losing playing time to Payton, opted out of the final two years of his deal and signed with the Warriors.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.