Kiss Vlade Goodbye?

The NBA careers of Kobe Bryant and Vlade Divac, one just starting and one that may be ending, passed in the night Wednesday as the Lakers and Charlotte Hornets moved to the verge of a major trade that could hold even greater implications.

Bryant, the 17-year-old high school senior from Pennsylvania described by Laker Executive Vice President Jerry West and several other teams as having superstar potential, is about to be dealt to Los Angeles after being taken by the Hornets with the 13th pick in the draft.

Divac is about to retire.

His agent, Marc Fleisher, said in no uncertain terms that Divac, the Lakers’ starting center, will quit rather than accept a move to Charlotte or any other city, except Chicago because of its large Serbian community. Fleisher also said that Bob Bass, the Hornets’ vice president of basketball operations, called him during the draft and was told of Divac’s hard-line stance.

“He’s aware of Vlade’s decision to retire,” Fleisher said, “and that if he does it [the trade], he does it at his own risk.

“It’s going to be very embarrassing [Thursday] if the trade happens, when Vlade announces publicly that he’s retiring. [Charlotte owner] George Shinn likes Vlade, but Vlade is not going to play there.”

Bass’ reaction?

“He sounded shocked,” Fleisher said.

The developments that occurred on the same day the Lakers used the 24th pick to select Arkansas-Little Rock guard Derek Fisher is not believed to be the holdup to a trade announcement. More likely, it’s that Divac’s $4.133 million salary for 1996-97 can’t fit into the Hornets’ salary cap until the cap increases late Sunday night, the same time as the Lakers begin their official pursuit of Orlando Magic center Shaquille O’Neal.

Bass confirmed late Wednesday night that the Hornets had a deal in place, though he would not name the other team involved. Sources confirmed that it is the Lakers.

Bass also said one player would be coming to Charlotte and that no Hornet veterans would be leaving, indicating it was a straight-up deal that included one of their draft picks. It is known that the Hornets--having used Matt Geiger, green George Zidek and 42-year-old Robert Parish as their starting centers in 1995-96--want to add a big man, maybe even two in hopes of permanently moving Larry Johnson to small forward. Expect them to make a big push for Laker free-agent-to-be Elden Campbell next week.

The deal--which Charlotte officials say would remain in place in the event of a lockout, a very real possibility--has a two-fold impact for the Lakers:

--They gain about another $3.3 million to wave at O’Neal, the difference between Divac’s contract and the $845,000 slotted for the No. 13 pick under the rookie wage scale. That gives the Lakers about $9 million worth of spending power for next season to woo their prime target while still being able to retain the rights to Campbell, about $12 million if they’re willing to severe ties with Campbell. That $9 million could then increase by 20% a year for as long as seven seasons.

--They got Bryant.

The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, Kobe was originally considered a mid-to-late first-round choice after bypassing a college career despite grades and talent that could have gotten him into almost any school. Then he started doing individual workouts for teams, and he soared, all the way to where the Nets were considering him at No. 8.

“Absolutely incredible” is how West termed his Laker visit.

Said one scout from another team, when asked how good Bryant can be at this age: “He’s a lot farther along than some of these other guys [in the draft].”

Flashy and mature, Bryant handles the ball well enough that he will get a look at backup point guard, where the other newcomer, Fisher, will play exclusively. Contrary to early reports being filed with teams, he has shown to be so good from the perimeter that time will also come at off guard. And, at 200 pounds, no one is discounting his chances of playing small forward.

Strangely, it is the career of Divac, a seven-year veteran who has ridden his personal roller coaster from inconsistent to top-10 center back to inconsistent, that is suddenly up in the air.

Fleisher says there is no uncertainty about it, though. If Divac is traded, Divac will retire and then stay in Los Angeles, the city he has come to love, as a private citizen so that wife Ana can continue to pursue an acting career. The Hornets--or Lakers in the unlikely event the trade falls through--would retain his rights for the final two years remaining on his contract, at which point he might consider playing again in Europe, but not the NBA.

“He feels an obligation to let his wife pursue her career,” Fleisher said. “It’s what he wants to do. I don’t think his drive to play for other teams is there. I think he’s quite happy where he is.

“He had been talking about doing this anyway, but after the Lakers. The only question was would he wait until the two years on the contract were up and then retire or extend that and retire later. But he had always talked about going back and playing in Greece or something.”

Or something may be here.

Divac, in Serbia training with his Olympic team in preparation for the Atlanta Games, could not be reached for comment. But Fleisher said he woke Divac before dawn today with news that a trade was possible, knowing only that his name was being mentioned with regularity but unaware of anything specific from the Hornets.

“I asked him if that’s the way he still feels,” Fleisher said. “And he said yes.”

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* DEREK FISHER

A 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from Arkansas-Little Rock, he was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year as a senior last season. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.1 assists and 5.2 rebounds and finished his career second in school history in points (1,393), assists (472) and steals (189). Fisher, who turns 22 in August, had a hand in winning or sending to overtime three games in the final three seconds. He said he grew up watching the Lakers play on television, but had never been in California before working out for them last week.