INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Now the pressure's really on the Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired the rebounding help and deadly outside shooter Shaquille O'Neal wanted.
Two weeks after adding Dennis Rodman, the Lakers traded for sharpshooter Glen Rice from the Charlotte Hornets, along with power forward J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong on Wednesday.In return, the Hornets received All-Star guard Eddie Jones and center Elden Campbell.
To make room on the respective rosters, the Lakers waived reserve forward Corie Blount and the Hornets waived forward Joe Wolf.
The Lakers also waived Armstrong to make room on their roster for rookie Ruben Patterson, who was activated from the injured list.
"Of course, you hate to see guys like Eddie and Elden go, but I think what we received for this team is pretty good," O'Neal said after the Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-75 Wednesday night for their ninth straight victory. "We received a deadly shooter and another thuggish power forward, and there's no excuses now."
The deal, rumored for over a month, was made on the eve of the league's trade deadline.
The Lakers, who reached the Western Conference finals last May before being swept by the Utah Jazz, are going for their first championship since 1988 -- their fifth title of the 1980s.
The addition of Rice and Reid followed by two weeks the firing of coach Del Harris and hiring of Kurt Rambis as his successor, as well as the signing of Rodman, the NBA's leading rebounder for the last seven seasons.
Now, it appears, nothing less than a championship will do.
"I would think that most teams in the league would like the people we have," executive vice president Jerry West said. "This is the ultimate risk-taking business. We took a risk.
"When I talked to (Rice) today, he was absolutely elated. We think we got a player that will help us -- a lot. We feel this takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal of having an NBA championship team."
Rice, 31, hasn't played this season following surgery to remove loose particles from his right (shooting) elbow in late January.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Rice has averaged 20.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in nine NBA seasons, six with Miami and the last three with Charlotte. He averaged 22.3 points last season to rank sixth in the league.
He figures to step in at small forward for the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant moving from that spot to shooting guard, replacing Jones.
The Lakers have an option on Rice's contract for next season. West made it clear the team intended to keep him.
A three-time All-Star, Rice has made 1,216 3-point shots, third in league history, and is 101 points shy of the 15,000-point mark.
Reid, 30, was Charlotte's No. 2 scorer this season, averaging 14.5 points in 15 games.
The trade was made three days after the resignation of Hornets coach Dave Cowens, who was unhappy with his salary. Charlotte won over 50 games each of the last two seasons and made the playoffs, but is just 5-12 this year after an 85-70 loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Hornets coach Paul Silas, who replaced Cowens, said before the game at Philadelphia he was "elated" with the trade.