All of the September talk will be about the basketballs, and exactly how many the Lakers plan to roll out every night now that Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton and, maybe, Karl Malone are there.

The triangle offense is one thing. Four superstars, none of whom has averaged fewer than Payton's 18.3 points over his career, could be quite another. After all, offensive civil wars are nothing new and, in fact, quite tolerated in Los Angeles.

Payton, not yet officially a Laker but close enough to advise General Manager Mitch Kupchak to go ahead and get some sleep before July 16, the first day free agents may sign contracts, waved away the notion there would be anything but harmony in Phil Jackson's offense. As of Wednesday night, the Lakers were still awaiting Malone's decision.

Dressed in a white Nike warmup suit, white Nike sneakers and a white Nike cap and preparing to do a colorful Nike commercial shoot, Payton sat near the front of a cushy recreational vehicle Wednesday afternoon. It was hot in the rear parking lot of Patriotic Hall, a few blocks down Figueroa Street from Staples Center, but an air conditioner pumped cool breezes past Payton, and he smiled again at the idea of being a Laker.

Anything short of a championship would be a waste, he said, and anything short of his career scoring average, well, he could live with that.