Cooper’s Ghosts Are at the Forum

Michael Cooper put the ghosts-of-the-Lakers talk to rest right away at Staples Center.

Cooper, walking the sidelines Sunday for his second game as the Denver Nuggets’ interim coach, acknowledged the “specialness” of seeing the jerseys of Magic Johnson and James Worthy hanging below the ceiling, and made reference to the two championships he won here as the coach of the WNBA’s Sparks, but as far as a chills-and-tears check, there were none.

“A lot of great things have been done with this Laker organization but my playing days and my fondest memories are over on Prairie [Avenue] in Inglewood,” Cooper said, mapping one of the cross-streets of the Forum.

Cooper took over Tuesday for the fired Jeff Bzdelik, who hadn’t done enough with a playoff-caliber team.

“There’s no pressure,” said Cooper, a nine-time all-defensive team selection in his 12 seasons as a Laker. “As a player, the pressure is that you can do something about the game. As a coach you can’t. You just have to do the mental aspect of it, get the guys ready to play and hopefully they buy into what we’re trying to accomplish to help us win games.

“Actually, I kind of like my seat now. I don’t have to get any floor burns, I don’t have to dive into the stands and I don’t have to be called a bum if I miss a three-point shot.”

Cooper’s desire to someday guide an NBA team “went back to the ‘80s.”

“Myself, Byron [Scott] and Magic used to talk on the bus about becoming a coach,” he said. “I’ve always said I’d love to coach women if there was ever a professional team and I got an opportunity to do that. Now that I get this challenge and opportunity, I’m cherishing it.”

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Cooper’s promotion from assistant coach led to some reminiscing by Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who was Houston’s No. 2 assistant when Don Cheney was fired with 30 games left in the 1991-92 season.

Carroll Dawson was the first assistant at the time, but he had been battling high blood pressure and vision problems, which led to Tomjanovich’s getting the call from then-General Manager Steve Patterson.

“The guy dropped it on me -- ‘Carroll, I can’t give it to you because of your health; Rudy, the job’s yours’ -- and I was like, ‘I’m not ready for this,’ Tomjanovich said. “Carroll said, ‘You know, if you don’t take it, we might not be here because somebody might come in and bring some of their own [assistant] coaches.’ ”

Tomjanovich accepted, the Rockets barely missed the playoffs, and Rocket officials ultimately removed the interim description from his job title.

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During a four-day break between games, Tomjanovich said he would take a long look at the Lakers’ affinity for three-point shots. His conclusion before the start of Sunday’s game? “It looks like it’s fantastic,” Tomjanovich said. “It’s something you guys should get off of [criticizing] and start pumping that stuff up.”