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By Jerry Mittleman

Even if Kobe Bryant gets his legal problems settled in time to play a relatively full and undistracted season, the Lakers will be far from a cinch to regain the NBA title.

The addition of aging superstars Karl Malone and Gary Payton to the Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-led lineup would be a risky undertaking, even if the former two were closer to their prime. In basketball, as in many things, the whole isn't always equal to the sum of the parts.

Never in the past that I can remember has an NBA team, tried to mold together four future Hall-of-Famers and been dependent on them to win a championship. Two and two won't make for one NBA championship, not even in the New Math they teach in school these days.

It's commonly thought that NBA teams need two superstar, dominant players to compete for an NBA title.

Two notable attempts, in past years, to add a third veteran superstar to an established lineup, met with mixed results. In 1968, the Lakers acquired Wilt Chamberlain from Philadelphia, hoping that he, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, would break the Boston Celtics' longtime dynasty and replace it with one of their own.

During the four seasons that the three played together, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals three times. Their only championship came in 1972 when Baylor was severely injured, and was barely playing during the final season of his illustrious career.

In the summer of 1996, the Houston Rockets acquired Charles Barkley, gambling that Sir Charles, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, would return them to their championship caliber of the 1994 and 1995 seasons. The three played together for only two seasons and never truly meshed as a unit. Barley's low post presence diminished Olajuwon's role and overall effectiveness, lending credence to the old cliché that two's company and three's a crowd.

Though Glen Rice and Derek Fisher occasionally filled the role, the current Laker team has never had a consistent third scoring option. Last year's playoffs also emphasized how badly, the Lakers need a tough, physical power forward, who can rebound and play strong defense. Malone and Payton were signed to address those needs, but it's not at all certain, they are the right fit for these roles.

Malone, in his prime, was the prototype NBA power forward, and considered by many to be the greatest to ever play the position. He's a bruising physical player (a three time First Team All-NBA Defensive team selection) who developed a deft scoring touch during the course of his career. But at age 40, Malone's overall skills have diminished. At this point, it's questionable, whether Malone can contain the likes of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber at the level needed to return the Lakers to the NBA Finals.

On offense, Malone was the Utah Jazz' primary option throughout the years. Whether Malone, can mentally adjust to a complementary role is an additional issue, Finally, it should be interesting watching Malone function on offense without the benefits of John Stockton's playmaking wizardry.

A power forward like P.J. Brown, would have been a much better fit, for this complementary role, if the Lakers had gotten around the salary cap issues which prevented them from signing him.

Payton, at age 35, is also past his prime but probably less of a risk than Malone. Payton can score in many ways, and averaged over 20 a game again last year with Seattle and Milwaukee. He's also still a quality defender, another area of weakness for the Lakers last year. But there are chemistry issues with Payton as there are with Malone. Like the longtime Utah great, Payton has a fiery, intense, strongheaded personality. At various times in Payton's career, he's been a positive factor in team chemistry and other times he's been divisive. It remains to be seen, if he can adjust to being the Laker's third option after years as the "Main Man" in Seattle.

On offense, Payton is more of a slasher who breaks down the defender as well as an excellent post-up player for a guard. He is less of the spot-up three point shooter who is ideally suited to the Triangle Offense. Although, less skilled at this stage of his career then Payton, a player like Reggie Miller (also a free agent this summer) might have been a better fit.

In short, the Lakers are headed for unchartered waters this season, and depending on chemistry between Bryant, O'Neal, Malone and Payton, make them far from a shoe-in to return to the heights of the NBA. For the Lakers, I doubt whether two current superstar and and another two aging ones, will add up to a title. It won't be the New Math of the NBA.