Lakers Get Good News on Bryant

After being limited to partial workouts in Hawaii because of a broken left wrist, Kobe Bryant finally was able to join the team in contact drills Monday.

Bryant was cleared to play after an examination Monday morning in Los Angeles by team physician Steve Lombardo. By 10 a.m., he was in uniform for the team’s media day at the Forum and by 3 p.m. had finished his first full practice.

“It felt fine . . . no pain at all,” said Bryant, who turned 18 in August. “It felt great to be out there playing five on five again.”

Bryant’s first practice was closed to reporters but Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Bryant, “looked great.”

Bryant might play in an exhibition game Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks at Fresno, or Friday night when the Lakers play host to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Forum.

Coach Del Harris was glad to see Bryant scrimmage after having watched him average 25 points in four summer league games at the Long Beach Pyramid.

“We were very pleased with his summer-camp work against wannabes,” Harris said. “But, doing it against wannabes and the real thing is a different story, obviously.”

The happiest person to see Bryant finally practice with the team was Bryant’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, who quietly watched from a distance.

“I know his motor has been running, waiting to get out there and to get knocked down a couple of times,” said the elder Bryant, who played eight seasons in the NBA.

Although he was the big draw at media day--new Laker center Shaquille O’Neal jokingly called him “Showboat”--Bryant was humble about finally getting an opportunity to go all out.

“I’ve been waiting to go out and compete with guys like Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones and Cedric Ceballos,” Bryant said. “But, I’m really excited to have a chance and learn from them.”