Bryant Doesn’t Get the Point

The departure didn’t get nearly the attention as the arrival, but the Kobe Bryant point guard trial has come to an end about four weeks after it started, a move that allows him to concentrate on shooting guard and small forward and returns Derek Fisher to second string.

Coach Del Harris had been going in that direction in the final few games before the All-Star break, then made it official the last two outings: Fisher got all the minutes behind Nick Van Exel on Wednesday at Minnesota and Thursday at Denver; Bryant played 11 and 20 minutes, respectively, at the other spots.

“I don’t think it worked out quite to my satisfaction,” Harris said of Bryant playing point guard. “It’s an awful big load to try to get Kobe to play three positions. It’s just an awful lot to ask of anyone. I’m just going to concentrate on him getting into the flow, like he did [Thursday]. Point guard tends to have him dominate the ball, and I don’t want him to do that. I want him in the flow with the rest of the team.”