If Torch Is Passed to Bryant, It Will Be in L.A.

Maybe five titles and 15 years from now, after his first comeback and second retirement, Kobe Bryant will giggle about this day.

Michael Jordan is going away, but Bryant, with a broad smile and straight-ahead logic Tuesday, all but bolted himself into place.

As a result of the recent labor deal and his own happiness as a Laker, Bryant loudly and laughingly swatted away any thoughts of a free-agent departure.

“You ever doubt that I was going any place else? I ain’t going nowhere,” said Bryant, who frequently but perhaps unfairly has been viewed as a potential Jordan heir. “I’m staying right here. I’m a Laker for life.

“I’m going to be bugging you all for the next 20 years.”

Nobody ever said Bryant was going to leave the Lakers any time soon.

But with his contract expiring at the end of this season, and the potential of $120-million deals on the free-agent horizon, there were rumbles and shrugs, guesses and speculations.

Most of that was put to rest after the recent labor deal, which put a ceiling on salaries and basically ensured that the Lakers can keep Bryant as long as they want him.

Which is a long, long time, accompanied by, say, a seven-year, $66-million deal.

“If you ask me, personally, I didn’t like the deal too much--that’s my personal opinion,” Bryant said. “But I’m happy to be back. . . . All the people can get to work . . . the TNT people, people that work at the Forum. I’m happy from that perspective.”

Asked if he, as reported, voted against the labor deal, Bryant said he would keep his secret ballot secret.

This was Bryant’s first day at the Lakers’ informal workouts at L.A. Southwest College, and, along with the five who showed up Monday, Tony Battie and Corie Blount also made appearances Tuesday.

With Jordan’s impending retirement dominating all conversations, Bryant said that there is definitely a void to fill.

“I feel a responsibility as far as being a young player developing and carrying yourself in a professional manner,” Bryant said. “Because the NBA is like a big family, it’s a tradition.

“From George Mikan to Oscar [Robertson] to Bob Cousy to Michael, all these players, there’s been a tradition, there’s been a legacy passed on to each generation, and I feel a responsibility being a young player coming up.”

There will be a strong and marketable NBA even after Jordan and the recent labor battle, Bryant promised.

“We put ourselves in a hard predicament right now, a tough situation,” Bryant said. “But the league has always managed. There’s always been players that rise to the top, if players work hard, talented players. . . .

“You saw it happen with Magic and Larry when they came to the league. And Julius and Michael. . . . I mean, times change, players develop and players improve. Players are going to develop and rise up to the top again.”

Shaquille O’Neal, another young player often mentioned as a potential marketing and championship centerpiece, said he simply hopes Bryant, in Jordan’s absence, isn’t pushed into becoming something he isn’t.

“That shouldn’t be in his head,” O’Neal said. “Kobe should just concentrate on being the first Kobe, rather than the next Michael. Guys like Mike only come around every 10 years.”

Meanwhile, as Bryant looked at the long term, one Laker no-show, Elden Campbell, highlighted a short-term personnel question: Will Campbell, expected to be traded soon after the labor deal is signed, show up at Southwest? Should he?

O’Neal, when asked, said he thought Campbell should be with his teammates.

Jones, the subject of trade speculation for several seasons, wondered if the recent rumors were bothering Campbell.

“Elden, he just doesn’t need to worry about a trade,” Jones said. “He should worry about getting ready to go out and play basketball. I think that’s the best thing he can do.

“Maybe the rumors are getting to him, I don’t know. I’m going to call him up tonight and get to the bottom of it.”