Bryant Likely to Sell Stake in Milan Team

Kobe Bryant expects to sell his 50% interest in Milan, Italy-based Olimpia Milano, he said Monday, 10 months after investing more than $1 million in the team for which his father once played.

“There’s a lot of turmoil going on over there right now,” Bryant said. “We’re weighing our options. In a partnership, you and your partner have to share the same kind of vision. That’s one of the problems.”

Bryant, believed to be the first active NBA player to own a stake in a European franchise, and Pasquale Caputo were co-owners since December. When the deal was struck, it was announced that Bryant would have operational control of Olimpia Milano, and that his father, Joe, would serve as the team’s executive vice president.

Joe Bryant is not listed among the officers on the team’s Web site.

Bryant said he did not expect the organization to file for bankruptcy but did not rule it out.

“It’s not really a consideration,” he said. “That would be more like a last resort.”

Bryant lived in Italy for eight years. He returned to America after the eighth grade.

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Even standing beside Alexander Volkov, the best basketball player to come out of his native Ukraine and a fine translator, forward Slava Medvedenko has found communication difficult, and that appears to be slowing his NBA development.

“We don’t have direct communication skills that automatically allow him to jump over hurdles immediately,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “Some of them have to be done after practice or between practices, to get that information back to him. That process, we understand, is going to take some time. From that standpoint, we can’t expect much out of him this year. What we get is all going to be a plus for us. But, he has all the skills and all the ability to be a very good NBA player.”

Medvedenko, 21, played 18 minutes in the Lakers’ first two exhibition games and had nine points and four rebounds.

“His talent is there,” Jackson said. “He plays very well. He hit the wall a couple days ago. He just had a hard time coming to practice and playing because he got mired in some things. He got locked into playing center for one thing, and we used him at power forward a little bit, and so in the explanation, it got difficult for him to get all the terminology down. Mark [Madsen] sat out [Sunday’s] practice so he got locked into yet another spot. The last couple days have been difficult for him.”

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Madsen was found to have a mild sprain of his left wrist. He participated fully in practice Monday after avoiding contact Sunday.

Guard Tyronn Lue, who suffered a sprained ankle Thursday in Memphis, Tenn., returned for most of the drills Monday, a day ahead of schedule.

Madsen is expected to be available tonight at the Arrowhead Pond against Phoenix. Lue might also play.

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With three exhibition games in four days, Jackson expects to cut his rotation to 12 players. “That gives us a little better opportunity to see players for a longer period of time,” he said. . . . Jackson said he would make a round or two of roster cuts later in the week. . . . The Lakers play in The Shootout on Thursday and Friday nights at Staples Center. Other teams involved are Cleveland, Seattle and Golden State.