Bryant Says He’ll Be on Team USA

Kobe Bryant said Friday that he intended to return his player contract to USA Basketball shortly, which would be the final step in his becoming a member of the 2004 Olympic team.

“I’ll be there this summer,” he said. “It’s pretty much a done deal.”

USA Basketball announced four core players -- Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Ray Allen -- on Thursday and said in its statement that Bryant simply had to complete the paperwork to become the fifth player.

Bryant implied that he had been speaking primarily to NBA officials about his Olympic participation and that perhaps USA Basketball had been left out of the loop. He intends to play in the Olympic qualifier this summer in Puerto Rico along with the 2004 Games in Athens, assuming the team qualifies.

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Asked if his play in the past two weeks -- he’d averaged 42 points in the seven games before Friday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs -- had driven up the price in negotiations with Nike and Reebok, Bryant smiled and said, “No, the price tag has been high from day one.”

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Shaquille O’Neal returned from the All-Star Game in Atlanta with a sore left knee and big right toe, apparently caused by overuse. O’Neal said he could recall no specific event.

Asked how he felt, O’Neal raised his right thumb, then said, “Fine. ... Chillin’.” And then he disappeared through a door leading out of the locker room.

There are those who believe O’Neal returned from Sept. 11 toe surgery too early, and that while he is improved from last season, he still is far from sound. O’Neal has been slow to regain his explosiveness around the basket.

“We’re not [worried],” Coach Phil Jackson said. “We think it’s nothing serious.”

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After Thursday’s practice, a television reporter told O’Neal that Casey Jacobsen, the rookie guard for the Phoenix Suns, had said he thought the Lakers were playing better.

“Who’s that?” O’Neal said, deadpan.

O’Neal seemed to think Jacobsen had less than the proper authority to offer an opinion on the Lakers.

“Next time I’m in Phoenix, he can meet me at the airport and carry my bags,” he said.

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Karen Pells, widow of Jim Pells, received a championship ring in a pregame ceremony Friday night.

Jim, who died this summer, worked for the Lakers on game nights for more than three decades.