O’Neal Is Conciliatory in Ending His Silence

For the first time in several days, Laker center Shaquille O’Neal was in a talkative mood Friday.

Maybe it was the good feeling of beating Karl Malone in a post-practice three-point shooting contest while Gary Payton played the Greek chorus, heckling and howling at every made or missed shot.

Or maybe O’Neal felt it was his turn to mend the latest reported rift between him and Kobe Bryant, especially when Bryant shielded himself with teammates and quickly left the practice court without speaking to reporters.

But more than anything O’Neal, who is naturally gregarious, just can’t stay away from the microphones and tape recorders too long.

So he stood in a sweat-soaked uniform for more than 15 minutes doing his best to declare that he and Bryant were at peace.

“I don’t ever take things personally,” O’Neal said. “We just have to support each other, and do what we need to do.... If you say something, a person can take it positively or negatively. And we both took it negatively. That’s why you all think there’s a problem. But I didn’t take it personally.

“He’s the yin and I’m the yang. And opposites attract. He’s different, but as long we’re on the court it’s a must we play team ball and do what’s best for the team. Off the court he does his thing, off the court I do my thing. But we’re going to continue to get it done on the basketball court.”

When asked why he had cut off the media after he and Bryant had sniped at each other, O’Neal replied, “because in marriage, if you keep talking about a problem, the problem will be there. And I didn’t want to talk about ‘the problem’ if there is a problem. It happened and we just need to move on to bigger and better things. I didn’t want to keep talking about it.”

O’Neal said he hoped Bryant would stay with the Lakers after this season. Bryant has said he plans to opt out of his contract and test the free-agent market, in part because of the sometimes contentious relationship with O’Neal.

“I hope [he stays]. But again, people have to do what’s good for them and we have to accept that,” O’Neal said. “Right now we’re just focusing on this season; we’re not worried about the future.

“Do I still want him on the team? Of course. He’s a great player when he’s out there, and he makes my job much easier.... I need him, he needs me, we need each other.”

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Coach Phil Jackson remains “optimistic” that Bryant, still recovering from off-season knee and shoulder surgery, will play against Phoenix tonight.

How long Bryant plays will depend “on how well he does in the first half,” said Jackson, who plans to adjust Bryant’s time during the game “because he does wear down.” Jackson said it seemed that Bryant tired less in Friday’s practice than in previous ones, but the coach added that the decision on Bryant would not be made until after this morning’s shootaround.

Jackson also was concerned about overusing veteran reserve center Horace Grant tonight and Sunday against Golden State. But with rookie Brian Cook on the injured list and Slava Medvedenko out because of a bruised heel, Jackson doesn’t have many big bodies available.

“We are just a very small team, and after plotting all summer how to get bigger and provide more support for Shaquille, we have run into injury problems,” Jackson said. “We hope Horace can go 18-20 minutes. And we have no timetable for Slava. Hopefully he’ll get out on the court Monday and practice a little bit. But it’s a very slow go; re-injuries can be a difficult thing.”

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TONIGHT

at Phoenix, 6 PST, Channel 9

Site -- America West Arena.

Radio -- KLAC (570).

Records -- Lakers 1-0, Suns 1-1.

Record vs. Suns (2002-03) -- 3-1.

Update -- The Suns just saw one media circus leave town, after beating Cleveland and its rookie phenom LeBron James on Thursday. The next wave moves in today, with the large press corps that follows the Lakers. Stephon Marbury, the Suns’ leading scorer last season despite ankle problems, is pain-free this season after surgery.