Bryant Joins In, and Everyone Benefits

You’d think by now Kobe Bryant could recognize how good he has it, that he would appreciate every breath of fresh air, everything that’s done for him, everything that’s good about this talent-laden group around him.

In the Lakers’ 94-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, it was as if Bryant realized that life can be easy when you’re surrounded by future Hall of Fame players, so just go with the flow.

In the first quarter, he moved without the ball, took passes from Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal, drove the baseline against a preoccupied defense and scored an efficient eight points in nine minutes of work.

He made the smart plays all night. In the fourth quarter, he took a pass from Payton, turned down a three-pointer and pulled up for a jumper in the lane.

Later, he recognized that he needed to provide the scoring from a lineup that included Horace Grant, Kareem Rush and an off-shooting Derek Fisher, so he went one-on-one with Tayshaun Prince and hit a jump shot over him.

Bryant scored 16 points on six-for-11 shooting, played good, aggressive defense and was part of a well-balanced Laker victory.

“I just focused on the defensive end, taking care of my guy,” Bryant said.

If he can play like this, if he can think like this, why doesn’t he do it more often?

Why does he continue to go off on his own, whether it’s with the basketball or in an interview?

It’s strange how disconnected he can sound after Laker losses, when the rest of the locker room is moping and he’s as upbeat as ever.

It’s even stranger that he can insinuate, as he did in ESPN the magazine, that his legal situation is his problem alone and not a burden on his teammates.

It’s a burden on everyone connected with the Lakers.

I’ve never seen General Manager Mitch Kupchak look as stressed out as he did the day Laker veterans opened training camp in Hawaii and Bryant was home, incommunicado. (Public relations director John Black wasn’t exactly enjoying the task of herding the 80 media members into the hot gym, either.)

And Bryant’s shredding of O’Neal in another interview on the eve of the season-opener dragged everyone into the old war of words.

Bryant declined a chance to address the organization’s role in his legal situation.

“I don’t want to get in to that,” he said.

The Lakers have done about all they can to accommodate him.

They’re picking up a share of his private jets to Colorado.

Some of my friends who sit courtside at Staples Center -- the type of major players that would know about such things -- estimated that the four-hour round-trip flying time to Colorado on a private jet would cost $20,000.

I’ve heard of teams flying players to family funerals, but this goes above and beyond that act of kindness: They’re assisting with costly trips for a sexual assault charge, that sprung from an incident while he was having surgery behind the team’s back.

The Lakers are doing all they can to accommodate Bryant.

They pushed back the start of practice Thursday to allow Bryant to make it back form Colorado, and it still didn’t help. The Lakers blamed weather problems for Bryant’s delay.

The Lakers also pay for Bryant’s bodyguards, from O&R; Security, during games and team-related events. (Bryant isn’t the only team member to enjoy this privilege; Jerome Crawford, who serves as O’Neal’s bodyguard, is a full-time paid member of the Lakers’ staff.)

And right now the Lakers aren’t guaranteed a return on their investment, for this year or beyond, if he leaves as a free agent.

When asked before the game what he could expect from Bryant after Bryant played 37 minutes Wednesday then flew to Colorado and back for a court appearance Thursday, Jackson said: “I’m not sure. I have to draw a blank on that.”

“I tried to get a feel for it this morning. He wasn’t real energetic in the shoot-around. But he was talkative, chipper.

“We’re just happy with what Kobe can give us. Basically, what he can do on a given night is what we’re really happy for, his energy and what he can provide on the court. Therefore, what he does give us, we’re thankful for.”

In the past, the Lakers couldn’t be sure which Kobe Bryant would show up. Sometimes they’d get Good Kobe, who worked within the offense and made his teammates look better in addition to making the occasional spectacular play. Sometimes they’d get Bad Kobe, all forced shots and turnovers.

The one constant was his energy. Jackson relied on it whenever the older and heavier legs on the Lakers tried to drag their way through a set of back-to-back games.

Now the Lakers can’t count on that. They can’t even know for sure that he’ll be available every day for the rest of the season. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person reaching for a Laker schedule every time a date was mentioned in Thursday’s court proceeding.

They have a home game against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 19, the date of his next court appearance. Think there’s a chance it will snow in Colorado that day?

More important, do you think Bryant will thank the Lakers for helping him get there?

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com