Camp Isn’t a Settling Experience

Kobe Bryant is expected to leave the Lakers today on a private jet bound for Los Angeles, then for Eagle, Colo., in time for Thursday afternoon’s preliminary hearing in his felony sexual assault case.

Laker officials said they were unsure when Bryant would return. The 19 remaining Laker players and the coaching staff are scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Thursday morning after playing the Golden State Warriors tonight.

Media day is Friday in El Segundo, which would mean another long day of questions for and explanations from Bryant, who, while gamely attempting to maintain a touch of normality, already seems to be wearying of the process. The Lakers privately hope the early season will be the most trying period of basketball for Bryant, who, besides the court dates and media surge, has a knee to rehabilitate and two new teammates to incorporate.

That, along with Shaquille O’Neal’s bothersome heel, has led to an unsettled training camp for the Lakers, whose splashy summer has settled predictably into a chaotic fall. Bryant, whose conditioning is lagging, is not expected to play an exhibition game until next week at the earliest. He revealed Monday that training camp, typically a time for his teammates to catch up to him, might not be long enough to have him ready by opening night.

“My lungs will probably still be burning,” he said. But “as long as my legs can carry me, I’ll be OK.

“They know I’m a workhorse. Last season I played with my knee the size of a volleyball. They know I’ll do everything it takes to get out there on the court, and when I’m ready they’ll know I’ll be out there playing.”

In Bryant’s absence, Phil Jackson has played Derek Fisher and Gary Payton as starters in the backcourt, dabbled with Jannero Pargo and Kareem Rush, and even tried Bryon Russell and Devean George. The Chicago Tribune on Tuesday suggested Michael Jordan as a long-term alternative to Bryant, to which Jackson responded in the newspaper: “It has crossed my mind. But, I don’t think I’d ask Michael that question until it became absolutely necessary or it became a reality. It’s just speculation.”

Speculation, perhaps, but the story raced through the Internet and talk-radio circles and then Laker camp, causing one team employee to say, “We already have four Hall of Famers. I don’t know if we have room for a fifth.”

“That was just a tease for the Chicago Tribune,” Jackson said with a smile. “Of course, we considered possibilities, but that’s something where I respect Michael wanting to retire and certainly wouldn’t want to go back against his word. Unless he contacted me and said he wanted to play.

“For all practical purposes, Kobe is going to play the season. That’s what we want.”

Said Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak, also smiling: “Talk to our coach.”

Although his situation remains unpredictable, Bryant, charged with felony sexual assault and free on $25,000 bail, has insisted he will play the season. Jackson has said the team will be ready for the season with or without Bryant, and now admits he at least entertained the notion that a permanent replacement for Bryant might be required, further agitating the Laker exhibition season.

There is little doubt that Bryant will not be the player he was last season, when he averaged a career-best 30 points, because of what he will be capable of doing and what he will be asked to do. So proud of his thicker, stronger body a year ago, Bryant has lost weight, partly, he said, by design. Jackson wants him on the ball on defense, which means chasing point guards often a half-foot and 40 pounds smaller.

Assuming Bryant’s knee and conditioning hold up through that, Jackson is expecting more balance in the offense, which means more shots for Payton and Karl Malone, and he has dared O’Neal to be the most valuable player again, which O’Neal almost certainly will take for a green light on offense.

If Bryant finds he is being pushed around at 208 pounds, a near certainty if Jackson asks him to play small forward, he could regain the weight, though the grind of the season and the distractions sure to come would make it difficult to maintain a consistent lifting program.

“He’s going to play a little different role, similar to what he played the first couple years I was coaching here,” Jackson said. “He’s just got to pick up guards and chase, do a little more activity rather than muscle activity.”

*

O’Neal, pointedly, on his coming contract negotiations: “I’ve always been a professional, so I’m not going to talk about what they should or shouldn’t do through you guys.... [But] last time they took care of it, we won three in a row. So, if you believe in history and how history repeats itself, then, you know. I always give my maximum. On a good toe or a [messed]-up toe, I always give my maximum. And that’s all I want in return. I want honesty and I want the truth. If they’re not going to do it, I’d rather they tell me that right now so we can move on. But, I always give my maximum. Do I deserve [the maximum extension]? Yeah, I deserve it.

“Hopefully, it’s something that can get done quickly. But, it’s nothing I’m worried about. In the end, I’ll be fine.”

Asked whether he would take less than the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, estimated by CBA expert Larry Coon to be worth $105 million to $114 million over three years, O’Neal said, “I’m not going to come in and ask for a BMW when I know I’m supposed to get that Maybach, if that answers your question.”