Fined Bryant Sits It Out

Kobe Bryant, fined Tuesday for failing to heed a directive by the club to keep his feelings about Shaquille O’Neal to himself, also was the subject of a team meeting in the morning, then sat out the Lakers’ season opener against the Dallas Mavericks later in the evening.

The fine was believed to be for $2,500. Team executives were described by club sources as “livid” and “beside themselves” over Bryant’s decision Monday afternoon to escalate his feud with O’Neal by taking it to ESPN.

Bryant sat beside O’Neal for a time on the bench Tuesday night and afterward said the two were “cool.”

“We talked this morning,” he said. “He said what he said, I said what I said, we put it behind us and move on.”

Pressed on what caused his outburst, Bryant said, “I’m past it. You guys are going to have to make your own assessments. You do that anyway. But, I’m past that. We’re just going to move on and I have no comment to make on it.... I don’t have anything to clarify. You guys read the statements. You guys can make your own decisions from that. Shaq and I are going to move on, be teammates and help this team to a fourth title.”

On Monday morning, General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Coach Phil Jackson had promised fines if any player derided a teammate in the press, a reaction to the public spat between O’Neal and Bryant the day before. More important, perhaps, Karl Malone and Gary Payton had believed each player had pledged to forgo personal attacks for something approaching team unity.

Hours later, ESPN began airing Bryant’s complaints about O’Neal. Jackson called Bryant’s actions “calculated.”

As perplexing, by Tuesday evening, was Bryant’s decision not to play, according to Jackson one based on a stiff and sore knee, along with the incidents of the past few days and those of the summer. On Sunday night, Bryant testily stated that he not only would play, but that he would play his game, unaltered, despite playing among O’Neal, Malone and Payton and though he was not fully recovered from knee surgery.

“I think we have to assume he’s working with a variety of issues here,” Jackson said. “One of them is conditioning and his desire to play and one is getting comfortable on the court, getting back in the public eye. All those things and a combination of things. As a group, we want to be really supportive of bringing him back here, getting him back on the court in a way in which he can embrace basketball and the game.

“All of what’s gone on or what is happening is not chartered territory for us. We’re going through this in a way that we can be as supportive and as understanding and as strong as an organization can be ... but yet direct him in a way he can get back to doing the things he does for us, for the team and for himself.”

If Bryant believes he can play one day and not the next, despite no obvious physical change, Jackson said, “I’m sure it’s not unusual behavior in a ... stressful situation that he’s in.”

Jackson added that Bryant’s decision not to play “certainly could” be related to the 24 hours of bickering with O’Neal, and that he expected Bryant to play Saturday, when the Lakers play in Phoenix.

“There’s a lot involved beyond just what’s going on here on the face value,” he said.

After the game, Bryant said he too hoped to play Saturday.

“I’m working like crazy to get this leg back to where I can get out there and do some little things for the team to be successful,” he said. “I don’t expect to be 100% right off the bat. At least I can get to a point where I’m not hobbling around out there.”

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In one final preseason attempt to bring the pair together, O’Neal and Bryant met with a few selected teammates Tuesday afternoon in El Segundo. Brian Shaw, a former player who commands respect from both players and now serves the organization as a scout and consultant, led the meeting.

Apparently, being kinder to the media was not among the topics. O’Neal arrived at Staples Center, spotted dozens of reporters, and said, “I ain’t never talking to you [fellows]. Get out of my face.”