Bryant Is Delayed Again

Kobe Bryant was delayed at least a day, so he did not join the team in Philadelphia, as was the latest plan.

When the Lakers left Los Angeles on Saturday and Bryant stayed behind to heal his slashed finger and attend motions hearings in Eagle, Colo., the stated plan was to meet the team in Cleveland. Then, it was Orlando. Then, Philadelphia.

But, Bryant, who is on the injured list and could not have played anyway, was not at the hotel Thursday afternoon when the Lakers expected him, and then was not on the bus that took them all to Wachovia Center.

Ninety minutes before the Lakers were to play the Philadelphia 76ers, Phil Jackson was awaiting word on Bryant’s whereabouts.

“Haven’t heard anything,” he said. “I’ve asked some of the people that had information about his arrival, and they haven’t heard either. I don’t know if it’s weather or something’s come up that delayed him. He was supposed to be here between 4 and 5.”

An hour later, Laker publicist Alison Bogli said she had been contacted by the Bryant camp and that he’d be in Orlando, probably today.

Bryant is eligible to come off the injured list for Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic. It is unknown whether he will be activated. Laker medical staff members will get their first look at Bryant’s lacerated finger today or Saturday.

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Though Jackson had hoped to have Bryant around, if only to maintain contact with his teammates and the ever-evolving games of the younger players, nobody seemed to mind his absence.

Bryant has been fairly sturdy, playing his season between court dates and injuries, pushing basketball out front three or four times a week. Jackson had feared the fan reaction toward Bryant here, but they did not have a chance to heckle him, and it sounded as if no one would have blamed Bryant for the decision.

“I really never put myself in people’s shoes,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “But I don’t think I could ever dream about what he’s going through.”

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Jackson rarely wears his championship rings before the postseason, and it had been years since he’d worn the 1973 ring he won as a player with the New York Knicks.

Yet, it is on his left pinkie, wedged there since the Lakers left on this trip Saturday.

Apparently, Jackson was looking through his ring collection, came across an old one and was curious whether it would fit. It did, but wouldn’t come off, and so it stays.

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Rick Fox has been back six games and has started the last two, meaning he’s about halfway through October, as he sees it.

He is seven for 29 from the field, one for 10 from the three-point arc. He laughed at a joke about de-icing his jumper on the way out of the Cleveland airport, after he missed eight of 10 shots against the Cavaliers.

With a smile, he said, “I’m not answering any questions about my jump shot until I’ve got eight preseason games under my belt.”

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The Laker charter was delayed about two hours out of Cleveland after Wednesday night’s game. As a result, the flight arrived in Philadelphia about 3:30 a.m., and Jackson canceled Thursday’s shoot-around.... Kareem Rush (sprained ankle) and Jamal Sampson (sprained ankle) were in uniform but did not play.