Bryant to Stay With Retooled Lakers

Kobe Bryant, the last of a Laker triangle that once also held Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson, re-signed with the Lakers on Thursday after eight years in the organization and a short courtship with the crosstown Clippers.

Fifteen days after he became a free agent, Bryant sat beside Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo and, with a $250 pen, signed a seven-year contract worth $136.4 million.

In the month since the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, Laker owner Jerry Buss has replaced Jackson and traded O’Neal, leaving Bryant to anchor an organization that won three NBA championships in the last five seasons but now appears to be on the decline.

On their way out of town, Jackson and O’Neal had expressed dissatisfaction that the Lakers had chosen to oblige Bryant at their expense.

Further complicating Bryant’s situation, he will stand trial in late August for felony sexual assault in Colorado, with the proceedings expected to last into the fall.

If convicted, Bryant could be sentenced to four years to life in prison. A morals clause in the standard NBA contract would release the Lakers from their agreement with Bryant. Also, according to a league official, the NBA would not have approved a contract that stipulated Bryant would receive his salary even if convicted of a felony.

On Thursday evening, eight hours after he’d notified Buss and Clipper owner Donald Sterling of his decision, Bryant alternately expressed irritation and amusement at the suspicion he had orchestrated their departures.

“That upsets me,” he said. “It angers me and hurts me. They did what they had to do. They did what was best for their families. It had nothing to do with me. In a perfect world, we would have all come back and won another championship.”

In a 30-minute news conference attended by his wife, Vanessa, daughter, Natalia, and agent Rob Pelinka, Bryant said he had told O’Neal and Jackson he could continue his career by their sides. “We had our disagreements, everybody knows that, we’d have our arguments,” Bryant said of him and O’Neal. “But when push comes to shove we played well and played together. ... Ultimately, I would play with Shaq.”

But neither O’Neal nor Jackson had much interest in continuing their on-court relationships with Bryant; O’Neal demanded a trade, and Jackson left willingly.

“If you look at all the pieces of the puzzle that are thrown out there and you understand the game and understand the politics, you can put it all together and draw your own conclusions,” O’Neal said Wednesday after his trade to the Miami Heat became official.

On June 18, the day of his trade request, O’Neal said he believed Buss had put Bryant’s re-signing above all else and feared it would weaken the organization.

Three weeks later, as he was driving to his home in Montana, Jackson said of his own departure, “They wanted to make some moves to accommodate signing Kobe. We knew they probably wouldn’t work if I was coaching the team.”

Bryant said he learned a lot about the game from Jackson, despite their differences. He said he learned of O’Neal’s trade demand while in an ice cream shop. O’Neal, an 11-time NBA All-Star, was traded for three players -- Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler, none of whom has been an All-Star -- and a draft pick.

“Yesterday was a sad day in Los Angeles,” Bryant said. “It was sad for me. It was sad for everybody.”

Bryant, 25, opted out of the final year of his contract for free agency and met with the Lakers, Clippers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls, paring the list to the Los Angeles entries in recent days.

For the downtrodden Clippers, it still ended poorly, despite their offer of more than $100 million over six years.

“It’s disappointing, but we still have to go on,” said Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor.

Bryant, speaking of the Clippers, said: “I felt comfortable over there. I could see myself playing for the Clippers.”

The Lakers, who on Thursday lost free-agent guard Derek Fisher to the Golden State Warriors, risked finishing out of the playoffs next season if Bryant had departed. Karl Malone also is a free agent and is considering signing with the San Antonio Spurs, joining O’Neal in Miami or returning to the Lakers.

So, Kupchak, whose task it was to deal O’Neal and then recruit Bryant, awoke Thursday morning with some trepidation.

“At no point in time did I get a real clear feel for what direction this was heading,” Kupchak said.

Laker management had been told to expect a call from Bryant by about 11 a.m., and it was Bryant’s intention to make that call to Buss, who is vacationing in Croatia. But he could not reach Buss, and soon it was past 11.

“All these things go through your mind,” Kupchak said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, here it comes.’ ”

It did come, several minutes later. Pelinka called to say Bryant could not reach Buss, so the team called Buss and put the two parties together.

“It feels great to be in the city of Los Angeles playing for the Lakers for the next seven years,” Bryant said. “I always wanted to be a Laker, but it was real, real difficult. I struggled with the decision.”

Finally, he said of a choice made after consulting with Jerry West -- the former Laker executive who brought him to Los Angeles in a 1996 trade -- and of the Lakers, “It’s in my heart. This is what I want to do.”

A six-time All-Star, Bryant averaged 24 points last season. Acquired in a draft-day trade from the Charlotte Hornets at the age of 17, Bryant has averaged 21.8 points, five rebounds and 4.3 assists in eight seasons. He is among the most talented players in the league, but has been criticized by teammates -- O’Neal chief among them -- for play they deemed selfish.

He plays hard, however, and practices hard, and earned a reputation for taking and making some of the biggest shots in franchise history, drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan in those regards.

“I’m so proud of Kobe,” Malone said Thursday. “The way this kid worked his butt off, he deserves it. He’s proven himself. There’s not a lot of guys who deserve the money they’re making in this league. He’s one who does.”

The Lakers have been steadfast in their support of Bryant, who routinely missed practices and other team events because of pretrial hearings. They shared the cost of private jets that delivered Bryant to those hearings in Colorado and brought him back.

Team officials, including Buss, have voiced their support for Bryant, who despite the pending trial was courted by a handful of teams. Buss said this week that Bryant’s being unable to play next season or beyond because of his legal issues had never been discussed.

“That’s never really gone through my mind,” Buss said this week. “I have trouble believing that won’t work out well for him.”

Should Bryant return to the floor, things will look different. His coach will be Rudy Tomjanovich. And the Lakers are still working on a center.

“I told both of them that I have enjoyed playing with them,” Bryant said, referring to Jackson and O’Neal. “I even said at the end of the season I wouldn’t mind playing with them the rest of my career. But they each had to do what was best for them.... I just wish them all the best. May God bless them. I hope they each have a great life.”