Now Bryant Takes Even Greeter Role

For the second time in as many days, Kobe Bryant walked into the Lakers’ practice gym at their El Segundo headquarters to attend a news conference. Thursday, he was there to announce he would remain a part of the Laker team. Friday, he was there to demonstrate that the Lakers had become his team.

The occasion was the first opportunity for the local media to meet the three newest Lakers -- Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler -- all acquired from the Miami Heat earlier in the week in a trade for Shaquille O’Neal.

But it was Bryant’s presence that dominated the proceedings, as he will dominate all things Laker related for the foreseeable future. He approached the head table after the new Lakers had spoken, embraced them and welcomed them to the club.

“I just came here to touch base with the guys,” Bryant said.

Criticized in the past for alienating himself from teammates and focusing too much on his own agenda, Bryant’s appearance Friday seemed to indicate that, at 25, with new faces on the team and more expected to follow, he is ready to accept the role of leader, to fill the huge emotional hole left by O’Neal’s departure.

The trio of newcomers seemed surprised but happy with Bryant’s appearance and the chance to appear with him on the same court in the same uniform.

“This is his team,” Odom said. “We just want to grab onto his coattails and go along for the ride. It should be fun.”

The preceding week had been anything but fun as the players listened to rumors about their imminent departure without getting any clarification from their team. All three learned of their trade from television reports rather than from the Heat. Odom said he has yet to hear from Heat President Pat Riley.

“But I understand because things were moving so fast,” Odom said. “We’re all still a little shocked.”

Grant said he learned of the trade while visiting family in Georgetown, Ohio.

“Wednesday [of last week], I heard on television, they were talking about trading Shaq,” Grant said. “On Thursday, I heard it could be to Miami. On Friday, I heard my name.”

Butler said he learned O’Neal was about to become a member of the Heat upon landing in Miami after an out-of-town promotional appearance for the team.

“When I saw a TV,” he said, “they were talking about Lamar and Brian. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw my name on there as well.”

Nobody was more shocked than Odom. After spending four years as a Clipper, forced to watch the Lakers, his favorite team since childhood, from the locker room down the hall in Staples Center, and then spending a year in Miami, he was back again, stunned but delighted.

“To wear this uniform,” he said clutching the No. 5 purple-and-gold jersey he was presented, “means so much. It seems like a dream come true. It’s like every baseball player who dreams of being a Yankee. When I was 7-8 years old ... I would pretend I was Magic Johnson. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I am happy to be home.”

Asked how the year in Miami had changed him, Odom said, “More discipline on and off the court. I’m smarter and more knowledgeable about the game. The key word for all of us when we played for the Heat was disposition. Hopefully, we will bring our nasty disposition with us.”

All three players have taken and passed their physicals, removing the last requirement to make the trade official.

Grant will wear No. 55, Butler No. 1.

As he addressed the media Friday, Odom’s gaze drifted up to the window of a second-floor office belonging to Laker owner Jerry Buss. There, on a sill, sat eight gleaming gold trophies, representing the eight championship banners won by the Lakers in the Buss era.

“It’s unbelievable,” Odom said for the umpteenth time. “To look up at those trophies and the banners [in Staples Center]. You ask anybody in the NBA what team they want to play for, when you get them away from their teammates and their fans, and they will say they want to play for the Lakers.”