George Happy to Be Here

Devean George arrived Friday at Staples Center and sat down by his locker instead of cleaning it out.

“Surprise, surprise,” he said wryly.

One of two Lakers left from the three championship runs, George spoke earlier this week as if he was on his way out of town. The Lakers have a glut of small forwards, and George, who makes $4.5 million this season and has another year left for $5 million, was a candidate to be moved before Thursday’s trade deadline.

There was mild interest from a handful of teams and rumors to accompany it, but George stayed put.

“I want to stay here,” he said. “I didn’t want to have to relocate and start over for the second half of the season.”

George has not played this season because of numerous complications related to ankle surgery last July. About the only significant thing to happen to him this season was his election as the team’s player representative for the union.

George initially was expected to return in mid-November, but the muscles in his upper left leg atrophied while his left ankle was immobilized for a month in a walking boot. He also developed tendinitis in his left knee.

George said he would be healthy enough to play on a three-game trip that begins Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

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Kobe Bryant is on pace to become one of three players in league history to average more than 25 points in a season while making more free throws than field goals, according to Stats, Inc.

Bryant is averaging 27.5 points and has made 353 free throws and 324 field goals.

Jerry West averaged 31.3 points for the Lakers in 1965-66, making 840 free throws and 818 field goals. Adrian Dantley averaged 30.6 points for the Utah Jazz in 1983-84, making 813 free throws and 802 field goals.

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Lamar Odom had seven points in 36 minutes Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, leading to questions about his consistency in the triangle offense. He had 12 points Friday against the Detroit Pistons.

“If you can put him in a spot where he can use his athleticism, I think it would help him a lot,” Laker Coach Frank Hamblen said. “He has a lot of work to do in regard to footwork and all, but I think he’s a pretty quick learner. I think Lamar’s going to be fine in this offense.”

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Bryant’s defense attorneys, Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon, sat in the fifth row for Friday’s game, across from the Laker bench.

Bryant was scheduled to give a deposition Friday for a civil lawsuit filed against him by his accuser, but Haddon and the Lakers wouldn’t say if he actually did. Criminal charges against Bryant for sexual assault were dropped last September.