Stars align in Lakers drama

Not that the Lakers are unsettled, but these days you can’t tell the factions without a program:

* Jerry Buss -- Owner, which isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

* Jim Buss -- Owner’s son and right-hand man. Just gave a radio interview in which he suggested once more that he and his father only reluctantly brought back ...

* Phil Jackson -- Coach who doesn’t want to go out like this, making him a close ally of ...

* Kobe Bryant -- Franchise player who’s holding out the possibility of asking to be traded to another franchise if they don’t bring back ...

* Jerry West -- Once and perhaps future Lakers icon, although his primary loyalty in this situation goes to ...

* Mitch Kupchak -- West’s old right-hand man, now the Lakers general manager, which means that even if Jerry Buss still backs him, Kupchak is the one everyone blames for everything.

* Jeanie Buss -- Owner’s daughter who has a long-standing relationship with Jackson. Runs the business side of the operation but has no clout on the basketball side.

Tangled as their web was, they didn’t think things could get any worse ... until news that Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown would need surgery, complicating trades, and Western Conference rivals Portland and Seattle drew the picks with which they’re expected to take budding superstars Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.

Seeming to raise the stakes with every telephone interview, Bryant told The Times’ Mike Bresnahan that his frustration was ongoing, turning our Sunday paper into a special section on Kobe.

Then Bryant did his usual number with ESPN’s Ric Bucher, who was obliged to go on camera and state Bryant’s views, as opposed to quoting him directly.

Bryant said he wanted West back. Bucher paraphrased him as adding, “Short of doing that, yes, I have a no-trade clause. Yes, I’d be willing to waive that. You might as well go ahead and trade me because I can’t wait for the current team to develop.”

Bucher says that after going on the air, he checked back and Bryant said he’d been accurately represented.

However, the same day, Bryant told Bresnahan that he wanted West, but it wasn’t an ultimatum -- “It’s not something where I demand he comes here. All I can do is offer my thoughts. I love being a Laker. I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing or at least help any way I can.”

This is enough to keep every sports talk show in the nation busy until the start of next season, but let’s cut to the chase.

Kobe’s not going anywhere now, whether he asks to be traded or not.

The Lakers aren’t remotely ready to consider trading him and starting over.

In a year, a lot of things might have come to a head and the Lakers might feel different. Now there’s no way.

Bryant has been a perfect organization man for three seasons, maintaining a steadfast belief in the same goal they pursued, however unrealistic it was.

Nevertheless, as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant’s insistence on getting away from Shaquille O’Neal that got them in this mess.

It’s true enough. By their final season, O’Neal and Bryant disliked each other equally.

However, O’Neal was just focused on a three-year, $80-million extension, which was about $15 million higher than Buss wanted to go.

It was Bryant who was focused on getting away from O’Neal, whether that meant going to the Clippers or returning to the Lakers after they traded him.

One thing the Lakers don’t have to worry about: If Bryant is here, he’ll play. Whatever problems he presents, not giving his all isn’t among them.

Whether Kobe said anything about asking to be traded or not, it’s implicit in everything he says.

Bryant has been fuming privately for months but has stopped short of actually asking to be traded.

However, trying to carry a modest roster facing giant expectations -- starting with his own -- it was always a possibility.

Seattle’s Ray Allen said three years ago that he expected Bryant to ask to be traded. The Lakers media corps was keenly aware of Bryant’s mood, which was unfailingly upbeat until this season’s 16-27 finish and their first-round, barely-bothered-to-show-up exit.

Bryant has little leverage, two seasons from his 2009 opt-out. However, a year from now, the Lakers would be at a decision point, facing the prospect of losing him and getting nothing.

West could well return -- but not to run things.

At 69, at the end of his five-year run in Memphis, his first concern isn’t Bryant but Kupchak.

West is not only Kupchak’s mentor but his close friend. As an insider said Monday, “Jerry would not come back to the Lakers under any scenario in which he’s seen as replacing Mitch.”

If West returns at all, it would be in a background role, most likely as a consultant.

Until Jerry Buss signs on, any thought of West’s return is still just another Lakers dream.

On Sunday, West restated his loyalty to Memphis owner Michael Heisley and Kupchak but told ESPN’s Jim Gray, “I’m a lifelong Laker, so we’ll see what happens.”

However, friends say West is so unhappy at the perception that this is happening, he will release a statement saying he has no plans past finishing his season in Memphis.

Moreover, the idea did not originate with Buss, who has yet to indicate what he thinks of it.

Of course, now that West’s name is out there, Buss might have little more choice than he did two years ago when he knew Lakers fans wouldn’t settle for any coach but Jackson.

Leaving the fans out of it, if West is willing to be a consultant, the Lakers had better consult him.

Their old model organization is now all over the map. Even in a low-key, background role, West would be the voice everyone respects that they need so badly.

No general manager in the NBA ever had West’s cachet. Without it, there was no check on Buss’ optimism, which turned into three years of organizational denial that continues to this confused day of this turbulent off-season.

mark.heisler@latimes.com