Some talk, some action

BAKERSFIELD -- Kobe Bryant was the picture of normalcy when he strolled into the Lakers’ locker room at Rabobank Arena on Thursday at 5:35 p.m.

As normal, at least, as things get around the Lakers these days.

Singing to himself as he walked toward the chair where his folded jersey awaited him, Bryant stripped off his sunglasses, clothes and heavy gold watch and methodically put on his familiar Lakers uniform.

Facing reporters for the first time since he spoke briefly in the parking lot outside the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility on Tuesday, Bryant appeared relaxed. Happy, even.

Being fit enough to practice on Wednesday -- and to play 18 minutes, 10 seconds of the Lakers’ 126-106 exhibition victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Thursday -- contributed to his good spirits.

“It was good to be back out on the floor instead of in the training room talking trash from here,” said Bryant, who scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter to inspire chants of “Ko-be! Ko-be!”

But his cheer didn’t mean that the waters beneath him have stopped churning.

Or that he has changed his mind about wanting out.

But while he’s a Laker he seems intent on being fully here, fully engaged, nursing his aching knees through each day and awaiting whatever comes.

“No matter where I’m at, I’m ready to play,” he said.

As each day passes, it seems more likely that he will be playing for the Lakers for a while.

A week after owner Jerry Buss said he “would certainly listen” to trade offers, there’s no reason to believe anything has come the Lakers’ way that would remotely approximate Bryant’s value.

A year from now, knowing that Bryant can terminate his contract after the 2008-09 season, it would make sense for the Lakers to trade him.

Not now.

And on some level, though he might hope otherwise, he probably knows he’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Maybe he has begun to accept that.

Maybe he just felt especially good Thursday. He yelled, coaxed and directed traffic, rising from the Lakers’ bench to give Ronny Turiaf an enthusiastic high-five when Turiaf came off the floor in the first quarter.

“I’m thinking about one thing and one thing only and that’s getting ready,” Bryant said. “That’s it. I don’t concern myself with all the other stuff going on.”

He is clearly concerned with the tendinitis in his knees, which he said he must “stay on top of” all the time. He was moving well Thursday, scoring only four points in the first quarter but remaining active throughout.

He’s still settling into his new facilitator role, turning the ball over at a higher rate than usual -- four times -- after a team-high 11 times in the first two exhibition games. But his timing was good and he managed to find several teammates on Thursday with smart passes they simply couldn’t finish.

“I’m enjoying my teammates,” he said. “We have great camaraderie. I’m having a good time when we’re out there.”

He has also taken on one more role: teacher and mentor to guard Javaris Crittenton.

To Crittenton, who called the media frenzy surrounding Bryant “a fun experience,” Kobe has been “a cool teammate,” willing to tutor him during practice.

“Kobe’s been helpful at teaching me the different options in the offense,” Crittenton said.

“I mean, I ran through the triangle in high school and it was helpful and I’m benefiting from that now, but it’s different options and different sequences that you have to go through and he tries to break down the offense for me.

“He tells me, ‘You call this play if the team is in a blitz defense,’ and, ‘If they’re in this defense, then you call this play and you try to look at that option and this option.’ Reading the defense is what he’s really been helping.”

For Bryant, working with Crittenton pays forward the good deeds Ron Harper did for him early in his Lakers career. “That was my guy,” Bryant said.

“I enjoy doing it for players who I can see have a will. He’s extremely talented and he has a great work ethic. . . . It’s very easy to pull him aside and help him out.

“In that role, in this system you have to see all your options. Not only see all your options but when to use them, when to use them as counters against the defense. It’s like a quarterback almost. He has a big challenge ahead. I’m just going to try to help him out as much as I can.”

When Bryant himself needs counsel, he turns to Phil Jackson, whose future with the Lakers might be tied to Bryant’s.

“Phil’s my guy. I confide in him,” Bryant said. “Phil is just a great person to be able to bounce things off of. A lot of times I like hearing his stories from the old Knick days. We talk about things like that. He loves the game and I do, too. It’s easy to sit around and talk about that.”

And, for now, they don’t have to talk about his departure.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.