Bynum takes positive steps

Andrew Bynum began running on a treadmill Tuesday, another step in his comeback from a knee injury that has sidelined him more than eight weeks.

Bynum ran for 20 minutes on an “anti-gravity” treadmill that allowed him to essentially decrease his weight via an air-pressure chamber that enveloped his lower body and reduced his impact on the treadmill.

Bynum, listed at 285 pounds, ran at 60% to 65% of his actual body weight.

He will gradually increase his time on the treadmill and his weight percentage if there is no pain in his left knee.

“He did well,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “The thing with Andrew is when he works out, how the knee responds. He seems to have good strength coming now. He still gets fatigued, and that’s all about that muscle firing, all that stuff that’s going on that’s just part of coming through an injury and the body protecting itself.

“The swelling that happens around that injury is what’s going to have to be watched and eliminated as we go down the stretch toward the end of the season.”

Bynum has missed 28 games since sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee and a briefly dislocated kneecap. A specific return date has not been targeted by Bynum or the Lakers, although Jackson suggested a few days ago that the third-year center was about a month away.

“He’s progressing, not as fast as he’d like to, but we’re looking at the big picture here,” Jackson said. “We know that it makes a big difference in our team.

“But ultimately in the organization’s sight, this is something that we don’t have to rush him into, in a jeopardizing situation.”

Bynum is averaging 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots.

The Lakers are pondering whether to sign free-agent forward Ira Newble, who was waived Feb. 29 by Seattle.

A physical, defense-minded player, Newble would be eligible for the playoffs because he was waived before March 1.

Newble, 33, averaged 4.3 points in 33 games this season with Cleveland before being traded to the SuperSonics in February as part of the Wally Szczerbiak deal.

Newble played two games with the SuperSonics but was subsequently waived so he could sign with another team.

Kobe Bryant is three technical fouls away from an automatic one-game suspension by the league, a reality that is serious enough for Jackson to have spoken to him about it earlier this week.

On the other hand, Jackson said some of Bryant’s 13 technical fouls were in defense of other Lakers.

“Kobe is the protective top dog for most of his teammates,” Jackson said. “I think he’s gotten four or five of those technicals going to bat for his teammates this year rather than individually complaining about his own situation.”

Jackson said he talked to the entire team about a perceived increase in frustration with referees.

“As a team, we have to really just calm down, understand the mentality of referees, that it’s give and take out there,” Jackson said.

“You get rewarded a lot of times for not [complaining] when you know they miss something.”

Bryant was called for a flagrant foul with 7:14 left in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game against Toronto.

Bryant fouled Kris Humphries as the Raptors forward attempted a shot down low. The referees conferred briefly before calling a flagrant foul, which does not count toward Bryant’s technical-foul total this season.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com