A lot of business, as usual, for Lakers

The drama spins nonstop around the Lakers’ axis, even more so than usual this week.

Kobe Bryant is benched, then it’s Andrew Bynum’s turn, and now Derek Fisher comes to town Thursday with his new team, Oklahoma City.

Fun, fun, fun.

The Lakers managed to practice Wednesday without anything unraveling, which was unique for a day.

Bynum even completed practice without any new issues after being removed Tuesday against Golden State because of a bad shooting decision (a three-point attempt that barely grazed the rim) and equally nonchalant defense. He did everything he was asked at practice, without an attitude, though he didn’t stick around to talk to reporters.

Lakers Coach Mike Brown, however, reiterated his right to make any substitution at any time by saying, “If I feel like a guy is not playing the right way for our team, I’ll make a change.”

Truth be told, Bynum has been down this long-distance road.

In February 2007, he launched a three-point attempt with 29 seconds left and the Lakers on their way to a 90-83 victory over Atlanta. After his shot predictably bounced out, Lakers players and assistant coaches laughed. One person sat stiffly with his arms crossed.

“That’s an automatic $50 fine,” Coach Phil Jackson said afterward. “Those are things that I don’t want to see.”

Said Bynum at the time: “I’m going to pay in pennies. It looked good, it just rimmed out on me.”

He offered a similar verbal shrug after being yanked with 9:33 left in the third quarter Tuesday. He re-entered to start the fourth quarter, missed three more shots, including a 12-foot turnaround, and was removed for good with 9:10 to play in the Lakers’ 104-101 victory.

Bynum stood off to the side during timeouts and was shown by TV cameras shrugging and frowning while on the bench. He said he didn’t understand what was “bench-worthy” about the shot.

“I guess it’s ‘Don’t take threes’ is the message, but I’m going to take another one and I’m going to take some more, so I just hope it’s not the same result,” he said afterward. “Hopefully, I make it.”

He had an ally in Bryant, who was benched for four of the last six minutes in the Lakers’ previous game, a 102-96 loss to Memphis.

Bryant said he found the media dissection of Bynum’s three-point shot “amusing.”

“The edginess and the chippiness of him makes it very easy for me to relate to him because I had some of that when I was young,” Bryant said. “I understand where he’s coming from. That’s why it’s not that big of a deal to me. You don’t see me sitting here tripping or sweating or anything like that. I’ve been there.”

Lakers coaches are fine with Bynum taking three-point shots, but only if he continually practices them on off days. And, of course, makes some of them.

Meanwhile, Lakers fans probably won’t be as appreciative Thursday if Fisher hits a remarkable shot with 0.4 of a second left.

He returns to Staples Center after joining the Thunder last week. When he was dealt on the day of the trade deadline, his Lakers teammates were stunned. So was Fisher, though he again politely declined to answer specific questions about the trade Tuesday.

“Obviously, life changes quickly and there’s a lot going on with the family, with my kids and those things,” Fisher told the Oklahoman newspaper. “But on the court and around this team — the community in Oklahoma City — it’s everything and more than I imagined in terms of how good it would be to be around these guys.”

Oklahoma City (38-12) has won all four of its games since acquiring Fisher, though he has struggled while getting acclimated. He is averaging 3.8 points and shooting only 23%, playing primarily at backup shooting guard.

Fisher will be used as a scout against his former team before Thursday’s game. The Lakers (31-19) are third in the Western Conference, seven games behind the Thunder.

“He knows Kobe’s game better than anybody,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks told the Oklahoman. “We definitely will talk to him and we have already.”

The normally stoic Bryant acknowledged Fisher’s return would create a highly unusual backdrop.

“It’s going to be strange, him going down to the visitors’ locker room,” said Bryant, who played with Fisher for almost 13 seasons. “I talk to him pretty much every single day, though, still. But seeing him coming into Staples Center in a different uniform is going to be extremely, extremely weird for us all.”

The Lakers sent Fisher to Houston two weeks ago for a first-round draft pick and reserve forward Jordan Hill, who has barely played for the Lakers.

Fisher negotiated a contract buyout with the Rockets, before quickly joining the Thunder as a free agent.

“We’re playing well and it’s very apparent that these guys are hungry,” Fisher said.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.