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For Lakers, the rest is history

The last we saw of the Los Angeles Lakers, they were knocked around in five games by the Phoenix Suns, sent to another meek first-round exit and ushered into a quiet off-season.

They hoped it would be quiet, anyway.

But Kobe Bryant demanded to be traded, parking-lot videos started to surface, Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom had surgeries that are still affecting them, and, well, here the Los Angeles Lakers are, ready or not.

The season begins tonight at Staples Center against Houston, and, of course, it will be televised nationally, and, of course, all eyes will be on Kobe Bryant, who has faced intense media scrutiny since training camp began four weeks ago.

The latest update, in order of importance: Kobe Bryant is still a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he has talked to Coach Phil Jackson about the allegation he hasn't been giving his all, and he plans on dressing like the "Harry Potter" character Lord Voldemort for Halloween, or so he says.

The team lurched along an uninspiring 3-4 in exhibition play, amid lowered expectations in which half the NBA pundits seem to think the Los Angeles Lakers will not make the playoffs. Either way, nobody is predicting an incredible upward advance through the Western Conference after consecutive seventh-place finishes.

Derek Fisher is an upgrade over Smush Parker, rookie Javaris Crittenton and second-year burner Jordan Farmar give the Los Angeles Lakers a pair of promising young guards, and center Andrew Bynum is now 20 years old and in his third year in the league.

Kwame Brown will be the starting center tonight despite a sore ankle, and Odom said Monday he was still a week or two from returning to action, but Kobe Bryant remains the story. He and Jackson spoke over the weekend on the heels of Jackson's very public observation that Kobe Bryant hadn't "thrown his heart and soul into performing on the floor."

Kobe Bryant restated his case Monday, saying the assessment was inaccurate. "I'm fine," he said. "I played like crap, but I'm fine."

Jackson seemed satisfied with their brief talk, saying, "He knows that his heart's got to be in it. That's really important."

Kobe Bryant's exhibition season was the opposite of successful, with a scoring average of 29.4 points per 48 minutes, but also a turnover rate of 11.2 per 48 minutes.

The trade-rumor cycle has been circulating. Kobe Bryant declined to address it, referring questions to his agent and the Los Angeles Lakers' front office. As for Jackson, he said, "There's nothing imminent right now."

Still...

"We're listening," Jackson said. "That's part of the deal that we have to do, so we listen."

When will the roster be settled?

"It's better sooner than later, in my estimation," he said. "Let's get settled and figure out what's going to happen. And if nothing's going to happen, then go from there."

It left Kobe Bryant on the court for Monday's practice, an athletic sleeve on his sore right wrist and a more benevolent review from Jackson, who said Kobe Bryant was "sparkling."

"He was doing the things that we want to have done out there on the floor and he was making the game fun," Jackson said. "That's the good side of things that we want to see out of Kobe Bryant."

Meanwhile, Monday was another day of TV cameras being knocked around as reporters scrambled to hear Kobe Bryant's latest words.

He did not say he had stepped off his trade demand, but he indicated he would be typically resolute on the court, for whichever team was signing his checks -- even if it happened to be (gasp!) still the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I've told you that from training camp -- when the season starts, my focus is here with this team," he said. "I don't want it to be a distraction, I don't want it to be something we talk about all the time. . . . This is where my duties are, playing with these guys. I'm still a Laker, I'm here. I'm ready to play."

Across the nation, Kobe Bryant was being analyzed and super-analyzed.

TNT analyst Charles Barkley, a past foil of Kobe Bryant's, had some choice words in New York. "What Phil Jackson said [Saturday], that was like they're at the point of no return now," he said. "There's a point where you know you can make a marriage work, but what Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was the end of it.

"Wasn't no doubt in my mind [Kobe Bryant] was just blowing off games and practice because he was [mad] about what Dr. Buss said. They shouldn't have said that. He should have went to Kobe, 'Kobe you want to be traded, we'll try to make it work.' But the guy's skipping practices, going through the motions."

There was also plenty of fodder for conspiracy theorists. In an opening-day roster of all 30 teams released by the NBA, Kobe Bryant was listed as an inactive player for the Los Angeles Lakers.

One theory had him possibly sidelined by his wrist when the list had to be submitted last week, and another, juicier hypothesis had Jackson spoofing the league with his dry sense of humor.

Either way, the list is nonbinding -- Kobe Bryant's name will be on a more updated roster submitted tonight by the Los Angeles Lakers an hour before tipoff.

Even a light, speculative newspaper item about the Los Angeles Lakers possibly talking to Washington in the future about All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas was met with a strong denial.

"I don't normally comment on rumors, but there is no truth to this rumor," Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld told the Washington Post. "We've never had any conversations with the Los Angeles Lakers or anyone else about Gilbert."

Kobe Bryant, Jackson, and the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to push forward. "We still have some issues about our health," Jackson said. "But we think we're ready to play."

See more at www.latimes.com