"This is my team to lead," Bryant said Monday, a day before the Lakers open
training camp in San Diego. "Shaq was the focal point of the team. Now it's
different. Guys are looking to me for leadership, so it's important that I
establish what type of team we're going to be."
Bryant got a jump on that by phoning each of his teammates, a group including
nine new players, during the summer. Most of the team has been working out
together informally for the last few weeks.
"He has done a great job with his leadership. He's been a connector of the
team," said new coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who received several calls from Bryant
wanting to talk basketball.
Most clubs held their media days on Monday, with camps scheduled to open on
Tuesday.
Bryant wasn't the only player drawing attention around the NBA.
Vince Carter arrived in Toronto, and Payton showed up with his new team — the
Boston Celtics — ending questions whether they would report to their clubs
on time.
Bryant is beginning this season with his focus squarely on basketball and not
the felony sexual assault case that shadowed him throughout the past year.
Teammate Devean George said there hasn't been a noticeable change in Bryant's
demeanor from last season.
"He was happy last year," George said. "He did a good job of keeping things
separate. He never brought it here. He's been the same happy guy."
Bryant's off-court troubles haven't tarnished him in the eyes of new teammate
Lamar Odom, who's known Bryant for eight years.
"Nothing has changed. He's a good person," said Odom, who came from Miami in
the O'Neal trade after starting his NBA career with the Clippers.
The charge against Bryant was dismissed last month at his accuser's request,
but he still faces a civil lawsuit filed in Denver by the woman.
He didn't discuss the case Monday or the documents that have been released,
including an allegation by Bryant that O'Neal paid up to $1 million in hush
money to various women to keep quiet about situations like the one Bryant got
into.
O'Neal dismissed the allegation as "ridiculous" and took a shot at Bryant by
saying, "I'm not the one buying love" — an apparent reference to an expensive
ring that Bryant bought his wife after he was charged.
Asked if the verbal sparring between the superstars was over, Bryant said,
"I'm not verbal sparring at all. I've moved on."
"We had great times, we had some not-so-great times, but I sincerely just
wish him all the best," Bryant said. "He's got himself in great physical
condition and God bless him, hope they have a good time."
Bryant and O'Neal will meet on the court in a Christmas Day game at Staples
Center, their first matchup since O'Neal was traded. The remaining 1,000 tickets
for the game sold out in 5 minutes on Monday.
Asked if was disappointed by O'Neal's remarks during the summer, Bryant said,
"I don't think about it, I don't focus on that. When the Lakers face the Heat,
then we'll talk about that."
Tomjanovich didn't want to touch the Kobe-Shaq feud, either.
"I'm not going to get into any of that stuff," he said, smiling.
Tomjanovich replaced Phil Jackson in the offseason, when O'Neal demanded to
be traded. Bryant said he misses Jackson.
"We've had our tough times, we had our share of arguments, but I've always
respected him as a coach," he said. "My game, the way it has progressed, is
because of him and Tex (Winter, former assistant)."
Bryant agreed his life would be less of a roller coaster this season, knowing
he won't be flying to Colorado for frequent court sessions that caused him to
miss practices.
"I'll never be completely steady, but who's life is?" he said.
Celtics
Gary Payton was acquired in an offseason trade with the Lakers and wasn't
happy about it.
The 36-year-old guard didn't want to play in Boston or move his family from
the West Coast. He missed an Aug. 13 deadline for his physical, but he didn't
let that keep him from reporting for the opening of camp in Vermont.
Payton gives Boston an aggressive point guard who can lead the running game
and play tight defense.
Raptors
Vince Carter plans to play hard for the Raptors, even though he still wants
out of Toronto.
"It's stupid for me to come up here, and just because I want a trade I'm
going to mope and pout. That's dumb," Carter said.
Carter asked during the summer to be traded but the Raptors are hoping the
All-Star guard changes his mind.
"I have a job to do. I'm coming here to play and win for whatever it says on
my jersey," said Carter, who will earn $12 million this season. "It says Toronto
Raptors, well then I'm going to perform for the Toronto Raptors."
Clippers
Los Angeles' other NBA team exercised its contract option on forward Chris
Wilcox and signed free agents Trajan Langdon and Kaniel Dickens.
That might help offset the loss of guard Marko Jaric, who is expected to miss
at least two weeks because of a broken left thumb sustained during informal
workouts last month.
Langdon, who starred at Duke with current teammates Elton Brand and Corey
Maggette, spent last season playing in Turkey.
Bucks
Point guard T.J. Ford isn't fully recovered from spinal surgery and will miss
training camp.
Ford was leading rookies in assists and was ninth overall in the NBA on Feb.
24 when he landed on his tailbone. He missed the rest of the season and
underwent surgery in May.
"Of course, I would like to be in training camp, but my health is the most
important thing," he said Monday. "I'm not feeling 100 percent yet. I was hoping
that I would be ready by now, but I'm not."
There is no timetable for his return.
"I don't want to risk a chance coming back and getting re-injured," Ford
said. "I don't think I'm facing a situation of not being able to come back at
all. I think at some point I will be able to play basketball again, but when I'm
not sure."