EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Having had several days to let the Dallas Mavericks' unceremonious sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers sink in, Kobe Bryant was able to find a silver lining to having the season end so unexpectedly: He has more time to prepare for next season. Bryant said his left foot is still swollen from when he turned his ankle in the first round against New Orleans, but he's healthy other than that and ready for an aggressive approach to his offseason regiment. "This is a good summer for me to train and get strong," Bryant said, speaking after his exit interview Wednesday with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and outgoing coach Phil Jackson. "I haven't [been able to do that] the last two summers. Last year I had [right knee] surgery, the year before that we played deep into June so I didn't have a chance to kind of grind like I would like to, but this summer I have that chance." Even though Bryant played all 82 games during the regular season and finished fourth in the MVP voting, averaging 25.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, Jackson limited Bryant's playing time in hopes of alleviating some wear and tear on his surgically repaired right knee, bringing his minutes down from 38.8 per game in 2009-10 to 33.9 this season. Bryant's practice time was also almost completely cut out, and his presence was missed. Andrew Bynum said Tuesday that he believed the biggest contributing factor to the Lakers' demise this season was a lack of intensity in practices. "I think it played a part in the fact that guys think that they can take days off because I'm not there," Bryant admitted. "It's just like your big brother not being around, you feel like you can do all these sorts of things with the toys and all this other stuff because I'm not on the court with you. "It's upsetting, it's disappointing to me, because I wasn't able to get out there with them every day, but at the same time, you can't use it as a crutch or an excuse because I wasn't out there." Bryant, who thought that "fatigue" was the biggest factor in the Lakers' lost season, said he was still able to play how he wanted to play despite recovering from injury to his right knee -- which needed to be drained three times during last season's playoffs --but just not play at his peak ability. "I felt like I could have definitely played more, played longer, stuff like that," Bryant said. "In the postseason I felt healthy, barring the foot. But this offseason gives me a chance to really go to the [next] level. There's a difference between feeling healthy and feeling as strong as I know I can be." He expects to return to practice moving forward. "Next season will be different," Bryant said. "I will have this whole offseason to kind of get strong and this way I can get out there and kick their [behinds] in practice and they'll have no excuses." Bryant has been playing with a fractured and arthritic right index finger since December 2009, but will not have it surgically repaired in the offseason even with the potentially long layoff with a lockout looming come June 30 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. "It takes too much time for that," Bryant said. "It's tough to gauge when the season's going to start and to kind of gamble with that and doing that procedure would take a little too much [risk]." While finishing this season on May 8 rather than June 17 as the team did last year gives the Lakers more time, losing in the ultimate disgrace of a sweep rather than winning in the ultimate pride of a Game 7 victory gives the team more hunger, according to Bryant. "Just refocus," Bryant said. "Take this summer. Some guys will rest, some guys will train, some guys will get healthy. Just refocus and come back next year with a good sense of purpose and be ready to go." He thinks that focus and purpose will have enough impact to change things so that a major roster shuffle will be unnecessary. "If you're asking me do I believe we can come back and win it again, I absolutely believe that," Bryant said. "In terms of this being the decline of the Lakers, it's nonsense. I remember they had a pretty good era in the '80s, and they didn't win three in a row. They didn't break that team up." He later added, "If this team came back as is, I think we can win." As for the lockout, he plans on letting players association president Derek Fisher do the talking. Bryant said he won't comment on the negotiations because "I like getting foul calls." Bryant reminisced about his time with Jackson and how their relationship grew from Jackson's first stint with the team when he had to "appease the Big Fella [Shaquille O'Neal] and in doing that, a lot of times I was road kill," to the second time around, when "I trusted him more. The first time around, I really didn't." But Byrant expects to keep in touch with Jackson every couple of weeks in the future. As for Jackson's replacement, Bryant said assistant coach Brian Shaw would be a viable candidate because of his level of "familiarity" with the team and his ability to communicate. Bryant has not been in contact with Lakers management about the coaching search, but emphasized the need to find a coach who will bring a defensive identity as more important than what offense he runs. Bryant was content to leave the season in the past, describing it as "a wasted year of my life," but he's looking ahead with a new edge. "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Bryant said. Source: ESPN
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br I wonder what his workout is going to be aimed at. Gaining some weight to go full time in the high post? Getting quicker and faster to keep up with the more athletic guards? Or working more on that oft-gone jump shot? Should be a good summer for him to come back better next year.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br I don't know what to say... i was really disappointed in the way phil and kobe handled this season, i knew practicing without him messed things up (and drew even said it himself). I also expected kobe to dominate the playoffs, except for that dunk, he was the same old, slow, undecisive player he has been all year. He should get injured more coz' the next game that's the most aggressive he was during the whole playoffs... He's got a long off season, why doesn't he try to fix that finger up... A lot of his jumpers simply rim out, most of the time it's simply unlucky, but sometimes a slight tweak in your rhythm or touch affects the backspin. After this interview, and hearing kobe's opinion on a long off season... im expecting him to come back way better than the past 2 season. I hope he does.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br He's not going to gain more weight. Remember when he bulked up a few years ago to play more small forward and suffered shoulder injuries? He learned to get leaner to reduce the stress on his joints so he can extend his career. I think Kobe just needs to spend the summer resting and healing. I'd really like to see Kobe focus on attacking from the free throw elbows next season and take less 3 point shots. He's deadly from that range and puts a lot of pressure on a defense. Lakers will need to add a point guard and wing who can stretch a defense to make this effective, but with the lack of a 3point attack the past few seasons Kobe has been playing further from the rim.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br Redick would be a really good option. Somone like Toney Douglas should come cheap as well. What I find funny are the people who want Kirk Hinrich. I don't think they've ever watched a single Bulls game in their life if they think he'll thrive in the triangle. He's an absolute ball stopper, he's become an overrated defender, and he takes stupid shots. You could argue the Hawks were better off with him injured.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br I like redick also... but id take hinrich's D over a better 3pt shoote in redick. The sad thing with kobe is that the refs are not backing him up anymore. he gets hammered when he drives to the hoop so often and doesn't get a call so he resorts to pulling up for tough out of rhythm jumpers.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br Redick is an underrated defender IMO. He did a nice job chasing Ray Allen around in the post season a couple years ago. Hinrich doesn't have the foot speed anymore and he's coming off surgery. Maybe the Lakers should consider incorporating a zone defense to protect against their lack of speed and athleticism. It seems to be working for the Mavs. The game is too fast for the referees now. You have a bunch of old cronies trying to keep pace with these hybrid NBA players and they just can't officiate consistently anymore. Plus you have a league of floppers who make it even more challenging to determine a foul or not. Players have learned how to jerk their head back like they got whacked and more often than not they get the benefit of the whistle.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br Yes, but ray is a sg. i agree that it's difficult to chase him around but he doesn't have the ball most of the time it's harder to contain a pg who always handles the ball.
Re: "What I think about is shutting up those [expletives] talking about I'm done," Br Good luck to him on shutting people up. He's getting older and nothing can stop that. barfo
