MVP Kobe pleased with Lakers' progress, says he wants to stay put
 

Lakers return to greatness is looking long term.

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant made clear Monday what's been, at the very least, a bit ambiguous for nearly a year: He "absolutely" wants to stay with the Lakers and is open to finishing his career with them.

This, after questioning the direction of the franchise during the offseason and criticizing the job performance of general manager Mitch Kupchak.



I love this team. If they want to win right now, I'm all for them. That's all I've said the whole time. We have a job to do here, so it's important to focus on what we're doing and not get distracted from that.
--Kobe Bryant

"I've always wanted to be here," Bryant said the day after the Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 128-114 in their playoff series opener. "I just felt like I was in a position where I didn't really have a choice. They wanted to go in an opposite direction. My legs aren't as young as they used to be. Just let me know.

"I love the weather. I love my '63 drop-top Impala. I love the 405 [freeway]. I love my guys."

Bryant acknowledged he wouldn't have imagined things would have turned out this way late last May, when he publicly called the Lakers' front office a mess and demanded a trade, feeling he had been misled when he signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract in July 2004. The Lakers haven't won a playoff series since.

"I've been sitting on this for four years now," he said. "After three or four years of not getting anything done, to see it today, it feels pretty damn good. It's been a hell of a ride."

As far as Kupchak goes, Bryant said his GM has gone from an "F" to an "A-plus."

"He believed in the draft picks he made, he had the patience," Bryant said.

Among the picks who have made significant impacts since Shaquille O'Neal was traded following the 2004 season are Andrew Bynum, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf.

And this season, there were the trades for Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol. Ariza hasn't played since breaking his foot Jan. 20, but Gasol has been brilliant.

"I just think his skill set at his size is unmatched in this league," Bryant said of Gasol, who had 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists against Denver in Game 1.

Bryant said he didn't know if he thought he helped push Kupchak into action.

"Maybe. It takes pressure sometimes to make a diamond," Bryant said with a smile. "In hindsight, yeah, that was my strategy. I'm going to get my Phil Jackson on and say I planned it all along."

Bryant had harsh words for Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Kupchak last spring.

And now?

"Nah," he replied when asked if there were any lingering bad feelings toward anyone in the organization. "On the serious side, I learned a lesson, which is you have to separate business from the love of the game because there were a lot of decisions that were made business-wise that I wasn't happy with. I took a lot of the blame for a lot of the stuff they were doing. It didn't sit right with me. It still doesn't sit right with me. But you have to be able to separate that from the love that you have for the game of basketball and the respect that you have for your team."

Bryant and Buss met in Barcelona a few weeks after his trade demand, and he again told Buss he wanted out. Then, understanding the difficulty of trading someone of his ability, Bryant said all the right things entering training camp in October, but the peace was broken a few weeks later when Buss said he would "certainly listen to trade offers."

The situation was tenuous at best when the season began, and stories circulated throughout November concerning potential trade possibilities. The speculation stopped, Bryant stayed and the Lakers flourished, going 57-25 to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The 29-year-old Bryant, a leading candidate to win his first MVP award, has stated on several occasions that his 12th NBA season has been the most enjoyable, and did so again Monday.

He said he hasn't necessarily changed his mind about wanting to stay instead of wanting to leave.

"No, I just don't talk about it," Bryant said. "These are answers I've given all year long. I love this team. If they want to win right now, I'm all for them. That's all I've said the whole time. We have a job to do here, so it's important to focus on what we're doing and not get distracted from that.

"I don't want any big stories. The journey we've been on is fun. It's been a blast. With that being said, we play for titles. We want to win the championship. We'll be disappointed if we don't. But if it does happen, we'll regroup and go at it again. We've got some great pieces here. Now it's time to put it all together. We get that big fellow [Bynum] back down there and we'll really be rolling."

Bynum, though, appears to be a longshot for the playoffs. His left knee isn't 100 percent, and Jackson said his chances of playing this postseason are "remote."

Bryant is under contract through the 2010-11 season, but can opt out after next season. He said he hasn't thought about that. He opted out four years ago before signing a new contract.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

It helps that he finally has his scottie pippen

so when is NBA raising rim to 14 feet?

Is this news- why would you want to move when you ended up the 1 seed in the WEST- and they went out and managed to get Gausol for peanuts. I used to not be able to stand the guy even though he is/was reeruned talented, but I think he's grown up a bit and realized the importance of being a team player more.

Once again proves the point that Kobe will always need a big man to really take a team to any real title chance.

LMAO

Did Kobe win the MVP?

He has been the MVP of the league the last 4 years running. The writers act like he's ****ing their daughters. What amazes me is every year the top players say he's the best in the league and they give it to somebody else. Have you ever seen what LeBron James or Kevin Garnett or just about any of the greats have to say about the guy? Almost all of the real greats have come out and said flat out he's the best player. They need to figure out another way to hand out the MVP award. The writers have proven over and over they have no business doing it. Most of the time they don't even have a top 5 or even top 10 player.

No it's not official yet but unofficially yes he's won his 4th MVP award.

Kobe deserves to be MVP, period.

LMAO Yeah, he's gotten a little roughed up over the years. Having that girl that begged to **** him claim rape didn't help.

Edit: I mean that shouldn't affect him getting the MVP or anything, but it's reality.

IMO Chris Paul is the MVP this year

I can't tell you how much that means coming from a poster with Dirk in his avatar. Dirk isn't even a top 10 player. Talk about Kobe getting ripped off.

What is this "NBA" thing?

It's the only sport not being destroyed by a another government probe. They call it the "Nothing Bout Anabolics" league. It's an Ebonics Thang.

hes more like top 5, and thats why he won the MVP last year, because hes not in the top ten, your a ****ing idiot