Shaq and Kobe Feuding Again!

[Walter Cronkite]

The Los Angeles Lakers will open the season Tuesday night at home with all four of their future Hall of Famers starting against the Dallas Mavericks ... but nothing even close to total harmony.

That's because Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are feuding anew, out in the open, after a long thaw in their historically icy relationship.

O'Neal and Bryant seemed to be interacting comfortably Sunday on the practice floor, sharing the ball freely during an afternoon workout. Then they traded nasty verbal jabs after the session -- arguably their harshest comments since L.A.'s second championship season -- all stemming from O'Neal's suggestion Friday night in Las Vegas that Bryant "should probably look to be more of a passer until he gets his legs strong."

Bryant, recovering from offseason knee and shoulder surgeries, didn't welcome the suggestion, saying: "I definitely don't need advice on how to play my game."

Not even advice from O'Neal?

"Definitely not," Bryant continued. "I know how to play my guard spot. He can worry about the low post, and I'll worry about the [perimeter]."

When apprised of Bryant's reaction, O'Neal lashed out harder.

"As we start this new season, we want [expletive] done right," Shaq said. "If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. As long as it's my team, then I'll voice my opinion. If you don't like it, then opt out."

That was a reference to Bryant's plan to exercise an option in his contract at season's end and test the free-agent market next summer, a stance Bryant has said he won't change in the wake of his felony sexual assault charge in Colorado.

Asked to clarify his "my team" remark, O'Neal added: "Everybody knows that. You [media] guys may give it to [Bryant] like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship. So ... if you ain't right [physically], don't be trying to go out there and get right on our expense. Use the people out there, then when you get right you [can] do what you do."

Not since the middle of the 2001-02 season -- the second of L.A.'s three consecutive championships -- have O'Neal and Bryant sparred in the press like this. Their relationship seemed to blossom into friendship during the third championship and also appeared to survive last season's 11-19 start and subsequent crash out of the playoffs with a second-round loss to San Antonio.

Throughout this first month back to work, however, there have been thinly veiled hints from O'Neal that problems have resurfaced, starting from the veterans' first day of training camp in Hawaii. Bryant did not fly on the Lakers' team charter and reported to camp a day late. O'Neal said at the time that "the full team is here," leading some to speculate that he preferred to play this season without the distractions attached to Bryant's court case.

Days later, explaining why he was sitting out an exhibition game with a sore left heel, O'Neal said: "I want to be right [in the regular season] for Derek, Karl and Gary.'' He was referring to Derek Fisher and new teammates Karl Malone and Gary Payton -- and O'Neal ommitted Bryant's name from the conversation more than once.

Malone and Payton, by contrast, have publicly supported Bryant as strongly as anyone in Lakers circles. But even Payton has urged Bryant to ease his way back into the team flow, after Bryant fatigued quickly and shot poorly in the second half of the Lakers' final two exhibition games.

Eyebrows were also raised when Bryant, for Thursday's exhibition in Anaheim against the Clippers, rode his motorcycle to and from the game instead of riding on the team bus.

Yet O'Neal, when pressed, insisted that the Lakers can play through any problems he's having with Bryant.

"I don't really worry about that," O'Neal said when asked about the state of the relationship. "I'm here to do a job. ... If he's open, I'm going to give it to him. If I'm open, I expect him to give it to me. I don't care about [expletive] else he does, and I know he don't care [expletive] else I do."

What's clear is that Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who spoke to reporters before his stars started volleying barbs, has his first real challenge of the season, less than 48 hours before the season opener. And it's right in his own locker room, not in a Colorado court room.

Asked about how he plans to play against the Mavericks on Tuesday night, Bryant said: "No change in my game whatsoever."

Said O'Neal: "Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. One person, not two. One. Period. ... I'm not telling [Bryant] how to play his position. I'm telling him how to play team ball."

source: espn

[Walter Cronkite]

Lakers' Bryant Fined for Critical Comments

Just a few hours before the start of the regular season Tuesday, all was not well in Lakerland.

Coach Phil Jackson fined Kobe Bryant an undisclosed amount for his highly critical comments of teammate Shaquille O'Neal, and the team met for 20 minutes to discuss a rift between two superstars that has escalated into a full-blown feud.

"There were no signs or indications that it would snowball the way it has in a matter of 36 hours, so we'll see what happens from here," teammate Derek Fisher said.

Bryant was not in uniform for the opener against the Dallas Mavericks after he said he didn't think his surgically repaired knee was strong enough to withstand the rigors of a 48-minute game. The Lakers had expected him to play until hearing otherwise Monday on ESPN.

The other thing hurting Bryant was his feelings, and it appears there's no easy way for the Lakers to soothe them.

Bryant castigated O'Neal during a telephone interview with ESPN, calling him "childlike," "unprofessional," "selfish," "fat" and "jealous." He also accused the 7-footer of overstating the severity of his foot injury last season when he reported to training camp overweight.

Bryant's comments came a day after O'Neal said the Lakers were "my team," adding that Bryant needed to be more of a team player - an observation based on two exhibition games.

At practice Monday, Jackson ordered the team not to discuss the dust-up with reporters. He fined Bryant for defying that order by talking to ESPN later that day.

"We felt we had an agreement yesterday and he didn't uphold that," Jackson said. "I think this is something we've asked our players to work out on their own and in private if they have personality conflicts."

The conflict between O'Neal and Bryant has been simmering throughout their seven seasons together, but their public potshots have never been as personal as the most recent ones.

"My thought is to say `Kids, cut it out.' It's a guy thing. You say this, I say that. You say that, I say this and here we go," commissioner David Stern told reporters in San Antonio. "Someone has to stop it, because at bottom it distracts us from our league and the teams."

Adding another layer of tension for the team is the publicity brought by the sexual assault charges against Bryant.

Bryant lashed out publicly after Jackson declined to get in the middle of the fight.

"He said: Do I want to address it, not calm it down, and I went back to him and said it's not significant enough to comment on," Jackson said. "But we did have an exchange, and that's one thing I will verify."

One member of the Lakers said Tuesday morning's meeting lasted about 20 minutes, with O'Neal and Bryant addressing the team but not each other. The only other player to speak was Karl Malone, the player said.

"What we tried to do was not to overkill the situation," Fisher said. "We all know it's there, we're aware of it, it's not necessarily going to go away just today, so we addressed it."

Among the bombshells Bryant dropped in his comments about O'Neal was a plan to opt out of his contract at the end of this season and become a free agent -- something Bryant said he first discussed with O'Neal out of respect.

"If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season is what I decide, a major reason for that will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy," Bryant said.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said trading Bryant was not an option being considered.

Players said the rift between O'Neal and Bryant wasn't surprising - they've feuded before. What caught them by surprise was how quickly the feud escalated, coming to a head the day before the season started.

"He (Bryant) definitely seemed extremely frustrated," Fisher said. "It wasn't something that he just came up with yesterday. But you have to respect the fact that he had some things to say in return to Shaq. He feels like Shaq insulted him in whatever manner."

Bryant and O'Neal did not speak with reporters after Tuesday's shootaround, O'Neal wearing an exaggerated grin and making a hasty exit as the media entered the practice gym.

Jackson refused to disclose details of the meeting, including whether Bryant offered an explanation for his comments.

"We haven't had a really good example here of maturity, and that's one of the things we've had to discuss," Jackson said.

Source: AP