Bryant becomes 'pacesetter' for Team USA

LAS VEGAS -- The tone of the Kobe Bryant-Leandro Barbosa matchup was set just a few moments into the first quarter, but you had to look 80 feet away from the action to see it unfold.
As a player from Brazil shot two free throws at one end of the court, Barbosa stood beneath the basket all the way at the opposite baseline, trying to get a clear view.
Every second or so, however, Barbosa had to move a step or two away to clear his line of vision from the obstruction that kept moving in his way.
That obstruction was Bryant, who was gluing himself to Barbosa at that very moment and stayed attached to him like white on rice all night in another stellar defensive performance that keyed Team USA's 113-76 drubbing of previously undefeated Brazil on Sunday night.
"He don't guard like that in the NBA, but he did tonight and I was impressed," Barbosa told ESPN.com. "He came to guard me, and that was good practice for me. I learned a lot of things the way he was guarding me."
Barbosa isn't the only one learning a few things from Bryant, whose intensity and commitment level is having a trickle-down effect on his U.S. teammates. To prepare for Sunday night's assignment, Bryant had Team USA video coordinators prepare him a DVD of Barbosa's offensive repertoire, comprised of some 200 plays from tapes of the Phoenix Suns and the Brazilian national team. Some paperwork came with the DVD, too, an accompanying chart listing Barbosa's efficiency percentage for each of his favorite moves.
"I watched a little bit of the Phoenix stuff, but how they use him in Phoenix is much different than how they use him here with his speed and his agility," Bryant said. "But at the same time, I've dropped 20 pounds, so I'm a little bit quicker than I used to be."
Bryant clearly studied his homework hard, holding Barbosa -- who entered the game as the leading scorer in the tournament at 27 points per game -- to four points on 1-for-7 shooting, with four turnovers and zero assists.
"For him it's about playing defense, and he enjoys that challenge. He understands he doesn't need to score 60 points to help us win, so he can use a little more energy on the defensive end than he's done in the past," Jason Kidd said. "He loves the challenge, and since the opening tipoff of that first game against Venezuela, he wants to take that best offensive player on the opposing team and make it as tough as possible. Against Barbosa, he did it again."
Bryant had the crowd chanting his name midway through the first quarter when he harassed Barbosa into losing control of his dribble and dove on the floor to try to secure the loose ball, forcing a scramble that led to a backcourt violation.
Brazil withstood a game-opening 8-0 run by the Americans and was able to stick with the U.S. through the midpoint of the second quarter, keeping its deficit in single digits, until Bryant hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to start a quarter-ending 15-4 run that gave the U.S. team a 57-38 halftime lead.
After Brazil scored the first three points of the third quarter, the Americans came back with a 17-0 run that put them ahead 74-41 and ended whatever suspense there was.
The Americans were on top of all aspects of their game, shooting 53 percent on 3-pointers (including Bryant's 3-for-3 and LeBron James' 4-for-5), including 11-for-22 on catch-and-shoot 3s, scoring 26 fast-break points and holding their own on the boards against one of the few tall opponents they'll face in this tournament.
James and Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. team with 21 points each, Bryant had 20 and Michael Redd 16. The only sour note was Tayshaun Prince spraining his left ankle late in the first quarter. He was listed as day-to-day for the Americans, who open second round play Monday against Mexico.
Bryant logged only 19:59 of playing time, and every American except Prince logged at least 10 minutes as the non-competitive second half gave coach Mike Krzyzewski a chance to save his starters' legs for the next step of a stretch in which they are playing six games in six nights.
So far, the focus and intensity -- and the blowout final scores -- have been constants.
And when the question turns to who is setting the tone, the answer always comes back Bryant.
"Kobe has been a pacesetter for sure," Team USA director Jerry Colangelo said. "Defensively, he's just locking people down. He's so strong and so focused, you just can't say enough about his work ethic and how he has led. He's done a great job."
After facing Mexico, the U.S. team will play either Panama or Puerto Rico on Tuesday, Uruguay on Wednesday and Argentina on Thursday before finally getting a day off prior to the only game that really matters in this tournament -- Saturday's semifinal match, in which a berth at the Beijing Olympics will be at stake.
"We have to continue to get better," Bryant said.

by Chris Sheridan

ESPN

No Breathing Room For Barbosa

LAS VEGAS, What looked to be an upset in the making turned out to be nothing more than another rout, the type that’s come to be expected when the U.S. men take the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.
“We beat a really good team today,” U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team won its closest contest of the tournament thus far, defeating Brazil 113-76. “Brazil is one of the best international teams.”
For more than 15 minutes Sunday, Brazil looked the part, clinging to a single-digit deficit as it worked the ball inside to Nene and Tiago Splitter, getting the Americans’ front court players in early foul trouble.
“It’s the biggest team we’ve played,” Coach K said afterward. “They’re very strong. They have four big guys. You're concentrating on (Leandro) Barbosa, you’re playing the bigs and their guards got by us a few times. And Splitter did a really good job in the first period, with driving the ball to the basket. It was obviously their goal to do that.
“I think we made adjustments in that regard. Our guys did a much better job after the first quarter.”
While the team’s defense did a better job protecting the paint after the first 10 minutes, it did a tremendous job of containing the Phoenix Suns’ speedster from start to finish. Barbosa entered the contest as the tournament’s leading scorer at 27.0 points per game. He left it adding only four to his total.
“We put a lot of focus on Barbosa,” Chauncey Billups admitted. “He’s a dangerous player. He can beat you inside. He’s so fast and quick to the basket he can get you in foul trouble. So we put a lot of emphasis on stopping him. Kobe (Bryant) started off and did a great job, trying to deny him the ball and not let him get touches, playing physical with him. When he came out of the game, whether it was me or whoever else on him, we took the challenge and tried to do the same thing. We thought if we could take him out of the game and make all those other guys make plays, then we had a great chance.”
While Bryant clearly has the ability to take a player out of the game, some were left wondering after the game how much a twisted ankle, suffered in the team’s win over the Virgin Islands one day earlier, slowed his Pacific Division rival.
“He’s just as fast, just as quick,” Bryant said, ending any such conversation. “I’m 20 pounds lighter, too.”
Regardless of whether Barbosa was slowed or Bryant is quicker, this much is true: Kobe gave him no breathing room. And his teammates gave equally as little.
That much could be seen as early as three minutes into the game, when, after chasing Barbosa all over the court, Bryant raced Barbosa for a ball that squirted loose into Brazil’s backcourt, diving head-first to try to get to it before his opponent – even though the call on the court was a backcourt violation when Barbosa finally did reach the ball along the sideline. Kobe was that determined to keep Leandro from touching the leather.
When Bryant took a seat for his first-quarter breather, his teammates threw a number of different defenders at Leandro – Billups, LeBron James and Tayshaun Prince – whether by design or not.
“I think we, at times, went too much that way,” Coach K said of focusing so heavily on Barbosa, “and didn’t talk as well, which we have been talking the first three games. But overall, that’s a nice mistake – or a nice adjustment – to make, where we’re going so hard.”
Bryant continued the suffocating defense every time he was on the floor, never giving an inch.
With 6:26 remaining in the first half and teammate Carmelo Anthony at the free throw line, Bryant retreated all the way to the far baseline, bumping with Barbosa and denying a long pass off the rebound.
Thirty seconds later when Bryant went to the stripe, it was Jason Kidd shadowing Barbosa at the other end. Bryant, perhaps worrying about getting back to switch, missed the second attempt before sprinting the length of the court to resume guarding Barbosa on the ensuing possession.
Barbosa, however, wasn’t the only threat the U.S. was forced to deal with. Nene and Splitter drew two quick fouls on both Dwight Howard and Anthony.
“We had foul trouble with Carmelo and Dwight,” Coach K assessed, “and we had to use LeBron at the four, which was something we haven’t used yet.”
The problem was compounded when Prince twisted his ankle in the first quarter and couldn’t continue playing.
Anthony, for his part, picked up the two quick fouls because he simply could not guard Splitter. That’s not to say anything negative about Anthony as a defender so much as it is to say Splitter played that well against NBA competition. The San Antonio Spurs’ first-round draft pick in this June’s Draft never played frightened of his All-Star opponents. He’s big and strong, able to get the ball as far out as the elbow, face up, put the ball on the floor and aggressively attack the basket. The lasting impression from this one outing is that the Spurs, again, seemed to have selected well late in the Draft.
Basketball fans – and the U.S. men – might get another look at Splitter, Barbosa and Co. late in the tournament if both teams advance to the semifinals or finals, by which time Brazil might find a way to hang around longer than 15 minutes.
by Jeff Dengate

Kidd, Kobe make immediate impact for U.S.

There were a minimal number of surprises in Team USA's 112-69 thumping of Venezuela.
As expected, the Americans' fast break was awesome. Jason Kidd made several snappy passes. Kobe Bryant converted his obligatory spectacular layup. And against the shorter, slower, less-talented Venezuelans, Team USA frequently seemed to be playing five-on-four — and sometimes even five-on-three.
But, nevertheless, there were some surprises, both positive and negative.
· The U.S.'s aggressive defensive pressure on the Venezuelan ball-handlers (especially by Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd) completely stymied the unfolding of the losers' offense.
· The quick-handed help on ball penetrations by Team USA helped induce 20 turnovers and produced innumerable layups.

· Given the overall weakness of their opponents, the Americans still stuffed virtually every screen/roll they encountered. They accomplished this mostly with quick switches in tandem with a wingman discouraging the screeners from rolling hoopward by cheating toward the middle. As a change-up, the screener's defender sometimes stepped into a help-stance on the nether side of the screen while the weakside wing looked to jam any roll-action. Whether these schemes will work against stronger, more skilled opponents remains to be seen — but they certainly addressed Team USA's most glaring defensive failure in losing to Greece in last year's World Championship.
· With the point guard (mostly J-Kidd) setting down- and cross-screens, Team USA's man-to-man offense was lively and the ball-movement was extremely unselfish. But there wasn't nearly as much activity when Kidd was on the bench.
· Nor did Team USA exhibit much ball- or player-movement on those rare occasions when Venezuela played a zone. Aside from some simple (and ineffective) baseline screens, Team USA's zone offense relied on baseline drives (which were readily available) and an abundance of 3-point shots.
· Team USA's free-throw shooting was deplorable — only 20-29. And its long-range shooting was also subpar — 10-26 for 38.5% — especially since the 3-point arc is so close. (Michael Redd said that international treys were "layups".) Indeed, their overall 55-percent shooting from the field was hugely inflated by a barrage of layups and dunk shots.
· The Americans only forced a total of four shots — one each by Kobe, Chauncey Billups, Mike Miller and Michael Redd. As a result, their shot selection was admirable.
· The biggest surprise of all, however, was Carmelo Anthony getting three of his shots blocked!
Late in the game, with their lead approaching 50 points, the Americans became somewhat sloppy — but only on defense. They yielded too many offensive rebounds, and were also burned when they jumped too quickly into the passing lanes. But these lapses were totally understandable. Staying alert and disciplined at the conclusion of such a lopsided contest is not an easy task.
So, then, what — if any — conclusions can be drawn from Team USA's opening game in this latest FIBA tournament?
J-Kidd's presence does make a difference — in sharpening his teammates' competitive chops, in executing the offense, and in extending the defensive pressure to the time-line.
Kobe's defense was better than his offense, and his offense was beastly. He, too, will make a huge difference if and when Team USA finds itself in a tight ball game.

With a dearth of dominant big men, the U.S. managed to out-rebound the undersized Venezuelans by an alarmingly small margin — 43-32. This lack of commanding boardwork could be a problem as the tournament progresses.
In the long run, though, the easy win over the hapless Venezuelans might have been too easy. The Americans' over-confidence in the most recent international competitions has contributed much to their repeated poor showings. But it's safe to assume that the previous pitfalls of arrogance and lack of focus will be avoided this time around.
Discerning NBA-watchers have learned that fielding a squad with overwhelming talent isn't necessarily a guarantee of success. Not even against theoretically inferior opposition. Perhaps this latest incarnation of Team USA has also done its homework and taken the same lesson to heart.
There'll be no acceptable excuses should the good guys fail to cop the gold in Sin City.

by Charlie Rosen
FoxSports.com

Team USA puts the hammer down

LASLAS VEGAS -- LeBron James threads a low bounce pass to Kobe Bryant cutting baseline. Bryant goes up and under for a reverse layup. The Thomas and Mack Center crowd goes wild.
Dwight Howard blocks a Team Canada baseline jump shot attempt. Jason Kidd scoops up the ball and flicks it fifty feet to a sprinting Carmelo Anthony for an emphatic dunk. The fans roar.
Anthony underhands a ball, like a bowler, to Bryant. Another big dunk and another giddy huzzah from the stands. There are sweet, sublime moments aplenty when Team USA takes the floor for a FIBA Americas Championship game. The highlight reel is full of them.
But if the all-star team's offensive exploits are a given, they aren't definitive, they aren't what characterizes this team in action.
If Saturday's 113-63 win over Team Canada is any indication, the heart of Team USA 's game, the essence of their identity, is an unrelenting collective will, a nasty killer instinct.
They're not just beating teams in this tournament, they're driving them into the ground, pounding Venezuala by 43 points, Virgin Islands by 64, and now Canada by 50.
You can chalk up some of the massive differentials to the gap in talent between the squads, but after watching Team USA systematically overwhelm Team Canada it becomes clear talent is only half the equation.
James gets down in a mano-a-mano, Rucker Park-style crouch, arms spread wide, and barks at Team Canada guard Olumuyiwa Famutimi: "Come on! Come on!," daring the shorter man to put the ball on the floor.
Half a second after a Team USA bucket, while his teammates hustle back on defense, Jason Kidd spins and gets in the face of Team Canada point Denham Brown, waiting for a play on the inbounds pass, ready to hassle and chase and dog the overmatched guard length of the floor.
Amare Stoudemire is at the line after an and-one put-back deep under the bucket puts Team USA up 17 points, and Bryant is at the top of the key, shouting at his teammates, "Right here! Let's turn this up right here. Let's turn this up right now!"
Up 40-plus with just seconds remaining in the third quarter, and Michael Redd scrambles baseline to get free for a corner three (one of 30 taken and fifteen made by Team USA on the night). Bang.
They bring it, start to finish. Every pick is a switch. Every ball handler and shooter gets chased and harassed. Every defensive rebound is a quick-turn opportunity for a fastbreak. And every time James gets the ball near midcourt, no matter what the score is, he's going to dunk all over your sorry butt.

By Eric Neel

ESPN.COM

Kobe Bryant is Not Messing Around

The man came to Las Vegas on a mission. I have heard a lot of stories already: In the lead up to yesterday's first game of the FIBA Americas tournament, he was walking around with a custom-made DVD of Greivis Vasquez, the Venezuelan guy he was going to be guarding. He has elevated the level of practices. He has mixed and mingled and made people feel good. He has infused the team with optimism.
And he was like a hungry wolf on defense. Here's how Mark Heisler tells it in the Los Angeles Times:
The tone was set from the opening tap by, who else, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. Coach Mike Krzyzewski put him on the Venezuela point guard, Greivis Vasquez, a Maryland sophomore, who was challenged even in trying to complete an entry pass.
"I don't know how to explain it," said Vasquez after the game. "That was amazing."
"I grew up watching the NBA. I was in College Park, watching his highlights. All of a sudden, he was guarding me like it was the last game of his life. . . .
"I'm 20 years old. . . . It was tough. I'm not going to lie to you guys. I lost the ball on a couple of possessions. . . .
"But tomorrow's another day. It's all good. I'm glad it happened."
I know he's everyone's favorite villain, and not without reason. But this is how we want our superstars to play, and when they play that way, let it be noted.
He has even stopped eating junk food. The man is a professional.
He also finished one of the funnest highlights I have seen in a long time. You can see it here. Here the play is described by Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Kidd had four assists and made a great hustle play in the second quarter as he saved a ball from going out of bounds, flinging it to Anthony at the top of the key. Anthony quickly found James cutting to the basket and hit him in stride. James then delivered a behind-the-back pass to a trailing Bryant, who finished with a thunderous slam dunk that brought the Thomas & Mack crowd of 6,537 to its feet.
LeBron James' pass was spectacular.
Also, without Kobe Bryant's 2-2, the U.S. shot 33% from downtown. With a short three-point line. And a ton of wide open garbage-time shots.
Now, I know the U.S. won easily, but there were a couple of things to worry about. TrueHoop reader Brandi blew off some law school work to keep detailed notes of the game, and the first quarter looked like this:
[Tayshaun] Prince just set the most illegal pick ever. He shuffled from the threepoint line to three feet behind it to set that screen. *shakes her head* So far I've seen two poorly executed rolls (unless they're not teaching a proper roll in Phoenix ... you'd think Amare Stoudemire would know how to roll, given it's the primary weapon in the Suns' offense) at least three bad passes out of LeBron (I think he got away with a fourth), a horribly illegal pick, and a lot of mugging in the paint. Stimulating first quarter. Walton calls out Venezuela for scoring eight points in the quarter, but we only scored 18 in ten minutes. 18 won't cut it against a full-strength Argentina or Spain.
The other thing worth noting? The U.S. was playing a much smaller opponent. Yet they had no post-up game whatsoever. Synergy Sports logs every play, and records only four possessions when the U.S. posted up at all (compared to 26 three-pointers). The only one of the four that resulted in a bucket was when Carmelo Anthony caught a lob over the top and eventually dunked it. It was really a case of undersized defense more than actual posting up. Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire got nothing done catching the ball in the paint. Which was fine against Venezuela, and may be OK in the long run, but you know what they about teams that live by the jump shot.

Coach K hopes he's reliving the Dream

LAS VEGAS -- Nobody calls it the Dream Team anymore. We know better. So does Mike Krzyzewski.
Dream Teams win things. They don't need MapQuest to find the top step of the medal stand. They don't go bronze, bronze, zilch in the last Olympics and two FIBA World Championships. And they don't wonder whether the rest of the world has passed them by.That's why Krzyzewski was here working the sideline Wednesday evening as his Team USA defeated Venezuela 112-69 in the opener of the FIBA Americas Championship. Krzyzewski was hired to make things right, to return the USA to what national team managing director Jerry Colangelo says is "our rightful spot on top of the heap in basketball."

Rightful? Maybe 15 years ago, when the original Dream Team won its opening game at the 1992 Summer Games by 68 points and the gold-medal game by 32. Krzyzewski was an assistant on Chuck Daly's USA staff back then. But the truth is, Krzyzewski's wife, Mickie, could have coached the USA to Olympic gold in Barcelona that year.
Jordan. Barkley. Malone. Bird. Magic. Stockton. Etc. And a Dookie coach named Krzyzewski. My gawd, it was almost obscene to have that much talent on a single roster. There wasn't any doubt, any hand-wringing over who was going to win those games. Are you kidding? The USA romped. It was like killing a housefly with a nuclear-tipped warhead.
"That's in the past, and that was beautiful," Krzyzewski said Wednesday. "But like in music, there's one Woodstock. If you want another one, you have to go out and create something special of your own. We are the U.S. national team. What we want to be called is not a 'Dream Team.' We want to be called a 'championship team.' The other one will not happen again."
Krzyzewski witnessed the domination of that original Dream Team, just as he has witnessed the slow erosion of USA on-court dominance. There has been a coup d'etat in international basketball, with the USA being the toppled hoops dictatorship. Gold used to be a foregone conclusion. Now the USA team -- Krzyzewski's team -- has to qualify for next August's Summer Games in Beijing. This is the equivalent of Duke's having to sweat out an NCAA at-large bid.
"If we had done our job last summer, we wouldn't be here," Colangelo said.
But they are here, thanks to that third-place finish at last year's FIBA World Championship in Japan. Of course, there's more to it than that. They're here because the Dream Team concept wobbled and fell, because some of the USA players forgot to care, because the rest of the world has caught up.
That explains why Krzyzewski, who was hand-picked by Colangelo, is a regular at the Thomas & Mack Center these days. If he's not working these same sidelines Sept. 2, when the FIBA Americas final is played, that means the USA was humiliated once again. Only the top two teams automatically advance to the Olympics, so if Team USA does the unthinkable and gags, it will have to schlep overseas next spring, probably to Europe, for one last qualifying attempt.
"We've got to come home with the gold, that's all there is to it," Colangelo said.
The victory against Venezuela was a nice start, but that's all it was, a start. To win this thing, the USA needs 10 victories in 12 days, counting Wednesday night's win. That means no letdowns, no serious injuries, no forgetting how to shoot over the defense of choice in international play, the zone.
I like its chances, especially against a so-so field, especially since it's 27-0 in this tournament over the years and especially since Team USA looks like it has a point to prove.
If you're interested in the numbers, Carmelo Anthony and Michael Redd led Team USA with 17 points. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant led in floor burns and defensive intensity. He had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. He was terrific.
Negatives? Nine missed free throws ... 10-for-26 from the 3-point line ... Mike Miller limping off with a tweaked knee with 1:32 left to play (he's fine). But that's nitpicking for now.
Fifteen years ago, Krzyzewski watched the Holy Trinity of Hoops (Bird, Magic, MJ) dominate the Olympics. Now he has Bryant, LeBron James and Melo, among others. Not bad -- in fact, damn good -- but nobody is scheduling a congratulatory visit to the White House just yet. They first have to win this thing and then win in Beijing.
"We're ready," said Krzyzewski, which in understated Coach K-speak means he must love his team's chances here and in Beijing. At the very least, it means he thinks Colangelo & Co. are close to fixing what was wrong with the senior national program.
Winning matters to Krzyzewski. But it seems to matter more when his three favorite colors -- red, white and blue -- are involved. After all, he is the grandson of a Polish immigrant who came to America in 1906. You should hear the pride in Krzyzewski's voice as he talks about receiving in April a framed copy of the original ship passenger manifest from Ellis Island that included his grandfather Joseph's name.
Krzyzewski himself graduated from West Point, where he played for a genius and sometime-SOB named Bob Knight. He left the Army as a captain, but the Army never left him. This coaching-for-your-country stuff is part of his basketball DNA.
This is Krzyzewski's 11th tour of coaching duty with the USA Basketball programs. So it's no surprise the guy turned into pudding when Colangelo asked him to coach this team.
"You cannot say no to this," the 60-year-old Krzyzewski said. "I don't believe in reincarnation. You're not going to come back. You're not going to come back and do this. ... I want to do this. It's service."
Service. Duty. And a total jones to respectfully kick butt.
"The biggest thing Coach K wants is to be Olympic champion," said Chris Collins, a longtime Duke assistant who is helping out during the USA practice sessions.
"This, for him, is the ultimate challenge," says Steve Wojciechowski, another Duke assistant serving in the same role here as Collins. "USA Basketball has taken some hits. I think he looks at this as a chance to do something incredibly special."
The only thing missing from Krzyzewski's head coaching résumé is an Olympic gold. He has those three national championships, 10 Final Four appearances, 775 college victories and a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. But this is his one and only chance to lead his team to the top step of an Olympic medal stand.
Olympic coaches don't get medals. Only the athletes get those, which Krzyzewski said is the way it should be. But every so often Krzyzewski closes his eyes and visualizes Bryant, James, Anthony, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade standing on the top step of the victory stand in Beijing as they celebrate their Olympic championship."That's my gold medal," said Krzyzewski.

by Gene Wojciechowski

ESPN.COM

Bryant is the Star of Stars

LAS VEGAS -- Winter, summer, in a Lakers uniform or that of the U.S. team, it's still all Kobe, all the time. . . .

He's not just a Lakers obsession, now he belongs to the world, or at least international basketball, and just in time with the U.S. expected to mop up the competition in FIBA's Tournament of the Americas that begins today -- We're back! -- if only because there isn't any.

Argentina, which won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, won't have Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni or Fabricio Oberto. Brazil, which upended the U.S. in the 2002 World Games, won't have Anderson Varejao.

Even with the U.S. team's new humility that comes from winning their last gold medal in 2000, followed by embarrassments in one Olympics and two World Games, the Americans are expected to be OK here, needing only to finish in the top two to qualify for next summer's Olympics in Beijing.

On the floor, this unofficially became another of Bryant's teams in its televised intrasquad game when he shut down LeBron James at the end and hit the game-winning shot.

Off the floor, there was never a question with Kobe making his first public appearance after last spring's media blitz in which he demanded that the Lakers trade him.

Well, most days, anyway.

Understanding the sensibilities of USA Basketball and Nike, which sponsors the U.S. team as well as Bryant, Kobe has been low-key, trying to defuse the issue. . . while pointedly refusing to take anything back or rule out a holdout.

Just to cut to the chase, here's how he feels.

He still wants out.

He finally figured out the Lakers wouldn't move him, no matter what he said, and settled down . . . only to watch in anguish as his beloved Kevin Garnett went to Boston. If the Celtics could land KG with nobody, why couldn't the Lakers?

More reports of Bryant's dismay went out through the usual channels but Kobe, himself, seems to be settling down again. It's still fuzzy enough to lead to priceless moments, like last week's exchange with ESPN'S Rachel Nichols.

Nichols: "You said one day you wanted to be traded, you said you wanted to be a Laker for life. There were different phone calls back and forth.

"Bryant: "I think a lot of people misinterpreted it. But that's water under the bridge to me because going forward we're handling our situation between ourselves, meaning the Lakers organization and myself."

Maybe all those times Kobe contradicted himself led to the misinterpretation, but being as good as he is means never having to say you're sorry.

If the question is, will he play for the Lakers this season, the answer is almost surely yes.

The real question is whether he'll make this issue go away, before or after training camp, so the Lakers can play this season without a sword dangling above them.

If the day is coming when Bryant and the Lakers do part, his impact on the U.S. team is an excruciating reminder for Lakers fans of how many positive attributes he still brings along with his unrivaled game, the work ethic, the competitiveness, the elbows teammates have to watch out for in drills.

In this ensemble of stars, where great care is taken not to build up anyone at the expense of anyone else, Bryant is indisputably the star of stars.Phoenix Coach Mike D'Antoni, who marveled at his ferocity as Kobe won the All-Star MVP here in February, is marveling at him again as an assistant coach on this team.

"He loves playing and he loves to compete and it just carries over," said D'Antoni. "I think all the guys are doing it this summer. It's been a joy.

"No matter who we're playing, what we're doing, he's competing. He works out like a fiend. I mean, he works out in the morning, at night. It's pretty impressive."

Said Detroit guard Chauncey Billups: "I've always said from the beginning that I felt like Kobe was the best player in the league. We're around a very elite group right now and you can still see his greatness."

The same can be said for a few more players but Kobe's the cream of the crop out there.

"The U.S. team may not be tested here, nor are the Lakers likely to get their questions answered. In both cases, that time is coming, but it's not now.

by Mark Heisler

LATIMES.COM