Long after the NBA Finals ended in mid-June, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol took center stage in an international theater, helping their respective countries to gold and silver finishes at the Beijing Olympics.
Has there been a carry-over effect from almost two months' worth of overtime?
Gasol seems to be faring fine on the court this month, but Bryant has looked fatigued at times, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.
"Kobe still looks to me like his legs might be a little bit tired," Jackson said. "So I constantly ask him if he wants to take a day off or if he needs a day off. I check in with him."
Bryant sat out a few practices the first week of training camp and was sidelined for the second part of Friday's practice after feeling a twinge in his back. He is not expected to miss preseason games tonight and Sunday at Staples Center.
Bryant's shot has been somewhat flat in preseason play. He is shooting 36% (nine for 25) in three exhibition games.
"That's all legs," Jackson said. "He's got to get his legs into it."
Bryant also had a subpar exhibition season a year ago, but he snapped back to life with a 45-point effort in the season opener against Houston and eventually won his first league most-valuable-player award.
The Lakers begin the regular season Oct. 28 against Portland.
Still on speaking terms
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and the agent for Andrew Bynum met Friday afternoon in El Segundo, the first of possibly several face-to-face talks this month.
Bynum's agent, David Lee, has been seeking a maximum contract extension for his client that will pay about $85 million over five years.
The Lakers are unwilling to approach that financial number, particularly with Bynum coming off a knee injury that short-circuited his season in January.
The Lakers declined to comment. Lee could not be reached for comment.
Bynum, who says his surgically repaired knee feels fine, is in the last year of a contract that pays him $2.8 million this season.
If the sides don't agree to a deal by Oct. 31, they can't negotiate again until Bynum becomes a restricted free agent July 1. Bynum could then sign an offer sheet with another team, though the Lakers have the right to match that offer and retain him through 2013-14.
Bynum's other option next summer would be to sign a one-year qualifying offer with the Lakers for about $3.8 million and become an unrestricted free agent in July 2010.
