On a quiet day in El Segundo, Kobe Bryant seemed upbeat, even cracking a few jokes, seemingly more reassured now by the Los Angeles Lakers‘ future than by what the team failed to accomplish a few days ago.
“I’m comfortable with what we have,” he said. “Whatever (GM) Mitch Kupchak decides to do, he decides to do. It’s more of a relaxing summer for me because I know we have an opportunity to win. It’s exciting.
“We know we got close and came up a little bit short. I’m excited about the opportunity to get back next year if we’re fortunate enough and have a different result.”
It certainly was a different demeanor from last season’s exit meeting, after which Bryant came down the stairs and unloaded on reporters after his ill-tempered session with Kupchak and Phil Jackson.
“That’s one of the things when I re-signed here, they promised they would build a contender and build a contender now,” Bryant said 13 months ago. “I don’t want to have to wait any more than I already have. . . . The important thing to me is winning now. We have a team here that’s very good,” Bryant said, repeating the “very good” part for emphasis. “Boston played better, they played more physical than we were. But at the same time, you look around at our roster, they’re young kids. We managed to do something that I don’t think anybody expected us to do. It’s a great learning opportunity for them at a young age to come back next year, knowing what to expect, knowing how to perform and what the goal is in mind. We’ll be fine.”
