(Q: Kobe, did you have a change of heart or are you just accepting the situation for what it is?)
I'm going to do what I need to do here to help us win. You know what I mean. It's not... When the season starts, it's not my place here to say, `OK, this is what we need to do here and this is what we need to do here.' That's something that they need to do. It's not my job. My job is to come out here on the floor and help us win ballgames, help Kwame Brown be better, help Lamar be better, help Luke be better, and that's what I'm going to do.

(Q: Do you regret any of the things you said this offseason?)
You know what? The way it all came out and everything blew up, absolutely. I think if there was a way to do it differently, we all would have done it. With that being said, the way that things have been handled the last month and a half or so has been great for us. It probably hasn't been so good for you guys. But there was never a doubt that I was coming to camp. They knew that, I knew that and we all knew that for a long time. Sometimes things get out there and it gets escalated. That's what we don't want to be a distraction. There's a lot of media people here and hopefully a lot of you guys can go home after today.

(Q: Seeing the way you played with Team USA and that caliber of players, that's what you were addressing, right?)
Well, I mean, it just makes life... Playing on a team like that, you get... I was just really excited because I could focus on one side of the floor. I love playing defense. So on that particular team, I didn't have to worry about scoring. LeBron, `Melo, they were going to do all that. My assignment was to shut the other guys down. So I could focus my energy on that, and then just getting in the paint and creating opportunities for other people and kind of being a penetrate-and-pitch guy.

(Q: Now you're back here and you're going to have to do everything on both sides of the floor again. That's got to be frustrating)
Well, I'm going to require some of the guys to carry that load more. We've been together four years now, and there has to be a heightened sense of responsibility for them to produce and also for me to demand more out of them and elevate them on a daily basis. So we're going to have to rely on each other here from the beginning if we're going to do something this season.

(Q: Are you confident you can do that?)
I am. I think they want to do it, and I think that's the first step. Then after that it's all about execution. The NBA is such a long season. There are a lot of things that factor into that. As long as we're committed to being together and sacrificing individual accolades for the benefit of the team, we'll be fine.

(Q: Did you talk to Coach K or any of your teammates about what you were going through?)
You know what? We just had a blast, man. We really just had a good time. They explained to me that in the past, sometimes you get a team like that and you get certain cliques, you'll have two or three guys that hang out. That team, everybody, we all hung out together. So we just had a good time, and it's carried over for me for the rest of the summer. I've just been having a blast.

(Q: You said you talked to Mitch Kupchak about what you said, and I think you even used the word `apologize.' You also said pointed things about Jerry Buss and Andrew Bynum. Do you feel the need to talk to them individually?)
Well, Andrew and I didn't talk but we texted each other. That kid, he's 17 years old, I don't think he knows how to answer a phone. We texted. I was in Rome, I texted him and he hollered back and I just let him know, you know, I'm sorry how that stuff came out. And he said he understood. He kind of knew where I was coming from and the frustration that I feel. I want to win now, and that was that.

(Q: And Jerry Buss?)
Well, what I understand about Jerry, from the stuff people have been telling me, is that he's kind of been out of the loop for the last two years, for just to see how the organization would run, or what have you. My understanding is that he's kind of going to be back in the mix now.

(Q: Can this team compete in the West, as it is?)
We'll see. We'll see. All we can do is put one foot in front of the other. We're going to work hard every day and go out there and bring it. We'll see what happens. One game at a time.

(Q: What would it take to satisfy you over the next year or so, to make you want to stay here?)
I think the important thing for everybody to understand is that I want to bring a title back to L.A. That's priority number one for me, is to bring a title back here. I just have to trust that we're all on the same page in terms of getting that done.

(Q: Are you buying into what's happening now? Are you buying into the direction of the team?)
I'm a soldier, man. It's not a soldier's job to question whether or not he should fight the way. He's got to go over there and fight. You know what I'm saying? It's not my place. It's not Derek's place or Lamar's place. We've got to go out there and play.

(Q: Are you concerned that, if there's a perception that you're not buying it, that it will be harder to lead guys?)
No, we're ready to go. I've spoken with Luke, Lamar... They know what's up. They know that this time of year... Practice starts tomorrow and we're going to be ready. I'm going to be ready. It's going to be the same old, same old. I'm going to demand a lot from them and demand a lot from myself and we're going to roll with it. We're going to be ready.

(Q: Was it frustrating at all to see the moves made by other teams, like the Celtics?)
They just made the big piece. They made the checkmate piece. You know what I'm saying? A lot of teams have done some things here and there and made some small moves but they were able to pull off the coup de grace. So we'll see how it works out for them.

(Q: Is it fair to say that the things you said were out of frustration?)
I was frustrated. I was frustrated. That's why I blew up. You know what I mean? Now it's about taking this team that we have to greater heights and doing what we can. Like I said, priority number one for me is to bring a title back to Los Angeles. Hopefully we're all on the same page and we can get that done.

(Q: The fact that Garnett went to the Celtics, were you disappointed that the Lakers didn't get him?)
I know they tried. It wasn't a lack of effort. You see what I'm saying? That, to me, says a lot. It means a lot to me, because they actually tried and they really pushed to get it done. It just didn't happen, and I can live with that.

(FROM KOBE BRYANT'S INTERVIEW WITH MATT SMITH)
(Q: How do feel about sitting here now, getting ready to hop on that plane to Hawaii?)
I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go. I'm happy to see Fish back. I'm happy to see Chris. I'm ready to play basketball. I'm ready to go, so I'm all smiles today.

(Q: We talked to you on the radio show a while ago. What changed between then and now? Was the national team a big help?)
It was a big help. I had an opportunity just to have a good time and play basketball and just be around guys that enjoy playing. I had such a great time and there was a lot of carry-over. I just enjoyed the summer and that helped out a lot.

(Q: Playing with that level of talent, does that help the situation or hurt it a little bit, because of how efficient you were and how talented that team was?)
I really don't relate one to the other. I think it was just joy and enthusiasm for playing the game of basketball.

(Q: Last year we talked about you putting on weight coming into the season. What was this offseason like?)
I had to drop a little bit. I'm knocking on 30 now. I can't eat fast food like I used to. So I just had to be a little smarter about what I eat and my training regimen as well. I just had to be a little smarter.

(Q: How do you feel about this team, with the Western Conference being what it is?)
I think that the guys are ready to go. I think they're ready to go and I'm ready to go. Whatever management decides to do, that's on them. We're going to come out here and play. It's my role, and it's our role as a team, to get the best out of the team that we have.

(Q: Do you feel like there's closure with the front office and some of the players that were talked about earlier?)
Yeah, sure. Sure. For us, it's been that way for a while. I think there was a lot of speculation about whether I was going to show up for camp or whatever, but we wanted to keep things behind closed doors and amongst ourselves going forward. Management knew. There was never a doubt and never a doubt in my mind.

(Q: There always seemed to be some type of report, about a trade or whatever, that indirectly quoted you. Did you in fact shut it down for that reason?)
There was just too much going on. There are so many venues and avenues. It gets miscontrued. Some people interpret it this way and some people interpret it this way, and then it ends up being this big firestorm. And we don't want that. We don't want any distractions this season and we don't want this thing to hang over the team's head going forward. So we just shut it down.

(Q: Was it all work and media this summer or did you get a chance to relax? Watch any soccer?)
I played some. I haven't had a chance to go watch any, except for on TV. I watched the Women's World Cup. I went to Bora Bora and got a nice sunburn, which felt good even though I got burned. I just relaxed and enjoyed the summer.

(MORE ASSORTED QUOTES)
(On the Lakers' chances in the Western Conference...)
We have an uphill battle, but the only thing you can do is walk up that hill.

(On his experiences with Team USA this summer...)
It was a lot of fun, and I was very happy with the way we performed and that we were able to get the gold medal.

(On the return of Derek Fisher...)
It's very exciting. My career has kind of come full circle. We got drafted the same year, and in the first year we both didn't play much. We worked out together a lot, so to have him back, it's very exciting.