Phil Jackson suggested he might play forward Luke Walton at guard in upcoming exhibitions. Walton has yet to play in an exhibition after undergoing left ankle surgery during the summer. He is not averse to the idea, willing to play anywhere at any time.
“We’re loaded all over the court, at every position,” Walton said. “We have versatile people who can play multiple positions. You know, with the triangle, the (small forward) and the (power forward) are pretty much the same position out there. The (point guard) and the (shooting guard) are the same position out there. I know all five positions.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how (Jackson) works it. As a player, all you can do is work hard and try to get opportunities to do something.”
Walton sounded positively giddy at the prospect of playing Saturday night against Regal FC Barcelona, a Spanish club team, at Staples Center.
“I can’t wait to play,” he said.

Andrew Bynum’s agent said Thursday morning that he would be traveling to L.A. on Friday to speak with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak about a new contract for his client. Bynum is signed with the Lakers through the end of the season, but is eligible for a five-year extension worth $88 million. The deadline to complete a deal is Oct. 31.
“We shall see,” Lee told me when asked if he expects to get the deal done. “I’m not very optimistic, but you never know.”
Lee also said he has had some “very, very, very brief” talks with Kupchak.
Bynum said after Thursday’s practice that he understands it might take a while to get the deal done. He smiled and laughed and indicated he wasn’t particularly concerned about the lack of progress thus far.

The Lakers’ crack media relations staff hosted the annual training camp dinner with the beat reporters at a swanky restaurant high atop a swanky hotel Tuesday night. As ever, the highlight of the evening was when the writers put their season forecasts for the Lakers to paper. Names have been omitted for legal reasons, but I can say that I predicted the Lakers will go 60-22 this season. Predictions ranged from 66 wins on the high end to 55 on the low. Last season, they went 57-25. As I recall, I predicted they would win 44 games.

One of the biggest issues for the Lakers this year, as it is for every team coming off an extended playoff run from the year before, is getting the engines revved up in time for the regular season after such a short offseason.

Take too long, especially in the tightly bunched Western Conference, and you could be climbing out of a hole the rest of the season. In years past, like, say when the Lakers were winning three straight championships at the start of this decade, the team had a habit of slow starts and stumbling into the playoffs as a lower seed. This year, that’s not an option, Fisher says:

“I think it could be like that again this year where there’s a five-game difference between 1-8,” Fisher said, when asked if the Western Conference would be as tough this season. “So you can’t take November and December off and think, `We’ll turn it on at the All-Star break’ or you’ll be too far behind. We have to be ready to go in two weeks.”

The Lakers held an open practice for 1,200 or so season ticket holders Wednesday at Staples Center, lulling their fans into a near-comatose state while performing drills to start the workout and then bringing them to the edge of their seats during a lively scrimmage.
Kobe Bryant concluded the scrimmage by accepting a lob pass from Lamar Odom and dunking, bringing the fans to their feet. Sensing it was probably a good idea to end the workout then and there, Phil Jackson halted the practice.
“I’m not a daytime television actor so I don’t know much about performing in front of live audiences on a regular basis,” Derek Fisher said of practicing in front of the fans. “It was different. I think Phil tries to set up the practice in a way that’s more entertaining. This is no way close to a representation of the practices we’ve been having. No. We’d still be here for a couple of hours.”

Last week, Andrew Bynum conceeded that he and Pau Gasol occasionally run into each other at the offensive end because each is so accustomed to playing the five (center) spot in the Lakers offense. We took that to be a bad thing, but Gasol isn’t so sure.

“Yeah, sometimes (we run to the same spot). So we just have to communicate a little better. But I think it’s a goot thing, because if we’re both being aggressive in the post, demanding the ball, that’s a good thing,” Gasol said. “I think it’d be worse if we both were fading away or letting the other always take that initiative.”

Sasha Vujacic will miss the next 10-14 days of training camp after further tests on his sprained left ankle revealed an avulsion fracture, a team spokesman said Tuesday.

The injury, which doctors believe existed before the ankle sprain during the first week of training camp, occurs when a tendon or ligament attaches to a bone and pulls a thin piece off the bone. Vujacic will be shut down for at least 10 days as a precautionary move, though he said Tuesday that he hopes to be back sooner.

“It’s nothing to worry about, but if you’re not smart about it, you could miss a month so I’m going to take some pressure off it for a little while,” Vujacic said. “It’s better to sit out a week or two now than later on.”

Vujacic sat out of most of Tuesday’s practice, but stayed afterwards –which is not uncommon for him — shooting free throws and running shots off of his right foot. He walked without a noticeable limp.

“I’m one of those guys who can’t stay away. This is killing me not to be playing,” he said. “I want to be there for opening night, so I’m going to do whatever I can to be ready.”

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals last season with Vlad Radmanovic as their starter at small forward, remember? It’s easy to forget when most of the attention this training camp has focused on whether Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza or Lamar Odom is best suited to starting in that spot.

But after a couple weeks of tinkering, Lakers coach Phil Jackson has gone back to dancing with the small forward who brung him, starting Radmanovic in Sunday’s exhibition victory over Sacramento and playing him with the first unit for extended stretches during practice.

“He’s the starter,” Jackson said. “Right now.”

However, when asked whether that meant anything had been decided, or even whether Radmanovic would start in Saturday’s exhibition game against FC Barcelona, Jackson was noncommittal.

“Weekend is a long ways away,” he said. “We just go one day at a time, see how that works.”

Kobe Bryant delivered another MVP performance Monday, and like many of his athletic feats, it was something only he could pull off.

But this was no crazy high-flying act or off-balance fall-away jumper as the clock ran down.

No, only a guy like Bryant, with MVP cache could get away with this one.

At the end of the Lakers marathon, three-and-a-half hour practice Monday afternoon, and the Lakers going through what seemed like the 50th conditioning drill of the day, Bryant intervened on his teammates behalf.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson had sent the team on what’s called an “indian run,” where the team runs in a single line around the court and the last person in line has to sprint to the front of the line. When that person gets there, the next person at the end of the line has to sprint to the front of the line until the coach stops the drill.

About four laps in, Bryant took matters into his own hands, sprinting on the inside of the line — by far a shorter distance than outside the line — came to an almost complete stop in front of Derek Fisher at the front of the line and bought his teammates an extra five or ten seconds of rest.

“The veterans taught me that, I’m just passing it on,” Bryant joked afterwards. “Thats just how you do it. Phil (Jackson) teaches us to run together so you have to have a collective effort and one mind so our one mind was to slow the hell down.”

A couple minutes later, Bryant really put the team on his back, sinking a free throw to end the days’ practice.

After playing in Las Vegas Sunday night, one might have assumed Jackson would just run an easy practice Monday. If anything, the opposite was true.

“We’re going to work hard. Thats what training camp is about, getting in shape, getting in condition, it’s not so much about the games,” Bryant said. “I don’t think anybody out here is exhausted or anything.”

Also: Luke Walton (ankle) will likely play in Saturday’s exhibition against the Spanish club FC Barcelona. Walton said that his surgically repaired ankle feels strong and hasn’t bothered him when he makes cuts, but still gets a little sore. He probably could’ve played in Sunday’s game in Las Vegas, but the training staff wanted him to go through a full week of practice first. … Sasha Vujacic (ankle) was limited to light activity and shooting Monday and wasn’t able to practice with the team in full-court activities. … Jackson said that the next roster cuts will likely take place later this week. The Lakers currently have 18 players in camp.

Lamar Odom has always been one of the most candid, genuine guys to talk with in the NBA. To say he wears his heart on his sleeve would be an understatement. It was pretty revealing then, that after two weeks as the butt of coach Phil Jackson’s jabs, Odom stayed late after practice Monday, speaking openly and deeply about why he’d like to remain in Los Angeles for the rest of his career.

“I’m loyal, really loyal. People that show me love, I can’t help but show them love back,” Odom said. “I love doing things here. When I go out in L.A., I get receptions just from being here so long, going through trials and tribulations, good times and bad times, and I think people respect that, especially people that have been through tough times.”

Odom will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He’ll turn 29 on November 6, meaning that his next contract will likely be his last, big payday.

“My family has sacrificed. Especially my kids, as far as living in New York, living without me, so this will probably be my last go-round,” Odom said, when asked how much longer he’d like to play. “Maybe 34, 35 years old, I’d still be young, I’d love to go home and be able to take my daughter to volleyball games, go to parent teacher night, take my son to his basketball games, football games.”

Does this loyalty mean Odom would give the Lakers a so-called hometown discount?

“Possibly,” he said. “But I also have to make a wise business decision according to my family and what needs to be done to keep or to start an Odom tradition.”