Given all that’s happened, that he’s disappointed the Lakers traded Lamar Odom and that he’s upset management has refused to clarify Pau Gasol’s future with the team, Kobe Bryant showed remarkable restraint this afternoon.

When a reporter asked him after the Lakers’ morning shootaround if it might be about time to meet with team executive Jim Buss to talk about the franchise’s direction, the face of the franchise said simply, “Um, perhaps.”

Bryant declined to comment further, having already created a league-wide stir when he spoke out Sunday about the front office’s unwillingness to say whether it intended to keep or trade Gasol. Bryant said he preferred the Lakers keep Gasol.

“Nobody else is going to say it, man,” Bryant said, smiling when asked why he chose to speak out about the need to give Gasol some peace of mind before the March 15 trade deadline. “I’m the only one with (guts) big enough to say it, so I said it.”