To Kobe and Phil: Are you happy now?

February 2nd, 2008, 4:57 pm · 1 Comment · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

WASHINGTON — Kobe Bryant has indicated by his comments that he is thrilled with Pau Gasol’s acquisition, so I asked Phil Jackson after practice if the trade puts Bryant back on track to be a Laker for life.

“I would assume it would,” Jackson said. “But that’s his bailiwick. He’s got to work through that when the time comes. If we have success, I’m sure he’d want to be a part of it. If we continue to have injuries, he may think there’s a black cloud hanging over our heads.”

Jackson said he got a few congratulatory e-mails, one using a pun of “You’re cooking with Gas-ol now” – but that friend clearly grasped that Jackson has more talent to work with now after lobbying repeatedly for more, particularly at power forward.

Jackson quickly pushed back from any discussion Saturday of the Lakers being a championship team now and said he wasn’t even necessarily totally satisfied with the roster now: “No, there are a few more things that I’d like to have. But I’ve been a guy who has just played the cards I’ve been dealt.”

Jackson recalled when he took over the Lakers in 1999 and had an unbalanced roster with no power forward, winding up with A.C. Green starting there.

“And we won a couple of championships,” Jackson said, “so what’s there to complain about?”

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