Spirited Bryant stepping into new role with Lakers

HONOLULU -- For the first time since his summer of discontent with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant donned "the golden armor," as he has often called it, when the team opened the exhibition season Tuesday night here against Golden State.

And how has Kobe Bryant been in training camp as a Los Angeles Lakers teammate and leader in his first week back in the fold?

"He has been competitive," Coach Phil Jackson said. "He has been very vocal as a leader with these guys. Without Lamar (Odom) on the floor, he has started to pick it up a little bit."

Asked if Kobe Bryant has been pushing the sort of team-building concepts Jackson would like, the coach said: "Some of it is good. We've talked a little bit about what I'd like to see that's not apparent yet. That's a new (offensive) role, and it takes some guidance for him to see that."

Jackson intends to play Kobe Bryant more at guard this season after two years of letting him loose at small forward. Even with guard Derek Fisher's return to the team, Kobe Bryant knows better than anyone how to set up the triangle offense and set up teammates for shots.

Now Kobe Bryant is being asked to set teammates up before the triangle is really set up, too. Jackson wants the Los Angeles Lakers to look for more early offense on each possession. He said he wants Kobe Bryant "not to come out of the backcourt with a thought in mind of how it's going to happen down at the other end of the court."

"We're doing a different type of an offense," Jackson said. "And a lot of it is less manufacturing offense. Just throwing the ball ahead, pushing guys to run, using lead passes to encourage running. If nothing works out in the first seven seconds of the 24-second clock, then organize the offense."

BROWN & MIHM

Although Jackson had held out some hope Kwame Brown might play Tuesday night, Kwame Brown rested his surgically repaired ankle. Lamar Odom (shoulder) and Luke Walton (hamstring) also sat out.

Asked Monday if it was possible he would play Tuesday, Kwame Brown answered: "Everything's possible. It's possible we won't wake up."

Kwame Brown didn't seem to be prioritizing getting any exhibition work, pointing to being OK for the Oct. 30 regular-season opener.

"That's my goal; I hope that's their goal," Kwame Brown said of the coaches and trainers. "I hope we're all on the same page."

With Kwame Brown out, Chris Mihm started at center ahead of Andrew Bynum; Ronny Turiaf, Vladimir Radmanovic, Kobe Bryant and Fisher rounded out the lineup.

Jackson said he believes Mihm might benefit from going directly from pregame warmups to game action because of right-ankle problems since he was severely injured March 12, 2006, ending a 20-point, 13-rebound game and potentially derailing his career.

"He doesn't want to sit around and get stiff with that foot," Jackson said.

Mihm did play one other game since his injury ? trying to test his foot in the regular-season finale on April 19, 2006 ? an attempt he referred to Tuesday as trying to play "on a hunk of meat" for a right foot.

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