EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakers will open the season Tuesday night at home with all four of their future Hall of Famers starting against the Dallas Mavericks ... but nothing even close to total harmony.

 

That's because Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are feuding anew, out in the open, after a long thaw in their historically icy relationship.

 

O'Neal and Bryant seemed to be interacting comfortably Sunday on the practice floor, sharing the ball freely during an afternoon workout. Then they traded nasty verbal jabs after the session -- arguably their harshest comments since L.A.'s second championship season -- all stemming from O'Neal's suggestion Friday night in Las Vegas that Bryant "should probably look to be more of a passer until he gets his legs strong."

 

Bryant, recovering from offseason knee and shoulder surgeries, didn't welcome the suggestion, saying: "I definitely don't need advice on how to play my game."

 

Not even advice from O'Neal?

 

"Definitely not," Bryant continued. "I know how to play my guard spot. He can worry about the low post, and I'll worry about the [perimeter]."

 

When apprised of Bryant's reaction, O'Neal lashed out harder.

 

"As we start this new season, we want [expletive] done right," Shaq said. "If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. As long as it's my team, then I'll voice my opinion. If you don't like it, then opt out."

 

That was a reference to Bryant's plan to exercise an option in his contract at season's end and test the free-agent market next summer, a stance Bryant has said he won't change in the wake of his felony sexual assault charge in Colorado.

 

Asked to clarify his "my team" remark, O'Neal added: "Everybody knows that. You [media] guys may give it to [bryant] like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship. So ... if you ain't right [physically], don't be trying to go out there and get right on our expense. Use the people out there, then when you get right you [can] do what you do."

 

Not since the middle of the 2001-02 season -- the second of L.A.'s three consecutive championships -- have O'Neal and Bryant sparred in the press like this. Their relationship seemed to blossom into friendship during the third championship and also appeared to survive last season's 11-19 start and subsequent crash out of the playoffs with a second-round loss to San Antonio.

 

Throughout this first month back to work, however, there have been thinly veiled hints from O'Neal that problems have resurfaced, starting from the veterans' first day of training camp in Hawaii. Bryant did not fly on the Lakers' team charter and reported to camp a day late. O'Neal said at the time that "the full team is here," leading some to speculate that he preferred to play this season without the distractions attached to Bryant's court case.

 

Days later, explaining why he was sitting out an exhibition game with a sore left heel, O'Neal said: "I want to be right [in the regular season] for Derek, Karl and Gary.'' He was referring to Derek Fisher and new teammates Karl Malone and Gary Payton -- and O'Neal ommitted Bryant's name from the conversation more than once.

 

Malone and Payton, by contrast, have publicly supported Bryant as strongly as anyone in Lakers circles. But even Payton has urged Bryant to ease his way back into the team flow, after Bryant fatigued quickly and shot poorly in the second half of the Lakers' final two exhibition games.

 

Eyebrows were also raised when Bryant, for Thursday's exhibition in Anaheim against the Clippers, rode his motorcycle to and from the game instead of riding on the team bus.

 

Yet O'Neal, when pressed, insisted that the Lakers can play through any problems he's having with Bryant.

 

"I don't really worry about that," O'Neal said when asked about the state of the relationship. "I'm here to do a job. ... If he's open, I'm going to give it to him. If I'm open, I expect him to give it to me. I don't care about [expletive] else he does, and I know he don't care [expletive] else I do."

 

What's clear is that Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who spoke to reporters before his stars started volleying barbs, has his first real challenge of the season, less than 48 hours before the season opener. And it's right in his own locker room, not in a Colorado court room.

 

Asked about how he plans to play against the Mavericks on Tuesday night, Bryant said: "No change in my game whatsoever."

 

Said O'Neal: "Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. One person, not two. One. Period. ... I'm not telling [bryant] how to play his position. I'm telling him how to play team ball."

 

I love it.

so do i so much for their hopes of winning a championsip :arms

so do i so much for their hopes of winning a championsip :arms

I wouldn't go THAT far. It's not like they haven't won before with those 2 ripping each other.

 

I just love it because I get more awesome Shaq quotes, like "Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. One person, not two. One. Period." or "You [media] guys may give it to [bryant] like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship."

 

Mad Shaq is golden.

They're both idiots. They're both egomaniacs and a**holes, and one of them's a rapist to top it all off.

Kobe about Shaq: unprofessional, childlike, fat and out of shape.... and a bad team mate.

 

Phil Jackson is going to fine Kobe for talking after telling them not to.

 

i love shaq, but when your teammate is going through some drama like he is you shouldnt be saying stupid s*** about who's team it is and that he needs to get out if he dont like it. shaq is out of line

Kobe about Shaq: unprofessional, childlike, fat and out of shape.... and a bad team mate.

 

Phil Jackson is going to fine Kobe for talking after telling them not to.

 

i love shaq, but when your teammate is going through some drama like he is you shouldnt be saying stupid s*** about who's team it is and that he needs to get out if he dont like it. shaq is out of line

Shaq is the Warren Sapp of the NBA, big man with talent who needs to shut his mouth. Although I don't like Kobe and think he's guilty, Shaq was wrong to do this. With all the drama Kobe has going on, the team really didn't need this at all. I'm hearing from some this is a ploy by the 2 players to deflect attention from Kobe's trial, but i'm not buying it, because these guys sounds serious, plus they know that as soon as the trial resumes, that's where the attention will return. These guys need to shut up and play, because even with the 4 hall of famers on this squad, they may not be the best team in the stacked up the a** western conference.

At least neither of them started a physical fight with the other one like Jeff Kent.

They both are idiots. Phil, sew their mouths shut. Keep them out of alotta trouble.

Here's a good one I THOROUGHLY savored. It's especially biting. I especially like the jabs at Shaq's supposed "injuries" last season:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1648431

ESPN.com news services

The transcript of Kobe Bryant's interview with ESPN's Jim Gray:

 

GRAY: What was your reaction to Shaq saying the Lakers are his team, and everybody knows it?

 

BRYANT: It doesn't matter whose team it is. Nobody cares. I don't, Karl [Malone] doesn't, Gary [Payton] doesn't, and our teammates and the fans don't either. There's more to life than whose team this is. But this is his team, so it's time for him to act like it. That means no more coming into camp fat and out of shape, when your team is relying on your leadership on and off the court. It also means no more blaming others for our team's failure, or blaming staff members for not overdramatizing your injuries so that you avoid blame for your lack of conditioning. Also, "my team" doesn't mean only when we win; it means carrying the burden of defeat just as gracefully as you carry a championship trophy.

 

GRAY: Do you consider Shaq to be a leader?

 

BRYANT: Leaders don't beg for a contract extension and negotiate some 30 million [dollars] plus per year deal in the media when we have two future Hall of Famers playing here pretty much for free. A leader would not demand the ball every time down the floor when you have the three of us [Malone, Payton, Bryant] playing beside you, not to mention the teammates you have gone to war with for years -- and, by the way, then threaten not to play defense and rebound if you don't get the ball every time down the floor.

 

GRAY: Shaq says that you have not been a team player. Is he right?

 

BRYANT: That's ridiculous. I have been successfully sacrificing my game for years for Shaq. That's what Phil [Jackson] wanted me to do, so I did it. Last year Phil told me Shaq was not in physical condition to carry the trust of our offense, so he asked me to do it. But then he saw Shaq was getting upset that the team wasn't running through him, so Phil asked me to pull back and I did. This year is no different; my role is whatever Phil wants it to be. Period.

 

GRAY: Through out the preseason, your leg and conditioning has been lagging. Are you in the proper shape to start the season?

 

BRYANT: My knee is not strong enough to play yet. I know it. When it is I will play.

 

GRAY: Does that mean you will miss the opener [Tuesday] night and other games?

 

BRYANT: I probably won't play tomorrow night or until I'm ready. But I don't need Shaq's advice on how to play hurt. I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

 

GRAY: Kobe, Shaq said if you didn't like what he had to say you can opt out and leave next season. Will you leave the Lakers?

 

BRYANT: I won't make that decision until the end of the season. I told Shaq last year that I was planning on opting out. He knew before anyone. I told him out of respect for what we have been through together. I thought he should be the first to know. The fact that he acts like this is such a big shock is a mystery to me. If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season is what I decide, a major reason for that will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy.

 

GRAY: Do you feel Shaq has been supportive in regards to your legal situation?

 

BRYANT: He is not my quote unquote "big brother." A big brother would have called to lend his support this summer. I heard absolutely nothing from him. I spoke to Devean [George], Rick [Fox], Mitch [Kupchak], Phil, and our owner Jerry Buss. And Shaq's own Uncle Jerome called and left three messages. Other teammates like Derek [Fisher], Mark [Madsen], and [stanislav Medvedenko] left messages as well. Opponents called like [Chris] Webber, [Mike] Bibby, and many others. So did a lot of coaches. Michael Jordan, who didn't have my home phone, tracked it down to lend his support. So did Tiger Woods. But yet from my so-called big brother, I heard nothing.

 

GRAY: Why not resolve this behind closed doors? Why is this so public?

 

BRYANT: I asked Phil on Sunday [yesterday] to say something to calm this situation down before it boiled over. But he backed away, so now here we are. I have been a bigger person every time something happened with Shaq, and I don't expect this to be any different. But somebody in this organization had to speak up, because his unprofessionalism hurt us last year, and I don't want it to hurt us this year.

It looks like the gloves are off...

Here's a good one I THOROUGHLY savored. It's especially biting. I especially like the jabs at Shaq's supposed "injuries" last season:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1648431

ESPN.com news services

The transcript of Kobe Bryant's interview with ESPN's Jim Gray:

 

GRAY: What was your reaction to Shaq saying the Lakers are his team, and everybody knows it?

 

BRYANT: It doesn't matter whose team it is. Nobody cares. I don't, Karl [Malone] doesn't, Gary [Payton] doesn't, and our teammates and the fans don't either. There's more to life than whose team this is. But this is his team, so it's time for him to act like it. That means no more coming into camp fat and out of shape, when your team is relying on your leadership on and off the court. It also means no more blaming others for our team's failure, or blaming staff members for not overdramatizing your injuries so that you avoid blame for your lack of conditioning. Also, "my team" doesn't mean only when we win; it means carrying the burden of defeat just as gracefully as you carry a championship trophy.

 

GRAY: Do you consider Shaq to be a leader?

 

BRYANT: Leaders don't beg for a contract extension and negotiate some 30 million [dollars] plus per year deal in the media when we have two future Hall of Famers playing here pretty much for free. A leader would not demand the ball every time down the floor when you have the three of us [Malone, Payton, Bryant] playing beside you, not to mention the teammates you have gone to war with for years -- and, by the way, then threaten not to play defense and rebound if you don't get the ball every time down the floor.

 

GRAY: Shaq says that you have not been a team player. Is he right?

 

BRYANT: That's ridiculous. I have been successfully sacrificing my game for years for Shaq. That's what Phil [Jackson] wanted me to do, so I did it. Last year Phil told me Shaq was not in physical condition to carry the trust of our offense, so he asked me to do it. But then he saw Shaq was getting upset that the team wasn't running through him, so Phil asked me to pull back and I did. This year is no different; my role is whatever Phil wants it to be. Period.

 

GRAY: Through out the preseason, your leg and conditioning has been lagging. Are you in the proper shape to start the season?

 

BRYANT: My knee is not strong enough to play yet. I know it. When it is I will play.

 

GRAY: Does that mean you will miss the opener [Tuesday] night and other games?

 

BRYANT: I probably won't play tomorrow night or until I'm ready. But I don't need Shaq's advice on how to play hurt. I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

 

GRAY: Kobe, Shaq said if you didn't like what he had to say you can opt out and leave next season. Will you leave the Lakers?

 

BRYANT: I won't make that decision until the end of the season. I told Shaq last year that I was planning on opting out. He knew before anyone. I told him out of respect for what we have been through together. I thought he should be the first to know. The fact that he acts like this is such a big shock is a mystery to me. If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season is what I decide, a major reason for that will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy.

 

GRAY: Do you feel Shaq has been supportive in regards to your legal situation?

 

BRYANT: He is not my quote unquote "big brother." A big brother would have called to lend his support this summer. I heard absolutely nothing from him. I spoke to Devean [George], Rick [Fox], Mitch [Kupchak], Phil, and our owner Jerry Buss. And Shaq's own Uncle Jerome called and left three messages. Other teammates like Derek [Fisher], Mark [Madsen], and [stanislav Medvedenko] left messages as well. Opponents called like [Chris] Webber, [Mike] Bibby, and many others. So did a lot of coaches. Michael Jordan, who didn't have my home phone, tracked it down to lend his support. So did Tiger Woods. But yet from my so-called big brother, I heard nothing.

 

GRAY: Why not resolve this behind closed doors? Why is this so public?

 

BRYANT: I asked Phil on Sunday [yesterday] to say something to calm this situation down before it boiled over. But he backed away, so now here we are. I have been a bigger person every time something happened with Shaq, and I don't expect this to be any different. But somebody in this organization had to speak up, because his unprofessionalism hurt us last year, and I don't want it to hurt us this year.

It looks like the gloves are off... i'm loving this