http://tinyurl.com/6owmq Bryant Comments Sour Malone on Lakers By JOHN NADEL AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Karl Malone has ruled out a return to the Los Angeles Laker s because of comments made by Kobe Bryant in a radio interview, Malone's agent said Tuesday. "Karl is furious," agent Dwight Manley told The Associated Press. "He felt very disrespected and betrayed after personally being the first to stand up for Kob e over the last year throughout his rape charge and all he went through." Manley said remarks made by Bryant on Monday, coupled with what the agent calle d "recent personal attacks made in private," led Malone to his decision. Asked if Malone might play elsewhere, Manley replied: "This certainly opens up that possibility." Manley first told radio station KMPC of Malone's decision. Malone said later Tuesday that he would rather not use "those strong words on s aying I'm not coming back." "I didn't come to take anybody's glory, anybody's accolades, anybody's anything ," Malone told KCBS-TV in a telephone interview. "But if it seems to me that th at is what I'm doing, then I would rather move on and turn the page in my life. If that's your star player, you want him to want you on the team, right? I don 't want to be anybody's distraction." Bryant told XTRA on Monday he didn't believe Malone, who is recovering from kne e surgery, would come back to the Lakers, calling it "just intuition." "It's not really fair to hold it over the guys' heads that are here," Bryant sa id. "The guys that we have here are working hard, practicing hard every day. It 's kind of tough for them to be looking over their shoulder, wondering if he's going to come back and then everybody is going to disappear. "They are here giving me 110 percent. It's really not fair for us to sit around and speculate how long this is going to go on. I mean, you can't sit up here a nd speculate for the remainder of the season whether or not he is going to come back. I mean, that's not fair to the guys that are working here." Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement he hoped Manley's comm ents did not accurately reflect Malone's feelings about returning to the Lakers . "If so, it is unfortunate that he would make such a decision based on the reaso n given," the statement added. "Kobe Bryant's interview ... merely reflected hi s personal opinion that Karl would probably not return to play this season. Kob e did not at any time state that Karl was not returning, nor was Kobe speaking on behalf of the Lakers management or organization." Malone, 41, told the Lakers on Oct. 1 he was still recovering from arthroscopic surgery he underwent three months earlier on his right knee and wasn't ready t o play. But he didn't rule out returning at some point this season or beyond. Malone, the second-leading scorer in NBA history, opted out of his $1.65 millio n contract following last season, making him a free agent. After playing 18 seasons for the Utah Jazz, Malone joined the Lakers before las t season in search of his first championship. He took a pay cut of about $18 mi llion to sign for $1.5 million. "Karl sacrificed financially to come to L.A., he sacrificed personally," Manley said. "He put his name and reputation on the line, put his arm around Kobe and said he was a good kid, tried to be his friend, told people to give him the be nefit of the doubt. "And now, basically, to get stabbed in the back, that's how he feels. This has ended any possibility of Karl returning to the Lakers in any capacity." Malone and Bryant live about six blocks apart in Newport Beach. Manley said his client is fully recovered from knee surgery and 100 percent phy sically. "Karl will have something to say, probably in the next month or so, about his f uture," Manley said. "It will likely be after the first of the year. I'm person ally crossing my fingers that he decides to play." Several teams, including San Antonio, Minnesota and Miami, expressed interest i n Malone during the offseason. While with the Lakers, Malone was one of the few players who was close with bot h Bryant and O'Neal. Bryant signed a $136.4 million contract last summer to rem ain with the Lakers while O'Neal was traded to Miami. Malone played in 1,434 of a possible 1,444 regular-season games with the Jazz, but missed 40 games with the Lakers - 39 after tearing a knee ligament Dec. 21 against Phoenix. He returned in March and played a key role as the Lakers reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Detroit Pistons in five games. Malone reinjured his knee in Game 2 of the finals, was limited in Games 3 and 4 and didn't play in Game 5. The Lakers lost the last three games. Malone had played in 193 straight playoff games with the Jazz and Lakers before having to sit out the last game of the finals. Considered one of the best power forwards in NBA history, Malone averaged a car eer-low 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 42 games last season, leaving him with career averages of 25.0 points and 10.1 rebounds. His 36,928 points in 1,476 games trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who finished his career with 38,387 points in 1,560 games. --

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