Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was offered the Lakers job in 2004, but he has no regrets for staying in Durham.

"It was a serious consideration," Krzyzewski said, "but I'm the kind of a person, once I make a decision, I don't look back. I've been married 38 years and I don't write to my old girlfriends. It was an honor and I thank them for giving me that opportunity.

"I'm 60 years old. I'm going to do what I do at Duke and I am not going to coach in the pros. Besides coaching college basketball, I love Duke. I just love the university. It was too much to give up."

Butch van Breda Kolff, who coached the Lakers to two NBA finals appearances and won 482 games as a college coach, has died after a long illness.

Van Breda Kolff, 84, died Wednesday afternoon at a nursing home in Spokane, his daughter, Kristina van Breda Kolff, said. His son, Jan, also played professionally and coached at Cornell, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine and St. Bonaventure.

The Lakers today signed center Larry Turner, who played with their summer-league team. Turner is 6-foot-11 and averaged 5.8 points and 6.1 rebounds during his senior season at Tennessee State. Turner also averaged 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds during the summer league in Las Vegas.

Much of the offseason has been dominated by Kobe Bryant's situation with the Lakers.

On Saturday, ESPN's Chris Sheridan asked Bryant if he still wants the Lakers to trade him.

"I'm not going to answer that question," said Bryant. "The Lakers know exactly where I stand, and they've known exactly where I stand since the beginning of the summer."

The Kobe story might have regained some legs, thanks in large part to an on-camera interview Bryant gave to ESPN colleague Rachel Nichols in which he seemed to give an indication that things between him and the Lakers had smoothed over.

Here's a section of that interview:

Nichols: "You said one day you wanted to be traded, you said you wanted to be a 'Laker for life.' There were different phone calls back and forth."

Bryant: "I think a lot of people misinterpreted it. But that's water under the bridge to me, because going forward, we're handling our situation between ourselves, meaning the Lakers organization and myself. If things, if things were to be different, we both would have handled the situation a little differently."

"Water under the bridge," he said to Nichols.

Kobe Bryant has said this week that he no longer wishes to make his unhappiness with the current state of the Lakers an issue.

"I'm not making it an issue any more," Bryant told the Los Angeles Times.

He was also asked whether or not he will be in training camp.

"I have no reason not to be," he said.

He was then asked about whether he may never play for the Lakers again, as reported by Bryant's confidant, ESPN's Ric Bucher.

"You know what, man, we'll see what happens."

Jermaine O'Neal fired another round of volleys in his defense Tuesday to clarify his stance regarding his future with the Indiana Pacers.

Continuing to deny the gist of Internet reports out of Los Angeles that he wanted a trade, O'Neal volunteered for an afternoon interview on a local radio station and had the Pacers release a transcript and audio file of comments he made Sunday before a charity basketball game in Los Angeles.

Pacers president Larry Bird, meanwhile, downplayed the impact of O'Neal's interview with reporters from the Sports Illustrated and ESPN Web sites in which he discussed the possibility of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers or New Jersey Nets.

"He should have come in here and talked about it privately," Bird said in an interview with WNDE-1260 AM. "But it happens. I've been in this league for 27 years and I've seen (former teammates) do things like that. You don't like it to happen, but it happened, and we just have to move forward."

Jermaine O'Neal told Sports Illustrated that he doesn't want to be part of the Pacers' "youth movement."

O'Neal said he wasn't physically ready to "go through another five to six years with a lot of losses and lot of down time."

O'Neal spoke with Sports Illustrated while in Los Angeles for a charity basketball game. But back in Indianapolis Monday afternoon, he clarified his statements on the issue.

The big question: Did O'Neal tell Sports Illustrated that he wanted a trade from Indiana?

"No, I didn't tell him I wanted a trade. The article didn't say I wanted a trade. Obviously you go out west, there's been a lot of talk about me going out west, especially in LA, you get a lot of questions about that. I still stand pretty firm on what I've been saying the entire summer. I'm a Pacer right now until the Pacers decide to trade me," O'Neal said in an exclusive interview with Eyewitness Sports shortly after arriving back to Indianapolis from the west coast.

"Would I welcome a trade to LA? Yes, I would welcome a trade to LA for multiple reasons because one, I'm familiar with the area and two, I'm really familiar with Kobe Bryant. We've known each other since I was like thirteen, and three, they're not a team that's too far away."

O'Neal says he loves Los Angeles and normally trains there in the summer. If he can't play with Kobe Bryant, O'Neal says he'd like to play for New Jersey.

Larry Bird has quickly responded to comments made by Jermaine O'Neal seeking a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.
   
?In response to Jermaine O?Neal?s published comments today regarding a trade, we have stated repeatedly that if we can make our team better through a trade, we will do so," said Bird in a statement.

"Jermaine has become an All-Star player with the Indiana Pacers and in any discussions regarding him or any of our other players, the expectations for the franchise and our fans is to receive fair market value in return if a trade is to be considered.

?Jermaine has worked out very hard this summer while rehabilitating his knee after surgery. We believe under Jim O?Brien that our team as a whole and Jermaine as a player can be successful. You never know what will happen, but for now Jermaine is an Indiana Pacer."

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said that while different media sources were speculating about trade possibilities for Kevin Garnett for some time, the only trade that even came close before the actual deal was made was an earlier conversation with the Celtics before the June NBA draft.

"Had the Celtics being willing to give up their fifth pick in the first round and the player we wanted [Florida's Al Horford] been available, plus Al Jefferson, we might have considered that trade," Taylor said. "But they didn't agree to that. Furthermore, at the time, Kevin's agent said he wouldn't go there. They didn't want to make a commitment to him unless he was committed to them."

Taylor said a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers was never close because there was a third team, Charlotte, involved, and the Bobcats never agreed.

Taylor said he did take some calls from NBA owners who had an interest in Garnett, and when that happened, he called Garnett and "just told him that it could leak out in the paper or someplace like that, that he didn't get upset or worried about it."

If Jermaine O'Neal gets his wish, he will not be playing for the Indiana Pacers next season. If he gets his dream, according to Sports Illustrated, he will be suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant.

While in Los Angeles Sunday for a charity basketball game hosted by Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, O'Neal said he doesn't want to be a part of a Pacers youth movement and that it would be in his and the team's best interest to part ways.

"I would welcome a trade to the Lakers," said O'Neal. "Indiana has given me the opportunity to establish myself as a really good player in this league, but they're into rebuilding and going really young, and I'm just not in a position physically to go through another five to six years with a lot of losses and a lot of down time."

The Lakers have tried to acquire O'Neal several times this offseason, but talks have reportedly stalled over Indiana's insistence that the Lakers' package include both Lamar Odom and 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers' refusal to part with Bynum, the 10th pick in the 2005 draft, cost them a chance at Jason Kidd during last year's trading deadline. The failed trade was the basis of Bryant's infamous videotaped tirade in a shopping center parking lot in which he said the Lakers should have dealt Bynum for Kidd.

"I was ready but you never know in this business," said Kidd, who was also in Los Angeles for the charity game. "Playing with Kobe makes the game easy. He's the most dominant offensive player and he's a competitor, and I love playing with guys who love to compete."

If the Lakers once again fail to deal Bynum for a proven All-Star, Kidd could be the benefactor: O'Neal said he would also welcome a move to the Nets.

"Los Angeles and New Jersey would be my top two teams," O'Neal said. "I think L.A.'s a real possibility and I think New Jersey's a possibility too."

The idea of O'Neal coming to New Jersey quickly put a smile on Kidd's face.

"I think that would be a great addition for us if we had an opportunity to get a guy like Jermaine," Kidd said. "He comes every night to play and he's a great person and a great basketball player. It would be a huge move."

If O'Neal had to choose one destination, however, it would be Los Angeles. He recently sold his home in Westwood after getting an unexpectedly good deal but said that he and his wife were already searching for a new house in Los Angeles and would love to make it a permanent residence.