Kobe Bryant made some strong comments about his loyalty for the Lakers as a guest on ESPN's "Rome Is Burning," which was guest-hosted by Los Angeles guard Derek Fisher on Friday.

Bryant said he's "definitely" not playing for another team, or "99.99 percent sure I'm finishing my career with the Los Angeles Lakers."

The Lakers are not interested in re-signing D.J. Mbenga, according to a source.

"According to a source, the Lakers are not interested in re-signing center D.J. Mbenga, despite an internet rumor that says the contrary," ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin wrote on his Twitter page.

Mbenga has spent the last two-plus seasons in Los Angeles.

The Lakers signed Steve Blake this summer, an addition that will likely help give veteran Derek Fisher some rest.

Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes that the Lakers may have finally found an option to start at point guard over Fisher.

Ron Artest won't be wearing No. 37 with the Lakers next season.

Artest has decided to change to No. 15, the number he wore at St. John's and when he first came into the NBA.

He requested the change before the end of the 2009-10 season.

Artest, who has also played for the Bulls, Pacers, Kings, Rockets, has worn Nos. 23, 91, 93 and 96 in his career.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss says he didn't approve the team's active summer with the Heat specifically in mind.

Buss said his team's offseason moves were motivated by the goal of constantly improving. However, he did mention Miami as a team that excites him.

"Suddenly there's this juggernaut out there that we have a chance to play against and that excites me, that really excites me because, quite honestly, I think we can beat them and I'm looking forward to playing them," Buss said.

"I don't think it's automatic that Miami will be our biggest opponent come the end, but on the other hand, I must admit they have the world's attention and that means we're going to be on center stage when we get a chance to play them."

Buss maintained that all of the team's personnel decisions this summer were independent of the Heat.

"Our intentions were to sign those players prior to Miami coalescing all of the talent that was left over," Buss said.

"I don't think we reacted to them. Once the season is over, we look backwards on the season and say, 'Were there any weaknesses? Could we do something to improve this team?' And we did that quite independently of Miami. ... I think we just prepared ourselves for the general war, not specifically for anyone."

Kobe Bryant is now four weeks removed from having knee surgery.

"I'm doing rehab constantly for my knee, making sure the leg is getting stronger," said Bryant. "As soon as the leg gets strong enough to go, that's when I turn it up."

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Derrick Caracter, it was announced today.  Per team policy terms of the agreement were not released.

Caracter, a 22 year-old early entry candidate selected by the Lakers with the 58th pick in  the 2010 NBA draft, played two seasons at Louisville before transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso, where he averaged 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 27 games as a junior with the Miners. Named Second Team All-Conference USA last season, the 6?9? forward ranked second in the conference and 16th nationally in field goal percentage (.567).

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Devin Ebanks, it was announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Selected by the Lakers with the 43rd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Ebanks, a 20 year-old early entry candidate out of West Virginia University, played two seasons for the Mountaineers, averaging 11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 69 games.  Named to the Big East All-Rookie and All-Tournament team as a freshman and selected All-Big East Third Team as a sophomore, the 6?9? forward posted 16 career double-doubles at West Virginia and led the team in rebounding during each of his two seasons.

Shannon Brown officially re-signed with the Lakers on Wednesday, inking a two-year, $4.6 million deal with a player option in the second season.

"This has been the best fit, the best spot, the best everything for me," Brown said. "I sat down and evaluated all the situations from the money to the teams to my potential role on the team. And this has been at the top, No. 1 on the list."

The Cavaliers were interested in Brown and there was a report that the Knicks offered the guard a deal worth $4 million to $5 million per season.

"All the rumors out there about everybody offering me all this $4 or $5 million and all of that, that's not true," Brown said.

"This was just the best situation for what was going on ? a chance to win three NBA championships, a great city to live in and everything just felt right."

The Lakers have no plans to make a trade to reduce their payroll, according to owner Jerry Buss.

Los Angeles has continued to spend this offseason despite the perception that they would cut back a bit.

"If something came up where we could get something for the future, then we might entertain a trade," Buss said. "But outside of that, I think we're pretty well fixed."

The Lakers have given new deals to keep Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown while adding Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff as free agents.

"I don't know where that came from really. We didn't ever have a meeting and say, 'OK, let's slash payroll.'  We sat down and said, 'How can we improve this team?' And basically we came up with Blake and Barnes," Buss said of the belief that the Lakers would cut costs.

"We were really exceptionally happy and thrilled to get both of them at a decent price."