Kobe Bryant labeled his comments about possibly playing in Europe as a joke.

?Somebody throws us this question about playing overseas,? Bryant said. ?I don?t want (LeBron James) to answer it. He?s a young kid; I don?t want him to take the controversial stuff. I said, ?Well, if a team throws us $50 million, then we?ll all go.?" ?

?It?s just something that was a joke for us, and people took it and ran with it or whatever. That?s fine. Everybody needs to banter about something.?

Lakers' center Andrew Bynum claims that he isn't concerned about a possible contract extension with the team.

"It's not a concern of mine at all," Bynum said. "That's business. My agent takes care of it. What I've got to do is play well and make people believe that I'm the great player I'm supposed to be."

Bynum and the Lakers have until Oct. 31 to come to an agreement.

He averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocked shots last season before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in January.

Lakers' forward Lamar Odom was not happy with the idea by Coach Phil Jackson to bring him off the bench as the team's sixth man, the L.A. Times are reporting.

"He must have woke up and bumped his head. He probably hit his head on something -- boom," Odom said about Jackson. "To start off like that, you've got to be out of your . . . mind."

Lakers rookie guard Sun Yue has tested positive for mononucleosis and will miss the start of training camp, according to Los Angeles Times.

He was taken to a hospital a few hours after meeting with the L.A. media for the first time on Wednesday.

There is no date for his return to the team.

"It varies on the severity of it and the individual," Lakers spokesman John Black said Thursday. "We simply don't know."

The Lakers introduced rookie Sun Yue to the media on Wednesday just a couple of days after he arrived in the United States, according to Los Angeles Times.

"The Lakers helped me make my dream come true, so it feels good," Sun said in rough English.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak was surprised with the fanfare Sun received in L.A.

"Quite frankly, this is a very unusual turnout for a player who was drafted two years ago who we hope to be on this team for many, many years to come," Kupchak said. "The fact remains, though, he has to earn his way onto this club."

Sun signed a two-year deal with the Lakers in August.

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed free agent center Didier ?DJ? Ilunga-Mbenga, announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mbenga, a 7-foot, 255 pound native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Lakers last season on January 21 and February 1 before signing for the remainder of the year on February 11.

In 26 games with the Lakers, Mbenga averaged 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.62 blocked shots in 7.8 minutes while totaling four points and five rebounds in 10 minutes over seven postseason games.

Andrew Bynum's surgically repaired knee is feeling good even when he gets his feet knocked out from under him on an alley-oop and lands on the floor hard.

?I was fine. I got right back up,? Bynum said Tuesday. ?No pain, no swelling.?

Lakers' executive Mitch Kupchak claims that the Grizzlies were looking to acquire Sun Yue in a trade, according to NBA.com.

"Memphis also wanted Sun in the trade, but we wanted to keep at least one of those two guys so Memphis wanted Marc [Gasol], and we are happy that we were able to keep Sun Yue, because we liked him when we drafted him," Kupchak said.

The Lakers drafted Sun with the fortieth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro believes there is a real chance that Kobe Bryant could leave the NBA to play in Europe, according to Los Angeles Daily News.

"I think there is a great possibility, if for no other reason than he will make his value worth much more than anyone can imagine," said Vaccaro. "For the first time, they'll actually be in competition."

"Kobe has his own mind," Vaccaro added. "He's bright. He could have gone to MIT and been successful. I watched his formative years. Even when he left adidas, he did it because it made good business sense. He made decisions. He's never been afraid."

"Kobe is his own man. One of the most unique people I've met in my 69 years."

Lamar Odom has discussed the possibility of accepting a sixth-man role with the Lakers' coaching staff, which would free him up to fill a variety of roles due to his versatility.