Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant sat out practice for the third straight day Tuesday, then denied a report that he had cleaned out his locker -- a story carried by several local news outlets.
Bryant spoke for less than two minutes in the parking lot of the team's practice facility. Previously, he had said very little to reporters since Jerry Buss stated last week in Honolulu that he "would certainly listen" to trade offers for the NBA's scoring leader.
"I don't know, talk to Mitch and Mr. Buss about that," Bryant replied when asked if he had played his final game for the Lakers, referring to general manager Mitch Kupchak and the team's owner. "I'm just getting ready. If I'm here, I'm ready to strap it up."
Bryant asked to be traded 4 1/2 months ago, then avoided speaking about the Lakers until the beginning of training camp Oct. 1, when he talked more positively, saying he was looking forward to the season.
"My job is to play the game and get ready to play the game," he said Tuesday. "That's what I'm doing. I guess people are just intrigued by what's going on around here. I understand that. I have a job to do. One thing I said at training camp was that I didn't want this to be a distraction."
When asked whether he was unsettled by recent events, Bryant said: "It's our understanding not to bring up the situation and not talk about it. We just wanted to keep things quiet and go about our business. It kind of caught me off guard a little bit.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant sat out practice Tuesday "by mutual agreement."