They’re Out but Not Very Down

The Lakers were 11 games better than they were a season ago. They made the playoffs and pushed the second-seeded Phoenix Suns to the brink of elimination. Kobe Bryant won his first scoring title and, more important to the future of the franchise, he got along famously with Coach Phil Jackson.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad season for L.A.’s second-best NBA team -- other than the ugly ending, a 31-point Game 7 loss to the Suns on Saturday.

“I don’t in any way believe that this team could have won the championship,” Jackson said Monday at the Lakers’ El Segundo headquarters, where he and General Manager Mitch Kupchak conducted exit interviews with players. “We were all about getting to the playoffs and making noise in the playoffs. That’s been my whole message to these guys, and we did that. We accomplished the goal.”

That being said, Jackson later added, “We don’t believe that we have to have a superstar come here to be able to advance. That’s not part of our thinking. ... We know we have enough physical talent. We have enough size and we have enough expertise to be able to compete in this Western Conference.”

Kupchak, echoing Jackson’s comments, said the Lakers played “almost as well as any team in the NBA” during the season’s second half and, while also leaving the door slightly ajar, predicted no major off-season moves.

“We’re very pleased with our core group,” he said, “and if that’s where we end up a year from now -- with some changes and players getting older and getting better -- we think we can win a bunch of games and advance beyond the first round.”

How far?

“To say that we’re going to be a championship-contending team next year, I’m not prepared to say that,” Kupchak said, “although I think it’s a possibility.”

Much depends, he said, on the development of younger players such as Kwame Brown.

Challenging the 6-foot-11 center, the Laker GM added, “My understanding is that he has not put as much time into his game during the off-season as he should.”

Kupchak also said he was not surprised that the Jackson-Bryant relationship had warmed to the point that it was not a factor.

“We felt fairly confident when we brought Phil back that he wanted to be here,” Kupchak said. “And based on Kobe’s comment to us, which was, ‘Just get me the best coach to win games,’ we felt confident that he’d be comfortable with Phil as well.”

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Bryant, who wore No. 8 through his first 10 NBA seasons, said that he would switch to No. 24 next season because, “I just felt like it.”

Playfully chiding reporters, he said, “You guys tend to look into stuff a little bit too deeply. That’s what’s funny.”

Bryant, who wore No. 24 early in his high school career, said the number held sentimental value for him and that he would have made the switch this season but failed to meet a league deadline to make it happen.

“Now it’s time to start a new chapter,” he said.

And if Bryant’s number is one day retired by the Lakers, almost a sure bet, which number would he like to see hanging in Staples Center?

“It would be nice to have a bunch more championships to even have that be a discussion, you know what I mean?” he said. “If we get those championship banners up there, I don’t [care] what number” hangs from the wall.”