Kobe Bryant asked to be traded

"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant told ESPN radio. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative."

Bryant, who turns 29 in August, has four years and $88.6 million left on his contract. Bryant's frustration has continued to boil since the Lakers were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in five games earlier this month, and Bryant has been increasingly vocal with his displeasure, which started with his acknowledgement to The Times last Saturday, when he said he wanted the team to acquire more pieces around him.

With O'Neal and Bryant leading the way, the Lakers won championships from 2000-02 and reached the NBA finals again in 2004, losing to the Detroit Pistons in five games.

The team was broken up at that time, with O'Neal traded, coach Phil Jackson leaving and other stalwarts — Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Rick Fox — going elsewhere or retiring.

The Lakers failed to make the playoffs the following season. With Jackson returning, they finished seventh in the Western Conference in each of the past two years but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

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