Bryant, Lakers owner Buss meet

LOS ANGELES, May 31 (UPI) -- Kobe Bryant, who had talked openly this week about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers, discussed the issue Thursday with team owner Jerry Buss.

Bryant said Wednesday he wanted to be traded, only to backtrack a few hours later and say he wanted to stay with the team for the rest of his career. Buss met with his superstar guard to try to patch up the controversy, The Los Angeles Times reported.

"I talked with Kobe this morning and assured him that I share his frustration and, more importantly, I assured him that we will continue to pursue every avenue possible to improve our team with him as the cornerstone," Buss said in a statement Thursday. "I told him that we will keep him apprised of our progress and we agreed that we will talk again in the very near future."

Bryant, 28, has four years and almost $89 million left on a seven-year contract he signed in 2004, but he can void the deal after two more years.

He has a career scoring average of 24.6 points in 784 games.

There is no indication the Lakers have plans to trade Bryant, following his talk Thursday with Buss, the newspaper said.

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