Even before the Lakers could step on the court, Kobe Bryant made one thing perfectly clear.

“It’s my team,” Bryant declared at Lakers’ Media Day.

And what exactly does it mean?

Bryant smiled. “Not anything whatsoever,” he said.

Steve Nash caught an early glimpse on the manufactured soap opera surrounding the Lakers. “It doesn’t mean anything. That’s all media talk.”

Pau Gasol seemed rather stoic. “Kobe has been here for so long and has been the staple of the team for so long. He deserves that title. I’m not going to question that at all.”

Of course not. Make no mistake. Even with the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard and Nash this off-season, a changing of the guard didn’t suddenly take place.

“It’s mine,” Bryant said. “I got five rings. What do you want me to do?”

And that’s the pressing question. Bryant insisted his immediately proclaiming the title that he never lost as “just putting you guys in order.” He recalled endless debate on whether LeBron James or Dwyane Wade ran the Heat when they teamed up two years ago and immediately wanted, in his words, “[to] put that to bed.”

via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times