Kobe Bryant, the superstar of the Lakers for the last 17 years talks about his former coach and mentor Phil Jackson. He wanted to have him back, but has accepted the fact that the Zen Master has moved on.

Bryant was on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday (transcribed by ESPN): "I wasn't surprised by it. He mentioned that that was likely to happen and I just wished him all the best. Like I said, there's only but so much meditation a person can do all day. You know what I mean? At some point you got to get up and do something."

What about Phil Jackson to the Lakers? "From my understanding, they never had that dialogue since last season. So if there was some interest there, I'm sure our organization would have reached out and had those conversations with him."

On whether Phil Jackson's presence will help Carmelo Anthony become a winner: "I mean, he won a championship at Syracuse, so he's won a championship before. He's been a part of a championship roster. So he has that championship DNA inside of him."

He reinforces what Jim Boeheim said. Boeheim is Melo's coach at Syracuse and they won a championship in his one and only college season. Boeheim points out that Carmelo was unselfish when he played with Team USA in the Olympics. He only has to take so many shots because the Knicks roster is not competitive.

On his thoughts about the Lakers, moving forward: "I think what we can do as players is just trust the organization. I've had conversations with [executive vice president of player personnel] Jimmy [Buss] and Jimmy is really adamant about the direction that he wants to go with this organization, and he feels really confident in the fact that he can be able to turn it around. Him and [president] Jeanie [Buss] seem to be really focused on being on the same page, getting on the same page and pushing this organization to have the same legacy that their father was able to maintain for so many years."

He also admits that he can force himself to play now if the games were important: "Even when I was injured [against Memphis in December], I finished out the game," Bryant said. "Even though it was sore, I still finished playing the game. So if this was like a playoff situation, I'd play through it. I'd have to deal with it heavily in the offseason, but I'd be able to manage it."

Finally, Kobe's ominous answer to the question about Coach Mike D'Antoni: "It's really been tough on him. The two years that he's been here, he's been dealing with so many injuries left and right that he hasn't really gotten a fair deal, a fair shake at it since he's been here."

Kobe said that he wants management to decide about D'Antoni in his press conference. The change of tone can mean that he has simmered down or that he got what he wanted. We'll find out at the end of the season, which, for the Lakers, will come in April.