ANALYSIS: HERE'S THE STORY: THERE'S NO STORY.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

In more unsettled times, when Shaquille O'Neal's frowns were large and his stare cold, when Kobe Bryant's Afro was big and his will unchecked, when Phil Jackson's soul patch was worn thin from the friction, one modest losing streak and one provocative comment might bring utter chaos upon the Lakers.

But that was a different time, and this is a different Kobe, Shaq and Phil. So when a purportedly dicey tale of Bryant's stubbornness and the coaching staff's frustration appeared on the ESPN Web site Friday morning - with a headline of ``Uncoachable'' over a photo of an angry-looking Bryant - the response was not a gasp but a collective ho-hum.

Jackson chuckled at the story, written by his old friend, author Charley Rosen. Bryant laughed at the premise - that he has a strained relationship with his coaches, especially Tex Winter.

About the only one not smiling at Staples Center on Friday night, hours after the story broke, was Rosen, who probably can figure that Jackson won't be asking him to co-write any more books. The two had collaborated on two Jackson biographies.

``Charley, whom I know, is a novelist that ended up trying to write some journalism, and it's not really responsible journalism,'' Jackson said. ``He's got a relationship with Tex, and they had a conversation that probably should have stayed private.''

Seizing on the Lakers' 0-2 start to the season - a product mostly of O'Neal's absence - Rosen paints a picture of a ``me-first'' Bryant who has reverted to old, bad habits: solo forays into double-teams, ignoring open teammates, forcing bad shots.

To support the premise, Rosen cites the comments of Winter, who at various points during a recent conversation called Bryant ``out of control, ... selfish, ... stubborn, ... uncoachable.''

On the face of it, the comments sound damning enough. But teammates and coaches who have seen Winter and Bryant tussle over the past few years knew better. And Bryant, though alarmed initially when he read the story, said his only anger is directed at Rosen.

``I wasn't upset about Tex,'' Bryant said. ``I know where my relationship with Tex stands. I was more upset at the guy who wrote it. I mean, this is like the second time that he's taken something that one of my coaches has said and kind of chopped it up and made it a huge issue. But I'm not upset with Tex at all. Me and Tex are straight. I love him, man. That's my man.''

Winter is famously blunt and a perfectionist, especially when it comes to his beloved triangle offense. Jackson called him ``puritanical.'' And Bryant, of course, does like to push the envelope now and then.

The article relates a taut exchange the two had after Bryant shot 29 times in the Lakers' loss to San Antonio on Tuesday. Winter said Bryant ``played stupidly.'' Bryant fired back that he ``coached stupidly.''

All true, Bryant said.

``Me and Tex talked about it like the next day at practice,'' he said. ``Me and Tex have these run-ins every once in awhile. He's bull-headed, I'm bull-headed. But I always give way to him, obviously, because he's been coaching for 50-something years.''

The only other cause for concern was the author's ties to Jackson. Rosen and Jackson are old friends dating back to their days coaching together in the CBA in the early 1980s. Even a few Lakers insiders wondered whether Jackson, who sometimes sends messages through the media, was somehow behind the story.

But Jackson was as blindsided as everyone else.

``I don't like to be lumped in as a person who is trying to deliver a message to Kobe through the press like that,'' he said. ``Kobe and I have a great relationship; we're not going to have that compromised by something like that.''

As for his overzealous attempts to compensate for O'Neal's absence, Bryant admitted as much after his 9-for-29 night against the Spurs and reeled himself in the next night. And as if to further prove the point, he had a near triple-double by halftime of Friday night's game against the Clippers.

``Like I told you guys after Game 1, it's no indication of how the season is going to roll,'' he said. ``It's no indication of the way I've been playing for the past 2 1/2 seasons. All that individual stuff is for the birds.''