LAKERS NOTEBOOK: WILL WEBBER LAND IN L.A.?

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- Will the Lakers enter the Chris Webber derby when the Philadelphia 76ers agree to a buyout of the former All-Star forward's contract? That was the question for Lakers coach Phil Jackson before Wednesday's game.

``I think that's been speculated for a month and a half now,'' Jackson said. ``Chris is a great player. We have to leave that in (general manager Mitch Kupchak's) department and just allow him to suggest that or to deal with that as it comes along.''

Webber told ESPN.com that he hopes to sign with one of five teams, a list that includes the Lakers along with Miami, Dallas, San Antonio and Detroit.

Jackson mentioned feeling ``short-handed'' while playing recent games without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. The Lakers expect to get Odom back before the end of the month and hope Brown can follow soon after.

Webber hopes to finalize the buyout today and sign with a team Monday. The Lakers would have to release a player to make room for Webber on the 15-man roster and have already spent their mid-level exception and bi-annual salary-cap exception.

There also are questions about Webber's diminished ability. He will turn 34 on March 1 and has averaged 11.0points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 38.7 percent in 18 games for Philadelphia this season.

``In a hypothetical case like this,'' Jackson said, ``I'll tell you that we would have to do research on a player, look at the games that he had played in, analyze the tapes to see what it looks like physically, all that type of stuff before we'd even consider a player.''

Numbers game: All it took was a change to No. 24 for Kobe Bryant's jersey to return to No. 1 in popularity, according to sales figures released by the league Wednesday.

The NBA reported sales from its online store and retail store in New York from the start of the season through Dec.31. A league spokeswoman said there was no breakdown for sales of Bryant's old No. 8 jersey versus the new No.24.

``It just shows that I have a lot of support out there,'' Bryant said, ``and my fans have come to terms with embracing 24.''

Miami's Dwayne Wade and Cleveland's LeBron James ranked second and third, respectively, in jersey sales.

Wade's jersey had been the NBA's most popular since May 2005; Bryant's was the most popular for the 2002-03 season.

Bryant made the switch to the number he first wore in high school to mark what he described in May as the start of the ``second leg of my career.''

For the fifth consecutive season, the Lakers ranked first in sales of team merchandise.