Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant says he intends to become a free agent after the 2003-04 season, according to ESPN's Jim Gray.

	Bryant

But the Lakers don't plan to let him leave without a fight.

"If he does opt out," Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak said, "we'll do everything we can to keep him, and we think we will."

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal have been the catalysts for three world championships from 2000-02. Drafted by Charlotte in 1996 but traded less than a month later to the Lakers, Bryant has never played for another team.

But he's hinted at wanting to explore options besides the Lakers before. This is the first time, though, that he's said he'll consider his options as a free agent.

According to Gray, Bryant plans to opt out of his contract because he isn't sure what will happen to Lakers coach Phil Jackson; he wants to see what the Lakers' plans for the future are; and because he's never had the chance to test the free-agent market.

He also wants to know the conditioning and motivation of O'Neal, according to Gray.

Jackson indicated Bryant has yet to tell the team of his intentions.

"I thought it was a little premature to make that statement," Jackson said. "Kobe exercising his option, that's not beyond the realm of reason. We've anticipated the possibility for a long time, but we'll wait until we hear it from him."

But the idea that Bryant would actually leave the Lakers seems unlikely. Bryant averaged 30 points per game last season for the Lakers, who lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals. He's averaged 21.5 points per game for his career.

"No one likes to walk away from winning," Jackson said.

One reason Bryant would stick around is Jackson. The coach plans to fulfill the final year of the five-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Lakers in 1999. He underwent an angioplasty to unblock an artery to his heart during the playoffs.

He said he feels fine and he plans to talk to team owner Jerry Buss about a contract extension.

Jackson said he and O'Neal had a "difficult, protracted" talk about the future after the Lakers lost in the second round of the playoffs.

O'Neal told the Lakers he would hire a personal trainer to work with him at his offseason home in Orlando, Fla. He was second-guessed throughout last season for waiting until September to undergo surgery on his arthritic right toe.

"Sometimes it takes a while for him to get where he wants to go and there may be a little squawking along the way, but when he says he's going to do something, he does it," Kupchak said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.