The Lakers Nation

L.A. Times: OK, guys, big smile.

Wait a minute, aren’t we missing someone?

Or not. After a summer of wondering if Kobe Bryant would show up, the Lakers will fly to Hawaii for training camp after Monday’s media session, with Bryant expected to be among them.

After demanding that the Lakers trade him in May and pointedly refusing to take it back in July and August, Bryant is back in touch and planning to be there.

“I have no reason to think he won’t report,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday.

“I communicate with Kobe. We’ve met. We talk on the phone, text [message], all of these things within the last month and very recently.”

If it’s not quite a happy ending, at this point the Lakers will settle thankfully for a happy beginning.

Bryant has already apologized for ripping Kupchak and railing about trading Andrew Bynum in a video recorded by three fans and sold on the Internet.

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