Bryant states case

Cut to another scene of the Lakers’ soap opera, where Kobe Bryant’s future becomes that much more blurred.

Tuesday somehow managed to differentiate itself from the tumultuous days of the holiday weekend, with the Lakers’ cornerstone continuing to drop hints about what lies ahead by expressing increasingly deep dissatisfaction with upper management and providing a two-word answer when asked if the franchise was “on the clock” with the knowledge he could terminate his contract in two years.

“For sure,” Bryant said in a phone interview with The Times.

It was one of many revelations on a day that included the arrest of Lakers owner Jerry Buss in Carlsbad on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, and reconstructive ankle surgery for center Kwame Brown, who will be out at least four months but might still return in time for training camp.

Bryant said over the weekend that he would be more comfortable with the team’s direction if Jerry West returned to the front office, but West, who is under contract with the Memphis Grizzlies for another month, said in a statement he “has no plans to seek employment with any organization.”

Bryant, who will be 29 in August, will leave $47.8 million on the table if he terminates his contract in 2009.

He was incensed when he read a story in Tuesday’s editions of The Times that included a passage that read, “Nevertheless, as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant’s insistence on getting away from Shaquille O’Neal that got them in this mess.”

Bryant, via phone with The Times and later on his website and in a radio interview, voiced his disenchantment with the Lakers’ front office.

“Their trying to put this Shaq stuff on me is [wrong],” he told The Times. “Jerry Buss told me he didn’t want to pay Shaq $30 million a year. I, not once -- not once -- went to them and said, ‘Trade Shaq or else.’ ”

Later, in an interview with AM 570, Bryant took aim at the state of the front office by saying, “That place is a mess.”

“If we’re not making any strides here to improve this team right now, to be aggressive in that nature, then what’s the point of having me here?” he said.

Bryant said he was unhappy that the Lakers did not make stronger plays in the past to acquire Golden State guard Baron Davis, Utah forward Carlos Boozer or Sacramento forward Ron Artest. He also expressed unhappiness that the Lakers traded Caron Butler as part of an August 2005 deal that brought Brown from the Washington Wizards.

It has all left Bryant with the belief that “there’s nobody on this planet that thinks we have a team that can contend for a title right now,” he told AM 570.

When asked for comment on the events of the day, among them Bryant’s perceived threat to terminate his contract in 2009 as well as his radio interview, Lakers spokesman John Black said, “We’re not going to respond.”

Privately, Lakers officials were stunned and disappointed by Bryant, who has four years and $88.6 million left on his contract. Numerous team sources said that however irritated they were, trading him was not an option.

Not even a discussion with Coach Phil Jackson earlier Tuesday could soothe Bryant, who posted on his website his most detailed explanation of his role in the July 2004 trade that sent O’Neal to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round draft pick that eventually turned out to be Jordan Farmar.

“The fact of the matter is that many people don’t know what really went down when I was approaching free agency because I have stayed quiet about it this whole time,” Bryant wrote on kb24.com. “The real facts are that Dr. Buss requested a meeting with me during the ’04 season long before I opted out of my contract, and he told me he had already decided to not extend Shaq, as he was concerned about Shaq’s age, fitness and contract demands. Dr. Buss made it clear that his decision was final, his mind was made up and no matter what I decided to do with free agency he was still going to move Shaq.

“I’ve heard many people say ‘the Lakers are letting Kobe take the bullet for the Shaq trade’ but I always just let that go. But now when I hear ‘Lakers insider’ it makes me feel so unsupported that a Lakers ‘insider’ is tryin’ to spin Dr. Buss’ decision about Shaq on me.”

He went on to suggest that his trust in the Lakers had been damaged, recounting what he said he was told three years ago while mulling a six-year, $100-million offer from the Clippers before ultimately signing a seven-year, $136.4-million contract to stay with the Lakers.

“Laker fans should know that when I was a free agent Dr. Buss called me from his vacation in Italy on the eve of my decision and promised me that the Lakers would do everything to build a contender NOW,” Bryant wrote. “I told him at that time that my fear was the Lakers waiting to save cap room to sign a top notch free agent in 3 or 4 years, so that was why I was leaning toward other teams like the Clips and Bulls, both of whom had a cast of good young players.

“But Dr. Buss promised me he would rebuild right away, and I believed him. That is why I put my trust in the Lakers.

“But, when stuff like this is coming from the ‘inside’ all I can do is hope that someone from the ‘inside’ comes forward to support me and set straight the facts of what really happened. This is the TRUTH.”

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j.a.adande@latimes.com

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com