Shaq, Kobe may team up again

HOUSTON, Texas -- Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who have shaken hands after a public falling out when they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers, may become teammates again at the FIBA World Championship. Bryant has already volunteered for national team duty in Japan this summer, but his former Lakers teammate O'Neal, now with the Miami Heat, is still thinking over an invitation. The two were the backbone of the Lakers when they won three NBA championships. Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of USA Basketball's men's senior national team program, was at the NBA All-Star weekend in Houston, and according to a report in the Arizona Republic, he has 28 commitments for 22 spots and is waiting on a decision from O'Neal. "Shaq saw me in the elevator and said, 'I'll call you in a week or two,'" Colangelo said. "I said, 'Shaq, there's always a spot for you.'" The report also said the only non-NBA players who have a chance of travelling to Japan are J.J. Redick, of Duke University, Gonzaga College's Adam Morrison and Ohio State University-bound high school star Greg Oden. The draw for the FIBA World Championship was kind to Team USA. The Americans are in Group D with Puerto Rico and Italy, who needed wild cards, and China, Senegal and Slovenia. The United States bowed out of the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis at the quarterfinals and two years later lost three times at the Olympics before settling for bronze. Last year, a team which consisted largely of journeymen, professionals from leagues overseas finished fourth at the FIBA Americas Championship to qualify for the FIBA World Championship. INQ7.NET