Michael Ventre

On a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Kobe Bryant revealed that he’s a Harry Potter fan. He also had his wife in the audience — she happily responded to a couple of Kimmel queries — and he sat uneasily because, he said, he hurt his back while vacuuming.

This could just be a kinder, gentler Kobe Bryant, a contented family man, chatting about his vacation to Cabo, exchanging wisecracks with the host, showing off his inability to pick out clothes.

Or it could be a diversion.

As everyone in the basketball universe knows, Bryant demanded a trade on Memorial Day weekend. Actually, he demanded a trade, backed off, demanded a trade, backed off … There were so many reversals in position I thought I was watching a presidential debate.

But he’s been relatively quiet ever since. Meanwhile, the rest of the NBA world has been noisy.

Kevin Garnett, rumored to be headed to the Los Angeles Lakers, instead was traded to the Boston Celtics to join Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Reggie Miller may come out of retirement to join them, along with Robert Parish and Bob Cousy.

Kobe’s reaction? Shhhhh. If you listen closely, you can hear the faint sounds of veins popping on his forehead.

After the early summer Kobe scorched-earth harangues, the Lakers responded by doing … nada. Well, that’s not exactly true. They signed Derek Fisher, a good guy and a reliable and solid point guard. But that one fell into their laps. There was no arm-twisting, no cunning strategy, no shrewd, late-night, high-stakes negotiating. Fisher’s young daughter needed to be close to medical facilities that were equipped to handle her cancer. He picked L.A.

Beyond that and the signings of veteran Luke Walton and rookie first-round pick Javaris Crittenton, the Lakers did nothing to appease Kobe either way — they haven’t attempted to trade him, and they haven’t tried to swing a major deal to shut him up.

In the meantime, Bryant remains silent, save for the occasional rah-rah observation about Team USA or a comment about how the average vacuum isn’t built for men his size.

Weigh in on hot sports topics Kobe Bryant will be a lifelong Laker Duncan will win more titles than Jordan Durant will be better pro than Oden

Recently, Jermaine O’Neal said that he would love to be traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Lakers. Then he backed off. (You can tell he’s a good friend of Kobe).

The Lakers had talks with the Pacers earlier in the summer, shortly after Bryant blew up. But the Pacers then, as now, want both Lamar Odom and young Andrew Bynum in return. That didn’t make sense for the Lakers then, and it doesn’t now, therefore O’Neal will either stay right where he is, or end up with his other choice, the New Jersey Nets.

Is Kobe OK with that? It’s hard to tell. He isn’t saying.

This is like waiting for the other high-top to drop. It’s early August, and by now most Bryant-watchers had expected him to have dared Lakers owner Jerry Buss and/or general manager Mitch Kupchak to meet him in the UFC Octagon. Instead, in uncharacteristic fashion, he imposed an unofficial news blackout.

I believe Bryant is up to something.

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