Kobe Bryant’s saga has dominated the headlines like no other story this side of the Michael Vick case.

So, imagine what a spectacle it will be when — or if — he is on the floor when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

Bryant, whose on-again, off-again trade demands have dominated the 24-hour news cycle all summer and fall, seemed destined to be in another uniform after Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss said this preseason that he “would certainly listen” to offers for the nine-time All-Star.

According to reports, Bryant was upset that Buss went public with the details of a private conversation and said he was unsure if he’s played his last game with the Lakers.

“I don’t know,” he told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. “Talk to (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) and Mr. Buss about that. I’m just getting ready. If I’m here, I’m ready to strap it up. My job is to play the game and get ready to play the game, and that’s what I’m doing.

“It’s my job to play basketball. It’s not my job to worry about what management is doing. I’m just going to get ready and let them do their job.”

Bryant finally got back to “his job” last Thursday after missing three days of practice to rest his legs.

“I feel fine,” he said after scoring 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting in Tuesday’s preseason loss to the Utah Jazz. “I think too much has been made of this (missing practice).”

That was the last time Bryant was on the court as he missed Friday’s 101-97 win over the Sacramento Kings in the preseason finale because of a sore wrist.

While Bryant is expected to be in uniform for Tuesday’s opener, his status with the Lakers is still in limbo.

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And if Los Angeles is to be competitive this season, Bryant and his teammates will need to come together and tune out the constant media attention.

Earlier this month, the world was given a taste of the hysteria that will follow Bryant and the Lakers when there were reports that he had cleaned out his locker.

This caused rampant speculation about where Bryant was heading, until the high-scoring guard denied the report, saying he just re-arranged it. A small detail in most preseason locker rooms -but not in Los Angeles.

For his part, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was non-committal about Bryant’s future.

“We can’t project anything right now,” he told the LA Times. “I think there’s a certain progression of things that we have to go through. We have to see how the feelings are in the situation; see if there can’t be some remedies for it.

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“From there, the next step takes place, and that is, how do we go forward as a basketball club?”

How the Lakers’ season starts most likely will be the determining factor in how both the team and Bryant move forward.

Things could simmer down if Los Angeles — which was eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the opening round of the playoffs the last two seasons — has a strong start to the campaign.

However, if the Lakers struggle, all bets are off.

A member of the All-Defense first team a year ago, Bryant said the team has the chemistry that is needed to succeed — and didn’t sound like someone that was soon to be out the door.

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“We are like brothers, and that relationship just carries over to the floor,” he said after Sunday’s 112-96 preseason loss to the Clippers. “We read each other extremely well. We communicate with each other consistently, so we have great chemistry.”

But chemistry is not the only thing needed to win. There is a talent disparity between the Lakers and the Western Conference’s elite teams.

“They are in an elite class,” Bryant said of the Suns. “Not just in the Western Conference but just (in the) league in general, and everybody else is just trying to catch up to them.”

And the fact that Los Angeles failed to surround him with comparable talent in the offseason is the reason that Bryant originally demanded a trade in May.

As a result of the early playoff exits at the hands of the Suns, Bryant expressed the concern that he and the front office “have different visions of the future,” while explaining his reasons for trade demands.

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