Kobe Bryant said he plans to stay with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers even he if opts out of his contract this summer. Phil Jackson said his health will dictate whether he returns as coach.

Bryant met with Jackson and general manager Mitch Kupchak for an individual exit interview yesterday.

The finals MVP can terminate the last two years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He's spent his entire 13-year career with the Lakers, winning four NBA championships. He could get a new, longer deal if he opted out, but he wouldn't necessarily make more money.

Asked by reporters if he would opt out, Bryant said, "I've been deflecting that all year and I ain't going to stop now."

Pressed to explain, he responded: "I'm not going anywhere. I know I ain't going nowhere, so it's just a waste of our breaths just talking about it."

Bryant turns 31 in August. He averaged 32.4 points, 7.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds during the finals, when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in five games.

Jackson, who turns 64 in September, said he'll decide about next season after he gets some health issues checked out.

This season, he missed two West Coast road games because of pain and swelling in his lower legs caused by plantar fasciitis, an issue "that concerned me a little bit," he said.

He has undergone two hip replacement operations since October 2006.

Jackson signed a two-year contract extension last season and holds the option on a second year.

CUSTODY BATTLE

MAVERICKS STAR WANTS UNBORN CHILD

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki wants sole custody of his former girlfriend's unborn child if genetic tests prove he is the father, according to a court filing.

Nowitzki wants custody of the child due to be born to Crystal Taylor, who was arrested at the player's Dallas home May 6 and is being held at the Jefferson County jail in Beaumont.

Nowitzki's court filing notes that he has been cited as the father of the child by Taylor and it asks the court to order a paternity test. The petition was filed in state district court in Dallas on June 12. It was sealed yesterday, shortly after its details were reported by the Beaumont Enterprise newspaper.

Neither Nowitzki nor Taylor is specifically named in the petition. However, the petitioner is identified as "D.N." and the respondent as "C.T."

Taylor has been jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond. She is accused of paying for almost $11,000 in dental work with a credit card she didn't have permission to use. She also faces a probation violation charge in Missouri.

Taylor was administered a pregnancy test when she was booked into the Dallas County jail after her arrest last month and the test came back positive, The Dallas Morning News has reported.

ROCKETS

MING DEBUNKS MOVE TO CAVALIERS

Houston center Yao Ming has called a possible move to Cleveland an "unknown" amid rumors that the Cavaliers' new Chinese part owners want to sign him.

In a recent interview with his hometown Shanghai TV station, Ming said he continued to have "much affection" for the Rockets, the team that took him in the first round of the 2002 draft and with whom he has played all six of his NBA seasons.

Rumors of a possible move to Cleveland have swirled since a group of Chinese investors signed an agreement last month with the Cavaliers to become minority owners. The move is expected to boost the team's popularity and marketing opportunities in China.

"This is all an unknown," Ming said in the interview, a transcript of which was posted online yesterday.

Cleveland has not publicly expressed interest in Ming, who has one guaranteed year left on his contract with Houston, including a player option for the 2010-11 season.