O'Neal refused to have his feet taped by a trainer who was allied with Bryant, while Bryant would not be taped by the trainer who wraps O'Neal's feet.
Jackson tried to understand why Bryant sometimes did not play within the triangle offense, tried to take over games and failed. He said that Bryant overreacted, as if his "manhood was on line," when tough defenders tried to shut him down.
At a team meeting early this year, to which Bryant was late, Jackson asked Bryant to stop yelling at his teammates on the court "because it creates insecurity." Bryant shot back, according to Jackson, that it was Jackson who created anxiety.
After believing in late January that Bryant had lied to him about his willingness to do some running at practice, then overhearing Bryant cursing to his teammates, Jackson sought out General Manager Mitch Kupchak to demand that Bryant be dealt before the trading deadline in February.