Kobe Bryant (foot) sits out sessions

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant sat out the Los Angeles Lakers' two practices Friday because of discomfort in his right foot.

The discomfort is not considered serious, however, and Bryant is day-to-day.

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Lakers trainer Gary Vitti consulted with Bryant at the start of the morning practice and informed coach Mike Brown that it would be better for the 17-year veteran to sit out.

"My take on it is this: Gary has a job to do, he's our head trainer and I just follow his lead," Brown said. "He knows a lot more than me when it comes to that stuff, so really, I'm OK not knowing what's going on. Just, 'Can a guy go or not?' If you can go, great. If he can't go, great."

Lakers center Dwight Howard continued to make progress toward a complete recovery from offseason back surgery. A day after participating in his first full-court 5-on-5 scrimmage as a Laker (albeit a game of 5-on-5-on-5 that shuttled three five-man units in and out, allowing for extra rest), Howard practiced Friday without any limitations.

"I couldn't even tell you what he hasn't done," Brown said. "Every time I look up he's in the drills, whether it's contact or non-contact."

Howard still is ruled out of the Lakers' preseason opener Sunday against the Golden State Warriors, but Brown said he would not require Howard to play in a certain amount of preseason contests before he would plug him back in the lineup in the regular season.

"I don't have a rule where a guy has to play X amount of games before he can play in the opener," Brown said. "He can play one (preseason) game and still play. He might not play at all and still play ... The biggest thing for me is as long as he's in practice beforehand."

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Dave McMenamin

ESPNLosAngeles.com

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Dave McMenamin spent five seasons as a staff writer for NBA.com in New York and Los Angeles before joining ESPNLosAngeles.com to cover the Lakers and the NBA.