The NEW YORK POST breathlessly reports that Kobe Bryant revealed Saturday that the Knicks were one of four teams he told the Lakers he wanted to be traded to. The others: Mavericks, Bulls and Suns. Of course, Bryant made plenty of overt overtures about wanting to leave L.A. in the wake of the Lakers’ latest stumbles. But with the club 9-4 in its last 13 and Andrew Bynum emerging as a potential dominant NBA big man, suddenly Bryant doesn’t seem so intent on dialing Atlas Van Lines.

The Lakers play the Knicks today at MSG, so the Manhattan media had to get Kobe to say something that would defuse what will likely be another Isiah-led stinkbomb, and the Lakers’ sitting attention whore superstar gave them what they wanted. But while Bryant may have feigned that he’s still considering a trade-deadline departure, it’s becoming clearer by the day that, providing Bynum doesn’t break down (like last season), Bryant’s wave of demands has significantly receded.