ORLANDO, Fla. -- Dennis Rodman was his usual defiant self, returning to the Los Angeles Lakers but refusing to say why he left the team for eight days and unwilling to apologize.
The eccentric rebounding champion rejoined the team Sunday in time for a nationally televised game against the Orlando Magic. He didn't start but entered to a chorus of boos late in the first quarter.He finished with four points and six rebounds in 23 minutes in the Lakers' 115-104 victory. He also received a technical for throwing an elbow.
During a pregame interview with NBC, Rodman said his absence had nothing to do with drinking, gambling, smoking or marital problems.
"It's just me," he said."
Rodman arrived at Orlando Arena about 90 minutes before the game and coach Kurt Rambis spoke with him briefly.
"I just asked him if he was all right," Rambis said. "He said he was all right, and that was it."
When asked if Rodman assured him he will not leave the team again, the coach said: "I don't think anybody can make those assurances."
Rambis became coach on Feb. 26, the same day Rodman first played for the Lakers. Rambis declined to speculate on what might happen if seven-time rebounding champion leaves the team again.
"We'll have to cross that bridge if and when it happens," Rambis said. "I'm not going to sit here with hard and fast rules to what happens in future situations."
The coach defended the decision to welcome Rodman back. NBC reported the forward told the network he had been fined $300 for being away.
It was suggested to Rambis that the Lakers, particularly under former coach Pat Riley, would not have tolerated such behavior when Rambis was part of teams led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
"I don't see why it couldn't have happened," Rambis said. "I mean if somebody has some personal issues that they have to deal with. You can't sit there and write and tell me that if Kareem had come to Riley and said, 'I've got some personal issues I want to deal with. I want to be excused for the next two weeks,' that Riley's going to say: 'That's it, you're waived, get out of here.' I would have a hard time seeing that happen."
Rodman spoke with NBC before the game and also met with Magic coach Chuck Daly, who expressed concern for his former player. Rodman said he does not need professional help.
"I saw a psychiatrist the last two or three years. ... I think that I know what I'm doing," he said.
Wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap turned backward and rings in both nostrils and an ear, Rodman would not apologize for his absence.
"I can't make everyone happy. ... If it's Dennis Rodman, they just blow it out of proportion. 'He did this, he did that.' What can I say, 'I'm sorry?' That's not going to do it. So I'm not going to say that."
Rodman said he's "here to stay" for the rest of the season, but acknowledged the Lakers might have other ideas.
"I just figure that people have to accept what I do," he told NBC. "If they don't accept it, I don't need to be here or anywhere else. They can easily say, 'Dennis, we don't need you anymore.' They can tear up the contract and say good-bye."
Rodman left the Lakers after practice March 13, telling Rambis he needed time to resolve personal issues. He missed the first four games of a six-game road trip, and the Lakers lost three of those games after going 9-0 with him in the lineup.
In the nine games he played before Sunday, Rodman averaged 1.9 points and 10.3 rebounds and the Lakers outrebounded opponents six times. The team was outrebounded in each of the first four games on the road trip.
Rodman has been on five championship teams -- two with Detroit, three with Chicago. However, at age 37, he has grown weary of the game. Still, he says, he plans to help get the Lakers a title.
"I mean nobody says you have to be happy to work, right?" he said. "Just got to go out there and work and do the job that you are paid to do ... everyone can accept that. If not, I got to move on."