Somber Lakers back at practice after gathering

Investigators are not sure warning device could have helped.

The Los Angeles Lakers have returned to practice as they continue to grieve for Kobe Bryant.

The team held a light shooting workout Wednesday in El Segundo, Calif., as they resumed basketball activities after the death of Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash Sunday.

The Lakers’ game against the Clippers on Tuesday night was postponed. Instead, the players and coaches gathered that afternoon to share stories and remembrances of Bryant, who played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers.

Coach Frank Vogel, who joined the franchise eight months ago, was the only person to speak to the media after Wednesday’s workout. Vogel says the Lakers “are all deeply, deeply saddened by this tragedy.” He said the Lakers “want to represent what Kobe was about, more than anything.”

The Lakers have the Western Conference’s best record at 36-10. Their next game is Friday night at home against Portland.

Warning device might not have saved flight

The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others didn’t have a long-recommended warning system to alert the pilot he was too close to the ground, but it is not clear whether it would have averted the crash in foggy weather, investigators and other experts say.

At issue is what’s known as a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, or TAWS, which would have sounded a cockpit alarm if the aircraft was in danger. While the cause of the wreck that killed Bryant is still under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board may again recommend that helicopters with six or more passenger seats be required to have such equipment.

The pilot in Sunday’s crash, Ara Zobayan, had been climbing out of the clouds when the chartered aircraft banked left and began a sudden and terrifying 1,200-foot descent that lasted nearly a minute, investigators said. The helicopter slammed into a fog-shrouded hillside.

RINGO H.W. CHIU / AP A mural of the late Kobe Bryant shines across a building near Staples Center on Tuesday. The Lakers’ game that night vs. the Clippers was postponed.