Kobe Bryant has had ever-improving discussions on a contract extension that would keep him with the Lakers for three more years.

Bryant, 31, is having positive talks with the franchise with which he began his career in 1996. He is making $23 million this season and will make $24.8 million next season in the last year of his contract, but he can tack on a three-year extension worth up to $91 million, depending on future salary-cap figures.

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Bryant or Gasol other than to say, “Generally speaking, we’d love to have both players finish their careers as a Laker.”

The Lakers have offered Bryant the most they can under salary-cap rules, but the sides are believed to be discussing smaller items such as whether the 11-time All-Star can get most of his annual salary at the start of each season, which has been the case throughout his current contract. Another sticking point possibly includes whether he can again have a no-trade clause, which came into play when he demanded a trade from the Lakers in May 2007.

Bryant has declined to talk about the status of his contract extension, saying most recently he wanted to “keep my business behind closed doors.”