Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Says He Could Play If Team Was Contending
[new_royalslider id=”125″]

On the morning after Los Angeles Lakers president and governor Jeanie Buss sat down with Bill Macdonald for an interview on Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet to address a variety of issues, Kobe Bryant joined Dan Patrick’s radio show to discuss his knee injury and Phil Jackson’s departure for New York.

Celebrate March Madness With 25% Off The Entire Store!

Before getting on the subject of Jackson joining the Knicks, Bryant told Patrick he would be playing if the Lakers were in a better position:

Bryant’s notion that he would be pushing through the injury aligns with what he’s done countless times throughout his career. He often recovered from injury ahead of schedule and in some instances, didn’t miss any action despite a prognosis predicting that he would. After recovering from Achilles surgery, Bryant played in just six games before he suffered a knee fracture that ultimately led to the Los Angeles Lakers declaring him out for the remainder of the season.

The Lakers have been officially eliminated from the playoffs and will continue to give their young players an opportunity to essentially audition as the team continues to position themselves, intentionally or not, for a high pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. By not returning this season, Bryant will have the opportunity to fully recover from the lingering issues associated with his knee fracture and enter the first season of a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension with a clean bill of health.

How the team will be constructed when Bryant returns, remains to be seen. They have several players on the current roster who will be free agents come summer, namely Pau Gasol, and face plenty of uncertainty moving forward. Bryant stated he wouldn’t have the patience to endure another losing season, so it will be interesting to see how the front office responds.

You May Also Like

Jared Dudley Willing To Visit Rob Pelinka In Order To Re-Sign With Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers functioned like a family during the 2019-20 season, with all 15 members of the roster…

NBA Rumors: Paul George Expects To Play Out Contract With Pacers

Ever since his season ended in the first round of the playoffs, the rumors surrounding Indiana Pacers star Paul George have been running rampant…

Oregon’s Will Richardson Discusses Feedback From Lakers After Pre-Draft Workout

Like the other 29 teams, the Los Angeles Lakers have been knee-deep in draft prep and have been hosting workouts…

Lakers News: Jared Dudley Says LeBron James’ Consistency Is What Stands Out Most

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will unfortunately have to deal with another summer full of questions as they fell short…