After a brief two-game homestand, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are back on the road to face Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Kobe has played well since his retirement announcement, he received a lot of criticism for his performance to start the season. Durant quickly came to his defense and ultimately did not like how the media treated one of the greatest players of all-time.
With this being the first of Kobe’s two appearances in Oklahoma City, the superstars had dinner before the Lakers take on the Thunder, via Bleacher Report:
Although the Lakers have only played 26 games, they are at the bottom of the Western Conference and some are already looking forward to the off-season. While they will only keep their pick if it lands in the top-three (via Steve Nash trade), Los Angeles is expected to have approximately $65 million in cap space.
With ample cap space for the third consecutive season, all eyes will be on Durant, who will be an unrestricted free agent. However, the young core of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson will have to continue to show their potential if the franchise hopes to land a superstar free agent like him.
