Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Says He Could Play If Team Was Contending

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read
[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.

Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com
Exit mobile version