Kobe: Front-office operations 'just not for me'

Lakers legend Kobe Bryant says he won't return to the game in an operations capacity anytime soon, even with friends Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka running the show.

"I'm always a phone call away. Rob, he's been a close family friend forever and so our relationship is supreme," Bryant told ESPN's "SC6." "So I'm always a phone call away, for Magic as well. I'm always around.

"In terms of being there every day, that's just not for me. I love writing, I love directing, I love creating, I love building - the imaginative space is the space that I'm 100 percent locked in on. But I'm always a phone call away."

Asked how he could "divorce himself" from the game after being immersed in it for 20 seasons, Bryant explained that he learned the game through "storytelling," and wants to take the knowledge he's acquired throughout his career to inspire future athletes.