Kobe Bryant: Players 'have to fight' for market value, owners will 'try to lock us out again'

Kobe Bryant was one of a number of players who spoke out when the NBA reached a $24 billion deal with ESPN and Turner last week, lamenting that players are encouraged to take less while owners see their values rise.

On Tuesday, Bryant went deeper than the 140-character confines of Twitter.

"I think people get that confused very easily and understanding that players should take less than their market value, substantially less than their market value in order to win championships," Bryant said.

"It’s very easy to look at the elite players around the league and look at the amount of money they get paid and compare that with the average. But we don’t look at what the owners get paid, how much revenue they generate off the backs of these players."

After taking exception with the fact that the owners just significantly increased their TV revenues shortly after hardening the league's salary cap in 2011, Bryant shared his predictions for the next CBA negotiations.

"And now it will be interesting to see what happens in this next labor agreement, because my understanding is that this TV deal kicks in in the last year of this current agreement, so I’m sure they’ll try to lock us out again and try to harden the cap even more."

Bryant, never one to go out of his way to make friends, added that players shouldn't be concerned about public perception. "Instead try to educate the public a little bit and understand it's not about complaining about how much you’re making. Because that’s ridiculous. We are overpaid," Bryant said.

"But at the same time, so are the owners, and you have to fight for what your market value is."

Bryant finished his thoughts on the matter saying that he feels like the luckiest player in the league to be part of a Lakers organization that takes care of its players.

"I think it speaks volumes, not only to me or this city but to other players around the league, as well. You look around at some of the other owners that try to milk their players or get rid of them or discard them, this organization doesn’t do that."

Bryant and the Lakers were criticized after they reached agreement on a two-year extension worth $48.5 million that will ensure the Black Mamba remains the highest paid player in the game.

Bryant's on-court value is no longer in that stratosphere at 36 years old, and the Lakers forfeited cap flexibility to lock him up.