Kobe unsure about retirement; talks banners, friendship, making teammates cry, and Nance tweet
While Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak may be preparing to move on without longtime face-of-the-franchise Kobe Bryant after this season, the Mamba himself has always marched to the beat of his own drummer.
Bryant's two-year, $48.5-million contract expires at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, which many expect will signal the end of his Hall of Fame career. Bryant - who will turn 37 in August, and who's played just 41 games in the past two seasons combined thanks to Achilles, knee, and shoulder injuries - still isn't saying for sure.
Here's what he told ESPN's Jemele Hill in an exclusive interview Saturday:
Kobe says at the end of the upcoming season, if he feels like playing another season, he will. If not, he won’t.
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 28, 2015
Bryant's production and efficiency cratered last season under the weight of an absurd workload, and the patchwork Lakers sputtered to a franchise-worst 21-61 record.
While adding the No. 2 pick in this year's NBA Draft (D'Angelo Russell) and getting last year's No. 7 pick (Julius Randle) back from a leg fracture will certainly steer them in a more promising direction, few expect the Lakers to even be in the playoff mix - let alone the championship conversation - next season.
Bryant also opened up about his reputation as a demanding, sometimes flat-out vicious teammate.
Hill: Worst thing you’ve ever said to a teammate?
Kobe: I have made somebody cry before.
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 28, 2015
Though he wouldn't specify which teammate, there are plenty to speculate on: Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Andrew Bynum, Carlos Boozer, or ...
Dwight Howard. https://t.co/W4RKBuyJob
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 28, 2015
Right. That guy.
Can't help but wonder if that's the same guy he said this to:
Kobe did say that he once told a teammate to “reconsider your life purpose.”
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 28, 2015
At the end of the day, though, Bryant says friendship isn't what's important.
Kobe is asked about not being a great friend all the time.
His response: "Friends come and go but banners hang forever."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 28, 2015
And speaking of new friends, Bryant's got one in Larry Nance Jr., the Lakers' late first-round draft pick, who tweeted something he shouldn't have back in 2012, referencing Bryant's sexual assault case back in 2003.
Kobe Bryant on Larry Nance tweet: 'We've all done things we regret’ http://t.co/QuMw6XMZB3 pic.twitter.com/klLpNkqm7g
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) June 28, 2015
Nance deleted the tweet in question shortly after being drafted by Los Angeles. It read: "Gee, I sure hope Kobe can keep his hands to himself in Denver this time," and even included the hashtag, "#rapist."
Kupchak said Nance was spoken to about the team, but kids are kids, and Twitter is, for the most part, full of only regrettable tweets.
ESPN has more on Bryant's case in Colorado:
Bryant was involved in a 2003 sexual-assault case in Colorado. A woman accused him of raping her in his hotel room. All charges were dropped after she refused to testify. A civil suit was later settled, and Bryant publicly apologized, though he admitted no guilt in the matter.