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Los Angeles Lakers GM thinks Kobe Bryant will return in 2015-16

By Cory Buck

Jan 21, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said he thinks guard Kobe Bryant will return next season.

The Kobe Bryant Era is coming to a close for the Los Angeles Lakers, but as long as the five-time NBA champ has some rubber on the tires, it appears he’s content to keep plugging away for his team, even as they slide into irrelevance in the playoff picture.

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The news comes on the heels of the team’s announcement that Kobe Bryant is done for the season, thanks to his having undergone surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn right rotator cuff. Bryant had appeared in 35 games this season, with limited team success. He did average over 22 points per game in what time he did play.

The question from here turns to how good of a thing Bryant’s return would be for the rebuilding Lakers, who are on the hook for $25 million next year per the two-year, $48 million extension signed before last season.

While Bryant’s career certainly warrants max money, it’s hard to justify spending that much on a player with limited durability at this stage of his career when more and more young players need to be brought through the system in order for the Lakers to return to the top of the Western Conference.

The team would likely benefit more in the long run from Kobe retiring after this season, but that clearly isn’t happening, and the Lakers have no one to blame but themselves for Bryant’s contract. If he has to limp out on the contract and dance in a circle in order to get the second half of that whopper contract, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to do just that, especially given the success the Lakers have enjoyed during Bryant’s career in Los Angeles.

But sports teams are rarely successful when run on nostalgia and at some point this team will have to find its identity beyond Kobe Bryant. They’ll have a chance to figure just that out this season as they play out what will almost certainly be another lost year, before they add another blue chip prospect via the draft.

Beyond that, it will be up to Bryant and the team to decide how they can find better success in the 2015-16 season with the Hall of Fame guard playing limited minutes.

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