Kobe Bryant, Lakers not talking extension

We are all talking about how Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony will be potential free agents next summer, but what about Kobe Bryant? Bryant is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July, and it has been assumed he will re-sign in LA. He has already said multiple times that he won’t sign somewhere else to chase a 6th ring, as he is too old for that. So what will Kobe re-sign for? He told Lakers Nation that he won’t be taking a pay cut, but he will. He is just saying that now, because as a business savvy person, Bryant knows he has to negotiate with every angle possible. So are the Lakers focused on getting it done now? According to the Los Angeles Times, they aren’t:

"The Lakers haven’t opened contract negotiations with Bryant, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, taking a wait-and-see approach as he recovers from his injury."

He will most likely take the 10 million dollar a year deal that Tim Duncan took in San Antonio, but Kobe is a different animal. He isn’t stupid though, and he knows the Lakers’ chances of signing another star relies on how much sacrifice he wants to make financially. The Lakers should have a chance at Luol Deng and Andrew Bogut, and the 2015 class should also be poached by Mitch Kupchak. It doesn’t make sense for either side to sign now, as they should wait and see what happens with the free agent class. Expect Kobe to end his career for the Lakers, but then again I didn’t expect this: