While Kobe Bryant says he’s healthy, nobody really knows how his body will react to an 82-game schedule at this point of his career. Given that, there’s understandable concern that the Black Mamba may need to take some games off this season in effort to rest.
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Few will mind if Kobe is forced to miss the occasional tilt in effort to give his body extra recovery time, but if he struggles with injury and misses an extended period again, it won’t only hurt the Lakers this season but possibly next year as well.
That’s the thinking of Steve Kyler who hints a hampered Kobe Bryant could hurt the Los Angeles Lakers free agent chances come 2015.
"If Kobe plays the “in and out of the lineup” game because of nagging injuries, not only will the Lakers season likely be lost, but that final contract year may become a huge deterrent in free agency. The Lakers need Bryant to look good for a number of reasons; some of those are about this season, some are about the future."
We’ve already seen the Lakers struggle to attract a star free agent this offseason. A healthy Kobe Bryant could change that in the future, though if he doesn’t resemble the player we all know, few will want to sign in Los Angeles considering his salary will eat up a significant amount of the salary cap.
Both of Kobe Bryant’s injuries were freak in nature so it seems unlikely he’ll have any lingering issues, though as he ages (especially given the extra playoff mileage he has incurred) concern over his physical well being is understood.