The Los Angeles Lakers have remained in the news this season despite being a mess on the court, and much of that conversation has surrounded the future of Kobe Bryant. The Lakers star is in his 19th season, and his contract has been the subject of debate since the moment he signed it.
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Bryant is one of the highest-paid players in the NBA despite also being one of the older ones in the league. He is averaging over 24 points per game, but he is also on pace for the worst shooting percentage of his career, and he is threatening the NBA record for usage rate.
Bryant knows that his days in the league are numbered, and he has clearly thought about the fact that the end of his playing days is approaching. According to CBS Sports, Bryant thinks that he will probably hang up his sneakers once his current contract is up. He has hinted at that possibility before, but it just sounds different when he says it so bluntly.
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"If you asked me if I was going to play beyond that, right now the answer is no," Bryant said.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has previously made statements that indicated that he also thinks Bryant will probably not continue to play beyond his current deal.
It is well-known that Bryant wants to finish as high as possible on the all-time scoring list, so perhaps, seeing the end of his career approaching, he is taking advantage of this below average Laker team to run his own statistics up since he knows this team cannot compete for a championship.
The Lakers are currently 10-22 and sit in second-to-last in the Western Conference. The team has actually played better with Bryant on the bench than they have with him on the floor, so perhaps it is in the team's best interest if he keeps playing often and gunning for his own numbers, as it will help the team land a higher draft pick.
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