The Los Angeles Lakers are scuffling on the court without star shooting guard Kobe Bryant (although they were not much better when he was playing). Bryant is out for the year with a shoulder injury, and he plans to come back healthy for the final year of his contract, which some have speculated will also be the final year of his illustrious career.
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The Lakers obviously want to return to contention as soon as possible, and they will likely have a high draft pick this offseason as well as a legitimate chance to bring in at least one big-name free agent (Rajon Rondo is a popular betting choice). But according to the Los Angeles Daily News, Bryant does not want the team to sacrifice the future just to chase one more championship during what could be his final season.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak apparently does not have any plans to chase a championship before Bryant retires, adopting more of an attitude that the team will be ready to contend whenever they are ready, and if Bryant is still around, then great.
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For his part, Bryant understands and agrees. "It's a balance of both," Bryant said. "You always want to set the franchise up for the long term. Mitch and I are on the same page. What he said in the interview is not something that we haven't talked about before. It's nothing different. You don't want to compromise the future of the franchise for one season. You try to balance that."
Bryant adds that while it is difficult to deal with at times, his recovery from shoulder surgery is progressing well. He also said he plans to have more talks with Kupchak and the other Lakers decision-makers in the future about which free agents would be best for the team to target this offseason and what he can do to help recruit them to the West Coast.
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