A report during the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics game Friday night on Kobe Bryant could be the first indication that Bryant's 2013-14 is over.
ESPN.com wrote a story after the game, based on a report from ESPN sideline reporter Israel Gutierrez that team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo examined the Lakers superstar on Friday and determined that Bryant's injured left knee will require three weeks before he is re-evaluated because the Black Mamba still is experiencing pain, swelling and soreness.
Bryant has played in just six games this season, averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds for Los Angeles. He missed the first 19 games of the season to finish healing from offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.
The Lakers guard has missed the last 30 games because of the Achilles injury. General manager Mitch Kupchak has indicated that the organization will not rush Bryant's return.
"We're not going to push him to get back," Kupchak told ESPN. "I don't see why you would. We've made a commitment to him for two more years, and I just don't know why we'd do that [push him to come back]. But if he feels he's ready and he's in shape and he gets the doctor's approval, then there's no reason why he couldn't do that."
The next examination, however, is scheduled for March 14, when the Lakers are scheduled to play game 66. When he was sidelined with the torn Achilles, Bryant was cleared Nov. 18 but didn't play his first game until Dec. 8.
If Bryant requires a similar timetable to heal, that would push his return back three more weeks to April 4, and the Lakers would have just seven games left in their season. The organization would be foolish to allow Bryant to return for seven games and risk another setback when they could give him the entire summer to allow the knee to recover.
Not to mention the fact that the Lakers wouldn't want to affect their lottery positioning.
The argument to bring back Bryant is that the team might want to show potential free agents that Bryant is a viable teammate. But the risk of another injury almost assuredly would outweigh the benefit of showcasing him.
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