Amidst rumors of the Los Angeles Lakers shutting down Kobe Bryant, the future Hall of Famer said he would be OK with sitting out the remainder of the season if the team asked. First-year Lakers coach Byron Scott didn't rule out sidelining Bryant for the remainder of the season and indicated it could happen after the All-Star break.
Bryant is 36 years old, and the wear-and-tear on his body is a concern for the Lakers staff. Scott has already sidelined Bryant for stretches this season, and with Bryant having one more year left on his contract, there's been talks about sidelining him indefinitely since the Lakers are headed to the draft lottery.
If the Lakers were to ask him to take the rest of the season off, the ultra-competitive Bryant wouldn't argue with them.
"I'll do what they ask of me, but it's very, very hard for me to miss one game," he said Thursday, via ESPN. "I'm not going to be here much longer, so the games that I play, I want to make sure that I'm playing and enjoying it and appreciating it. ... If they want to shut me down, if they decide to sit me out, I will do what's asked of me. It's that simple."
Bryant had a heavy workload in the first part of the season, and as a result his efficiency from the field went down. After Scott decided to sit Bryant for multiple games starting in late December, Bryant's efficiency improved.
Asked earlier in the month about sidelining Bryant indefinitely, Scott didn't rule out.
"I haven't thought about that yet," said Scott. "I keep thinking about game-to-game right now. So I haven't gotten to that point. Maybe after the All-Star break, maybe we will start talking about something like that if necessary. ...
"He's a basketball player that's played a lot of years so I have to be a little concerned about that. That's the reason that I'm taking such precautionary measures and making sure he doesn't play so many games. I want him to be right, not only for this season but for next season as well."
The NBA All-Star weekend is Feb. 13-15.
