There has been a lot of talk about Kobe Bryant today. Many members of the mainstream media in the U.S. seem to already know what he will decide next season and beyond.
I guess we’ll wait and see.
KOBE TO RETIRE NEXT SEASON?
Los Angeles Lakers’ own Kobe Bryant has apparently considered retirement already this season, even with a year left on his current deal.
Via LA Times:
When asked whether he has considered retiring at the end of this season, one year before the end of his Lakers contract, he nods his head in agreement. […] “I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” he says. “Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible.” […] “My body is hurting like crazy, around the clock, and if I don’t want to do this anymore, I won’t do it,” he says.
“The Achilles’ rupture gives you a lot of perspective, I think the Achilles’ issue scared everyone,” he says, speaking of Lakers officials. “They don’t want to wear the tendons down, because you just can’t see that coming, there’s no warning: Pow! It’s gone. We understand how a player can rupture an Achilles’ then rupture the other one, we’re very conscious of that type of stuff.”
If he can stay sound under the current restrictions, he says, he could be also be a factor in the recruiting of any potential free agents who could help him make one last playoff run if he sticks around next season. […] “It’s important for free agents to see how I can adjust my game, because that’s always the question mark, right?” says Bryant. “Are they going to get the old grumpy guy who is going to want to shoot the ball all the time? No, they’re not. It’s important for free agents to see that my determination comes from self-assessing, from saying, ‘OK, I’ll do this.’”
… HE’S EVEN LINED UP FOR A TNT ROLL
And if Kobe does retire next season, then TNT or even ESPN might be interested.
It’s like a crystal ball right before your eyes.
Via SI:
If Bryant indicates he is serious about a broadcasting career after his NBA career ends, industry sources say he’d command $4 million to $5 million annually, if not more, because there would be a heavy competition for his services. ESPN (whose studio show is based in L.A.) and Turner are guaranteed to be interested. […] “He’s obviously smart and articulate and he would be a great candidate,” said Turner Sports senior vice president and executive creative director Craig Barry. “But like any job there is a certain amount of passion that the person needs to have for the day to day. That element of passion and wanting to share the game is a huge part of being able to connect with the viewer. That’s a huge part of being a successful broadcaster and I think Kobe would be great at it. But he would have to want to do it.”
Bryant has been a frequent guest on TNT’s Inside The NBA during his career and Barry described him as “smart, concise, articulate, with the ability to poke a little fun at himself.” The Turner executive said they would love to have Bryant as a guest analyst if the Lakers failed to make the playoffs and that he would absolutely reach out to Bryant after he retired to take his temperature on broadcasting.
One 7-foot-1 part of that (chemistry) puzzle could be Shaquille O’Neal, who is already part of Inside The NBA. If the Turner execs could swing it with their egos, how great would it be to have Kobe and Shaq on the same set? […] “They were a super duo on the court and regardless of what transpired between them, and I can’t speak to it as an authority, there is no reason they could not be one in a broadcasting scenario,” Barry said.
JOEL EMBIID AIN’T 300 POUNDS
Yesterday, and apologies for not putting it on the gossip column but 76ers own Joel Embiid was rumoured to weigh 300 pounds.
Ermmm … no.
Via CSN Philly:
“I don’t weigh that,” Embiid said in passing at a D.C. hotel Sunday night with the Sixers in town to face the Wizards for a Martin Luther King Day matinee.
A team source backed him up, stating that 275 pounds has been the maximum weight for the 7-footer whom the Sixers selected with the third overall pick in last year’s draft.
Embiid weighed 250 pounds while playing for Kansas last season, but while he’s been recovering from a foot injury, his weight has been a concern. Head coach Brett Brown said earlier this month that it was being addressed. When Embiid was sent home from the team’s West Coast trip a few weeks ago, Brown said it was so he could be part of a more “structured, stable environment.”
