A man who has 5 championship rings and earned the title as arguably the greatest player to ever play the game looks as if his career will be coming to an end in 2016 as Kobe Bryant recently told reporters that he would not be participating in the Olympics in 2016. Although Bryant says he won’t be participating in 2016, he said he may go as a visitor to see his teammate Pau Gasol retrieve the “silver medal,” indicating that the USA will be winning the gold. Obviously, if Bryant doesn’t continue to play, he will still have the same mentality.
Bryant recently signed a 2-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, which means that he will be staying with them until the end of 2016. Many questioned if his career would be over this year but knowing how much Bryant wants his 6th ring, he knew that he would keep his motor running a little while longer. Although Bryant is injured right now, once he is healthy, we know that Vino can play at an extremely high level.
This has been a horrible year for the Lakers, but we expect that Bryant has decided to stay because of what goes on behind closed doors. It isn’t likely for Kobe to want to stay with a team of the caliber they have now for two more years. Bryant is destined to win and with the Lakers team that is established now, there’s no way that even the Black Mamba can take them past teams like the Trailblazers, the Thunder, or the Spurs; it’s merely impossible. Gasol’s name has been on the trade block consistently since Bryant went down and although Gasol may not be traded this year, expect him to be traded going forward into Bryant’s 2-year extension.
In 2016, it has been discussed that Bryant may have Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, and even possibly LeBron James on his side. If all of these players were established together, it goes without question that Phil Jackson would assume the head coaching position for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Kobe would get the 6th ring that he has desired for so long. If this were to happen, Bryant may sign another contract extension as long as he believes he can still perform at a high level.
Although Bryant told reporters that he wouldn’t be participating in the Olympics in 2016, he may do it anyways. Bryant going to the Olympics one more time doesn’t seem unrealistic at all. Bryant has earned the name Vino for a reason. The 2015-2016 could be the best season that the Lakers have ever seen.
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