Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has announced that he will retire after the 2015-16 season, ending his 20-year career as one of the faces of the NBA. Bryant made the announcement on The Players' Tribune website, confirming what many around the NBA believed: that this would be the final season for Bryant in a Lakers uniform.
Bryant released the news on the website in a story title "Dear Basketball" and wrote: "This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye." The Lakers are having another tough season and Bryant has struggled offensively, shooting just 30 percent from the field. The Lakers are 2-14 this season and likely heading for another lottery pick in the draft next year.
Bryant has played his entire career for the Lakers and while there has been speculation that he could play another season (even with another team), Bryant hinted before the announcement that this would be his final year. Bryant said after the Lakers loss to the Pacers on Sunday that he had made up his mind about retiring "a while" ago and added that he "decided to accept that I can't actually do this anymore." Byron Scott said to the media that Bryant's "purpose is to finish out this season and play."
The announcement puts the Lakers in position to make decisions about the future without having to wonder what Bryant will do and that could be helpful as the team continues to rebuild. The team has drafted young players like D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle over the past couple years and along with Jordan Clarkson those players make up the future core of the Lakers. Bryant is a future Hall of Fame player and he previously has won five championships and is one of the all-time scoring leaders in league history.
Bryant is not playing at a high level this season while averaging 15.5 points and shooting below 31 percent, but Scott said that he has not though about benching the star. The Lakers have just two wins heading into the week and Scott could be on the hot seat if the team continues to struggle this season. According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Scott said that he feels "support" from the Lakers front office and that he is not worried about his job security. Scott is in year two of his contract, which lasts for four years and has a team option for the fourth season.
The Lakers front office likely wants to see improvement from the team overall and from young players like Randle and Russell. This season Russell has struggled at times while handling the point guard position, but he has been improving and is averaging 10 points and 3.0 assists per game while shooting over 40 percent from the field. Russell has had issues on defense and that has led to him getting benched late in some games, but Scott said that Russell is handling things better now.
