NBA Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant Isn’t Going Anywhere

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By @DSchultz89

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Recently rumors have begun to circulate on whether or not Kobe Bryant will want to finish his career with the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.

The New York Knicks have been thrown around as a possibility given Bryant’s close ties with head coach Derek Fisher and president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson. Realistically, the Knicks might be able to put together a pretty good package including the expiring contract of Amar’e Stoudemire coupled with prospects like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Iman Shumpert, and potentially throw in a couple of picks as well.

However, there is not a chance in the world that either Kobe or the Lakers will decide to part ways.

When Bryant signed an oft-criticized two-year, $48.5 million extension with the club in the summer of 2013, one of his reasons for taking so much money was because of how much money the organization makes off of his name. And you know what, he is exactly right. This is also why the organization would never dream of trading him because the money he brings in from name recognition alone means he is profitable for business even when the team is not performing well.

Unfortunately for both Bryant and the Lakers, this means that they will most likely be a lottery team until he retires given the collection of talent around him right now.

Jeremy Lin has already demonstrated early on this year that he is a fine player who is worthy of Bryant’s respect, but after the crippling season-ending injury to Julius Randle and the lack of a real post presence inside after losing Pau Gasol in free agency this past summer, the Lakers are not in great shape.

Bryant himself has done everything so far for his team early on as he continues to play at a very high level. However, his supporting cast is simply not getting it done, and they are not showing any indications that they will anytime soon. This is a lose-lose situation for both parties, but Bryant views himself as loyal to the team, and the team has too much to lose from a financial standpoint should he even honor a potential trade elsewhere.

The best-case scenario Lakers fans can hope for at this point is a “farewell” season for Bryant in same vein as the one that the New York Yankees had for Derek Jeter this past MLB season. Bryant has done so much for the game of basketball and is as decorated an athlete as we have ever seen but, unfortunately, he faces an exit from the game that does not truly reflect what he accomplished during the prime years of his career.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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