Kobe Bryant takes a U-turn: Says he wants to continue playing till 40 – NBA News
It was not far back when Los Angeles Lakers talisman Kobe Bryant said that he wanted to play in NBA for only two more years and then pass on the mantle, and move on.
Four games into the season, and he is already singing a different tune and if the song is to be understood properly, he wants to stay put at Hollywood for the next 4 years – so much for Dwight Howard being the next face of the
franchise.
The Lakers made some blockbuster acquisitions during the summer and the presence of some stellar players on the team seems to have motivated the Black Mamba, who already has five championship rings to his name.
“My aim is to play until I’m 40 years old and I believe I can do that.” He said while talking to CNN Turkey reporter Barbaros Tapan recently. “This year, we added very good players to our squad. Steve Nash, Dwight Howard will make
us stronger. Right now, things are not going very well but I believe it’ll get better soon.”
If Bryant wants to extend his stay at the Lakers, he might have to undergo a major pay cut, much on the lines of Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. The Lakers are already neck deep in luxury taxes and would certainly not want to retain
Bryant at his present cost, which is the $ 30 million region.
Before last season, Kobe struggled with his knee and his numbers went down in the 2010-11 season. He however had an innovative plasma treatment on his knee, during the lockout extended off season and has since been in sublime form.
In the previous season, he nearly trumped Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant as the scoring champion and was the main offensive weapon for the Lakers. The form has not deserted him so far this season.
Bryant also talked about the lockout period and how his treatment forced him to stay put in USA, rather than venturing for a short stint in Besiktas or Italy;
“During the lock-out, I had offers from Turkey and other countries. Besiktas was interested in me and they had talks with my agent, but I want to use the lock-out time to recover from my injuries and spend more time with my family
so I turned the offers down. Who knows, maybe one day I play basketball in Turkey.”
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