It’s been quite a while since Kobe Bryant was involved in any measure with the Los Angeles Lakers. After a retirement tour that saw him drop 60 points in his finale, Bryant has begun to focus on his new filmmaking projects, with very little direct involvement in basketball.
However, the Lakers’ legend has not completely abandoned the team he played on for 20 straight seasons. He’s been open to helping out the team especially as Magic Johnson and his former agent Rob Pelinka take over for basketball operations. Johnson, meanwhile, has not been shy about wanting Kobe to be much more involved.
On Wednesday, Johnson appeared on Marcellus and Kelvin on ESPN LA and admitted that the Lakers have already approached Bryant to receive his aid in the new regime’s first offseason.
"Right now we are just picking his brain about the players & what he sees we could do" @MagicJohnson on Kobe's current involvement w/ Lakers
— ESPNLosAngeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) May 24, 2017
"Some of the players have reached out to work out with him, everybody knows he is famous for his workouts" @MagicJohnson on Kobe & the team
— ESPNLosAngeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) May 24, 2017
"Whatever he wants to do, we're happy. Whatever time he wants to give, we are happy to take that time." @MagicJohnson on Kobe's involvement
— ESPNLosAngeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) May 24, 2017
Kobe’s involvement with the team is indirect but any help he can give is probably worthwhile. That’s not to say that Bryant’s opinions will carry the most weight in the front office but the team has reportedly been much more open to a teamwork based approach in that department.
That’s not to mention that Bryant’s involvement could be some extra coaching up for the kids, something that would be very beneficial to all of the players tasked with being the future of the franchise.
Anytime you can learn from one of the greatest players of all time, you should probably try to do that.
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