Bryant, who missed all but six games this season recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon followed by a knee injury, told Kimmel he expects to be fully healthy by the start of next season.
Of course, there is little that can be said for sure about the team Bryant will be with at that point—the Lakers don’t have a coach after Mike D’Antoni walked away from the job last week, and have only three players under contract for next season.
Bryant was asked about the Lakers coaching situation and whether the front office has sought his advice—something that did not happen when Mike Brown was tabbed in 2011, or when D’Antoni was hired a little more than a year later. “On the last two they didn’t,” Bryant said. “On the third one, I hope they do.”
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But Bryant went on to say that he has faith in Jim and Jeannie Buss, who have been running the team since the passing of their Hall of Fame father, Dr. Jerry Buss.
“Jimmy and Jeannie both, they’re really determined and excited about the possibilities of next season and rebuilding this, building on their father’s legacy and everything he’s accomplished,” Bryant said. “They’re taking the challenge extremely, extremely seriously. They’re both on the same page and want nothing but excellence. So I have no doubt it will happen.”
There was also the reminder that, 10 years ago, Bryant had a meeting with Clippers owner Donald Sterling, whom the NBA is now trying to force into selling the team in the wake of an audio recording in which he makes racist remarks.
Bryant said that racism was not on the radar when it came to Sterling. Cheapness was.
“At the time, the biggest concern was, was he willing to spend to have a successful team?” Bryant said. “He said during the meeting that he is willing to make that commitment to bring another championship team to Los Angeles. He has done it, he has spent the money to keep Blake (Griffin) and DeAndre (Jordan) and CP (Chris Paul) and those guys.”
But Bryant said he has been supportive of Clippers players since the Sterling tape was released. “Most of them are friends are mine,” he said. “Chris is a good friend and I made sure I sent him a message during this whole fiasco. I watch and hope the guys I know do well.”
