Bryant still has a year left on his 2-year, $48.5 million deal. A younger, more youthful Bryant would not entertain the idea of discussing his next step, but now at 36 years old he can at least admit that the dreaded “R word” has crossed his mind, if only for a brief moment.
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Bryant has played in 34 of the Lakers’ 41 games this season, and as the season progresses his playing time with continue to be monitored, with head coach Byron Scott mentioning that the organization has debated shutting him down if and when they are officially out of playoff contention.
“I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,’’ he tells The Times. “Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible.’'
He emphasizes the right now (because, right now, the reality is so muddled and difficult that even the Black Mamba is having trouble wrapping his mind around it.
My body is hurting like crazy, around the clock, and if I don’t want to do this anymore, I won’t do it,’’ he says.
The Lakers are 12-29 and have lost four consecutive games, with Bryant missing two of them due to rest.
