Kobe Bryant got the attention of the sports world with his recent comments to columnist Bill Plaschke on Sunday when discussing the topic of retirement.
I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bryant was quoted as saying.”Right now I doubt it…but anything’s possible.”
Bryant was at the Lakers practice facility on Sunday morning, but did not speak to media, leaving his head coach Byron Scott to provided reaction to the comments.
“It crosses all of our minds at some point in time. I take it for what its worth. I’m sure it crossed his mind more than once,” said Scott on his initial reaction. “We haven’t talked about that one bit. Like I said right now it’s just game by game and we will go from there. I think he will tackle that issue when this season is said and done.”
Scott was also asked what his thought process was when he came to the decision to retire from his playing days.
“First thing it’s a hard decision to make. When you love the game as much as I did at the time and as much as (Kobe) does it’s tough to say to yourself ‘it’s over,’” said Scott. “My thought process was I can’t do this anymore. My body can’t react they way I want it to….you just start thinking about other things In life you want to do.”
“It’s tough. I know it’s tough for him but we don’t realize what we have here with Kobe,” said teammate Nick Young on his reaction to the comment. “And once he’s gone it’s over. You realize how great he was and how fortunate we were to have him on the court.”
Scott said Bryant is scheduled to make the three-game road trip that starts Monday in Phoenix, but that does not mean the star will play Scott quickly added. Bryant did come in and receive treatment Sunday but did not practice.