Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher—who won five titles as Bryant’s teammate with the Lakers—said “The Black Mamba” wants to win another championship before retiring.
“There’s a lot more to it than just him coming back from the injury that is impacting him psychologically,” Fisher said, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “At this point in his career, he’s also thinking about having an opportunity to win a championship again before retiring.”
Bryant’s desire to win another title in the twilight of his career has been well-established, but his actions to this point don’t fervently echo that stance.
Pay Cut? 'Nah'
Some wondered whether the 35-year-old would take a pay cut to ensure the front office could put a championship-caliber supporting cast around him.
That turned out not to be the case, as Bryant told Serena Winters of Lakers Nation in an interview last summer:
“I’m not taking any (pay cut) at all—that’s the negotiation that you have to have. For me to sit here and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just going to take a huge pay cut.’ Nah, I’m going to try to get as much as I possibly can.”
Fast forward to November, and the Lakers star inked a two-year, $48.5 million extension without even hitting the court. That prompted varying levels of criticism from media members.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote, “Making Bryant the highest-paid player in the NBA over the next two seasons is, objectively, not a smart thing.”
Bryant, however, defended his hefty...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
