Kobe Bryant Finds Inspiration to Change, Prepare for Future, in Tracy McGrady

LOS ANGELES — It happens all the time with all sorts of people. On occasion it can be as graphic as what has happened to Donald Sterling and Ray Rice with their livelihoods. At other times it occurs gradually, when an athlete faces the march of time or the struggle to bounce back from the wear of thousands of games played at an elite level.   

Only when the enjoyment of something those in sports, or those in every walk of life, have grown accustomed to is taken away does the real cherishing and coveting sink in.   

Take Tracy McGrady, who popped back on the radar last month when he told Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski that he had been working out with Kobe Bryant as he prepared for another run at the NBA. 

It was difficult not to feel a little pity and sympathy for McGrady, 35. Poor T-Mac, desperate to take advantage of Kobe's ongoing relevance. It's a shame the guy can't let go and keeps trying to recapture the past.

Inspiration can be found in McGrady's determination. But it's hard to take someone seriously after they dabbled in independent league baseball and were quoted there as saying: "It feels good to be celebrated again."

Bryant and McGrady, preps-to-pros jumpers who joined the NBA a year apart, are longtime friends, so it's not shocking to hear of them working out together. What Bryant might be able to get out of it, though, is what's really interesting.

Bryant needs more work than usual this offseason, which is why, besides his regular early morning workouts at the Los Angeles Lakers' training facility in El Segundo, California, he has been hosting sessions near his Orange County home—some with Lakers teammates Jeremy Lin, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis.



Bryant played only six games all last season between his Achilles and knee injuries, and although he is viewed as completely healthy now, he needs extra work.<...

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