While the day of Bryant's retirement seemed further off, in a Yahoo! Sports interview with Graham Bensinger via The Los Angeles Times, Bryant discussed his potential retirement. Bryant wouldn't commit past his current contract which expires in June 2014 and mentioned a possible retirement at that time.
"It'll be the last year of my contract. I don't know if I will play any longer than that. I don't know. It's just a possibility. It's not something I even give it much thought to, but it's a possibility. It could happen," Bryant said in the interview.
In response to an aging Bryant, the Lakers have seemingly gone all in with the intention of competing the next two, possibly three seasons.
The Lakers had obvious needs at the point guard position. After a failed trade for a franchise player in Chris Paul before last season started, the Lakers got their man at point guard in Nash. At age 38, Nash doesn't have much playing time left himself, but will bolster the Lakers backcourt for the time being.
Turning Staples Center into a retirement home apparently hasn't stopped there with the rumored signing of Jamison. At age 36, Jamison still has some gas left in the tank, but this isn't a signing that will help the Lakers long-term.
The Lakers have used this offseason to get better, but at the same time have gotten older as a team. By doing this, the Lakers are putting everything they available into the next few seasons without sacrificing commitment into the extended future.
The youngest, big asset that the Lakers have is Andrew Bynum, but he is set to become ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
