Kobe Bryant Must Not Rush Return to Los Angeles Lakers

The Black Mamba must carefully consider when he chooses to slither back onto an NBA court. The more you read, the closer it seems Kobe Bryant is to returning to the court.

First he told Rick Fox on NBA TV that if the Los Angeles Lakers were in the playoffs right now, he'd be playing.

Now, ESPN Los Angeles' Ramona Shelburne is reporting that Bryant could return at the end of the month:

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"Yeah, yeah I can," Bryant said when asked if it was possible he might return in one of the team's five remaining games in November.

Bryant has been out since rupturing his Achilles tendon April 12. While Bryant and Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni stressed that he's not back to 100 percent and there are "areas where it still needs to get stronger," both noted they've been "pleasantly surprised" by how well the guard seems to have responded to the escalation in activity since he was cleared to resume all basketball activities Saturday.

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Bryant's continued rehabilitation remains one of the bigger stories in the league this season. When he returns, will he be the kind of player he was before the injury?

In order to make sure that answer is yes, Bryant must remain committed to taking whatever time is necessary to fully rehab that Achilles tendon. It would be stupid to work your butt off getting back and then rush things and end up right back on the operating table again.

As competitive as he is, you have to wonder if Bryant might push that repaired Achilles too hard too early and end up doing even more damage.

It's all well and good to make progress in practice and everything, but doing that and playing well are two things entirely.

Just look at Derrick Rose.

Even after taking a year off to let his repaired ACL heal, he still doesn't look like himself just yet. And that was after a great preseason and talk about how he was actually able to leap higher now following surgery.

Fast-forward to the present, and Rose is having a poor season and posting the worst averages of his career.

There's no true simulation for game action. You can't replicate the speed, nor can you recreate the situations you face on the court in crunch time.

You also have to look at what Bryant would be returning to. Sure, the Lakers aren't out of the playoff hunt yet, but how much better will they be with him back?

Although Los Angeles is tied for 24th in points allowed per game, it's 15th in defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference. While that's not a terrible number, it's still not all that good, and it won't get much better with Bryant on the floor.

The offense will no doubt improve. Even Kobe Bryant at 70 percent would be a better scorer than Jodie Meeks and Nick Young.

Is that offensive improvement enough to make the Lakers a genuine title contender? Almost certainly no. They'd still be looking up at the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and perhaps even the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.

Having Bryant return doesn't solve the Steve Nash issue, nor does it demonstrably improve the likes of Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry, etc.

It might be hard for a fanbase so accustomed to having a winner each and every season, but the Lakers and Bryant need to take the slow burn when it comes to his return. If that means making this a lost season and focusing on 2014-15, so be it.