Kobe Bryant Discusses NBA Future, Lakers' Free Agency and More with Yahoo Sports

Kobe Bryant's future with the Los Angeles Lakers and in the NBA has been a source of speculation this offseason. 

The future Hall of Famer addressed his potential retirement and the state of the Lakers in an interview Tuesday with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. 

As far as Bryant's playing future, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a May radio interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio (via Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times) that 2015-16 will likely be the star guard's final season.

"He has indicated to me that this is (his last year). There have been no discussions about anything going forward and I don't think there will be," Kupchak said.

Spears started the interview with Bryant by asking about Kupchak's comments and if he is retiring after this year: "We haven’t set anything in stone and I’ve talked about it before. But could this be the last [season]? Absolutely. It’s tough to decide. It’s really tough to make those types of decisions. Players I have spoken to say, ‘Kobe you will know.’"

Bryant added that he likes to take things down to their simplest form, in this case it will be if he still likes to play, a question he said cannot be answered until after the season is completed. 

However, the 2008 NBA MVP did say at this point in his career he's not playing for money:

"

I don’t want to undervalue the importance of generating any type of whatever. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m underappreciative of that or not thankful for that. But at the same, what is really important? What is the important thing? I never played for money. When I laced my sneakers up when I was a kid in Italy I wasn’t thinking about money. I had no idea how much Magic [Johnson] or [Larry] Bird got paid. I played it because I loved it.

"

Bryant's contract, which pays him an NBA-high $25 million for the 2015-16 season, per ESPN.com, has not been a good deal for the Lakers. He's been unable to stay healthy enough to justify it, while performing poorly in the small amount of games he has appeared in since signing the deal in November 2013. 

A large part of Bryant's enjoyment on the court this year will be determined by how successful the Lakers are. There's no positive way to spin what has happened to this franchise over the previous two seasons, which has amounted to 48 total wins and consecutive last-place finishes in the Pacific Division. 

Kupchak has worked to remake the Lakers roster this offseason, starting with drafting D'Angelo Russell with the No. 2 pick, signing Lou Williams and Brandon Bass and trading for Roy Hibbert.

That trio turned its introductory press conference into a media talking point when none of them responded to a question about Bryant reaching out to them. 

Kupchak told SiriusXM NBA Radio with Brian Geltzeiler and Rick Mahorn (via Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com) that issue was overblown, but the rapport between Bryant and the new Lakers has to develop if they want to have success. 

It will take a Herculean effort from the Lakers to make the playoffs in a stacked Western Conference, but Bryant feels confident about the present and the future for the team, per Spears:

"

They have really set themselves up for a promising future going on years. I think they drafted very well. The free agents that we picked are extremely solid, [Roy] Hibbert, [Brandon] Bass, Lou [Williams]. We have a very good mix of young and veteran leadership. The challenge is going to be blending the two and cutting down the learning curve.

"

As far as playing with the young players on Los Angeles' roster, Bryant knows that their development is going to be crucial: “How quickly can we get going. How quickly can we bring up [rookie D’Angelo] Russell, [Julius] Randle. [Jordan] Clarkson got valuable experience last year in playing that will benefit us tremendously. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to running with these young guns.”

The postseason and winning a championship remain Bryant's focus, though he continues to emphasize development while still believing this is a playoff-caliber roster:

"

... We have talented players in their respective positions. We have some really young players. How exactly will the pieces of the puzzle fit? We really don’t know. We are going to [training] camp trying to piece this together just like every other team does. We have to figure out what our strengths are, figure out what our weaknesses are. And every time we step on the court we are going to try to hide our weaknesses and step up to our strengths.

"

Because the Lakers are held to such a high standard, one product of winning 16 championships, it's hard to figure out what a successful season would be. The same thing can be said for Bryant, who has only played 41 games over the last two seasons. 

Even when Bryant was on the court last year, he wasn't good. The 36-year-old shot a career-worst 37.3 percent from the field and had a true shooting percentage under 50 percent for the first time. 

Being able to fade away gracefully is the dream of every legendary athlete. Few of them are able to pull it off. There is a lot riding on the 2015-16 season for Bryant, both as a possible final chapter to his historic career and proof he can still be one of the NBA's best players. 

Optimism is always high in the offseason. The first step for Bryant and the Lakers will come in October when training camp begins. 

Stats via Basketball-Reference.com