Jerry Colangelo Discusses Kobe Bryant, 2016 Olympic Team Selection and More
USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo admitted the situation involving retiring Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant could force the organization to make an extremely tough decision ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Sam Amick of USA Today passed along comments from Colangelo about the various factors in play. He stated the possibility of including the two-time Olympic gold-medal winner on the 12-man roster is there, but it won't simply be handed to him:
"When I was approached originally about Kobe's interest in potentially playing in the Olympics — this goes back early last summer, I guess, or spring — and the concept being that it would be great to end a career, win a gold medal and ride off into the sunset. That was just thrown my way by his agent, Rob Pelinka. I just took it in and I said, "Rob, I don't rule anyone out, but it has got to be based on performance because there's so many people who want (to be on the team) — everyone wants to be on the roster."
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Colangelo said he later expressed the same outlook to Bryant, who responded by saying he didn't want any gifts and would do his best to earn the opportunity.
The situation has come back into the spotlight because the Lakers superstar recently announced on the Players' Tribune that his NBA career will end after the current season.
Before that announcement, however, he stated in early November that the Olympics was still firmly on his radar, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
"It would mean the world to me to be around those guys," Bryant said. "I think to be able to have a chance to continue the relationship that I already have with most of those guys, talking and just kind of being around each other and understanding that this is it, it's just us being together, that would be fun."
Bryant has done a lot for USA Basketball, highlighted by helping win gold at each of the past two Summer Games. But given the incredible amount of depth available to the United States, it's hard to make a purely basketball-based case for having him on the team as things stand now.
Colangelo explained to USA Today that he's not going to make any final judgments based on early-season play, but he previewed the dilemma when considering the "sentimental component":
"Let's just put it this way: on one hand, you have what you just proposed. On the other hand, if someone is left off the team, like Kawhi Leonard or Paul George — and I'm just using names — for that purpose, then you have to weigh that fairness, to some degree. That's all. So it's not an easy call, and it's one that I don't have to make for quite some time. And I'm going to stick to that. I've got plenty of time.
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If the roster was a little larger to give Colangelo and the coaching staff more wiggle room, Bryant would probably get an opportunity. But they have to prepare as if everybody on the team could need to play an impact role at some point in the tournament.
So far this season, the Lakers star is averaging 16.6 points per game while shooting an unsightly 30 percent from the field, including 22 percent from beyond the arc. Those numbers must improve if he wants to make a serious push for an Olympic berth.
Should Bryant continue to struggle, he may remove himself from consideration to save USA Basketball from having to make the decision. There's still time for him to showcase some vintage form, though.
