[Cavaliers420Participant]

According to twitter

Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine 1m

Lakers say Kobe Bryant is suspected to have torn his left Achilles. MRI needed tomorrow to confirm but … wowza

This the end for Kobe? If he going to say fuck it at this point and just retire? Or rehab to come all the way back and possibly not win? Thoughts? I’m pretty sad now right now honestly. Not the way I wanted him to go out at all.

[RakkiParticipant]

do stern still want lakers in the playoff?

[llperez]

Kobe is crying right now while being interviewed. He says he done for the year.

[XYRYXParticipant]

This is just flat out horrible and I can’t even find words how I feel for him now.

No matter what you think about Kobe Bryant this is just a sad day for basketball.

Dear god please find a way that he will come back one day to show the world that this is not the end of this career!

I really really feel so sad right now.

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

Kobe will come back strong as ever. He’ll win another championship with the lakers no doubt about it.

[Afactor4Participant]

Perhaps,

Isaiah Thomas retired at 32 after tearing his Achilles. Most players that do come back from an Achilles tear don’t come back the same (Nique being the exception). Granted, Kobe Bryant is remarkably “durable”, in the sense that he recovers from injuries and plays through them without any consequence to his play.

We’ll see. I was watching the interview with the reporters and he was teary, but cheerful at the same time.

[XYRYXParticipant]

That’s what I was thinking. He was talking about getting the team ready for San Antonio and everything, he just had no answers for this sh!t but handled it honest like ever.

What a warrior he is can still be seen in a moment like this.

This just sucks so bad to me.

I have no doubt that he will play again one day even if it’s just to prove that he can make it out of this but this trouly is one of the worst injuries you can suffer as a 34 year old player.

Get well black mamba!

Hope the team respondes well to this news and shows some form of life.

[Cavaliers420Participant]

This is super depressing. Even if he does come back next year, I’m afraid if the team does better without him rather with him he may not be viewed as the same Kobe that he once was and his career will have a stigma similar to what AI was going through with his injuries and when he returned. Sad sad day for the Mamba.

[BigChamp12Participant]

I dont want to see Kobe’s career end this way. Even if he comes back for the playoffs next year, or comes back for one game just to go out the right way, or if he misses the entire next season and comes back completely healthy for the 2014-15 season and then retire. I just dont believe its fair for his final game to be this one.

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

Just because he is over rated doesnt mean he was not a very good player. I hate for anybody to get injured.

[DubNationParticipant]

Stats vs. Portland a few nights ago – 37 pts. (on above %50 shooting), 8 boards, 5 assists, 18-18 free throws, 4 blocks, 3 steals, 1 turnover. At age 34? Name one other player in the league that could post that line in their prime? Only other two guys who could have possibly posted that line (in their prime) are Dwayne Wade and Paul Pierce, but both players would have had more turnovers and Pierce could not achieve those defensive stats.

Honestly, this is the most depressing and sad injury in the NBA for as long as I can remember. Kobe was just playing TOO much and overexerting himself over the past few weeks trying to will his team into the playoffs.

I am a Warriors fan. Kobe is not my favorite player. Give respect where it is due, he is one of the greatest (top 10 EASILY, most likely top 5) to ever lace them up.

I hope for a timely recovery from Bryant because I will be heartbroken if this was his last game.

[Cavaliers420Participant]

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS 37s

Bryant on next steps: “MRI, surgery and then recovery.”

Thoughts? I believe he is going to come back. I think he is going to come back stronger, faster, and better. He is the only player I can honestly see taking this and making it work for him in the sense he will come back better. If he does come back and wins a championship, he will be on another level. Only time will tell I guess though.

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS now

Bryant: “It’s fueling me. It’s fueling me. I can feel it already.”

[BenchWarmerParticipant]

Assuming it is a torn achilles he will not come back “faster, stronger and better”. Hes 34 and has been playing proffesional sports since 17. Hes a fighter and will come back but let’s be realistic bud.

[BigMac12111Participant]

Tough break for Kobe. Not a fan of the Lakers for multiple reasons, but if there was one guy who played the game the right way it was Kobe. Hope it isn’t an Achilles, but if it is hope he comes back next year with a vengeance.

[Krypt GussParticipant]

is definitely not overrated.

I hope he can recover and end his career the way he wants to. He deserves that much…

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I hate to say it, but I think this is Kobe’s last game.

An Achilles tear is an one year injury for the most part. Next season is the last year on his contract.

[BigChamp12Participant]

So they say Achilles injuries usually take atleast a year. If that is so, and Kobe is expected to miss all of the next seasons’s regular season and maybe even the playoffs, WHAT DO THE LAKERS DO? I’m pretty sure they wont consider it, but does anyone think it would make sense for the Lakers, if Kobe was going to miss next season, to amnesty him and sign some good players to actually become a good team again. When Kobe gets ready to return, they sign him again. Is that reasonable? Possible? Or am I just being too far fetched right now?

[llperez]

If they amnesty him, they can’t resign him and if he wanted to continue he would have to do it in a different jersey. Sure they would save money, but hard to put a monetary value on cutting someone who has done so much and is so loved by the fans.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I think the Lakers might give Kobe Bryant the “Peyton Manning” treatment, meaning they may try to convince him to just retire.

Kobe makes over $30 MILLION next season. The chances of him playing next year are slim to none.

[BigChamp12Participant]

They cant sign him even a season later? Wow. U agree with you, I could NEVER amnesty Kobe against his own will. He’s done too much for the Lakers. However, I would try to convince him to retire.

It’s just that $30 million is a lot for a guy who is 34yrs old and most likely going to miss the season. The Lakers are in a WEIRD situation.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I think this will be a similar situation to Portland and Brandon Roy.

Damn… This sucks.

I know Kobe is prideful, but doing what’s best for the organization might be allowing them to amnesty him. He won’t play next year, so why keep that $30 million on the books?

[BigChamp12Participant]

I think they will amnesty him. They almost have to. I just read that they CAN amnesty him, and by my understanding he cant play for them next season, (the year that he will be rehabbing his torn achilles) but he can re-sign with them the following season. If he’s going to sit out anyway, the most reasonable thing to do is Amnesty Kobe while he’s healing next season and re-sign him the following season so he could finish his career the right way.

[llperez]

Amnestied players go into a bidding process involving all teams under the salary cap. Lakers almost surely wouldn’t be under the cap unless they let Dwight also walk and even then I’m not sure.

[4thewinParticipant]

Remember Chauncey Billups got amnestied but said he would retire if a garbage team picked him up. Kobe could do the same thing or retire for the year after being amnestied.

[DubNationParticipant]

Rehabs on achilles tears tend to take between 6-8 months, so he could possibly be ready for the beginning of next season. Also, I honestly can not see Kobe wearing a jersey that is not purple and gold.

[TheArtistPaysthePriceParticipant]

27 million plus the tax they will pay on that next year is a whole lot of money if he is missing the next season. Is it official that its a torn Achilles yet?

[BigMac12111Participant]

Won’t be official till the MRI, Saturday morning

[BigChamp12Participant]

Im wondering the same thing… With Kobe’s contract coming off the book, they’ll have the money to keep Pau and Metta while bringing in another Superstar or multiple really good players which would definitely have the Lakers back amongst the top teams in the NBA.

And they haven’t confirmed the injury, but Kobe did say he heard what he thinks is his Achilles pop.

[MikezParticipant]

Unfortunately I think hes done. Figures the time I root for Kobe to just squeeze into the playoffs he tears his Achilles.

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

After the injury he shot 2fts then walked to the locker room?
Does this sound off to anybody else?
I nwver had this injuy so I dont know if this is normal

[Ghost01Participant]

If that was it, I feel bad for Kobe. This really could be it, he’s had a great career, its sad that D’Antoni’s “run him into the ground” strategy of the past couple weeks did just that. But who knows, its Kobe, I’m sure he’ll try damn hard to return at an elite level again.

[llperez]

Kobe just said in an interview the other day he has the ability to play 5 more seasons. Even if he only has 1 more legit season after he recovers, I would want that to happen. Ideal situation is the team takes the hit next season and pays his salary. then Kobe could accept a smaller pay day after next year so the team could add some pieces. If Kobe wants to come back and the lakers in any way force him out, fans will be really upset.

[Ghost01Participant]

Kobe is pocketing that 30 mil either way, right?

So he might as well let them amnesty him. Sure, if he actually is ready to play in 2014-2015, they won’t have him, but the alternative is sabotaging the next 2 years and setting the rebuilding process back 2 years just to hope he can come back over a year from now and return to being a superstar.

Also interesting to see if this sways D Howard’s offseason at all. Sure, it sounds silly, but this is Dwight, who knows what goes through his mind. But if he learned one thing from this season, it should be playing with these dudes minus Kobe for an entire season probably won’t result in that many W’s.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

@llperez

I know Kobe is your most favorite player in NBA history, but I think the Lakers would be crazy to pay him $30 million plus to rehab next season. Throw in the fact, he probably isn’t going to come back the same player. Even Kobe himself also said that he’d never hang around and just average like 17-18 points.

I hate doubting Kobe, but he’s human. He’s never had an injury as serious as this. This is worse than an ACL tear IMO, especially if you’re 34 years old and already put in 17 seasons.

[llperez]

I don’t know much about the injury or how hard it is to come back. I do know Kobe isn’t just getting by out there, lakers woes aside, Kobe has been fantastic this year and efficient. I think saying this is it and it’s all over is over reacting a little until I hear it from his mouth and I don’t see anyway he leaves the game like this. It ain’t my money, lol, so maybe easy for me to say. But Kobe is engrained in the heart of laker fans and truly loved probably as much as any athlete by any team. If he wants to come back, I think they have to take it on the chin financially and do it. Lakers just signed like a billion dollar deal with time Warner cable this year. I think they could look at rhe bigger picture of fan support and not force his retirement.

[Ghost01Participant]

To Indiana’s point, you have to think of this through a human view.

Derrick Rose has been out for a calender year with a similarly bad injury. He is 24 and at his absolute physical peak, and he can’t even find the resolve to come back yet. It will end up being nearly 18 months between when he got hurt, and when he comes back.

Kobe is going to be like 35 this time next year, and paying him all that money to rehab and completely obliterate your cap is just stupid. I know if he comes back and in two years he’s still got it thats going to hurt. But playing the odds it’s just unlikely.

[RObin PadillaParticipant]

damn hate to see this happen from a big lakers/kobe fan…. hate to see his career possibly end this way… i hate dantoni how can he possibly allow kobe to play all those minutes to save his job… too many damn minutes… i hope they fire his ass… phil would of never let kobe play that many even if he insisted… it is what it is… but lakers offseason is going to be BIG

[benny15Participant]

im not saying it is, but there are worse ways to go out than tearing your achiles then stepping up to the free throw line and hitting two free throws in a close important game. i mean, cant you see his book titled leaving it all at the line?

[aamir543Participant]

The basketball world is so much more different than it was 2 and a half hours ago. As a guy who fell in love with the game by watching guys like T-Mac, Shaq, Yao, AI, and Kobe, this is really sad. I remember looking at the 1996 draft class in 2006 when I was 10, thinking “Those guys were drafted from the year I was born, they’re still young, they have a long time left.” Kobe is the only one of those guys playing at an elite level. This is really sad, I honestly can’t imagine basketball without him, I can’t be the only one who expects him to try to come back as soon as possible. But that injury takes a toll on you, but he’s going to work so incredibly hard to come back from it.

[omphalosParticipant]

No. No. No. No. I’m a Celtics fan and even I don’t want to see Kobe go down like this, not after that game, not after putting the damn team on his back. If Dwight Howard up and leaves the Lakers in the off-season I’m going to be pissed.

But if Dwight leaves and Kobe is out for a year, I’ll bet you a billion dollars the Lakers do terribly and come up with Andrew Wiggins, guaranteed.

[pohani komaracParticipant]

Never liked Kobe, but he does not deserve to go down like this. Wish him all best and wannt to see him back

[RickyRubio9Participant]

If you see the ESPN comparisons the injury usually takes anywhere from 260-300 days which is equivalent to what? Like 9 months? And knowing Kobe and his work regime I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back by the start of next season and at the longest by mid-season or the All-Star break.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

Kalin Lucas came back from an Achilles injury pretty quick, Kobe can do the same, granted Lucas was about 20-21 years old, so his body probably healed faster, but Kobe has money lol so anything possible.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

Now just thinking about something, this may devastate Kobe, it’s crazy but he wont be able to play ball for a minute, that might cause him to either really go hard and get back, or it might make him think about hangin them up, I cant imagine what he’s going thru right now, he’s probably played ball everyday of his life knowing the type of guy he is and now he wont be able to play for a minute…..sad.

[RickyRubio9Participant]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs9esdFRlS0

Just watch his interview, it’s clear what his goals are.

[RickyRubio9Participant]

I was shocked at everything! Ya know what I’m saying. I wasn’t more shocked at him getting hurt.
I was more shocked at him. Kobe is a strong dude… I know him… You know what I’m sayin?…
Real strong… so it was when he got hurt I was more like “again”. You know what I’m sayin?…
He always getting injured or bitched at… He gon’ pull threw this one again, make a few of buckets about it and its gon’ be over..
You know, then when he tore it I was like ‘Woah’… you know what I’m sayin…
it kinda took me by suprise… even though we was going threw our drama I would NEVER
wish that on nobody! ’cause there ain’t no coming back from that

[220Participant]

We’re talking about Kobe Bryant here, I would be in absolute shock if he retired after an injury that wasn’t life threatening. Unless his body won’t recover he will be back.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Is going to get the lasers that cause rapid healing and be balling in 5 months. He will come back rebuilt and reconstructed. Sure he will do and take anything. HGH baby,testosterone baby lol all that good sh!t!

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Jordan had that year and a half out of the game and playing basketball followed by a comeback. Maybe Kobe has a comeback too.

[HitsterParticipant]

Firstly I hope that this is not the end of Kobe and that he can return and play again or at least have a fitting send off.

The amnesty clause has really got we thinking and the key is, I read the clause as “Once a player has been amnestied, he cannot resign for the team that amnestied him until his amnestied contract has run out”.

If this was the case what is to stop the Lakers amnestying Kobe, he gets his $30 million, sure some team may bid for him but Kobe says I’ll retire if I end up on some lottery team or I’ll only ever be a Laker or he just says I’ll take a long term rehab.

The Lakers save a load on Luxury Tax next season and this goes towards a 2014-15 contract for Kobe, next summer Kobe resigns with the Lakers, okay he has missed a year but sitting out a year allows him to really rehab and they still have cap space to chase another FA.

The only downside would be that Kobe’s new salary would eat into their FA cap space as he’d be considered ” a FA signing” and if he did rehab quicker he could not play next season for the Lakers. Also if he was out injured, I’d guess that Insurance would pay his salary and the Lakers would only have to pick up the luxury tax tab whilst if they amnestied him then they may have to play the amnestied salary themselves.

[machu46Participant]

Man, I don’t even like Kobe, but it’s just sad to see this happen to a guy that’s basically on his last leg of his career.

Sidenote: Watching his post-game interview, does he always lick his lips and make those weird facial gestures or do you think he was just uncomfortable with this situation or something and didn’t know what to do?

[cuseflynn10Participant]

Kobe will go out on his own terms, not because of an Achilles injury. That’s not who Kobe is. He never gives up when he faces adversity. He’ll definitely play again.

[Blizz78Participant]

Kobe ain’t going out like that!!!! He is way to competitive!!!!

[Forte IVParticipant]

Chancey Billups came back. Kobe will too.

[Ghost01Participant]

I want Kobe to come back just as much as the next guy, but it’s probably not a great idea to use this comparison seeing as Billups is a shell of who he was before the injury, and basically sits out games every week or two because he continues to reinjure himself.

[kingofbumsParticipant]

The competitor that kobe is. he will not let an injury end his career, he is definitely a guy who wants to go on his own terms, meaning he will be back no doubt about it. he may never be the same again but he will be back

[King CaluchaParticipant]

If the Lakers amnesty Kobe, they lose bird rights and they won’t be able to go over the salary cap when signing him from the FA pool, unless it’s an exception contract.

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