It was just less than two weeks ago when I wrote an article about where the Lakers stand with Kobe Bryant’s return. Unfortunately, Kobe’s return was brief and disappointing as he fractured his lateral tibial plateau in his left knee on the 17th. In the third quarter Kobe injured his knee but managed to play through the pain to finish the game. It was after the game that the news broke that Kobe would miss up to six weeks with the injury. This is a crushing blow to both Kobe and the Lakers for a few reasons. Kobe had just managed to return from a torn Achilles and many believed the Lakers could make a playoff push with his comeback. The Lakers had also just signed Kobe to a two year, $48.5 million contract extension. The last thing the Lakers front office and the fan base wanted to see is Kobe go down with another injury.

For nearly half of his life Kobe has been playing in the NBA, and he has played in 1245 games. That is a lot of wear and tear on a body, especially one that is 35. Up until his Achilles tear Kobe had been fairly healthy during his career. However, sustaining another injury after immediately returning from one is a bad sign. No one will ever doubt Kobe’s drive, and he will make sure to return as soon as possible, but in this case that might not be the best option. Unless things change in a hurry, the Lakers won’t be competing for a playoff spot anytime to soon. The best thing for Kobe is to rest and rehab. He should make certain that he is 100 percent healthy before he returns. And when he does return he should be very limited in his playing time. With the playoffs likely out of reach by the time he returns, Kobe should be very patient with his return. When he does return it would be wise for the Lakers to manage his minutes carefully. One example they should follow in is the Spurs. The Spurs do a fantastic job of limiting their veteran stars playing time and making sure they stay healthy. Simply put, I don’t think we will ever see the Kobe of old again. Sure we might see some big games, but we won’t consistently see him scoring 25 a night. If the Lakers and Kobe can come to this realization then his career could certainly be drawn out, much like Tim Duncan’s has. If the Lakers want to prevent another major injury to their veteran star, they need to take care of him. He won’t be able to go out and consistently play 35 minutes a game, but he can still be very effective in a more limited role. Now Kobe may never accept this or the Lakers refuse to acknowledge that fact but it is what needs to be done.  Otherwise the Lakers risk another major injury to Kobe, which is the last thing that anyone wants. The Lakers just made a $48.5 million investment in Kobe Bryant and that means that they should be extra cautious with him.

Kobe is still an elite player, he is an excellent scorer and when he wants to he can be a very good distributor as well. The biggest concern with Kobe is his health. While he may have lost some explosiveness and agility with his recent injuries and increased aged he can still be a very valuable weapon. If the Lakers can properly manage his minutes and his health, Kobe could easily live out his remaining contract relatively injury free. Sure his production will fall, but his health is far more important than his stats. A healthy Kobe receiving limited minutes is much better than a Kobe on the bench because of injury. Whether or not Kobe’s remaining production is worth $48.5 is another discussion entirely, but he can still be a valuable player. Unfortunately, I believe that we will never see the 27 points a game Kobe again. We could however see a Kobe who plays around 25 minutes a game and excels in that role. We could also see a Kobe Bryant that tries too hard to comeback or continues playing with such a high workload and ends up with another injury. If managed correctly, we could get the pleasure of seeing Kobe finish out his career healthy and productive.