Lakers GM Says Team May Retire Both “8” & “24” For Kobe Bryant

Said World Peace: “I haven’t even thought about it. It’s not a concern”. His optimistic view was enhanced Sunday by the fact that the Lakers have won three in a row for the first time in almost a year.

According to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Thomas reached out to someone close to Bryant to request a meeting with the legend Wednesday night when the Boston Celtics hosted the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sixers are still three games ahead of the Lakers in the win column for the worst record in the league. D’Antoni resigned on April, 30, 2014, amid the Lakers’ refusal to assure him they would exercise his team option for the 2015-16 season.

Bryant tore the rotator cuff in that shoulder in late January a year ago during a dunk in New Orleans.

It was LA’s season-best third straight win, which they should enjoy because they’re playing Golden State on Tuesday. Their winning streak is the longest active one in the National Basketball Association….

Meanwhile, the Lakers are poised to embrace a future without Bryant as the team will have plenty of cap-room to sign top-talented players in free agency.

“And like I said, we had a lot of guys step up and made big shots when it counted and when we needed them”. The team overall shot 45 percent from the field including 36 percent from three which are both above their normal averages.

The hapless Suns would make any team look like a championship-caliber team.

The other subplots: Lakers rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. posted eight points and a career-high 14 rebounds after nursing what Scott called a “tender” right ankle. The Lakers could still possibly find a way to find room on a hanging jersey for two numbers, but the Staples Center has plenty of room up there despite the Lakers’ celebrated history – why not go nuts?

The Suns’ best burst occurred with a 21-5 run to open the fourth quarter, allowing them to cut the gap to 86-72. “I just told them I wasn’t happy and that we didn’t come out in the fourth quarter with the same aggressiveness and intensity that we had the first three quarters”.

Scott said of Randle, “I think the main thing I don’t like is, when you take him out of a game, how he acts sometimes”. Eric Bledsoe’s season-ending injury has meant added responsibility for Knight. Adding to their woes is that back-up forward Alex Len now is playing with a sore hand.

The Sixers came in shooting 42 percent from the floor with the Lakers right behind them at an NBA-worst 41.3 percent.