Former Los Angeles Lakers coach and now New York Knicks president Phil Jackson believes that Kobe Bryant will not retire after this season, although he thinks that it may be his last with the Lakers franchise.
Jackson made the comments during the Knicks' season-opening media day together with the team's head coach and former Bryant backcourt mate Derek Fisher, who agreed to what the Zen master had said, as per Yahoo Sports.
"I don't think it's his last year," said Jackson, as reported by ESPN. "It sounds like it may be his last year as a Laker."
Those words immediately sparked speculations of a possible reunion at the Big Apple next summer when Kobe's two-year, $48.5 million contract with the Hollywood team expires.
Jackson said that Bryant still has a lot of game left in his tank and that he is "going to be really better than people think" as he comes back this season from a torn right rotator cuff in January.
Bryant, who just turned 37 on August 23, had his last three seasons cut short because of major injuries. In 2012, he tore his Achilles tendon in the final week of regular season play against the Golden State Warriors, while the year after that he suffered a left knee fracture against the Memphis Grizzlies that limited him to only six games for the season.
While acquiring Bryant does not make sense for Jackson as his team seems directed towards a youthful, defense-oriented rebuilding at the moment, the opportunity to have one of the most popular basketball players in history would be hard to pass up for a big market franchise like New York.