Kobe had every intention of coming back next year...he is only 37...Pierce, Garnett, Vince, Caron Butler...etc...these guys are still at it...and will continue for at least another year or two...However, his play has been so terrible of late, it has become the talk of the town and the media will not let up about it...25 million dollar player putting up 1 for 14 from the floor....the OPTICS just don't look right on that one...
Something had to give....so he announces his retirement barely two months into the season...the focus of his horrendous play will now shift to his pending retirement....Keep in mind, he did not want a Derek Jeter style sending off...but that is exactly what will happen now that he has let the cat out the bag...no more talk of how bad he is on the floor or how he is hindering the development of his younger teammates...He was starting to look like a villain even to his most loyal fans...giving defiant interviews about how bad he was playing...now he will be seen as sympathetic...cant criticize a guy on his way out...no matter how bad he may be...dude went 4 for 20 tonight..and got a standing ovation...lol...
Either way...it looks like its the end of an era..you will never see another player as polarizing as Jelly Bean that is for sure...what can you say...who am i going to make fun of when the season ends? LOLOL