Lakers' Bryant to have surgery, season in jeopardy

Kobe Bryant's NBA season could be over after the guard agreed to have surgery on a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, the Los Angeles Lakers said on Monday.

The five-time National Basketball Association champion will have surgery on Wednesday and a timeline for his return will be issued following the procedure, the team said in a statement.

Bryant injured his shoulder last week in a loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans and it could lead to the 16-time NBA All-Star being shut down for the Lakers' final 37 games of the 2014-15 regular season.

The 36-year-old guard was averaging 22.3 points from 35 games this season for a struggling Lakers team that is last in the Pacific Division with a 12-33 record.

Bryant had sat out eight of the Lakers' previous 16 games for "rest" reasons.

The former league most valuable player, who stands fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, played in only six games last season due to knee and Achilles tendon injuries as Los Angeles posted a 27-55 record.

Bryant, who joined the Lakers as a first-round pick out of high school as an 18-year-old in 1996, is signed through next season after inking a two-year extension in 2013 for $48.5 million.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

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Injured Bryant gets NBA all-star nod

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was named to his 17th NBA All-Star Game, same day his club announced he had a torn rotator cuff.

Bryant garnered one of the Western Conference starting guard spots over league-leading scorer James Harden.

But before the voting results were announced Thursday, the Lakers had revealed the veteran had suffered a torn rotator cuff in Wednesday night's game, making it unlikely he will be able to play in the February 15 mid-season showcase at Madison Square Garden.

Bryant received 1,152,402 votes -- 83,034 more than Harden.

Bryant was also a surprise pick for the Western Conference team last year because of injuries and was eventually replaced by Harden.

The other starting guard for the West is Golden State's Stephen Curry, who overcame LeBron James over the past week to earn the most overall votes with 1.51 million to James' 1.47 million in global fan voting.

Besides having a new top overall vote getter, this season's event will feature a number of first-time starters, including New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin and Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol make up the West's frontcourt.

New York forward Carmelo Anthony and Chicago big man Pau Gasol will join James in the frontcourt for the Eastern Conference, while Washington point guard John Wall and Toronto's Kyle Lowry comprise the backcourt.

Lowry vaulted past Miami's Dwyane Wade for the final guard spot.

The selection of Marc and Pau Gasol mark the first time that two brothers will start and NBA All-Star Game. Brothers Tom and Dick Van Arsdale both played in the 1970 and 1971 games, but they weren't both starters.

Atlanta's Mike Budenholzer and Golden State's Steve Kerr will be the head coaches for the game. The head coaches will select their reserves, to be announced on January 29.

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Kobe not sitting out rest of the season

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said Saturday his injured knee will be re-evaluated in early February and insisted that he does not plan to sit out the rest of the season, according to a report by ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Bryant fractured his left knee in November and was expected to miss six weeks. The Lakers are 15-25, which is 13th in the Western Conference.

There has been speculation that Bryant would sit out the season if the Lakers' struggles continue. He said after Friday night's game he wants to come back, regardless of the team's record.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni recently said Bryant would be re-evaluated January 27, so the date has been pushed back a few days.

Bryant played in six games this season since he returned from a torn Achilles tendon he sustained last April. He averaged 13.8 points, 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 29.5 minutes per game before the knee injury.

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New Orleans Pelicans center Jason Smith is out indefinitely with a right knee injury, the team announced. An MRI revealed cartilage damage in the knee.

Smith is averaging 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 26.8 minutes over 31 games this season.

The Pelicans are also without leading scorer Ryan Anderson, who has a herniated disk in his back, and starting point guard Jrue Holiday with a stress fracture in his right shin. Guard Tyreke Evans also has a left ankle sprain.

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The Phoenix Suns signed guard Leandro Barbosa to a second 10-day contract.

Barbosa signed his first 10-day contract with the club on January 8. The 31-year-old guard is averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.5 minutes over four games this season.

He has averaged 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. He is in his 11th NBA season overall.

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The Dallas Mavericks assigned guard Ricky Ledo to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. Ledo is averaging 1.9 points and 3.3 minutes in nine games for the Mavericks this season. (Editing by Gene Cherry)

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Bryant back on sidelines for another six weeks

LOS ANGELES - Just 11 days after Kobe Bryant made his long-awaited return for the Los Angeles Lakers, the shooting guard is expected to be out for "approximately six weeks" because of a knee injury, the team announced on Thursday.

The 35-year-old, who spent almost eight months on the sidelines with a torn left Achilles' tendon before making his comeback on Dec. 8, hyper-extended his left knee during Tuesday's 96-92 win against the Grizzlies in Memphis.

Bryant, a 15-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on Thursday and was also examined by a team physician.

"Results of the MRI show that Bryant has a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau of his knee," the Lakers said in a statement. "He is expected to be out approximately six weeks."

Bryant's latest injury comes as a major blow for the Lakers, who only last month signed the league veteran to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension.

"That's too bad, you hate it for Kobe," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters after the team practiced at their El Segundo training facility.

"He's worked so hard to get back. But he'll be back. He'll be back in six weeks. He's got to weather the storm to get back. We're going to play hard. We have enough guys and enough talent. We'll be fine."

Xavier Henry will take over as starting point guard in Bryant's absence, the Lakers said.

Bryant, who injured his left knee with 3:25 left in the third quarter of Tuesday's game against Memphis before returning to the court to finish with a total 21 points, posted a brief comment on Twitter on Thursday.

"#BrokenNotBeaten," he tweeted.

Asked on Tuesday to explain what happened during the decisive play when he fell after backing Tony Allen down into the post, Bryant told reporters: "I just hyper-extended it. I tend to hyper-extend my knees every now and then."

Bryant's widely anticipated return from his Achilles' tendon injury gave the team a significant boost, though they have struggled to a win-loss record of 2-4 since then.

Making matters worse for the Lakers is that all three of their point guards have been sidelined by injury - Steve Nash (nerve damage in back), Steve Blake (torn ligament in right elbow) and Jordan Farmar (torn hamstring).

Bryant has averaged 13.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in six games this season for the Lakers (12-13) who sit 11th in the 15-team Western Conference. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Gene Cherry)

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Return from injury to test Kobe's toughness, patience

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant's fabled toughness will be tested this season as the 35-year-old NBA superstar bids to return from a devastating Achilles tendon injury.

Bryant won't be on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers when they launch their 2013-14 campaign against the LA Clippers on Tuesday.

It's not clear just when he will return or how he'll play once he is back after surgery in April to repair the ruptured tendon.

"It's the explosiveness," Bryant said in early October of what he's still lacking. "The explosiveness and the muscle endurance which takes a little time.

"I have to get my fat ass in shape, too," said Bryant, adding: "When I'm ready, I'm ready."

The uncertainty surrounding Bryant as he heads into his 18th NBA season no doubt accounts for the fact that the NBA's annual poll of its general managers named Bryant the second-best shooting guard in the league behind Houston's James Harden -- the first time in the poll's 12-year history that the "Black Mamba" didn't top the voting at the position.

It was one more knock, after ESPN ranked the Lakers as the 12th-best team in the Western Conference and Bryant as the 25th-best player.

Bryant quickly topped his Twitter profile with the number 1225, seen as defiant nod to ESPN's ratings.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni was confident that any perceived slight will only serve as fuel for Bryant's return.

"It's maybe just one more thing that pushes him," D'Antoni said. "But he doesn't really need it."

D'Antoni noted that the executives who did the voting would likely all jump at the chance to add Bryant to their teams.

"I'm sure 30 execs would get him in a second if they could get him," D'Antoni said.

Bryant did get the nod from the executives polled as the league's toughest player.

That toughness has backed up his skills for years as he played through and around injuries including a broken wrist, a torn ligament in his shooting wrist, a damaged index finger, a debilitating back injury, hip and elbow injuries, a troublesome right knee and too many sprained ankles to count.

For all the wear and tear he has endured, Bryant showed no sign that his game was diminished last season, when he averaged 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Bryant passed Wilt Chamberlain for fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list last season, and his efforts kept the slow-starting Lakers fighting for the playoffs.

When he returns, Bryant will have another batch of milestones in his sights. He'll need only 676 points to pass Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list. He needs 113 assists to become just the 30th player in league history to reach 6,000.

Most importantly, Bryant will be eager to add to the five NBA titles he won in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010.

He insisted in June that the Lakers can contend, despite the departure of big man Dwight Howard for Houston.

With Howard gone and Bryant sidelined, it will be up to veteran point guard Steve Nash and center Pau Gasol to get the Lakers firing.

"I hear the critics (saying) everything is up in the air," Bryant said in June. "It may seem that way now, but the dust will settle. We'll have a team out there on the floor that's going to be a contender."

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