"Mamba Out"

A sad day in NBA history, as one of the greatest to walk the hardwood in my lifetime has retired, Kobe "The Black Mamba" Bryant. The 6'6 shooting guard has accomplished 5 championships, MVP, two time finals MVP, 15 NBA All-Start selection, 3rd time all scoring list, 18 All-Star games, and two time NBA scoring champion all with the Los Angeles Lakers....What a resume.

What's insane about Kobe Bryant is that he has played in the NBA longer than he has been alive. Kobe entered the league at the age of 18 out of Lower Marion High School, and has finally punched out after his 20th season with the Los Angeles Lakers. After putting on a never-forgetting performance in his last game against the Utah Jazz, he scored an amazing 60 POINTS in his last game, showing that the old man still got it.

So what does this mean for the NBA? What does this mean for the Los Angeles Lakers? For the NBA, we may never see a competitor such as Kobe Bryant again. Now it is time for the upcoming players in the league to take the torch which today's top players range from Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, the list goes on and on.

As far as the Los Angeles Lakers, they will receive A LOT of cap space due to Kobe Bryant's contract expiring in the 2016 season. Kobe was earning $25 million a year (which is insane if you think about it, this totals up to making $68,000 a day, can you imagine?).

Luke Walton will be replacing Byron Scott for the 2017 season, which I predict will attract players to come to LA to play in that Golden State Warriors type offense. With the young players already on the rise with the Los Angeles Lakers such as Julius Randle, D'angelo Russell, and Jordan Clark, these players will continue to develop over these next few seasons and compete for a spot in the playoffs. Some upcoming free agents the Lakers may go after are Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan.