Derby Trail Forums - Kobe needs surgery

Ok, so what do people think he should do? The options are to have surgery now and maybe be out up to six weeks or to postpone it till later and continue playing. If he were to have the surgery now, as tough as the West is, there is the very real chance that the Lakers could fall out of playoff position and be in a tough fight to get back in it when he comes back in the last couple of weeks of the season. What are the chances of doing further damage to it and being forced to have surgery but then it coming at a later date and being forced to miss some playoff time? Interesting choices. Kobe has decided to postpone surgery until after the Olympics. The Lakers owner wants him to have it. We know who wins that fight.

Another interesting subject is in regards to his participation in the All-Star game. League rules state that if a player is able to play in his team's last game before the break, he must play in the All-Star game. If he misses the All-Star game, he must then be forced to miss his team's first game after the break. Kobe wants to sit out the game but so far the league is insisting he participate. Interesting reading from Johnny Ludden on Yahoo Sports:

The Lakers wanted him to have the break's full five days to rest his hand. Not just two or three. Bryant also wants to sit out Sunday's All-Star game, but league officials, for now, seem intent on having him make an obligatory appearance. They don't want to set the precedent of allowing a player to skip the event if he's still able to play for his team.

That said, the NBA also is aware of how valuable Bryant is to its bottom line. Putting the game's biggest star at risk in a meaningless game isn't good business, even if that risk is slight. "We obviously don't want to jeopardize his long-term health," one official said. "If (the injury) flares up Saturday or Sunday, we'll address the situation then."

West coach Byron Scott, a friend and former teammate, already has pledged to adhere to Bryant's wishes, saying he'll sub Bryant out after "one minute" if that's what he wishes.

Looks like they are already setting up a way to let him out of the game and to skirt their rules. Then we see that Byron Scott is going to play him only for a minute if that's what Bryant wishes. Funny to me how they can come out and publicly say that they are going to technically follow the rule but for all intents and purposes, break the rule and that's going to be ok. But let Stackhouse do the same thing, and the league is going to step in and not allow it. The reason for the NBA rule saying that a guy would have to sit out 30 days following his release is because of a situation a few years ago involving Gary Payton and the Celtics. The Celtics traded Payton to Atlanta for Antoine Walker and upon Payton going to Atlanta, the Hawks bought him out and he re-signed with the Celtics and was back in their starting lineup a week later. At the time, Payton publicly stated that he had no intention of playing for the Hawks. The league hated that and instituted the 30 day rule. If they wanted it to be longer, they should have made it six months or a year. They chose to make it 30 days and now want to penalize Stackhouse, the Nets and the Mavs for using that loophole to their advantage. They'll make allowances for the Lakers and allow rules circumventions to be publicly acknowledged in Bryant's case but the Mavs and in particular, Mark Cuban, would never be allowed to do the same thing.