Lakers News & Rumors: Will Kobe Bryant Retire After 2014-15 NBA Season?

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is playing in his 19th season in the league, but it is slowly becoming a forgettable one as they are in 14th place in the Western Conference standings.

When asked about the possibility of retiring even before his two-year contract ends in 2016, Bryant said that he is not ready to make a decision, but he admitted that he has considered hanging up his sneakers next summer.

"I'd be lying if I said that it hasn't crossed my mind," Bryant told Los Angeles Times. "Right now I doubt it, but anything's possible."

Bryant is playing in the first year of the two-year, $48.5 million deal he signed in November 2013. The 36-year-old superstar has been slowed down by injuries over the past two years, particularly a torn Achilles tendon and knee fracture.

This season, the 19-year veteran is averaging 22.6 points to go along with 5.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds, but has been on minutes restriction recently. The Philadelphia native revealed that they decided to limit his minutes, fearing that he might hurt his Achilles again.

"The Achilles' rupture gives you a lot of perspective, I think the Achilles' issue scared everyone," Bryant said. "They don't want to wear the tendons down, because you just can't see that coming, there's no warning: Pow! It's gone. We understand how a player can rupture an Achilles' then rupture the other one."

Bryant did not play in their 94-85 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday as part of the Lakers' precautionary measure on their superstar. Sources said that the Lakers will eventually shut Bryant down for the rest of the season.

The 16-time All-Star said that it will be hard for him to shut his season down, but he will do so if their doctors and coaching staff advise him to end his season to keep him fresh for the 2015-16 NBA season.

"I will do what they ask of me, but it's very, very hard for me to miss one game," Bryant told ESPN. "I'm not going to be here much longer, so the games that I play, I want to make sure that I'm playing and enjoying it and appreciating it."