Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on Wednesday after suffering a torn rotator cuff in the loss to the New Orleans Pelicans last week.
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As a result of the surgery, Bryant will have a timetable of approximately nine months, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
Lakers announce the inevitable: Kobe Bryant surgery successful. The twist: He is expected to be out approximately nine months.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 28, 2015
With Kobe on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Lakers will likely have Wayne Ellington take over as the starting shooting guard moving forward. Ellington is coming off his best performance as a Laker recording a career-high 28 points against the visiting Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
As for Kobe, there’s no telling what the future holds for the future Hall of Famer. If all goes well, Bryant will be healthy and ready to go for the start of the 2015-16 NBA season.
Along with rehabbing from shoulder surgery during the off-season, Bryant will be actively recruiting free agents to the Lakers. The team will have a considerable amount of cap space at their disposal this summer with a few All-Star-caliber players set to hit the free agent market.
Bryant’s recruiting of players like Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge might help the team bring in another star player of two. Unfortunately for the Lakers, there’s no guarantee the team can reload quickly, but Kobe’s involvement could improve their chances.
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