Kobe Bryant continues to make a run at Michael Jordan's number of championship rings and career points, but he doesn't expect to follow in Jordan's footsteps in another area. In a video interview with Bloomberg.com (hat tip to SI.com's Ben Golliver), Kobe said he couldn't see himself owning an NBA team after his playing career is over.
"I’d go crazy," Bryant said. "If a player misses a game because he has a broken fingernail, I’d lose my mind. I wouldn’t be able to take it."
While ownership may not be for him, Bryant did say he hopes to stay around the game after he retires as a player. Here are a few other odds and ends from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have gotten off to an awful start this season, but team president Ernie Grunfeld is still focusing on the big picture, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes.
- NBA scouts and general managers are starting to consider options beyond Nerlens Noel, Cody Zeller, and Shabazz Muhammad as No. 1 picks in the 2013 draft, says ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link). Ford identifies Alex Poythress, Alex Len, and Rudy Gobert as three other possible top picks.
- Even though Eric Bledsoe isn't eligible for restricted free agency until 2014, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com is already wondering if Bledsoe will eventually become to the Clippers what James Harden was to the Thunder — a star-in-waiting that the team may not be able to afford.
- On the heels of last night's big win in Miami, Tyson Chandler praised the moves Knicks GM Glen Grunwald made over the summer, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
- According to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, while the Grizzlies won't discuss it openly, the absence of O.J. Mayo this year has made the team's offense and locker room happier places.
- David Mayo of MLive.com tries his hand at picking out a few free agents the Pistons could target next summer.