In an interview Thursday evening with NBA TV, Jackson was asked if he would have signed Kobe Bryant to a two-year contract. Bryant signed a two-year, $48.5 million deal in November despite coming off an Achilles injury.
From Yahoo! Sports:
"Yeah, I would have," Jackson answered quickly, before briefly pausing and adding: "They paid him more than I would have gone for."
"But what he's given to this organization, what he gives back — he brings a certain sense of, 'We are going to win,'" Jackson said. "You've got to have a guy on the team that doesn't settle for second. That's one of the areas where the value of Kobe, even at this age, is terrific."
Bryant returned to play six games this season before breaking a bone in his knee Dec. 17. Originally estimated as a being out six weeks, it looks like it could be much longer. The Lakers are 16-30 and 15.5 games behind the Pacific-leading Clippers.
CARMELO CONSOLES BENNETT
The downside for Anthony Bennett is J.R. Smith crossed him up in a dirty move down the baseline for a dunk.
The upside for Bennett is Carmelo Anthony was there to console him.
“Yeah, yeah, I talked to him, man,” Anthony said. “Somebody told me that I was his favorite player last year. So I never really got a chance to talk to him but tonight it was my opportunity to let him know that everything will be fine. Just keep working and don’t get down on yourself. Everybody have times like this and it will get better.”
The rookie is averaging 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds a game playing an average of 11 minutes.
“He just said, ‘Keep working, keep my head up’ and it helped out a lot,” Bennett said.
He scored four points on 1-for-6 shooting in 23 minutes against the Knicks. Bennett is still on the comeback from a surgically-repaired shoulder he injured in May. He didn't train or play over the summer.
Contributor: Cassandra Negley
