The two-minute video shows Bryant's No. 24 jersey being subjected to all of Mother Nature's elements before sunshine reappears with the words, "The legend continues December 8."
Earlier Friday, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni characterized Bryant’s chances of playing Sunday as "pretty good" before chuckling and offering, “I just opened up a can of worms. I think odds are good, but they could be bad. I don’t know anything.”
Bryant has not played since tearing his left Achilles tendon in mid-April, but has been practicing this week and even got in a workout with the team Friday morning.
With a return like this, you always want to make it in front of the home fans. And hey, who wouldn’t want to play against the Raptors, one of the league’s worst teams? It's also the team Bryant memorably scored 81 points against in 2006.
MELO RECRUITING RONDO?
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who remains out indefinitely after tearing the ACL in his right knee nearly a year ago, is apparently being recruited by Carmelo Anthony to come play for the Knicks, Rondo’s high school coach, Steve Smith, told USA Today High School Sports.
“He took a long time off and he's rehabbed the right way,” said Smith, the Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) coach. “Whether he stays in Boston or not who knows. I know, talking to Melo (Carmelo Anthony), he's recruiting Rajon to come to New York. Melo thinks he'll come too. You never know about that stuff though. I think either way, Rajon will be fine.”
Interestingly, Smith’s comment would seem to indicate that the free-agent-to-be Anthony has made up his mind about staying in New York. And if that’s the case, New York would be a far more intriguing place for Rondo to play than in Boston, where the Celtics have no star the caliber of Anthony but somehow are the best of a terrible lot in the Atlantic Division at 8-12 — even better than the Knicks.
Rondo was averaging 13.7 points and 11.7 assists when he went down with his injury last January. His current deal runs through the 2014-15 season.
HELP ON WAY FOR WADE?
The Miami Heat are interested in dealing from an excess of big men to get guard help for Dwyane Wade, who continues dealing with knee issues that are keeping him from playing in back-to-back games, ESPN.com reported.
Joel Anthony is one of those that the Heat are dangling as trade bait. Anthony was a spare part for the Heat last season and his role has diminished even further this season. He’s sat out the last five games.
Miami’s upcoming schedule features six back-to-back contests over the next six weeks, and the Heat have not settled on a starter for when Wade misses action. Last year, Mike Miller was largely Wade’s stand-in, but he’s now with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Without Wade in the lineup, the Heat are 2-3.
GOTTA BE THE SHOES!
LeBron James has been wearing last year’s model of his sneakers far more than the current version because sources tell ESPN.com that the fit is not right. And the fit is not right presumably because his feet are, uh, incredibly special. You may remember the photo of his toes that went viral.
"I just want to be able to wear them," James told ESPN.com. "It has been a frustrating process. But obviously, I know that Nike wants to do what's best. They're not going to put me out there in harm's way. So we're redefining the shoe to fit what's best for my foot."
So as LeBron waits for redefinition, he’ll continue wearing his old shoes. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal reports that LeBron not wearing the new edition of shoes hasn’t hurt sales. In fact, sales are up 18 percent compared to the same point last year.
The new LeBron 11 is the lowest cut of sneaker that James has worn to date.
ROBINSON FINED
The NBA has fined Nuggets guard Nate Robinson $25,000 for criticizing the officials following Denver's 97-95 victory over the Knicks last week. President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn announced the fine Friday.
Robinson's comments came after he drew a technical foul in the fourth quarter of the Nov. 29 game in Denver.
Contributors: Roger Kuznia, The Associated Press
