Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant has not ruled out playing beyond his current contract, which opens another possibility that he might team up with superstar Kevin Durant in 2016.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the 36-year old Bryant believes the he could still play at a high level and lead the Lakers back to championship contention.   

"The process of how I got here moves me," Bryant told Yahoo Sports. "Never the accolades. It's the years that I've put in, the work. That's the thing now for me: the work. Every year I play, it's about winning championships. That's what I'm supposed to do. What else am I supposed to do? Not about this guy has that, that guy has that. ...This is my job."

Bryant, who is in the first year of the two-year, $48 million deal with the Lakers, has remained one of the elite scorers in the league in his 19^th NBA season and coming off two major surgeries. However, his scoring exploit was not enough to lift the Lakers from the bottom half of a very loaded Western Conference.

Still, help could be on the way after this season when the Lakers will have around $30M in salary cap to spend next summer. Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and Phoenix Suns playmaker Goran Dragic could be all up for grabs next offseason, and the Lakers are expected to be one of several teams that will go hard after these free-agents.

Moreover, the Lakers could even pull off a bigger coup in 2016 by adding the service of Kevin Durant. Durant, who is looking up to Bryant as his big brother, is still expected to consider the Lakers as a possible destination despite reports that it would be a two-team race between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards.

For Bryant, playing for the Lakers at this point of his career is considered luck. When asked if the Lakers will return to its status as a perennial championship contender, the superstar said he has no doubt the purple-and-gold will win again under the tutelage of Jim and Jeanie Buss, the children of the late Jerry Buss.

"I've been very lucky," Bryant told Yahoo. "There's not too many organizations that come around like the Lakers. There aren't owners that come around like Jerry Buss. Now, Jim and Jeanie. They're really committed to this. They're really hungry for this.