Hall of Famer Charles Barkley believes that Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will not make it into the playoffs of the upcoming 2014-15 NBA season.
In an interview during NBA TV's 2014-15 Season Schedule Release Special on Wednesday night, Barkley, who is known for giving straight-to-the-point comments, had an interesting take on the Lakers' campaign in the upcoming season.
"Kobe Bryant is going to save a lot of money on playoff tickets because the Lakers are not going to make the playoffs," said Barkley when asked about the team's chances next season.
The Lakers are coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history after finishing in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with their 27-55 record.
Bryant, who signed a two-year contract extension worth $48.5 million in November last year, missed all but six games last season after sustaining a knee injury just as when he is getting closer to regaining his form after undergoing an Achilles tendon surgery.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders also questioned Bryant's capability to regain his old form in the upcoming season, saying that the 35-year-old is a huge question mark for the Lakers next season, which makes him believe that Los Angeles won't make the playoffs for the second straight year.
"The Lakers will be entertaining, but I can't see them making the playoffs in the West," Kennedy wrote. "Kobe Bryant is a question mark since we don't know how effective he'll be. I hope he's the dominant scoring machine that we all know, but who knows how the injuries will affect him?"
Kennedy also questioned the Lakers' decision to keep most of the players from the team that performed horribly last season and their intention in signing Carlos Boozer, who could stunt the development of rookie forward Julius Randle.
"I wasn't crazy about the Lakers' offseason. The fact that L.A. is bringing back a lot of the same players from last season isn't a good sign, since this team really struggled last year," Kennedy wrote. "I think Jeremy Lin will do well and surprise people, but I don't understand the decision to sign Carlos Boozer. Julius Randle was a great pick, but I don't know how much he'll play since it seems like they'll be playing veterans."
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