Coming off of the two worst seasons in franchise history, Kobe Bryant is saving the retirement talks for next summer and focusing on making the playoffs in 2015-16.
The five-time NBA champion has intimated in the past that the forthcoming season could be his final campaign, but he has stopped short of announcing a full-blown retirement.
Bryant shared that sentiment again on Tuesday, saying he isn't sure what the future holds beyond next season.
"We haven't set anything in stone, and I've talked about it before," Bryant told ESPN. "But could this be the last [season]? Absolutely. It's tough to decide. It's really tough to make those types of decisions. Players I have spoken to say, 'Kobe you will know.'"
He continued: "I'm making this very simple. Either I like playing the game and going through this process or I don't. I try to strip it down to the simplest form. Either I like playing some more or I don't. But I think that decision needs to be made after the season. It's hard to make a decision like that before the season."
The Lakers star shooting guard has sustained season-ending injuries over the last three years, including a torn right rotator cuff that halted his 2014-15 campaign.
Los Angeles made moves to retool the organization this offseason, landing No. 2 overall draft pick D'Angelo Russell in the draft and 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert.
Though they struck out on high-end free agents this summer, the Lakers also added veterans Lou Williams and Brandon Bass.
Bryant has expressed his desire for a sixth ring, but right now just making it into the playoffs would be a step up for this franchise.
Los Angeles finished what at the time was a franchise-worst 27-55 in 2013-14 and it then managed to set the bar for futility even lower by closing out 2014-15 with a 21-61 record.
While his team has struggled in recent years, Bryant is confident that it will return to the playoffs this season for the first time since a first round sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in 2012-13.
"We have talented players in their respective positions," Bryant said. "We have some really young players. How exactly will the pieces of the puzzle fit? We really don't know. We are going to [training] camp trying to piece this together just like every other team does. We have to figure out what our strengths are, figure out what our weaknesses are. And every time we step on the court we are going to try to hide our weaknesses and step up to our strengths."
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