Might be time for Kobe to call it a career

I DO NOT THINK Kobe Bryant will follow the script of former Los Angeles Lakers great Elgin Baylor.

Nine games into the 1971-72 season, Baylor, then 37, evaluated his chronic knee issues and decided to call an end to his 13-year NBA career.

One of the greatest scorers of his generation, Baylor, ironically, left the game during the season the Lakers won the NBA title he had relentlessly pursued in vain.

Bryant has no such issues.

A five-time NBA champion and 17-time All-Star with the Lakers, Bryant, 37, has a legacy that few players in NBA history can rival.

Still, he stands face to face with the unbeatable foe - Father Time - and not even Bryant's indomitable will is going to allow him to win this fight.

Three games into the 2015-16 NBA season is not a large enough sample size to gauge much.

It was Bryant, however, who said after he missed 12 of 15 shots in a loss to Dallas on Sunday, "I'm the 200th best player in the league right now. I freaking suck."

Bryant, who is averaging 17.8 points while shooting 31.4 percent, has been known to exaggerate to emphasize a point, so I doubt he truly believes half the players in the Association are better than he is, even after nearly two decades.

Although he is not far off.

It is not that Bryant is no longer an elite or All-Star-level player. The vast majority of players will never approach that status.

It is that Bryant is no longer an impact player for a Lakers team that has sunk to the depths as one of the worst in the league, and he has not been since 2012-13.

Because of injuries, Bryant played only 41 of 164 games over the previous two seasons.

He is slower and less explosive, and no longer has the lift that separated him from so many other players.

Still, this retirement talk is not about Bryant's declining skills because, honestly, the fact that he ranks 38th in scoring shows he can contribute if he wants to stick around.

The question is, why should Bryant keep playing? What is there to be gained?

A few seasons ago, when the Lakers first started to decline, Bryant's motivation was clearly to bring the only franchise he has played for back to championship status.

However, the same 2012 trade that sunk the Sixers into purgatory also doomed the Lakers.

Just as the Sixers thought the acquisition of center Andrew Bynum from the Lakers was their path to the Finals, Los Angeles thought getting All-Star center Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic in the same multiteam deal was their way back to championship status.

When a disgruntled Howard bolted to Houston via free agency after one season, Bryant's dreams of a sixth title went away.

Then came Bryant's injuries and a team decline that had the Lakers picking in the lottery for the previous two drafts.

The Lakers are legitimately one of the teams that will battle the Sixers for the worst record in the league.

They were burned in free agency, not able to lure a superstar player whom Bryant could complement. Underachieving center Roy Hibbert just does not make the grade.

Bryant is now a good player on a bad team going nowhere. Worst, he no longer has a useful role with the Lakers.

If Bryant had the mindset of a veteran such as Kevin Garnett, who returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the final days of his career specifically to mentor young players such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, that would be one thing.

However, much like Michael Jordan, the player he patterned his game after, Bryant does not have the "veteran mentor" persona. It is not that Bryant would not try to help develop Lakers youngsters such as Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson; he just does not have it in him.

Bryant is like the great player who makes a lousy coach because he cannot accept less than his vision of greatness.

The truth is that Bryant is actually a detriment to the Lakers at this point.

Unless it falls within the top three, the Lakers' pick in the 2016 draft goes to the Sixers.

It is in Los Angeles' best interest to lose as much as possible, to reduce the odds of falling out of the first three picks.

Bryant is a winner. He does not know how to try to lose.

Of course, there could be a role for him on a contending team, but being a bit player would not suit his personality or ego.

Bryant stayed in Los Angeles to prove he could win titles without Shaquille O'Neal. He won two more.

I simply cannot see Bryant finding joy in winning a sixth ring by coming off the bench for 10 minutes while riding someone else's coattails to a championship.

Besides, Bryant has always been a volume shooter and scorer. No established contender will bring him in to add 12 points on 14 shots. It would be too disruptive.

Bryant is third on the all-time scoring list, more than 4,000 points behind Karl Malone and almost 5,000 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He will not catch either.

Realistically, Kobe Bryant will not suddenly retire. He worked too hard to get back.

Still, there is little left he can get from or contribute to basketball anymore. So what is the point of playing on?

Columns: ph.ly/Smallwood