Lakers may rest Kobe, Pao Gasol during NBA preseason

The reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant and his Laker teammate Pao Gasol both had a busy summer. Kobe spent much of the summer leading the US Olympic basketball team to a gold medal, while Gasol was the mainstay on Spain’s silver medal winning runner up squad. Without much of a break before the Lakers’ training camp and then the never ending grind of another NBA season, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to be feeling a little fatigued.

For that reason, “zenmaster” Laker coach Phil Jackson has said that Kobe and Gasol may sit out some of the team’s preseason games so they’ll be ready to go when the games start to count in late October. Jackson was non-specific in his comments to the press, but left open the possibility that the team’s top two stars might not play at all in the exhibition season:

"This week I'm just seeing how they feel, how's their energy level, and then we'll adjust. I was told not to say that I wasn't going to play Kobe in exhibition games. So I'm not going to say Kobe's not going to play in this exhibition game or that exhibition game. But there is a chance they may not play in an exhibition game."

Jackson has also made it known that he wants to try and limit Kobe’s minutes during the regular season to an even greater extent. During last year’s MVP run, Bryant averaged 38.9 minutes per game—down significantly from his previous three seasons when he averaged over 40 minutes per game, but still a number that Jackson would like to bring down even more. Kobe just turned 30 and is in phenomenal shape (his injured pinky finger notwithstanding) but monitoring his minutes is a smart pre-emptive move for Jackson. The last thing he’d want to happen is to have Kobe’s busy summer to catch up with him during the 2008-2009 playoffs.

The LA Lakers will begin the 2008-2009 NBA season at home on October 28th against the Portland Trailblazers.