Kobe Bryant uses Times article as bulletin-board material

Kobe Bryant had a simple response to the recent article in The Times with the headline, “Injury clouds the future for Bryant, Lakers.”

Bryant recently included a snapshot of The Times paper on his Facebook and Instagram page with the following message: “#cloudy? #eat.”

Bryant, who currently has 16.9 million Facebook “likes” on his fan page, is in the final year of his contract with the team.

The Lakers All-Star, who is recovering from an Achilles’ tear suffered in April, has long been a collector of bulletin-board material, used for motivation.

How much of Bryant’s game will be diminished after the devastating injury is unclear. Currently he’s sidelined during training camp as he continues the rehab process. While he recently started shooting a set shot on the court (without jumping), there still is no timeline for Bryant’s return.

Bryant is eligible to re-sign with the team for a contract starting at $32 million but that’s an amount that would take up much of the team’s financial flexibility next summer.

The future for Bryant and the Lakers remains fuzzy but both sides have said they hope and expect Bryant to finish his career in Los Angeles with the team.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.