Kobe Bryant will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

Bryant was examined on Monday morning by Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Dr. ElAttrache confirmed an earlier diagnosis of a torn rotator cuff, and advised Bryant to have surgery to repair the shoulder. Bryant has agreed, and surgery has been scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Kobe Bryant considered joining Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards before his 2004 free agency.

Abe Pollin, however, parted ways with Jordan in 2003 a year before Bryant was scheduled to make his free agent decision.

“That’s true,” Bryant confirmed recently. “A long time ago? Yeah.”

Bryant considered signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, but eventually chose to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant was in the middle of a feud with Shaquille O'Neal as the two were struggling to co-exist. The Lakers traded O'Neal in that 2004 offseason to the Miami Heat.

“The challenge had been thrown down upon me, of not being able to win without Shaq. A public challenge never really bothered me too much, but he made a couple of comments as well. I think he called me Penny Hardaway Part 2 or something like that. So that’s what [ticked] me off,” Bryant said. “Then it was like, ‘Listen, you know the step back that I took to help us win championships. Let’s not get [expletive] confused. I can dominate on my own. I decided to stay here and win championships and sacrifice MVPs and scoring titles and all that stuff.’ So once that was said, it was like a line in the sand now.”

According to two people with knowledge of the situation, after Jordan decided to sell his minority ownership stake to resume his playing career with the Wizards, Bryant informed him several times he wanted to play for the Wizards. Jordan was going to return to the front office after his retirement.

“I’ve always been very big on having mentors, on having muses and I’ve been really, really big on that,” Bryant said. “Being around guys who have done it before and done it at a high level and always tried to pick their brains and always tried to absorb knowledge. Obviously, being in that situation [with the Wizards], it would’ve helped having to be around him every day and so on.”

The Wizards never had the assets to discuss a trade for Bryant, so the only chance the organization would have had to make a run at him was when he became an unrestricted free agent in 2004. 

“We would’ve put together a great team and we would’ve won championships,” Bryant said. “Listen, man. There are not a lot of players in this league that say, ‘Come hell or high water, we’re going to get this [expletive] done.’ People can look around and joke around about winning, saying they want to win. For me, it’s a matter of life or death. It was that important to me. And if it’s that important to me, I’m going to get there.”

Jeremy Lin was a healthy scratch, DNP-CD during the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

Jordan Clarkson got the start at point guard, with Ronnie Price backing him up.

"He just looked like he was very poised and the moment wasn't too big for him," Byron Scott said of Clarkson.

"I know what Jeremy can do, so the next game it might be different."

Lin left the locker room after talking to one reporter while a majority of them were still interviewing Scott outside the door.

Kobe Bryant is expected to miss the remainder of the 14-15 season with a torn rotator cuff.

Bryant suffered the injury on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry was the leading vote-getter for the NBA 2015 All-Star Game, beating LeBron James.

Western Conference Starters
Stephen Curry, Warriors
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Anthony Davis, Pelicans
Marc Gasol, Grizzlies
Blake Griffin, Clippers

Eastern Conference Starters
John Wall, Wizards
Kyle Lowry, Raptors
LeBron James, Cavaliers
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks
Pau Gasol, Bulls

Voting Results

Western Conference Frontcourt

Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans, 1,369,911
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, 795,121
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, 700,615
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs, 546,817
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder, 545,226
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers, 498,131
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings, 465,334
Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets, 348,275
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks, 292,557
Rudy Gay, Sacramento Kings, 144,702
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs, 132,150
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers, 117,816
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder, 107,223
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, 99,039
Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks, 98,654

Western Conference Backcourt

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, 1,513,324
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, 1,152,402
James Harden, Houston Rockets, 1,069,368
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers, 551,167
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, 365,417
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, 314,254
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder, 248,758
Rajon Rondo, Dallas Mavericks, 219,506
Jeremy Lin, Los Angeles Lakers, 216,246
Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies, 103,015

Eastern Conference Frontcourt

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, 1,470,483
Pau Gasol, Chicago Bulls, 974,177
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks, 647,005
Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards, 570,005
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat, 542,006
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers, 386,208
Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors, 231,741
Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls, 203,718
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, 129,293
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks, 121,938
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, 114,955
Al Jefferson, Charlotte Hornets, 110,980
Kevin Garnett, Brooklyn Nets, 106,820
Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls, 103,645
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons, 86,717

Eastern Conference Backcourt

John Wall, Washington Wizards, 886,368
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors, 805,290
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat, 789,839
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers, 535,873
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls, 455,756
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls, 379,994
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors, 159,123
Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks, 83,900
Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors, 82,135
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 55,014

Kobe Bryant suffered a right shoulder injury in the second half of the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Preliminary results from the MRI reveal that Bryant has sustained a tear of the rotator cuff.

Bryant will be examined by Lakers doctors on Friday.

Nick Young is prepared to help the Los Angeles Lakers with their free agency recruiting.

“It’s tough, but I know it’s going to get better,” Young told the Los Angeles News Group. “This offseason is going to be big for us. It’s going to work out.” …

“I told Goran Dragic on the court, ‘You might be my teammate next year.’” Young said. “I’ll talk to Marc (Gasol.) Me and him are cool. Kevin Love, I’ll talk to him.”

The Lakers have enough cap space to sign one max contract player.

Kobe Bryant said he will not give up on trying to recruit Rajon Rondo to the Los Angeles Lakers despite the guard's trade to the Dallas Mavericks and the two sides' hope for a long-term deal.

“No way,” Bryant said. “I’m not done. I’m not stopping until he signs an extension.”

Bryant has already done a little recruiting on Rondo, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The average NBA franchise valuation is now a record $1.1 billion.

There are now 11 NBA teams worth at least $1 billion, compared to three a year ago.

The Los Angeles Lakers lead the way at $2.6 billion, up 93% over last year. 

The value of the New York Knicks shot up 79% to $2.5 billion, ranking the team second overall.

Rounding out the top five are the Chicago Bulls ($2 billion), Boston Celtics ($1.7 billion) and Los Angeles Clippers ($1.6 billion).

6. Brooklyn Nets: $1.5 billion
7. Golden State Warriors: $1.3 billion
8. Houston Rockets: $1.25 billion
9. Miami Heat: $1.175 billion
10. Dallas Mavericks: $1.15 billion
11. San Antonio Spurs: $1 billion
12. Portland Trail Blazers: $940 million
13. Oklahoma City Thunder: $930 million
14. Toronto Raptors: $920 million
15. Cleveland Cavaliers: $915 million
16. Phoenix Suns: $910 million
17. Washington Wizards: $900 million
18. Orlando Magic: $875 million
19. Denver Nuggets: $855 million
20. Utah Jazz: $850 million
21. Indiana Pacers: $830 million
22. Atlanta Hawks: $825 million
23. Detroit Pistons: $810 million
24. Sacramento Kings: $800 million
25. Memphis Grizzlies: $750 million
26. Charlotte Hornets: $725 million
27. Philadelphia 76ers: $700 million
28. New Orleans Pelicans: $650 million
29. Minnesota Timberwolves: $625 million
30. Milwaukee Bucks: $600 million

Kobe Bryant has been in and out of the lineup this season and is on a minutes restriction.

Bryant is signed through the 15-16 season.

"I'd be lying if I said that it hasn't crossed my mind,'' Bryant said about considering retirement. "Right now I doubt it … but anything's possible."

Bryant believes the rest could extend his career and help him avoid another Achilles' tear.

"My body is hurting like crazy, around the clock, and if I don't want to do this anymore, I won't do it,'' said Bryant.