The Los Angeles Lakers will have an open line of communication with Kobe Bryant as they go through the process of selecting a new head coach, but he won't have a say in the decision.

"From time to time we ask his advice," Mitch Kupchak told ESPN's Andy Katz at the NBA draft combine Thursday in Chicago. "He really won't weigh in on something like this. I'm not even sure that we'll talk to him prior to interviews. But from time to time, he is in our facility, I'll go downstairs and I'll talk to him about a bunch of different things."

The Lakers are counting on Bryant to return from injury next season.

"We need some players," Kupchak said of the Lakers, who currently only have three players signed for next season. "We don't have many players under contract right now. Fortunately, we did sign a good player back in November: Kobe Bryant. So, we have him to rely on. He's been working out every day at our facility. He looks good. And we have a bunch of free agents and some of the players on our roster last year, some of the younger players, played well. So we're looking forward to maybe bringing some of those guys back and looking at the free-agent market and then once again, our lottery pick."