Bill Oram of the Orange County Register had the Lakers' statement:
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reported Bryant would be in a sling for six weeks following surgery.
The Lakers and Mike Trudell of Lakers.com provided comments from Mitch Kupchak, who spoke on Thursday about Bryant's injury:
Bryant, who has been dealing with a sore shoulder for most of the season, aggravated the injury last week in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Doctors confirmed a diagnosis of a torn rotator cuff following an MRI on Monday and scheduled surgery for Wednesday. While it was widely expected Bryant would be ruled out, the Lakers waited to confirm until doctors saw the extent of the damage in surgery.
Bryant, 36, averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35 games this season. He posted a career-low 37.3 shooting percentage, which included an abysmal 29.3 percent mark from beyond the arc. The Lakers were more than 11 points per 100 possessions better when Bryant was on the bench at the time of his injury, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Many, including Lakers coach Byron Scott, have wondered whether Bryant's extended minutes played a part in his body breaking down. Despite promises of a smaller workload, Scott played Bryant 34.5 minutes per game—including more than 37 a night during the season's first month.
"I don't know if the wear and tear of playing so many minutes early is a result of what's happening to him right now," Scott told reporters. "To be honest with you, I thought about that, it made me almost sick, you know."
Bryant has now suffered a major injury to a dif...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
