Don’t expect Kobe Bryant to take the hometown discount when he demands a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers after the upcoming season, according to an anonymous rival NBA executive.

"In some ways, the older guys, they've got to be a little bitter that this new money didn't come in earlier when they were at their height [of their game]," the unnamed NBA executive said to ESPN.com. "He's got to know that, 'Man, if I would've been 25 when this stuff hit, I would've been the highest-paid player ever. I'd be making $40 million [approximately AU $54.92 million] a year.' Now he's got to watch these other guys do it, and I don't think he can swallow that with as much pride as he has."

The same article suggests that Bryant, if he decides not to retire after the 2015-2016 NBA Season, will have little options when he explores free agency and if not re-signed by the Lakers.

"The problem that Kobe has that's different from anybody else is that he doesn't really have any allies in the league," another executive was quoted by ESPN. The executive alleges that some of Bryant’s former coaches are not too fond of the Lakers veteran and that he sees little interest for the shooting guard from other teams when he becomes a free agent.

According to reports earlier in the offseason, the Lakers are also having a tough time convincing free agents to sign in Los Angeles because of the presence of Bryant, whose contract with the Lakers expire after the 2015-2016 season.

At 37 years old, Bryant is one of the elder statesmen not only with the Lakers but the entire league. He’s coming off injuries and surgeries to his ankle and Achilles the past two seasons that limited his play and production inside the court.

Bryant has played in just 41 games the last two years and averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists. In the 2015 preseason, Bryant appears healthy playing all of their three games scoring 16 points on 5-of-11 field goal shooting in a 107-95 loss to the Toronto Raptors in their last outing.

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