Is Kobe Bryant Joining ‘Inside the NBA’?

Maybe we haven’t seen the last of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal as teammates after all.

Now that his NBA days are over, Bryant needs to figure out what he’s going to do with all his spare time. Outside of living life to the fullest by skiing and skydiving, it will probably involve some combination of hanging out with his wife and kids – or Michael B. Jordan – and promoting BodyArmor, the sports drink he invested in a few years back.

But if Shaq and Kenny Smith have any say, Kobe could be back on television, too – joining them on the set of TNT’s Inside the NBA as an analyst. Smith had previously offered Bryant a seat next to Shaq earlier in the season, and TNT has reached out to him since he made the Jazz look foolish in his final game to gauge his interest, according to TMZ.

“We’ve got a seat for you, Kobe, on TNT,” Smith said late last year. “It’ll be ready in April because y’all won’t make the playoffs. Come on down. Sit next to Shaq.”

We’re still not sure if their plan is to bring Bryant on for the remainder of the playoffs or if they want him to become a staple on the show alongside Smith, O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson next season, but either way, the wheels appear to be in motion. The thing is, based on how much money he could make by breathing in bags and selling them on eBay, there are certainly easier avenues for Bryant to make loose change as a retired man. Not to mention the fact he doesn’t exactly have a great history of playing nice with others.

So what’ll it be, Mamba?