What Kobe Bryant ultimately decides to do now that his illustrious playing career has ended, is still up in the air. Bryant has hinted that he would like to stay close to basketball by training some of the league's stars like Kawhi Leonard. And it appears that Bryant offered the same type of guidance and tutoring to the son of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal. Shareef O'Neal is blossoming as a player, and is already making a name for himself at just 16 years old.
The intrepid folks over at TMZ caught up with the younger O'Neal and asked him about all things Kobe. During the interview, O'Neal revealed that Bryant told him that they need to train together:
"I talk to Kobe sometimes," said Shareef (transcribed by Yahoo's Dan Devine). "I might start training with him, because during Toronto All-Star [Weekend back in February], he was talking about [how] I need to train with him. [...] Yeah, I'mma start training with Kobe soon, probably this summer. [...] If we play one-on-one, I'mma try to win."
Shareef will be a junior in high school next year and could obviously learn a lot from working with Bryant. Of course, this doesn't sound like an official offer from Bryant, more of a passing nice-thing-to-say kind of offer. But the younger O'Neal should actually press the retired Lakers legend on his offer and take him up on it. The worse thing Kobe could say is no, and if he does say yes, Shareef could possibly take his game to another level, rising his stock in the eyes of college coaches everywhere.
