The rumors of the end of the Bryant …

The rumors of the end of the Bryant family agreement with Nike started circulating last season before becoming official in April. Nike reps quietly told team equipment managers to prepare their Kobe guys for an end. “Some of us got the word, and we started hoarding them,” says Suns forward Jae Crowder. “By the time the news came out, I had banked up enough for about two years.”