Kobe Bryant has mentioned a possible return date on December 6 when they host the Sacramento Kings. However, he may have to play with a minutes restriction. That was a similar condition with Steve Nash when he returned form injury.

Meanwhile, Coach Mike D'Antoni has led the Lakers to a 9-9 record without Kobe Bryant and for the better part without Steve Nash. They also coped with various injuries to Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill and Steve Blake. Reserve point guard Jordan Farmar will be out for a month.

The much maligned coach is not aspiring for a Coach of the Year award, but given the Lakers have a similar record to last year with a totally different lineup, he is getting noticed. However, he would rather have one of his players receive a different award: Nick Young for Sixth Man of the Year.

From the LA Daily News, D'Antonie says: "He should. If we can get our record [good]. That's going to be the product of the team. He's playing well enough. But if we surprise people, get in the playoffs and do really well, yeah, he'll have a really good chance at it."

"I'm loving it with his concentration and ability not to take a play off. We have a few guys who have home run trots and were not engaged. But for the most part, most guys have gotten that out of their game. They're engaged. A lot of that is due to the chemistry of the team and how they feel about themselves. We can keep getting better. He's playing both ends of the floor. He's playing phenomenally."

"As he says, he's changed his name to 'Swaggy D,'" D'Antoni said with a smile. "We'll see how that holds up."

Kobe Bryant, who may or may not be a starter on his return, talks about a possible minutes restriction:

"I'm comfortable with that for sure. The goal is to win a championship and put ourselves in a position to win a championship. I feel we have some really good pieces and guys who are really competitive, athletic and energy that can carry a game. I think they've been showing that particularly in the last three games. If I come back and keep my minutes to a minimum, that would be perfect."

D'Antoni speaks on Kobe's return and his role: "That would come from inside and him and whatever they tell me. If that's a restriction, they'll tell me. I think we need everything from him, as usual. He'll figure it out. Different games, we'll need different things. You just play basketball and he'll read it as facilitating or scoring. He'll do that He'll be in the No. 1 spot, no matter where that is."