LAS VEGAS -- Jim Buss’ most interesting wager of the week was placed off the Las Vegas Strip.

The Lakers vice president told NBA TV on Thursday that Kobe Bryant might be even futher ahead of schedule in his return from a torn Achilles’ tendon than the superstar himself indicated last week.


“I would bet a lot of money on him coming back in preseason,” Buss said during the broadcast of the Lakers’ Las Vegas Summer League game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Thomas & Mack Center. “He’s going to come back when he is right. I see him coming back at the beginning of this season.”

Bryant, who suffered the injury in April, said last week that he expected to become more active with conditioning in August.


The initial timetable for his recovery was listed at six to nine months.

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