Kobe's not interested in joining 'Inside the NBA'

Weeks before Kobe Bryant composed the verse that announced his plans to retire from the NBA after his 20th season, TNT commentator Kenny Smith wondered aloud how much fun it would be to see the Los Angeles Lakers legend join him, Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and teammate-turned-nemesis-turned-pal Shaquille O'Neal on the "Inside the NBA" panel. After Kobe's unforgettable final game last month, TMZ reported that Turner Sports had begun courting the future Hall of Famer to take a seat on television's premier studio show.

But while Bryant's got more time on his hands these days, he's evidently decided not to spend it palling around with the TNT crew, according to TMZ Sports:

When it comes to the "Inside the NBA" job offer, Kobe Bryant just did something pretty uncommon for him — he passed.

As we previously reported, the honchos at the show had reached out to Mamba, hoping he'd join Charles Barkley, Shaq and the rest of the gang either this season or next.

But Wednesday night outside of a Hublot watch event in [Beverly] Hills, Kobe swatted the whole idea down — saying straight up he DOES NOT want the gig.

No word on whether Kobe has felt that way the whole time, or came to that opinion after learning that Turner had already brought Dwight Howard in for a long sit. Like Kobe's going to follow that guy. Pffffffffffft.

While it's a bit of a shame that we won't get to hear Kobe's unvarnished and unfettered commentary on the game each and every Thursday night, it's not like we're going to be rid of him entirely. Kobe confirmed he plans to train with Shaq's son, prep prospect Shareef O'Neal, this summer; his collaboration with Sports Illustrated on an animated version of his "Dear Basketball" poem is slated for release this fall; and Bryant, ever the storyteller, surely has a number of other narrative projects in the works. We'll be seeing the Mamba's voice and hearing his voice plenty; we just won't be be watching him join Shaq in yelling for Underdog to put something on a T-shirt. (Well, not yet, at least. There's always next year.)