Kobe Bryant playing in all Lakers preseason games

Kobe Bryant will play in all eight of the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason games, reports Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears. The Lakers preseason begins on Oct. 6 against the Denver Nuggets in San Diego, and concludes Oct. 24 when they play the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena. Here's what Lakers head coach Byron Scott had to say about Kobe asking to play in the Lakers' exhibition games, via Spears:

Bryant "wants to play in every one of them just to get the rust off, get his timing back and get his legs under him, all the things you do during preseason," Scott said. "I told him to take it easy three weeks ago and he said, 'Coach, I need to play. I haven't played in almost a year.' He looked good that day."

Head training Gary Vitti, Scott and Bryant have a plan to monitor his minutes during preseason, but would not reveal what kind of playing time he'll see as the Lakers sharpen up in preparation for the regular season. Kobe will also sit out the second part of the Lakers' two-a-day practices, which begin Wednesday.

Bryant's been out of action since fracturing his knee on Dec. 17. His return from the Achilles tear that ended his '12-13 season was cut short after six games, but all early reports indicate he's looked good during training camp. Preseason will give him an opportunity to shake some of the webs off his game, and will surely draw even more interest from fans as the team plays together for the first time, and Julius Randle begins his NBA career.