Lakeshow

[oneinchpunch]

That's a lot of money. But still awesome to have Kobe play for the Lakers for 20 seasons.

[sandiego17]

A shitload of money that guarantees he will be the highest paid player in the NBA. Either the FA class next season will have an ego issue with it or Kupchak can convince them that the Lakers will take care of them like they did Kobe, the Lakers have the means.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Kobe is all about the team.

[sandiego17]

Kobe hate? That's funny. So who's more driven or about the team?

[Coachmarkos]

Lakers are on NBA TV tonight.

Don't look now...but they've played pretty good the past week, and gotten back to .500

I'll probably miss the whole thing, because I have BB practice after school...then have to coach a 4th grade game and a 5th grade game.

[oneinchpunch]

They are playing much better D after the starting lineup changes.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Kobe hate? That's funny. So who's more driven or about the team?

Kobe isn't going to win a championship with a bunch of scrubs. But at least he'll be well-paid, which is the most important thing.

[sandiego17]

Kobe isn't going to win a championship with a bunch of scrubs.

Nobody could, but the implication was that Kobe wasn't about the team, which to me means he cares more about Kobe than winning. Is that not what you meant? I don't think anybody cares more about winning in the NBA than Kobe.

Bryant also said he didn't have to sweat the negotiations.

"This was easy," he told Yahoo Sports on Monday night. "This wasn't a negotiation. The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player.
I simply agreed to the offer."

I never begrudge a player with superior work ethic their contract. Its not like Kobe is going to Gaither it.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Nobody could, but the implication was that Kobe wasn't about the team, which to me means he cares more about Kobe than winning. Is that not what you meant? I don't think anybody cares more about winning in the NBA than Kobe.

Bryant also said he didn't have to sweat the negotiations.

"This was easy," he told Yahoo Sports on Monday night. "This wasn't a negotiation. The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player.
I simply agreed to the offer."

I never begrudge a player with superior work ethic their contract. Its not like Kobe is going to Gaither it.

Brand Kobe isn't going to say anything different, for obvious reasons. The Lakers are not managing their resources well. It's fine if they want to pay him for past performance, but this was a foolish way to do it. Kobe's not going to win anymore championships during the life of that deal and agreeing to those numbers insures it. Frankly, if he was all about a championship then he shouldn't have accepted it and asked the team how they planned to build around him. Whatever. I'm pleased.

[sandiego17]

Brand Kobe isn't going to say anything different, for obvious reasons. The Lakers are not managing their resources well. It's fine if they want to pay him for past performance, but this was a foolish way to do it. Kobe's not going to win anymore championships during the life of that deal and agreeing to those numbers insures it. Frankly, if he was all about a championship then he shouldn't have accepted it and asked the team how they planned to build around him. Whatever. I'm pleased.

What you guess is a possibility, but I don't believe that it is accuratel. How is anyone sure Kobe didn't ask how they planned to build around him? Again, I don't believe anybody in the NBA is more about a championship than Kobe. If so, who?

The Lakers have only Kobe and Nash under contract for next season and could always cut or trade Nash to free up more money. They weren't going to get two max free agents in 2014, still have the cap room for 1 and own the Bird rights on Gasol should they want to keep him. For the Lakers, they may not have a shot (how many teams realistically do?), but keeping Kobe does nothing to decrease that chance anyway. I'm pleased as well, I'm happy they keep Kobe a Laker and we will see what they add around him to make things interesting in the next couple of seasons. He's kind of good.

[oneinchpunch]

Plus it guarantees that whatever team LeBron goes to won't have money to do anything

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

What you guess is a possibility, but I don't believe that it is accuratel. How is anyone sure Kobe didn't ask how they planned to build around him? Again, I don't believe anybody in the NBA is more about a championship than Kobe. If so, who?

The Lakers have only Kobe and Nash under contract for next season and could always cut or trade Nash to free up more money. They weren't going to get two max free agents in 2014, still have the cap room for 1 and own the Bird rights on Gasol should they want to keep him. For the Lakers, they may not have a shot (how many teams realistically do?), but keeping Kobe does nothing to decrease that chance anyway. I'm pleased as well, I'm happy they keep Kobe a Laker and we will see what they add around him to make things interesting in the next couple of seasons. He's kind of good.

Last I heard, the Lakers' future was bright because of all the cap room they would have next year. LBJ and all the big names were just biding their time.

As for aging/declining stars who took less to help the team, Duncan, Wade and Garnett come to mind. LBJ made accomodations, as well.

Of course, Kobe has had a great career but he's aging and coming off a brutal injury. Under almost no circumstance does it make basketball sense to make Kobe the league 's highest paid player or to pay him double what anyone else would and tie their hands vis-vis the cap. But hey, the Giants paid a declining Linecum $14m for past performance as well. So the Lakers dont have that market cornered.