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[Marauder Shields]

There is none unless the team shows it's true colors (We have fucking D'Antoni as our coach!) and finally starts to tank enough to get a top 3 pick, or a high pick (somewhere in the top 10-12) that we can trade for a guy like Love. Barring that, this is the team going forward.

This was a bad deal. Sometimes you just have to pull the plug on guys. Kobe has been the greatest Laker of all time, but nobody is bigger than the team. This is like the Yankees giving Derek Jeter a $25 million a year contract. It's silly. They needed to play hardball with him on a more reasonable contract and if he didn't want to, let him walk.

Not exactly the same imo. There's no salary cap in baseball so in that sport loyalty payments aren't too damaging. It basically comes down to just how much money are you willing to eat. Loyalty payments are not fine in a sport with a salary cap and where how much a player earns directly impacts what other players you can acquire.

 

[Vahagn]

The fact that Kobe is crippling the lakers with a max extension.

While dirk/Duncan took less to stay with their teams.

Lebron/bosh/wade took less.

It tells you everything you need to know about the guy, if he really cared about another ring he wouldn't be kneecapping his team.

You're an idiot for so many reasons. The most obvious of which is that this is about 20% less than the max

 

[linsivvi]

This is why I said they have no plan. It's little Jimmy panicking to live up to daddy's name. If they had a plan, they would have traded Pau for a future 1st during the offseason. They would have even shopped Nash for whatever they could get for him (a 2nd? Sure). Let Kobe come back and shoot 40 times a game while the team loses 50 games. Again, all these moves do is put off the inevitable. I'd rather tank and bottom out this offseason, when you have a historically great draft class and a FA class that includes LeBron (even if it's pipe) than 2 years from now. That's fucking stupid.

If they trade Pau now or renounce him next summer, they'll still have $20M in cap. At this point I don't think anyone's going to take Nash so he'll just be dead weight for another year. It's not ideal but I don't see any max player coming anyway. No, I don't want Melo. Signing him will make sure the Lakers won't recover for the duration of his contract.

As for tanking, well I've pretty much given up the idea given how weak the East is right now. Only the Jazz is doing it right.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

If they trade Pau now or renounce him next summer, they'll still have $20M in cap. At this point I don't think anyone's going to take Nash so he'll just be dead weight for another year. It's not ideal but I don't see any max player coming anyway. No, I don't want Melo. Signing him will make sure the Lakers won't recover for the duration of his contract.

As for tanking, well I've pretty much given up the idea given how weak the East is right now. Only the Jazz is doing it right.

Yeah but those are moves they are doing NOW. That's why I said they have no plan. Deciding what to do with Pau now is too late. Deciding whether or not to tank now is too late. It's a sign of a team and front office that is just treading water and has no idea what to do. And that is a very, very bad thing. Kobe is only going to get worse from here on out, as is the team. We are looking at a 40 win team this year? Then what? A 35 win team next year? When we have no 1st rounder? What is the plan? Winning 40 games a year is not an acceptable plan.

 

[linsivvi]

Yeah but those are moves they are doing NOW. That's why I said they have no plan. Deciding what to do with Pau now is too late. Deciding whether or not to tank now is too late. It's a sign of a team and front office that is just treading water and has no idea what to do. And that is a very, very bad thing. Kobe is only going to get worse from here on out, as is the team. We are looking at a 40 win team this year? Then what? A 35 win team next year? When we have no 1st rounder? What is the plan? Winning 40 games a year is not an acceptable plan.

Oh I'm agreeing with you. Jim ruined the franchise. I am just pondering what moves they can still do this season. It's looking more and more like we'll have to wait until Kobe retires.

 

[Vahagn]

KG/TD Took less to keep their current contenders in tact. Not for the possibility of maybe possibly getting a free agent. KG took less two months after they pushed Miami to a 7 game series in the ECF to keep the Celtics in place.

TD took less to keep Manu and a prime Tony in place and keep contending. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh agreed to take less when it became clear they would be teaming up and it was the only way to make it happen.


Kobe would be taking less on the CHANCE that people come that are good enough to go from 12th seed to top 3 seed. Only guy who did it without the certainty Kobe has right now is Dirk, and Dirk had a competent owner who's one of the best in sports. Kobe has Jim Buss

 

[TheKaeptain]

wot

No wonder Timmy looking tired on the court, must be hitting that like bass drum.

Body 8 Face 5.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

KG/TD Took less to keep their current contenders in tact. Not for the possibility of maybe possibly getting a free agent. KG took less two months after they pushed Miami to a 7 game series in the ECF to keep the Celtics in place.

TD took less to keep Manu and a prime Tony in place and keep contending. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh agreed to take less when it became clear they would be teaming up and it was the only way to make it happen.


Kobe would be taking less on the CHANCE that people come that are good enough to go from 12th seed to top 3 seed. Only guy who did it without the certainty Kobe has right now is Dirk, and Dirk had a competent owner who's one of the best in sports. Kobe has Jim Buss

I don't blame Kobe for taking what he can. I blame the front office for being shit at negotiating. If you are just going to give him $25 per, why not wait til the offseason? They should have played hardball, told him to take 2 years at $12-15 per and if not, told him to kick rocks. The media narrative would have sided with the Lakers on this end. You think people would be bashing LA for not continuing to make a 35 year old coming off achilles surgery the highest paid player on the planet? It was a shitty panic move. The reason Jimmy did it was because it makes for a nice press release today. That's all he is thinking about.

 

[Branduil]

14 western conference teams would not only make the playoffs in the east, they'd be a top-6 seed.

It's beyond time to change how playoff seeding works.

 

[overcast]

wot

No wonder Timmy looking tired on the court, must be hitting that like bass drum.

Good job Tim.

 

[Vahagn]

I don't blame Kobe for taking what he can. I blame the front office for being shit at negotiating. If you are just going to give him $25 per, why not wait til the offseason? They should have played hardball, told him to take 2 years at $12-15 per and if not, told him to kick rocks. The media narrative would have sided with the Lakers on this end. You think people would be bashing LA for not continuing to make a 35 year old coming off achilles surgery the highest paid player on the planet? It was a shitty panic move. The reason Jimmy did it was because it makes for a nice press release today. That's all he is thinking about.

I agree. My only point is that once it became clear we're not tanking for this once-a-decade draft class, which was a huge mistake...you're either mediocre with Kobe or without him. I'd rather be mediocre with him. After seeing Dwight leave the allure of Hollywood and a bigger payday, I'm not telling Kobe to kick rocks for the chance to get Melo.

He's overpaid, but it's better to have an overpaid Kobe and be mediocre than have no Kobe and be mediocre.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I agree. My only point is that once it became clear we're not tanking for this once-a-decade draft class, which was a huge mistake...you're either mediocre with Kobe or without him. I'd rather be mediocre with him. After seeing Dwight leave the allure of Hollywood and a bigger payday, I'm not telling Kobe to kick rocks for the chance to get Melo.

He's overpaid, but it's better to have an overpaid Kobe and be mediocre than have no Kobe and be mediocre.

I don't understand why this season has anything to do with it. Kobe is under contract. They didn't resign him for THIS year. Being mediocre with or without him is completely irrelevant to the extension.

I'm not saying they should have amnestied him. I'm saying there was no reason to give him this money and this extension.

 

[Red Blaster]

why did they sign kobe until 2016 when the lakers don't own their 2017 first round pick

 

[UnObtainium17]

Nice catch timmy. An 8.8 to me.

 

[Vahagn]

I don't understand why this season has anything to do with it. Kobe is under contract. They didn't resign him for THIS year. Being mediocre with or without him is completely irrelevant to the extension.

My bad, this season is important because of Wiggins and Jabari and Randle. The draft class in general.


If we don't pay Kobe 24 million next year and tell him to kick rocks. what we probably get for that 24 million is Melo, or some combination of other players. We're still mediocre. We had 2 moves to get in order to avoid being mediocre for a long stretch. 1) Wiggins or Jabari 2)Lebron.

Neither of those two are a reality, no one else, or no other combination of players we get for 24 million is gonna make us a contender.


Edit: Yea we shouldn't have done the extension now, and yea we shouldn't have paid him as much. My point is, big picture, we're mediocre either way without Bron or Wiggins.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

My bad, this season is important because of Wiggins and Jabari and Randle. The draft class in general.


If we don't pay Kobe 24 million next year and tell him to kick rocks. what we probably get for that 24 million is Melo, or some combination of other players. We're still mediocre. We had 2 moves to get in order to avoid being mediocre for a long stretch. 1) Wiggins or Jabari 2)Lebron.

Neither of those two are a reality, no one else, or no other combination of players we get for 24 million is gonna make us a contender.

You keep yourself flexible. You don't have a 35 year old who you have no idea what condition he is or how good he is taking up a quarter of your fucking cap. The issue of tanking this year and resigning Kobe are two different issues. They should have done a better job of getting ready to tank this year (trading Pau and Nash, mainly) but giving Kobe this money on top of that just compounds the mistake. This is the team for this season and the next two. It's going to suck.

Edit: Yea we shouldn't have done the extension now, and yea we shouldn't have paid him as much. My point is, big picture, we're mediocre either way without Bron or Wiggins.

Bron and Wiggins weren't hte only play. We should have kept ourselves flexible. Having Kobe on the books prevents that. You never know what is going to happen. You never know what big name player might demand a trade. It's better to have the space open.

 

[linsivvi]

I don't understand why this season has anything to do with it. Kobe is under contract. They didn't resign him for THIS year. Being mediocre with or without him is completely irrelevant to the extension.

I'm not saying they should have amnestied him. I'm saying there was no reason to give him this money and this extension.

Well there's an advantage in signing the extension now instead of waiting. His cap hold immediately shrinks the moment free agency starts next summer otherwise it would be at $30M+ until they agree to a new deal. Nobody can predict how long it would take if they wait until summer and it would prevent them from signing players.

So signing the extension early is a good thing, the amount they agree to isn't.

 

[Emwitus]

I don't understand why this season has anything to do with it. Kobe is under contract. They didn't resign him for THIS year. Being mediocre with or without him is completely irrelevant to the extension.

I'm not saying they should have amnestied him. I'm saying there was no reason to give him this money and this extension.

The lakers just signed a 2 billion dollar TV contract. I bet your bum the cable company wouldn't allow lakers to wallow in medicority with dwindling ratings cause of no superstar and tank. They ain't getting lebron even without kobe, no durant, no chris paul etc. In other words no superstar which means no viewing audience. Unless they go for melo..............

 

[Ninja Scooter]

The lakers just signed a 2 billion dollar TV contract. I bet your bum the cable company wouldn't allow lakers to wallow in medicority with dwindling ratings cause of no superstar and tank. They ain't getting lebron even without kobe, no durant, no chris paul etc. In other words no superstar which means no viewing audience. Unless they go for melo..............

keyword there is "signed". The deal with Time Warner is done. I doubt they are going to ask out of it if the Lakers stink for a year or two....which we are going to do anyway.

 

[Vahagn]

You keep yourself flexible. You don't have a 35 year old who you have no idea what condition he is or how good he is taking up a quarter of your fucking cap. The issue of tanking this year and resigning Kobe are two different issues. They should have done a better job of getting ready to tank this year (trading Pau and Nash, mainly) but giving Kobe this money on top of that just compounds the mistake. This is the team for this season and the next two. It's going to suck.

It's actually more like 37% of the cap. I know, sad.

Bottom line is there is no alternative to being contending good in the short term. We had one shot and that was this draft. Where we actually had our own pick. Love ain't leaving Minny, LBJ ain't leaving Miami.

I wish they would have given him an 18 million extension, but Jim Buss blows as a basketball mind.

Bron and Wiggins weren't hte only play. We should have kept ourselves flexible. Having Kobe on the books prevents that. You never know what is going to happen. You never know what big name player might demand a trade. It's better to have the space open.

Not at the cost of telling Kobe to kick rocks. Fuck waiting around for small % possibilities while we tell the best Laker of all Time to peace out. If there was a clear plan to be a contender in 2 years and that involves Kobe leaving, ok fine. But for if's and but's? F that

 

[Emwitus]

keyword there is "signed". The deal with Time Warner is done. I doubt they are going to ask out of it if the Lakers stink for a year or two....which we are going to do anyway.

They signed the deal knowing they were about to get dwight howard/kobe/nash. I'm sure there is a clause in there that has specific conditions the lakers have to satisfy. There has to be, its a 2 billion dollar contract. An obvious one is having a commodity like kobe/howard around don't you think?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

It's actually more like 37% of the cap. I know, sad.

Bottom line is there is no alternative to being contending good in the short term. We had one shot and that was this draft. Where we actually had our own pick. Love ain't leaving Minny, LBJ ain't leaving Miami.

I wish they would have given him an 18 million extension, but Jim Buss blows as a basketball mind.

There was an alternative. You trade Pau. You tell Kobe to take his sweet ass time and you tank. You do what Boston did. That sets you up pretty nicely. And everybody knows Love is leaving Minny. The writing is on the wall. If you end up with a pick outside the top 5 or 6, you offer it to Minny straight up for him and absorb his contract with your cap space.

They signed the deal knowing they were about to get dwight howard/kobe/nash. I'm sure there is a clause in there that has specific conditions the lakers have to satisfy. There has to be, its a 2 billion dollar contract. An obvious one is having a commodity like kobe around don't you think?

I'm not saying you cut ties with Kobe and tell him to kick rocks, I'm saying you tell him that if he insists of being the highest paid player in the league. You offer him a fair, reasonable contract and stick to your guns. What is Kobe going to do? What team is going to give him more? What team is going to blow their cap space on a 35 year old with a busted achilles? If Kobe leaves then he leaves. That's on him, but nobody can say the Lakers ran him out of town in that scenario. Kobe will get the brunt of the criticism. I doubt there is anything in the Time Warner contract that says they HAVE to have Kobe on the team otherwise it's null and void. Shit doesn't work that way.

 

[linsivvi]

They signed the deal knowing they were about to get dwight howard/kobe/nash. I'm sure there is a clause in there that has specific conditions the lakers have to satisfy. There has to be, its a 2 billion dollar contract. An obvious one is having a commodity like kobe around don't you think?

You're pulling this one out of your ass, as usual.

 

[Vahagn]

There was an alternative. You trade Pau. You tell Kobe to take his sweet ass time and you tank. You do what Boston did. That sets you up pretty nicely. And everybody knows Love is leaving Minny. The writing is on the wall. If you end up with a pick outside the top 5 or 6, you offer it to Minny straight up for him and absorb his contract with your cap space.

This was already not a question. Team already decided to try to be competitive. So that's not an option.

And Love ain't leaving Minny and a team of young talent and Rubio with a great coach to come on a bare bones LA team with no one. That kind of wishful thinking is why so many teams get stuck holding the bag with nothing. Look at Dallas. Didn't defend their championship all for a group of FA's they never had a chance in getting.

 

[diehard]

Vahagn is actually being.. reasonable.

kinds surprises me.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

This was already not a question. Team already decided to try to be competitive. So that's not an option.

And Love ain't leaving Minny and a team of young talent and Rubio with a great coach to come on a bare bones LA team with no one. That kind of wishful thinking is why so many teams get stuck holding the bag with nothing. Look at Dallas. Didn't defend their championship all for a group of FA's they never had a chance in getting.

I get that the team decided foolishly to be "competetive" this year, but that was a mistake, and you don't fix a mistake by making another one, which is what giving Kobe $50 million is. It's a sign that this front office has no idea what they are doing.

 

[Fenderputty]

That's what Kobe was getting in his prime too. Your max goes up after every year you play. You play 18 years and you're still a franchise player your max is above 30 million.

Kobe actually took 15 million LESS than the max

Still too much money. I'm sure he's aware about cap constraints as well.

I'm sure it will make a great pitch to Lebron too. Hey come play with an old guy who makes more money than you and hogs the ball.

I wanted Kobe in a laker jersey but at this price ...

 

[reilo]

Vaggy :lol

 

[Vahagn]

Still too much money. I'm sure he's aware about cap constraints as well.

I'm sure it will make a great pitch to Lebron too. Hey come play with an old guy who makes more money than you and hogs the ball.

I wanted Kobe in a laker jersey but at this price ...

You're not paying the money dude!

Everyone here is a GM all of a sudden lol. NBA2K Franchise mode man, NBA2K Franchise mode...

I get that the team decided foolishly to be "competetive" this year, but that was a mistake, and you don't fix a mistake by making another one, which is what giving Kobe $50 million is. It's a sign that this front office has no idea what they are doing.

I'm with you on all that. Just not with you on Tell Kobe to Kick Rocks because everyone knows Love is coming to LA. Team should have waited, team should have been more effective in convincing him, team should have been better negotiators and presented a better plan, but they shouldn't have told him to kick rocks. No clear benefit in sight for that.

 

[reilo]

sam_amick: Fallout from Warriors-Blazers scuffle Sat. night: I'm told Andrew Bogut, Mo Williams suspended 1 game; D. Green, Matthews, Aldridge fined.

.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

You're not paying the money dude!

Everyone here is a GM all of a sudden lol. NBA2K Franchise mode man, NBA2K Franchise mode...




I'm with you on all that. Just not with you on Tell Kobe to Kick Rocks because everyone knows Love is coming to LA. Team should have waited, team should have been more effective in convincing him, team should have been better negotiators and presented a better plan, but they shouldn't have told him to kick rocks. No clear benefit in sight for that.

The money matters. The league has a much stricter cap now. I was always a proponent that the last few years it didn't matter how much money Kobe made because we were capped out. Now that we are clearing cap space (and clearly the Front Office had this in mind, which is why they signed a bunch of 1 year deals this offseason) his contract has a much bigger impact. There is a difference between Kobe making $25 million versus $14 million a year whereas there wasn't 3 years ago when the team was maxxed out and trying to win a title.


You keep misinterpreting what I said with the "kick rocks" thing. I said offer him a reasonable, firm offer and put it on the table. If he demands something unreasonable (like $20_+ million fucking dollars a year) then you stand firm and tell him to find a better deal elsewhere. It's not just cutting bait with him. It's looking out for the team because no one player is bigger than the franchise, not even Kobe. Are you saying that's unfair?

 

[Cloudy]

If Kobe can play like he did last year, the money is worth it. He shouldn't have to do Mitch's job for him.

The difference btw. Kobe and KG, Duncan etc. who took huge paycuts is that he's much better than those guys were and there are rival teams out there that WILL pay for him

 

[ph33nix]

If Kobe can play like he did last year, the money is worth it.

This is why no one would ever want you coaching, managing, or to even utter a single word about their favorite team

 

[linsivvi]

This is why no one would ever want you coaching, managing, or to even utter a single word about their favorite team

So true.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

If Kobe can play like he did last year, the money is worth it. He shouldn't have to do Mitch's job for him.

The difference btw. Kobe and KG, Duncan etc. who took huge paycuts is that he's much better than those guys were and there are rival teams out there that WILL pay for him

The money is not worth it, because even playing out of his head for his age and for the miles on his legs, we crept to an 8 seed. And that was with Dwight. Now we have no Dwight, and an older Kobe coming off a devastating injury.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

Nice catch timmy. An 8.8 to me.

8.7 at BEST

 

[alba]

CreepingFear bro, you making me sad right here No matter what happens with Thibs, we'll get the best out of this bunch and there's no way to tank so... Jabari pls! :O

We'll see what the front office does I guess. I guess it's inevitable now to trade Deng, do something with Boozer and hope the Bobcats don't suck too bad to get a high enough pick in this draft.

Plus, I want Snell to play a whole bunch!

 

[Vahagn]

The money matters. The league has a much stricter cap now. I was always a proponent that the last few years it didn't matter how much money Kobe made because we were capped out. Now that we are clearing cap space (and clearly the Front Office had this in mind, which is why they signed a bunch of 1 year deals this offseason) his contract has a much bigger impact. There is a difference between Kobe making $25 million versus $14 million a year whereas there wasn't 3 years ago when the team was maxxed out and trying to win a title.


You keep misinterpreting what I said with the "kick rocks" thing. I said offer him a reasonable, firm offer and put it on the table. If he demands something unreasonable (like $20_+ million fucking dollars a year) then you stand firm and tell him to find a better deal elsewhere. It's not just cutting bait with him. It's looking out for the team because no one player is bigger than the franchise, not even Kobe. Are you saying that's unfair?

I'm saying if you can weasel Kobe into accepting 15 million AND HAVE KOBE? great. If you tell him to leave because you won't pay 20 million in a landscape where you have NO REASONABLE option to significantly increase the value for that 20 million, then no. you don't do it.

Kobe's not bigger than the team getting ridiculous value and improving like crazy. But he's bigger than the team being slightly less mediocre. Which is what would have happened had Kobe walked away. Lakers with Kobe and 42 wins is better than Lakers without Kobe and 45. And that's the best case scenario I can see for LA next year if he left.

That's why I keep asking you for alternative and likely/reasonable plans now that tanking isn't an option where Kobe leaves and we get much better. When I look at the NBA landscape, I don't see one. Only disgruntled "superstar" coming off the books is Melo. And I'm not down with 5 years of Melo.

 

[Fenderputty]

You're not paying the money dude!

Everyone here is a GM all of a sudden lol. NBA2K Franchise mode man, NBA2K

It's the team I root for. This isn't the old CBA where the buss's just said fuck it either. This will be a detriment to the teams ability to acquire talent next year.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Mitch is making the move that's probably best to appeal to the fanbase and free agents. Unfortunately the superteam moves made tanking virtually impossible, so it's best to just let Nash and Kobe ride off into the sunset and start probing behind the scenes at guys like Love , LMA, Westbrook, Durant, etc over the next couple of years.

A bitter breakup with Kobe and leaving Nash to rot on a tank ride is probably not a great way of attracting talent.

 

[Fenderputty]

If Kobe can play like he did last year, the money is worth it. He shouldn't have to do Mitch's job for him.

The difference btw. Kobe and KG, Duncan etc. who took huge paycuts is that he's much better than those guys were and there are rival teams out there that WILL pay for him

That's a pretty big if. As it stands, that's 25 million a year to make sure he doesn't play in a visitors jersey at staples.

 

[Fenderputty]

A bitter breakup with Kobe and leaving Nash to rot on a tank ride is probably not a great way of attracting talent.

Yeah that's about the only positive I can see from this. The front office gets to tell our next big star that they'll over pay for him when he's old too.

 

[Xplatformer]

If Kobe can play like he did last year, the money is worth it. He shouldn't have to do Mitch's job for him.

The difference btw. Kobe and KG, Duncan etc. who took huge paycuts is that he's much better than those guys were and there are rival teams out there that WILL pay for him

Jim...that you?

Dumb ass owner. GOD. I love me some Kobe, but you gotta put the franchise in front of the player. It's gotta be the NFL think.


The Lakers just made it harder to keep Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Steph on the same team. Well, at least we know the Lakers won't be one of the teams that steals them away. LOL.

 

[Crisco]

So, Derrick Rose is done with basketball, correct? He had obvious anxiety issues and was basically seeking injury. He took 1.5 years off for a damn ACL injury. Not that I blame him, if I were getting paid to rehab I would.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Yeah that's about the only positive I can see from this. The front office gets to tell our next big star that they'll over pay for him when he's old too.

Eh, it's less about that and more about it being useless having money to play with when the free agent classes are ass and you can't even tank if you wanted to.

Its why I don't even want to move Nene from the Wiz. For what? So Ernie can waste the money on a bad FA class? The big money players are available in two seasons. Mitch got his timing right and is being forward thinking.

Let the Heat lizard age another couple of years and then try to be the next Boston and Miami.

 

[reilo]

trailblazers: .@aldridge_12 named Western Conference Player of the Week! Release to come shortly! #RipCity #AldridgeAllStar

Huh. I thought he had a rather pedestrian week (shot 38%), but cool.

 

[shira]

So, Derrick Rose is done with basketball, correct? He had obvious anxiety issues and was basically seeking injury. He took 1.5 years off for a damn ACL injury. Not that I blame him, if I were getting paid to rehab I would.

he has a $250m adidas deal. I think he would try one more time

 

[Vahagn]

I just looked through the list of FA's in terms of reasonably possible FA's, there's not a lot LA could get this summer.


Bledsoe is going to demand big bucks. The best SG on a bad team is probably G-Tyme or maybe even Nick Young.

SF's - obviously Melo. I don't want 5 years of that over 3 years of Kobe. There's a lot of meh players who are going to be willing to take a few million a year to play I think.

 

[Fenderputty]

Eh, it's less about that and more about it being useless having money to play with when the free agent classes are ass and you can't even tank if you wanted to.

Its why I don't even want to move Nene from the Wiz. For what? So Ernie can waste the money on a bad FA class? The big money players are available in two seasons. Mitch got his timing right and is being forward thinking.

Let the Heat lizard age another couple of years and then try to be the next Boston and Miami.

Hmm .. . I guess. But IMO if you're overpaying Kobe because everything in the FA class is ass, you're basically mailing it in for the next two years.

 

[Emwitus]

You're pulling this one out of your ass, as usual.

It's an obvious assumption. Unless thinking is too much of a task for you.

I doubt there is anything in the Time Warner contract that says they HAVE to have Kobe on the team otherwise it's null and void. Shit doesn't work that way.

I think your missing my point. I'm not saying they have to have kobe, i'm saying they have to have a superstar for ratings. I'm sure kobe and his agent know the lakers current state and the availability of any star to the lakers. They played their cards right and signed a big deal. I would do the same. It's certainly a stretch but one im willing to bet had a big part in the money he got.