Lakers Planning To Sign Extension With Kobe Bryant Before His Free Agency

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 5:41 am

The Los Angeles Lakers have started negotiations with Kobe Bryant's agent on a contract extension and fully plan to reach a new deal prior to the All-Star becoming a free agent next offseason

"I want to put an end to any speculation that we would allow Kobe to become a free agent," Jim Buss said. "That's not going to happen. Kobe is a top priority for us. He's a Laker legend and always will be. I don't think we're done winning championships with him yet.

"[Lakers general manager] Mitch Kupchak and [Bryant's agent] Rob Pelinka have been talking, but with him being hurt, it has slowed the process some. I don't know when it'll get done, but I have faith in Rob and Mitch to work things out."

Bryant has said he fully intends to retire with the Lakers and would be open to a deal before his free agency in July, 2014.

The Lakers currently have just three players (Steve Nash, Nick Young and Robert Sacre) under contract for next season.

Via Ramona Shelburne/ESPN

PDXKnight · Post #2 » by **PDXKnight** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 2:14 pm

No big shocker here, seems like kobe is gonna retire a laker.

Scase · Post #3 » by **Scase** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 3:15 pm

He should be retiring now.

BeesKneesCs · Post #4 » by **BeesKneesCs** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 4:05 pm

Yeah, that is a bit of a shocker. Any extension has to start within 10 percent of the last year of his contract. That means his extension is going to start at a minimum of 30 million dollars. So much for Kobe sacrificing to win a championship.

ontnut · Post #5 » by **ontnut** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 4:14 pm

Scase wrote:He should be retiring now.

You stupid. 27/5/6 last season with a .570 TS%. Retiring? how many players in the league put up those numbers last year? He's still top 2-3 at his position, and is chasing the 6th ring as well as chasing the scoring record...why would he retire now?

inquisitive · Post #6 » by **inquisitive** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 4:30 pm

20mil/yr is my prediction....maybe 3 yr deal, but likely 2yr deal

Chaos Engine · Post #7 » by **Chaos Engine** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:33 pm

He needs to take a paycut.

BallerTalk · Post #8 » by **BallerTalk** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:43 pm

This should be interesting.
With all the talk about cap space next summer for a rebuild/reload this is going to have a major impact on that.
Kinda hard to tell what the real plan is here.

ciueli · Post #9 » by **ciueli** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 7:21 pm

BeesKneesCs wrote:Yeah, that is a bit of a shocker. Any extension has to start within 10 percent of the last year of his contract. That means his extension is going to start at a minimum of 30 million dollars. So much for Kobe sacrificing to win a championship.

Are you sure? I read the section in the CBA FAQ about extensions and I did not see that rule for veteran players. Maybe you're thinking of rookie contracts?

In any case, I think extending Kobe is a mistake for the Lakers. It makes more sense for them to wait until his contract expires, then offer him the same or more money over more years to maximize their cap space this offseason. They could offer him a 5 year deal if they wait vs. a 3 year extension now. They should only do an extension now if Kobe is offering them a discount (due to questions about how good he will be when he comes back).

Scase · Post #10 » by **Scase** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 8:28 pm

ontnut wrote:
Scase wrote:He should be retiring now.

You stupid. 27/5/6 last season with a .570 TS%. Retiring? how many players in the league put up those numbers last year? He's still top 2-3 at his position, and is chasing the 6th ring as well as chasing the scoring record...why would he retire now?

Irony at it's finest.

That stupidity aside, yes sure he's playing well still. The issue being he's going to be making flat out absurd sums of money. Levels that will NOT allow the Lakers to compete for anything aside from an 8th seed. He has refused the idea of taking a pay cut, at this point he's playing for money.

If you want to argue he's collecting paychecks fine, but don't try and say he's chasing a ring.

The59Sound · Post #11 » by **The59Sound** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:23 pm

I don't think that "has to be within 10 percent" rule is correct, but maybe I'm wrong. Very interested to see what the number is.

ontnut · Post #12 » by **ontnut** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:00 pm

Scase wrote:
ontnut wrote:
Scase wrote:He should be retiring now.

You stupid. 27/5/6 last season with a .570 TS%. Retiring? how many players in the league put up those numbers last year? He's still top 2-3 at his position, and is chasing the 6th ring as well as chasing the scoring record...why would he retire now?

Irony at it's finest.

That stupidity aside, yes sure he's playing well still. The issue being he's going to be making flat out absurd sums of money. Levels that will NOT allow the Lakers to compete for anything aside from an 8th seed. He has refused the idea of taking a pay cut, at this point he's playing for money.

If you want to argue he's collecting paychecks fine, but don't try and say he's chasing a ring.

Sorry, I guess that needed a healthy dose of tone.

Even if he's collecting paychecks, what is your rationale for saying "He should be retiring now." ??? H elcearly has the motivation and desire to play, is still a top tier talent, and like it or not, is likely still capable of being a key cog on a championship team. Should he be paid $30 million? Probably not...but you'd have a hard time arguing that he shouldn't be getting max money even at this stage in his career.