Kobe: I Simply Agreed To The Offer

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant agreed upon a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension on Monday.

"This was easy," Bryant 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."

The Lakers have little chance of a max contract player signing with them this offseason regardless of whether Bryant signed the NBA's richest deal or not.

The Lakers are betting Bryant can continue to drive ticket sales and TV ratings while making them relevant again.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

[McPrezy]

"The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player."

Is he joking? Now they can''t sign good players from Free Agency because of his overpaid contract.

[jigga_man]

"The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player."

Is he joking? Now they can''t sign good players from Free Agency because of his overpaid contract.

Lakers have room to sign another max free agent. If you don't know about the cap either don't post or spend 30 seconds and do a simple google search to find out.

[Winsome Gerbil]

Wow, excusemaking within 24 hours.

[Winsome Gerbil]

"The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player."

Is he joking? Now they can''t sign good players from Free Agency because of his overpaid contract.

Lakers have room to sign another max free agent. If you don't know about the cap either don't post or spend 30 seconds and do a simple google search to find out.

That's very nice. They have room for ONE other max player to join an aging guard with 1 Achilles tendon, after they've renounced the entire rest of the team, including Pau. Sounds like a recipe for winning to me.

[malgus]

Kobe's agent negotiated the offer. Kobe agreed to the offer. Who'd a thunk that's how these things work?

[texasholdem]

Kobe's agent negotiated the offer. Kobe agreed to the offer. Who'd a thunk that's how these things work?

He said there was no negotiation. This was the Lakers first and only offer.

[Whopper_Sr]

"The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player."

Is he joking? Now they can''t sign good players from Free Agency because of his overpaid contract.

And this is why you're not a part of the Lakers front office.

[CALILIFESTYLE]

Yeah it was simple cause cause Jim the genius offered double the amount Kobe & the rest of the world was expecting

[Bentley1225]

The Lakers must have a confirmation from Gasol that he will re-sign with Bird rights once the Lakers use up their cap room after taking into consideration Nash and Kobe's salaries.

They need 3 free agent starters:
PG/SF/C

Here is a thought
Ramon Sessions: 2 year, $12 million
Luol Deng: 3 year, $30 million
Marcin Gortat: 3 year, $25 million

Lakers then re-sign Gasol for 2 years, $30 million.

They could go out and buy a 1st round pick for $2-3 million and then add 2-3 veterans for VM and split the MLE.

Sessions/Nash
Bryant/FA
Deng/FA/DP
Gasol/FA
Gortat/FA/Sacre

[jizzme]

The Lakers must have a confirmation from Gasol that he will re-sign with Bird rights once the Lakers use up their cap room after taking into consideration Nash and Kobe's salaries.

They need 3 free agent starters:
PG/SF/C

Here is a thought
Ramon Sessions: 2 year, $12 million
Luol Deng: 3 year, $30 million
Marcin Gortat: 3 year, $25 million

Lakers then re-sign Gasol for 2 years, $30 million.

They could go out and buy a 1st round pick for $2-3 million and then add 2-3 veterans for VM and split the MLE.


Sessions/Nash
Bryant/FA
Deng/FA/DP
Gasol/FA
Gortat/FA/Sacre

I think thats overpaying for sessions , and they need better shooters

[azncorruptedo17]

i like how everyone on here is a sports analyst.

Just curious... anyone willing to take a pay cut from their current employers?

[BallerTalk]

The Lakers must have a confirmation from Gasol that he will re-sign with Bird rights once the Lakers use up their cap room after taking into consideration Nash and Kobe's salaries.

That's just not how it works. The Lakers cannot clear Pau's cap hold (Approx. $20) unless they resign him first at a lower salary or they completely renounce his rights.
So the question becomes how cheap do you think Pau will come considering how much Kobe just signed for.
I would think Pau could easily get close to $10M per on the open market.

If they give him the $15M per you suggest then they are basically right back in the same boat with $50M a year wrapped up in 3 past-their-prime players.

[Scase]

The Lakers must have a confirmation from Gasol that he will re-sign with Bird rights once the Lakers use up their cap room after taking into consideration Nash and Kobe's salaries.

They need 3 free agent starters:
PG/SF/C

Here is a thought
Ramon Sessions: 2 year, $12 million
Luol Deng: 3 year, $30 million
Marcin Gortat: 3 year, $25 million

Lakers then re-sign Gasol for 2 years, $30 million.

They could go out and buy a 1st round pick for $2-3 million and then add 2-3 veterans for VM and split the MLE.

Sessions/Nash
Bryant/FA
Deng/FA/DP
Gasol/FA
Gortat/FA/Sacre

No one in their right mind is selling a 1st round pick in the stacked 2014 draft.

And IIRC I remember seeing Pau say he wasn't taking a pay cut.

[devinbrady]

i like how everyone on here is a sports analyst.

Just curious... anyone willing to take a pay cut from their current employers?

Nope, cant blame Kobe for a bad management decision. Another great move by Jim Buss.

[ak7]

The Lakers must have a confirmation from Gasol that he will re-sign with Bird rights once the Lakers use up their cap room after taking into consideration Nash and Kobe's salaries.

They need 3 free agent starters:
PG/SF/C

Here is a thought
Ramon Sessions: 2 year, $12 million
Luol Deng: 3 year, $30 million
Marcin Gortat: 3 year, $25 million

Lakers then re-sign Gasol for 2 years, $30 million.

They could go out and buy a 1st round pick for $2-3 million and then add 2-3 veterans for VM and split the MLE.

Sessions/Nash
Bryant/FA
Deng/FA/DP
Gasol/FA
Gortat/FA/Sacre

How are the Lakers going to sign anybody while keeping Gasol's bird rights? They'd have no cap room then. Gasol's rights will be waived immediately after the season so they have the cap room they are expected to have.

Furthermore, the contract that Bryant signed is an indicator that the stretch provision is being considered for Nash. It's way too early to even speculate what we(they) plan on doing.

[fast-break]

While simply killing any chance of contending for a championship.

[Chaos Engine]

lol, how dumb is laker management? Didn't even try and talk Kobe into taking a hometown discount. Maybe they knew Kobe was too egotistical to accept one.

Lakers gonna treadmill for the next few years.

[inquisitive]

While simply killing any chance of contending for a championship.

after two years is up, they can still attract big time free agents after kobe era.

[MegaK]

i like how everyone on here is a sports analyst.

Just curious... anyone willing to take a pay cut from their current employers?

Couldn't have said it better myself. I was trying to make this exact point on the other post regarding this. People are hilarious and I can't believe Laker fans are actually mad at Kobe. Kobes the greatest Laker ever. I would have thought that they'd be happy that the Lakers actually did right by a player and made a choice that was more than just a basketball decision. Trust me the Lakers will find a way to make this work, the Lakers will be competitive this next two years.