RealGM

1. Yes
2. No

purely emotional signing.

That is pretty whack....just give him a retirement bonus, to just get him to retire, so you can "have him stay a laker", and your cap isn't sucked up so that maybe you can hire someone who can actually win another championship. Then again, Lakers have never had to ever worry about cap space, or about trying to rebuild, they just always buy their teams without having to put in any work, they just steal players, and have instant turn around.

I don't see any difference between him staying a Laker or playing somewhere else, that whole idea is just the"snob'ness" that is LA. Only in LA would you find some one who would spend 48 millions based off being a snob....well New York also.....But no one should care, Lakers could easily pay Kobe that much and have him retire now, and still afford to build a new Dream Team without ever having to worry about rebuilding after his retirement.

I am not a fan of Kobe, agree that this contract amount is for a player who can win for them like LBJ, Durant, PG24 or whatever. But, I also have to agree more that Kobe will make up or usually exceed the money the Lakers spent on him by getting sales from jerseys, popularity of the world, etc. So I think this is fair for Kobe caliber player, and that " A Laker for life" thing is respectful.