Lamar IS willing to take less

[Sedale Threatt]

Money talks, bull walks.

Do you know how many athletes make indirect quotes like this? It's all PR. He's not saying he WILL take less -- the most direct comment is "why not, I'm not greedy", that certainly doesn't qualify as: "I will take less money to remain a Laker"

If the economy continues to plummet, and some of the stories that are filtering out prove to be true about NBA teams running firesales to shed payroll, I think it's a virtual guarantee he won't come anywhere close to the top end of your $10-15 million per estimate in the other thread.

This is going to be a bad, bad year for business in this country, and no matter how rich some of the owners might be they're going to feel the pinch like everyone else. So I simply can't imagine that anyone out there is going to toss out $15 million per for Lamar Odom.

Especially in light of the possibility (probability?) that any teams with cap space and the willingness to use it will just wait until the following summer, when the bigger names are available.

[Sedale Threatt]

It would also be helpful if Kobe opts and takes less for more yrs to help keep this core together.

I agree.

On one hand, you can't in all fairness ask him to take less. He's one of the very few professional athletes that actually earns his bloated salary. He absolutely busts his ass, and he's proven to be one of the best in the history of his profession.

At the same time, after demanding a trade two seasons ago, I'd find it disappointing should he opt out and want more in light of the probability that it would probably preclude our chances of bringing back LO and/or Ariza (whatever those chances might be independently of him), which in turn would make us worse.

I absolutely can't stand the idea of Buss pinching pennies this summer, no matter how bad the economy gets. He's already seen his initial investment in the Lakers returned 50 times over. Society would have to completely collapse for him to lose the long-term value of the franchise, at which point nobody will care about professional basketball in the first place.

But if Kobe taking a few million less is the difference between keeping or losing one of those guys -- and I'm not saying it would be; it's not fair to place that onus on him -- then it should be a no-brainer.

[magic1fan]

if odom does this kobe and gasol need to follow suit. this is the ultimate team move. i am proud to call odom a laker...

[Erik Eleven]

It would also be helpful if Kobe opts and takes less for more yrs to help keep this core together.

I suggested the same thing about four years back, but I pretty much got laughed at by this entire forum. If I were Kobe, I would seriously consider it just to keep this group intact.

[B-Scott]

It is great the Lamar would be willing to take less, but honestly does he really have a choice?

The Lakers will have all the leverage this summer because:

A). Depending on any potential trade deadline deals, only three teams will have more than $10M in cap space: Grizzlies, Thunder & Pistons. And the Pistons will only have cap space if they renounce AI & Rasheed). Is he really going to go to the Thunder or Grizzlies? And to be realistic, is Lamar the guy that any of these 3 teams would use their cap space on?

B). To get more than the MLE from any other team besides the 3 mentioned above would require a S&T, which of course the Lakers would have major control over.

C). There are a number of veteran free agents this summer that Lamar will be competing with for deals: Carlos Boozer (maybe), Shawn Marion, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Mike Bibby, David Lee, Hedo Turkoglu (maybe). Plus there are several lower level guys that will be looking for MLE type deals like Trevor Ariza, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva, Nate Robinson, etc...

D). The weakened economy, threat of Luxury Tax, and the impending summer of Lebron in 2010 will have most teams hesitant to give out big contracts. So don't expect to see the same amount of outrageous money thrown around like last summer (by my calculations almost 2 billion in guaranteed contracts were given out).

All of these factors point to Lamar having to accept considerably less money next year, no matter who he signs with.

Lamar at 29/30 years old as a starter is basically a 16 and 10 guy who's a team player and who's value is actually higher than Boozer, Marion, Iverson, Kidd, Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Mike Bibby. Especially if plugged in to a team that's already solid or very good. Boozer and Marion to me have always been overated and what has Iverson brought to the Pistons. He needs to dribble the ball for 22 seconds just to be effective. Jason Kidd is past his prime and Marc Cuben has got to be tossin and turning every night in his sleep off that Devin Harris trade. Ben Gordon is a gunner, Mike Bibby's prime years are past him.

[CX44]

It would also be helpful if Kobe opts and takes less for more yrs to help keep this core together.

I agree.

On one hand, you can't in all fairness ask him to take less. He's one of the very few professional athletes that actually earns his bloated salary. He absolutely busts his ass, and he's proven to be one of the best in the history of his profession.

At the same time, after demanding a trade two seasons ago, I'd find it disappointing should he opt out and want more in light of the probability that it would probably preclude our chances of bringing back LO and/or Ariza (whatever those chances might be independently of him), which in turn would make us worse.

I absolutely can't stand the idea of Buss pinching pennies this summer, no matter how bad the economy gets. He's already seen his initial investment in the Lakers returned 50 times over. Society would have to completely collapse for him to lose the long-term value of the franchise, at which point nobody will care about professional basketball in the first place.

But if Kobe taking a few million less is the difference between keeping or losing one of those guys -- and I'm not saying it would be; it's not fair to place that onus on him -- then it should be a no-brainer.

He does earn it but just think how much more he could do for his image to keep a championship contender together especially when few people believe he would do it.

[Dr Aki]

i wouldnt say boozer has less value than lamar, and in a league where PGs are at a premium, i dont think bibby has less value either

[MasterRyu]

I'm confident that if it meant being able to keep LO and Ariza, Kobe will take something reasonably less. He's too much of a competitor to risk winning championships due to a few million dollars. It would definitely do his image wonders.

In regards to trade value, I think LO has an edge over many of the guys mentioned in that he's able to play 4-5 positions on both sides of the court. Need a point guard? check. Need a forward? Check. Need a backup center? Check. Need a slasher? check. Need a scorer? Check. Need a passer ? Check. Most importantly of all...need a team player? Check Check Check.

[LAKESHOW]

crap! now it makes it tougher to get rid of the dude.

[Kweli]

It is great the Lamar would be willing to take less, but honestly does he really have a choice?

The Lakers will have all the leverage this summer because:

A). Depending on any potential trade deadline deals, only three teams will have more than $10M in cap space: Grizzlies, Thunder & Pistons. And the Pistons will only have cap space if they renounce AI & Rasheed). Is he really going to go to the Thunder or Grizzlies? And to be realistic, is Lamar the guy that any of these 3 teams would use their cap space on?

B). To get more than the MLE from any other team besides the 3 mentioned above would require a S&T, which of course the Lakers would have major control over.

C). There are a number of veteran free agents this summer that Lamar will be competing with for deals: Carlos Boozer (maybe), Shawn Marion, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Mike Bibby, David Lee, Hedo Turkoglu (maybe). Plus there are several lower level guys that will be looking for MLE type deals like Trevor Ariza, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva, Nate Robinson, etc...

D). The weakened economy, threat of Luxury Tax, and the impending summer of Lebron in 2010 will have most teams hesitant to give out big contracts. So don't expect to see the same amount of outrageous money thrown around like last summer (by my calculations almost 2 billion in guaranteed contracts were given out).

All of these factors point to Lamar having to accept considerably less money next year, no matter who he signs with.

Lamar at 29/30 years old as a starter is basically a 16 and 10 guy who's a team player and who's value is actually higher than Boozer, Marion, Iverson, Kidd, Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Mike Bibby. Especially if plugged in to a team that's already solid or very good. Boozer and Marion to me have always been overated and what has Iverson brought to the Pistons. He needs to dribble the ball for 22 seconds just to be effective. Jason Kidd is past his prime and Marc Cuben has got to be tossin and turning every night in his sleep off that Devin Harris trade. Ben Gordon is a gunner, Mike Bibby's prime years are past him.

Yeah, Lamar is valuable to us, but I really doubt that teams will be running to his door to offer him a more valuable contract than Boozer, or even Marion and Iverson would get.

Lakerfan10770 is just speaking the truth B-Scott, don't take it as a diss to your boy Lamar.