Kobe Considers Hometown Discounts As 'Big Coup' For Owners

[guest81]

There was zero percent chance a superstar like a Lebron or a Melo was going to go to LA even if Kobe took the minium.

Why are you talking about things that are irrelevant ? Nobody is saying Kobe had to take less for them to come here. Hell for that matter I don't think it's was one educated Laker fan who even thought that was reality.....I sure as hell knew damn well it wasn't reality. Your comments are coming from a fans prospective who actually thought that Kobe taking less made it more of a reality of getting Melo and James, again that was NEVER going to happen. But Kobe taking less than his value probably meant the Lakers could've enticed Lance Stevenson with more than just a $9 mil a year offer...probably could've been 13 we don't know because Kobe left Mitch with very little money to work around.

Even if the Lakers would of signed a guy like Eric Bledsoe, it's doubtful they would of made the playoffs this year. The Lakers are in the position they're in 100% because of bad Laker management, 0% because of Kobe

Again this is hear say after the fact.....every smart mind knows it was going to take more than just even a Bledsoe to be a threat. And that scenario you speak of also was a pipe dream, because every team in the league knew of the Suns stance on the matter. Bledsoe end up getting the very amount team could've threaten with anyway. It was a reason no teams made an attempt to tender and offer sheet.

Fact is the situation is on both parties, yes management has made their mistakes. But Kobe can't come with the "I wanna win" mantra while at the same time not giving the team some financial leverage. Like some have said you can't have it both ways, and I'm one of the most loyal Laker fans but I'm not bogus either...I can call what I see. But to say it's 100% on management is bull *hit.

Lance?! That's the reason why Kobe should of taken less? Have you seen him this year? He's been awful. And you think giving him 13 mil would somehow make the Lakers better? How about not giving away so many draft picks so you can contiunue to develop young talent. How about hiring a coach that isn't terrible.

The Lakers somehow got to the point where they have no young talent, or any picks or assets they could use in trades. That's bad management. The Laker management was stupidly banking on the fact that free agents will come just because they're the Lakers. What the hell is the plan going forward? That has nothing to do with Kobe

[kblo247]

How can you be jealous of Duncan and the Spurs' consistency and at the same time slam a hometown discount? You can't have one without the other.

Kobe is jealous of playing 20 years state tax free ... Tim and Dirk can take those discounts because they don't get the **** taxes out of them. Dwight made more going to the rockets than he did in LA years 1-4 with taxes factored in. Case and point kobe got a 24mil check and it was widely said that after taxes it was 11.9 and that's before the agents cut.

And I'm going to harp on this, who the **** has Tim or Dirk attracted with sacrifices? The lakers had a shot at 30mil in cap space by simply waiving nash yet didn't feem it worthy to chase a rfa, lance, or anyone hard but Melo abd bron. As it stands right now the biggest fa dirk has attracted is Parsons, Tims biggest coup is McDyess or Horry, and Kobes is Metta. We won't know till this summer when the lakers and Spurs both play in FA and go after Marc, Aldridge, Monroe, Rondo, Dragic, and the like if either sacrifice was worth it. That said his statement was about stability, the Spurs had one coach, one set of scouts, and a trio that stuck all Tims career; their end results are the same 5 rings, 1 more finals for la, more h2h wins for kobe, and kobe always drawing more

And lastly what he said is true. The cap **** over superstars. Kobe is still worth more than la has ever had to pay because of what he draws. Bron sought max as did Melo and even bosh because they get stars sell tickets, draw ratings, and need to go into the CBA meeting saying **** capping what we make as no one comes to Jodie Meeks or Channing Frye. If you can't get that I don't know what To tell you. It's about superstars vs MLE players who are getting overpaid, and it's about superstars not having to make a nd sacrifice for cheap ass owners to waste their prime or ask them to make sacrifices to avoid a tax or having to amnesty a Mike miller. It is not kobe, Melo, Bron, KD, jordan, or magics job to worry about making you space when they get paid.

And never forget kobe have la a discount to make the 3 peat happen. Kobe refused to enter free agency unlike McGrady or Duncan when he could have got a **** load of cash. Buss thanked kobe publicly for not going to fa when he at the time couldn't even afford to retain jones or rice to form a big 3. If kobe doesn't agree to getting vastly underpaid for the 3peat it never happens. Hell kobe made 5mil total his first 3 years with an allstar appearance to his resume while wiggins made that in 1

[gotokyo]

I find it extremely hard to believe that Kobe doesn't understand how the BRI split between owners and players works.

Never said that, I think Kobe's stance is based on a very simplistic POV. That being that all players should take as much as they're worth and the owners should have to pay for it. That by willingly playing for less than they're worth, owners more easily force limitations on players earnings. On those basic terms it's easier to understand where he's coming from.

That's my interpretation of his comments. Not quoting you as saying that.


He acting as if the current CBA is setup to pay star players what their worth and also build a contending team. Acting as if him taking a bigger paycheck will only hurt the owners and not the quality of his team or the enjoyment from fans. He knows that isn't true, he's a smart guy, he understands how the salary cap works.

[Jedi32]

Kobe's contract had nothing to do with the Lakers not landing a star, Melo and Bron went home and took money bosh took money. The Lakers still had money to sign guys like Stephenson, and a few others. Duncans discount only kept his band together it did not land them anyone else. Even with his discount the spurs still haven't signed khawi to an extension. Dirk ' s discount didn't lead to star players either. The Lakers sucking right now has nothing to do with Kobe's contract. That's a convenient excuse people that don't like him use because according to their logic everything wrong with the Lakers is Kobe's fault. Sad really that people can't separate their bias from reality. The Lakers demise began when the paul trade fell apart point blank period. Lastly kobe basically said he was jealous of the spurs continued consistency which has more to do with pop and the owners than Duncans big heart.