I think what the Lakers do here depends on what their plans for L.O are this year or next. If the Lakers intend to keep Lamar after this season, I think they let Rony go. If they do not plan on retaining him I think they match., If he stays or goes, he will always be one of my favorite Lakers.

MH

All I can say is, good luck in Oakland and enjoy the $4.25 million a year! I think that he deserves it. If the Lakers were thinking they'd get him for around $2 million, there's very little chance that they'd match this offer. But I'd rather see him go to GS than the Jazz. Maybe he'll finally be able to get in to Villa now that he'll finally be able to afford some serious bling.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Say it ain't so!

I hate the Warriors for doing this to us again!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RONNYYYYYYY

you cant leave uss!!!!!

Where is the logic in this? How could you leave a team with a very high chance of winning a championship next season to a team who has Corey Magette, Stephen Jackson, and...no one else????

I love Turiaf, but there's no way we can match this offer. Not with The Gasol money already committed to, the Bynum money piling up, the Kobe money to high to count and the Lamar and Sasha money still to be determined.

4 million a year? Maybe if we didn't already give that and more to Luke and Vlad and maybe if Turiaf hadn't of vanished against the Celtics and maybe if he wasn't 5th on the depth chart at center and 3rd at power forward.

I hate to loose Turiaf, but we can't afford him. We also cant afford to spend any more money on players who aren't absolutely in their physical and psychological prime. We need battle tested vets at this point, and Turiaf' didn't show his readiness when it counted most.

I wish him the best, but no more kids for this team.

Wes

very unexpected that the lakers would have its restricted free agents sniped off

they're poaching our players!!!!

does that mean the return of BrowN

Interesting to see what the FO does with this. I was really hoping to have Ronny stay, but i also won't be surprised if they don't match. I didn't think he'd get THAT much but good luck to him the guy deserves it. It's been nothing but a joy to watch his play/cheerleading.

Wow. Someone is up late doing updates. It's 4:30am in Indiana. That's dedication (on both our parts).

Wes

Good luck Ronny, never was a good fit with us anyways. Now down to business, Lakers need to release Vlad Rad and Newble or Mihm (whoever has a bigger salary). And then we need to SIGN RICKY DAVIS! PLEASE MITCH PLEASE! He is a perfect fit for our bench, someone who can get his own shot and score during a drought.

The smart thing for Lakers is to waiv Luke to create space to sign Ronny! Of course Mitch won't don it. That's like admitting that you spent your boss' money for nothing.

That's Perfect!

Now we can trade Luke straight up for Ronnie.

If he had an inside game to speak of, I'd match his offer, but he'll get paid and be deep on the bench and never see the finals again!! He doesn't finish in the post and rebound well for a big. We never seem to get players to sacrifice for the team like the spurs do. There's only so much money to go around. Now I guess sasha wants double that amount.

WoW! Good for him! I do hope the Lakers match though. I think he's one of those players that makes Kobe happy. We will see...

I absolutely love Ronny but it seem unlikely that he will get an offer from the Lakers. With that being said, Mitch must sign Sasha pronto! I believe we need him more than we need Ronny. Sasha knows the Triangle well, fearless, and plays with a lot of heart and aggression...Lakers need that! I will be sorry if Ronny leaves but we have to sign the Machine as soon as possible!! How come there are no news about signing him?

Lakers shouldn't match this offer let Ronny go ,he will be missed but let him go and make his money. Hopefully he will have better luck in O-town than Fisher did.

BK
I can not believe you mentioned and uttered the name "CHRIS MIHM"
We can't count on him to do NOTHING.
He could not play the PJ BROWN role for us and he sure as hell can't play Ronny Turiaf for a full season and playoffs.

Remember what Turiaf did for us when Bynum and Gasol were down and we beat Dallas and Utah on the road??
I think Turiaf will continue to improve or certainly maintain his level of play.

YOU JUST DON'T LET 6 foot 10 inch BIG MEN THAT YOU DRAFT GO AWAY.
17 over 4 is a similar contract to Derek Fisher.

IT is not Turiaf's fault that Vlad Rad and Luke were overpaid.

We can't find another Turiaf to play 82 and the playoffs. The full season is about attrition and getting through many many games and Turiaf is needed to keep Odom, Gasol, and Bynum fresher.

This would be a big mistake.
I'd let Sasha go first because you can find a shooter easier than a 6 foot 10 guy.

This is just the way it is.

Benjamin,

"When we move Chris Mihm and Luke Walton for Artest when Mihm plays well, we'll need Ronnie to back up the 5."

I wish our mutual dreams will come true. These two players are the weakest links of the Lakers. Chris was a 10ppg player before the injury and have been the centerfold dream of the Lakers since the departure of Shaq. It did not pan out. He never paid his dues as a Laker. This could be the last year of several tests. If Mihm is reading this blog,my advice is: "please try your best to elevate your game, you're playing with the Lakers that developed the best centers in the league from Mikan, Chamberlain, Jabbar, O'Neil and possibly Bynum who would soon overtake you. It will be awful in your career if you remain a pigment of imagination among Laker fans equating your game to other Laker Centers like Travis Knight, Elden Campbell, Sean Rooks etc. they're journeymen Centers. Chris Mihm, please do something and dedicate your professionalism for the last hurrah."

With regards to Luke Walton, I am resigned that Mitch will find a team that will absorb him. I gave credit to Mike T. last year when he voiced out his stiff opposition when Mitch gave a five year contract to a mediocre player. It is sad that Kobe will be alligned with this player. I hope I am wrong that in the next season Walton becomes the Bynum of '07 who'd try hard and elevate his game or else he will be remembered as the "mediocre feeder (assist man) of Kobe Bryant."

While I agree with you on Artest as they type of player we need to aid Bynum and Gasol in the post, he just made a wrong decision for not opting out. That is an indication that this fellow is a very unreliable individual, not a dedicated player with vision. He is a plain bully and dumb to let that opportunily slipped by. Trying to retrace his history, he made a wrong turn at the stand in Detroit when he was a Pacer, he never panned out with the Kings when he was regarded as their inspirational leader. From animal lover, he turned into an abuser which annoyed the soft hearted Maloof Bros. While it may be true that he will find a match with PJ b/c they have the same wavelenght, Artest could be the player with a time bomb in his shorts that could explode any minute for no reason at all.

Having said that, it does not exonerate the Lakers for losing the Finals because of their softness. I completely agree with you, Staple24, Mike T, Faith and several others here who are dreaming an impossible dream of putting grit, power and impregnable defense that could stop any foe, depress any team and impress a lot of fans that Showtime is indeed back in Los Angeles.

You guys serious? Rony was very inconsistant, enjoy golden state. Shows why Golden State is ran so poorly by way overpaying for a cheerleader. I liked the guy but come on, he was a cheerleader and won't ever play with bynum and mihm and ariza back. Lets please keep Sascha.

No way, at that price, do the Lakers match. Especially if they truely want to resign Sasha. If by chance the Lakers do match the Turiaf contract then Sasha is gone. If they let Sasha walk then Turiaf could resign with the Lakers.

Either way, the Lakers are in desprate need of roster spots. The Lakers need at least 3 or 4 rosters spots that don't include players from last year.

Turiaf is one
DJ is another.
Karl is another.
Newble is another.
Then we still have Walton and Mihm taking up spots. There's no way Walton or Mihm can be part of the regular rotation. So that means they are at the back end of the roster. 11th and 12th men on the floor.

By letting Turiaf walk the Lakers will be free to do something different. By signing Turiaf...that would be like sticking themselves in salary cap hell along with the Radmanovic and Walton contracts.

No way do the Lakers match the Turiaf contract.

This is what the Lakers should have done with Walton. They should have let Walton test the market.

mike t.

Shite! Don't wanna see Ronny go :( I'd rather we trade Mihm to keep Ronny. He's prolly our best post defender - we need those to bang with the Boozers and the Amares.

I am disappointed to see Rony go. He is just doing what the vast majority of people would do when faced with an economic decision. He is opting for better pay. I think almost all of us on the blog would jump at a chance to take a job that paid us that much more. If Acme Co. offered you an outrageous salary – you might give your current employer a chance to meet it – however if they fail to do so, wouldn’t you take the money? That being said after the additional investment the Lakers made in the guy – the heart surgery that may have saved the dudes life, one would hope that he would show some loyalty back. Loyalty is not that common and in many ways I think the tendency is to ‘romanticize’ loyalty as thing of bygone days, but when there was no free-agency you pretty much had to be ‘loyal’ to your team no? Good for Rony. Good luck, but the Lakers have a good chance to go to the finals and win the Championship next year – the Warriors will be lucky to make the playoffs.
Very few guys have ever put their money where their mouth is. When they say “It isn’t about the money” guard your wallet, because it is about money. Getting to the playoffs every year and having a legit shot at a trophy is very rare and most players don’t realize it until the end of their career. There is a long list of older guys that will give up dough for a shot at a title – how many young guys do that? The old guys know that it is tough to get to the top of the mountain and will give up something to get that shot. The younger players want to have their cake and eat it too!

If the Lakers don’t match – I am inclined to believe they won’t – best wishes to one of the games most entertaining pine riders, but be careful what you wish for Rony – you just might get it.

Eagleboy

A tough bind. $17 million for 4 years is probably too much to pay for a backup. That said, losing Turiaf makes the Lakers an even softer team, as they now have absolutely nobody to back up at the PF position (don't tell me Lamar can fill that role--$4 million is too much for that role, $14 million is crazy high).

LO for Artest and Kenny Thomas is looking better and better. If Turiaf is gone, LO for Artest & Thomas upgrades the starting lineup at the SF position (better shooting, better defense) and now improves the bench at the PF position.

Damn Ronny. Gonna miss you. Wont the 6+ % ticket hike help susidize some of this? Take the money, Ronny. Next up Sasha. Somebody's gonna give hime the MLE.

Kobesbad

Resign Ronny,we need his cheer-leading and shot blocking skills. Jerry over charges at staples, and iam a season ticket holder do the right thing Buss.