REPOST

Faith (and others who may be wondering about my opinion),

I have to admit, news of the extension surprised me. In part because this wasn't a "DEFCON 1" situation, but mostly because Team Bynum was giving the impression of heels dug in on the maximum amount of dollars (or pretty damn close) and years. There's absolutely no way the Lakers would have agreed to those conditions, which is why I didn't expect anything to happen. This particular deal didn't seem like it was even being talked about, much less in the works.

But as for the deal itself, I think it was a very reasonable compromise. Assuming Drew plays the way everyone hopes/thinks he can, the Lakers likely saved themselves some considerable cash matching what would have been a longer, more expensive offer sheet. Beyond the money, they also lessened their risk of commitment, should Bynum prove a bust (which I don't see happening) or keep getting hurt (which unfortunately is less certain).

Do risks remain? Sure,and that's unavoidable in sports. But three seasons isn't very long and if Drew doesn't pan out, they can treat this as a 14 mil expiring deal to trade away heading into the 2011 season. Realistically speaking, the Lakers did a pretty good job softening the "what if's."

As for Team Bynum, they land a very nice pay day and the ability to land a longer deal when Drew has theoretically proven himself beyond the shadow of a doubt before even entering his prime. Plus, they get this over and done, which I got a sense Bynum wanted. We're talking about a pretty low key, unassuming kid who never seemed particularly comfortable talking about this situation. Or even all that obsessed with it. Take this passage from Mike Bresnahan's article about the deal.

"At the end of the day, Andrew told his agent, 'I want to get a deal done. I want to be a Laker,' " said Bynum's brother, Corey Thomas. "I believe he's a max basketball player and his agent thinks so too. But the way Kobe has led this team the past two years, why would Andrew want to go anywhere else?

"There's something very, very special about this team and I think he felt, 'Hey, why fight over five or six million dollars when you could have five championship rings?' "

Obviously, this may be syllabus material for "Saying the right things 101." But I can also believe this is almost verbatim what Drew told David Lee. Not that 5-6 mil is anything to sneeze at, but either way, Drew's future grandkids, much less "grandpa" himself, walk away set for life. I imagine Drew was relieved everyone could go into "Solomon" mode, find a nice solution, and move on.

In terms of how the deal affects the Lakers down the road, it obviously lessens their flexibility when it comes signing other players. Then again, they basically had none to begin with, so it's a moot point. But in terms of true core players, the only immediate question marks are Ariza (repped by Lee, so maybe that'll work in the Lakers' favor), LO (whose situation would have been determined by pay cut willingness no matter what). Everyone else is under contract for a little while. Most importantly, assuming Kobe remains on board (and I'd be stunned if he didn't), the Lakers will have a formidable big three locked up for some time. That's never a bad thing.

AK

Since Kobe got so much heat for "running" Shaq out of LA, next summer is going to be interesting. He has the chance to help his team out big time. If he opts out and signs for less and allows us to re-sign Odom and Ariza or perhaps a top notch free agent he'll be a hero. If he tries to go for a max deal it could really handcuff the team.

Last time I remember a Laker doing this was when Magic took a pay cut to bring in Terry Teagle. hmm... maybe that wasn't the best example.

Interesting point about Kobe taking less to retain players. Well, the proverbial ball's in his court: if he wants a championship legacy that goes beyond Shaq, and write his final chapter with a flourish, he would be wise to make whatever contract adjustments are necessary. I mean, he's got to realize this, right? In the end, top athletes like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady had enough endorsements where they could accept smaller salaries to keep talent from leaving the team--and making room for the necessary players to fill holes.

I know it's cliche, but championships are all about the team, and players excited about doing what it takes to hoist that trophy--pay cuts included. I think Kobe knows this, and will do whatever it takes to ensure a championship or three before he rides into the sunset. Then he puts his stamp on the Lakers--and the NBA--as one of the best ever.

I'm still not sure. I hate the fact that we had all the leverage in terms of him being an unrestricted free agent...and could possible (in a blue moon), gotten him much cheaper than this. Maybe the Lakers' original offer price of 11 mil. It's possible. I also think had he become a free agent, this is the kind of money we probably would have ended up signing him for...but at least we'd have a clearer picture of his health, and possibly his future. Not to mention seeing him motivated to earn that contract.

The good thing is the MLE doesn't go away yearly, we can continue to use it for the players we have to resign if they're up for it. The bad news is, this just piles on to our salary cap headache.

I think that the Lakers are on a great start and they look healthy with everyone back. The will do great things this year for sure! Kobe has changed his came for his teammates to make them better and have another road the NBA finals.

Trevor should do the same thing like Drew did and when he talks to his agent should make him accept mid level exception type money instead of going for more. Trevor has clear role in this team and he shouldn't be paid more than Radman is.

I"m glad too Drew went up against his agent and told him to lower his demands so he could get a salary more acceptable to the Lakers than the Max.

Nothing wrong with agents trying to get as much money. But simply the Lakers players themselves should know better than just demanding the max every time.

-blitz

This really and truely is a smart deal for BOTH sides. Which in sports, doesn't always happen.

The Lakers have secured an importance piece to the immediate future. When Bynums 3 (or 4) years are up Kobe will be 33 (or 34). Pretty good timing for the FO to decide which direction to take.... Hopefully we'll be nice and fat with 3 (or 4) rings by then!!!!

And for Baby Huey... Any chance AB17 saw Greg OLDen crumple up on the floor Tuesday night and thought "Holy Jeeze, that could be me!" and perhaps spoke with his agent to soften up the stance some and quit demanding the max deal and just Git R Done... Andrew now has piece of mind that IF he does end up banging knees with Pau again, he'd still be okay.

Next victim.... DENVER! wooooo hoooooooo

Faith -

We don't have to "use" the MLE to resign our players. As far as I can tell, we have or will have Bird rights on pretty much everyone we have signed. The exceptions are just that - exceptions to the salary cap rules. Resigning your own players generally doesn't trigger salary cap issues, except for limiting who else you can bring in.

The only thing keeping us from resigning everyone is the luxury tax.

Just watched PJ's interview at practice today. Couple good points.

He's pleased that Drew's deal is done so that he can settle into playing basketball without the potential for distraction. He made the point that Drew is getting paid based on his potential and he needs to live up to that.

He said the team needs to get prepared for teams adjusting to what they're doing on defense. An important note for when when they start to face teams for the second and third times. Also is encouraging that defense is still the focus.

Interesting time for the team (not necessarily for the blog), having two days off (from games) before tomorrow's game, then three days before the game against the Clips next Wednesday and another three days before the big match-up with Houston. Like an additional set of mini-camps. In the past, the team has come off this same period vastly improved. Hopefully that'll be the case this year.

Jamie Sweet,

"What do we all think Lamar is worth a year and how could we squeeze it out of next years budget?"

I think he's worth about $8.5 million. Maybe a little more.

GO LAKERS!

we don't have bird rights to Lo, Trevor.

When Farmar and Sasha is up in 2 years, 3 years for Sasha (Kobe in 3 years as well)...the bird thing comes into effect. But only for year 1 of signing. After that it adds to the total in which we pay luxury tax for.

As Quizno's spokesperson, he should be able to recoup some of the 5 million he lost out on. :P

Happy Halloween Laker fans!

Faith,

"we don't have bird rights to Lo, Trevor."

The Lakers do have Bird Rights for LO and Trevor. The rule reads as follows, according to capologist Larry Coon...

"Theoretically, a player with Bird rights can be traded at the trade deadline right before becoming a free agent and his new team can use the Bird exception to re-sign him. There is no specific tenure requirement with one team. The only rule is that the player can't have been waived or changed teams as a free agent for three seasons. However, if a team renounces a player (see question number 33), they can't use the Bird exception to re-sign him for one year. "

Those parameters include LO and Ariza. Generally speaking, it's a safe assumption that if the player is your FA, you have his Bird rights.

AK

Stay Thirsty My Friends,

It could happen. "Could" being the operative word.

By the way are you also the infamous "Kwaminus Brownicus"?

GO LAKERS!

AK,

>>>>>"At the end of the day, Andrew told his agent, 'I want to get a deal done.
>>>>>I want to be a Laker,' " said Bynum's brother, Corey Thomas. "I believe
>>>>>he's a max basketball player and his agent thinks so too. But the way
>>>>>Kobe has led this team the past two years, why would Andrew want
>>>>>to go anywhere else?

>>>>>"There's something very, very special about this team and I think he felt,
>>>>>'Hey, why fight over five or six million dollars when you could have
>>>>>five championship rings?' "

Thanks for the quotes from Drew’s brother. Corey has always been an important part of Team Bynum and someone that Drew respected and looked up to. The Lakers are doubly blessed that Drew not only has stupendous talent but outstanding personal character to go along with it. From the moment he made that early comment about not needing a max contract, I was confident that the Lakers would be able to sign him to an extension. Just as confident as I was that the Lakers would not risk allowing him to become a restricted free agent. That Drew agreed to less than the max increases the hopes that Kobe and Lamar will do the same and Jerry Buss will somehow find a way to keep this great team together. For now at least, we are set for year and I doubt we will do anything to destroy the great chemistry and potential of this team.

Tom

BK,

Excellent points about Bynum’s new contract.

>>>>>The Lakers get some certainty in the budget, which could help them plan
>>>>>for the next major moves on the horizon.

Considering that the luxury tax doubles every dollar spent, precision has to be comforting to the Lakers as they pursue what I consider to be an effort to keep this team or as much of it as possible intact. I do disagree with you that the signing Drew now didn’t really change anything. In my mind, eliminating the risk that the Lakers might lose Drew in free agency is the biggest reason why they signed him now. Free agency is always a risk.

>>>>>Regarding Kobe, could having Bynum wrapped up for the next few years
>>>>>influence his decision to stay once he opts out this summer, as I'm sure he will?

I actually think that the way the Lakers have handled Sasha’s new contract and Drew’s extension will resonate with Kobe. I truly believe he will opt out and resign a long term deal for less per year to leave money on the table to help keep the team together. I also think that not signing Drew to an extension would complicate the task of getting Kobe to opt out and re-sign for less. So in my opinion, it was critical to getting Kobe do that.

>>>>>Whether or not this roster stays together in its current form really isn't
>>>>>affected by the timing of the transaction, even with the savings gained
>>>>>from reaching an agreement now rather than this summer.

Again, signing Drew now eliminates having to deal with both Kobe and Drew at the same time next summer, which would have been much more complicated. Had Drew not signed an extension, he might have harbored ill will and decided just to accept the Lakers qualifying offer, play out the year, and become an unrestricted free agent and choose where he would like to go – with the Lakers helpless to prevent it. As I said, I didn’t believe that the situation would ever end up like that, but the risk of it is real. As we have seen in free agency before, nothing is a sure thing and the ball is in the player’s court.

>>>>>Freeing up money by trading players on the team, whether Luke, Odom,
>>>>>or anyone else, isn't an easy task.

>>>>> Bottom line, the Lakers now know, assuming Kobe re-ups, that the
>>>>>core of the team will be together for a while. No debate about that.

Agree with both of those points. The extension is good news for Drew and Lakers.

Tom

exhelodrvr,

You're right, unless we don't try to retain Odom, Ariza, and Mihm and whoever else with 1 year left (Powell?). that plus less money for Kobe might land someone more substantial. Not sure though as I'm not certain about how much would come off the books.

===========

As for Magic making room for Teagle, I'm sure it was Teagle. "Smooth as Silk" Wilkes was already on the roster in '77 before Magic was drafted. Doesn't matter as we all found out that unless Teagle had his back to the basket falling out of bounds he could hit a shot. Not the best spot up shooter.

Andy

LakerTom,

I love you, dude, but you've got to stop speaking as if you're an insider with the Lakers that knows what Jerry Buss and Mitch are thinking. Especially when there is no basis for statements like the Lakers didn't want to hurt his feelings and wanted to avoid him accepting a qualifying offer other than your own fears.

If Jerry Buss and Mitch are worried about this highly unlikely scenario I would question their abilities to run this franchise.

BK, you wrote:

Remember, because the Lakers are over the cap, they can't shed salary without taking it on in return.

Are you sure about that? As long as the team they're trading a player to has cap space, they don't have to take anyone back. This is what the Clippers did with Camby. So the Lakers should be able to reduce their luxury tax burden as long as they find a team with cap space.

Eric,

>>>>>WOW...So now you even know that Dr. Buss hasn't made up his
>>>>>mind regarding Laker Budgeting!

>>>>>Just curious; Do you come by this knowledge using your psychic ability, or
>>>>>has Dr. Buss told you personally? Or perhaps a Vulcan Mind Meld?

LOL. JMHO, Eric, since everything after this year is unchartered territory. Maybe Kobe will opt and sign with the Bobcats and we won’t have salary problem. Maybe two billion Chinese will buy Sun Yue jerseys and the Lakers marketing revenue will grow so much we can afford everybody and still make a profit. Maybe Jerry will decided he would rather spend his green on a more rings and pass a little less to Jim and Jeanie. Who knows?

Hope you’re enjoying the Lakers success as much as I am. Same with the election, too. Peace.

Tom

Xodus,

>>>>>I love you, dude, but you've got to stop speaking as if you're an insider
>>>>>with the Lakers that knows what Jerry Buss and Mitch are thinking.

LOL, Karl. I think I have said a million times over the last month that my comments are just my opinion based on common sense and logical extrapolation. Let’s wait and see what Mitch has to say down the road. Who knows, I may even be right. After all, it seems to me that the smart negotiating strategy is to play the team card rather than trying to claim that the player is not worth what he is seeking. Or do you think a better strategy is to tell Sasha and Drew that they were not worth the money they are asking for?

Tom

LakerTom,

"Or do you think a better strategy is to tell Sasha and Drew that they were not worth the money they are asking for?"

They already did tel him he wasn't worth the money he was asking for by refusing to give him the max and the two sides eventually settling on the current deal.

Pig,

"It's LakerTom. He is all-knowing, and all-positive"

Kind of like the Wizard of Oz? lol
I Didn't think of that one.

We're off to see the wizard.....The wonderful wizard of Tom.

Again I see it
Paul Pierce crying on t.v.
I'm going to puke

Go Lakers!

LakerTom,

"Hope you’re enjoying the Lakers success as much as I am."

Absolutely, this is a once in a lifetime team...thanks for asking.

I remember when Mike T. said things like "The Laker front office reads my posts", and GM's all over the league would know Kwame's greatness once they talked to him.

Your many crazy comments lately such as "Dr. Buss doesn't even know what he is going to do" are approaching Mike T. kookiness.

Dude....Shake yourself and come back to earth. As X posted earlier, we kind of miss the "Normal" LT.