Truth. Very well said. At the same time, Bynum won't be getting the max from the Lakers. Everyone knows that.
Injury is one thing. But usually it does not seem to be a great deterrent for big money contracts. I think the biggest question is whether the Lakers will buy into Bynum's potential. He has high ceiling. But he still has a long way to go to reach that ceiling and there is some doubt that he may not have the drive to do it.
Take my word for it: The Lakers and their fans have already bought into Bynum's potential. The only people that doubt his high ceiling are those who haven't seen him very much. His growth as a player before the injury was pretty amazing. He has 20/10 up to 25/12 potential plus he's a decent shot blocker. But his injury is very troublesome and there are some questions about his drive. All of that adds up to him not getting a max contract this summer. If both sides agree to punt the issue to next summer and Bynum takes another step up the improvement chart while staying healthy, he would get a max deal.
I'm sure you're right that he won't get a max deal this summer. I don't think he'll get any extension this summer. I don't think it'd be smart for the Lakers to get locked in on any contract (except an obvious lowball) for a guy who is still developing like Bynum is.
well, the market, any market, is never really free. all markets have their own limits and regulations. the ticket to an nba game is already high. had the salary cap been removed and the teams been able to pay the likes of lebron as much as they want, it's only likely that the league is going to lose fans. the max isn't just an "artificial" ceiling. say the max becomes 25 mils, then what? bynum is gonna demand 25 mils per? no matter what the max is on the market, he ain't worth it. yes he has potential, but i don't believe his potential is comparable to those of then amare's or d-howard's. if i were the lakers gm and has to give him an extension today, i'd start with 10 mils per for 3-4 years.
Exactly, if the max was $25 million per year, he wouldn't be worth it. But, the max is much lower. Suppose the max was $2 million. Would you say only the likes of Dwight Howard should get the $2 million and you could pay Bynum maybe $1.5 million?
Wait, a guy goes from 8 and 6 to 13 and 10 in the beginning of a potential contract year, and you say he WILL get a max deal, thacabbage? Given that he's still 100% Lakers property, they're the only team that can offer him one. He's not a RFA until next summer. If I'm Kobe, I'm threatening Mitch Kupchak daily to make sure the Lakers DON'T give him anything near a max offer. It's foolish to do so now, especially when he struggled so badly in rehab. He didn't fracture anything, and should have returned in 2-3 months (March). For him not to be able to get back even by May suggests he either dogged it in rehab (not too likely) or the dislocation caused a lot more soft tissue (ligaments, tendons, cartilage) damage in the knee than they first realized. Point being - it makes ZERO sense for the Lakers to offer any extension at all before Bynum demonstrates that he can get back to and improve upon his game this season. Okafur has been putting up 14 and 11 right out of the box, and most people doubt he's worth the max. Bynum *may* have a higher ceiling, but do you pay him the cash in advance to find out? What is the ceiling? Can he get you 18/12? 25/14? I question how certain it is that he becomes a top-3 or top-5 NBA center. Evan
Where that idea gets you into trouble is the luxury tax. Odom is entering his final year, and Kobe and Gasol already get the max. Since you're lowering the bar, all 4 Lakers should get at or near the max. And if you tell me that Bynum is worth the max but Odom isn't, that's absurd. All of a sudden, you've got 4 guys making a combined $70 million, putting you over the luxury tax even if the other 8 guys on the roster are making the minimum (in reality, the Lakers would have a payroll of at least $90 million, even if they went as cheap as they could). So slap another $20 million in there for luxury tax (don't forget Phil Jackson's $10 million, either) and the Lakers are sporting well into triple figures with their payroll budget alone. I'm sorry, but even the Lakers and Knicks can go into the red. It comes down to sense - is it worth it or not? If you're keeping a dynasty going, yes. If you're chasing a dynasty with a dice roll on a guy like Bynum, it's foolish. Agreed, LeBron and Kobe are probably worth more than the max. That doesn't mean that guys like Bynum automatically are, though. Bynum's a $8M to $11M guy at best. Evan
Even if he didn't get hurt and had played well all season, I'm not sure the Lakers would have given Bynum the max this summer. I think they would have punted until next summer, which is what I think will happen now. Unless a player becomes a borderline superstar in his 3rd season in the mold of D-Will or Chris Paul, why give a max contract to a guy who isn't even an RFA? Or, for that matter, why give Bynum $40MM-$55MM as you suggest, especially with the very slow recovery from the injury? IMO, because of Bynum's injury concern, the Lakers should consider keeping Odom.
You might be right that the Lakers can't afford to keep Bynum. That's another matter. I could see them trying to hold the line and losing him in free agency.
I figure Bynum has about the same affect on the game as Tyson Chandler. He's about the same height but has a little more potential than Chandler did when he first got his big contract. I say he's worth about 10 mil which means he'll probably get around 12 mil. My problem is that he actually has shown no skill. If anything he benifited from Kobe becoming more pass happy. He's not a soon to be superstar so i think the market will determine his value. If another team offers him a fat contract the Lakers will have to pony up. If he plays better this season he'll have earned his payday anyway.
Chandler is no more than a defensive, rebounding big man. Bynum has shown a lot more offensive talent than Chandler. And he is bigger. Bynum does have the potential to be a max player. But it is just potential for now. Like many have already pointed out, the Lakers won't give him a fat contract this year. If they did, they would be foolish (which I would be happy with). Most likely scenario is that they watch him for one more year. If he is really that good, they can match any contract he gets next summer. For now, it's just the agent babbling to jack up the price.
If Bynum's injury has no bearing on the negotiations then neither will Landry's. I think teams are looking at potential more than the injuries. By the way, did the Lakers demand that Bynum's knee be scoped?
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Just shows you how some of the NBA players just don't get it ! Bynum was starting to show signs of being a star then he gets hurt and badly ! Now after not playing for most of last season he demands the MAX ?
