Lakers will never amnesty Kobe. That man have done so much for them and the fans. And If they did I would hate the Lakers organization and curse them, Kobe deserve an ending befitting a king of a dying era.
Rockets have said they can move or trade player and give Howard the contract that he wants so he can make 118 with LA but Houston would do what it has to to get at least close to that to make him think about it ...but RIGHT NOW I think its 50 50
I hate Kobe but what he says is true. He is the franchise and the fat cholos would burn Staples to the ground. They riot when they win so why not after that.
He just wants to let teams spend money on dinner and pitches about how great it would be to have him before he waffles on them that's all.
people act like players get all their money upfront. he'll make the almost the same on his game checks here. minus all the state taxes he would get hit with in LA.. people talk about endorsements and whatnot, i havent really seen dwight much on tv, ive seen lin for volvo, harden for footlocker, durant for gatorade, havent seen much dwight. even if theyre talking about local endorsements.. he can get that here, and chinese endorsements..
Money talks, loyalty walks. The only way the Lakers can get themselves anywhere near the lux tax threshold is to amnesty Bryant. Factoring in the punitive tax penalties, it would save LA at least double the amount of Bryant's salary, which with the new CBA is about to become far more important than ever before. It would not surprise me one bit if he were to be amnestied....considering his age, mileage, questions about if he can even fully heal at his age with the injury he has. LA will need to start focusing on acquiring younger players to revamp their ancient lineup and what better time to show Howard that they are serious about him being the next cornerstone of the team, which aint happening as long as Kobe Bryant still is the boss there.
http://www.nba.com/lakers/live The team is doing their exit interviews now. Kobe talks about the great history of Centers and how he sees Dwight as the next great there. I think in the end Dwight will not abandon Kobe because he respects him. Gasol is gone probably and that is the reason Kobe came out at the end. He knows playing with Pau is probably done.
All I'm hearing from you is why Dwight will get the Max 4-5 years from now. We can discuss this ad nauseum but none of us will really know till the time comes. What I want to know is a logical reason as to why he would leave $30 million on the table now?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Dwight said he & Nash grew closer and Nash was 1st to talk to him after Game 4. "It's good to have a teammate & a brother like Steve Nash."</p>— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/329342922464051201">April 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Listening to Dwight's exit interview he's back to cryptic Dwight. Won't talk about contract, future or preferences. He's going to test the market. He's too dismissive to the extention talk. Doesn't want to feel pressured. He's prime for the picking
Plenty of star players have opted out of those kinds of contracts, leaving big money on the table, to get 1 last long term deal. Dirk did it, Iggy is doing it, Lebron already said he'll do it, etc. I'm sure there are plenty more examples out there. So even if Dwight signs the 5 year max, there is a good chance he never sees that 5th year, opts out after 4 to get 1 last huge payday.
I'm gonna take my time. Get away from the game, my phone(s), and clear my head. I deserve that right so that's what I'm gonna do. We all have to get healthy. (Kobe) has a full summer, I have a full summer. That should be the process for all of us, make sure our bodies are 100%. (You tweeted you wanted to make it up to LA?) You're reading too much into it. Just was upset about how I handled the situation in the game and wanted to express how I felt to the fans and my teammates, let them know I'm sorry and I handled it the wrong way and I let my emotions get the best of me. It shouldn't happen again. This was a tough season for everybody. It was like a nightmare. It felt like it. One of those dreams where you try to get away from the bad guy and he just won't leave. That's how I felt. Every game, it felt like a struggle for us. I was happy for the fact that I learned so much this year, dealing with injuries and playing with guys like Kobe, Pau, Steve and 'Twan. A lot I learned for my future. For me, I'm gonna do what's best for myself, make me happy. I can't control who likes me and dislikes me. I have the right to be happy. That's what I'm gonna do. No, I'm not happy we're sitting at home, we got swept, it wasn't the season we all expected but things like this happen in life. You have those bad moments, bad years. We survived. The future will be a lot better for me as an individual so I'm looking forward to that. ... When you win, it's amazing. When you lose, it's terrible. I got a good sense. It was really good for me to go through all this. I don't take anything as a failure but as a learning experience. This year has been great for me. Despite the ups and downs and things said, I think it has made me a better person. I'm not gonna talk about that. I'm gonna get away from everything and focus on me and make a decision for me and that's not gonna be today. My back was pretty much in pain the whole year. I came back 5-6 months earlier than I was supposed to. I did that for this team and city because I wanted to win so bad. I pushed myself. Physically, was I ready? No. Mentally, I felt like I could do anything. My shoulder, I'm gonna have that looked at tomorrow. Hopefully I don't need surgery but whatever the case may be, I'm gonna do whatever I can to get myself right this off-season. Last year, I didn't have an opportunity to get in the gym not once before the season started. I didn't have that opportunity to grow and develop as a player. That's something I'm looking forward to. For myself, not having a serious injury that sidelined me for the whole summer and also not re-injuring my back. Those are some of the positives. A lot of the relationships that were rocky at first, we developed some great chemistry. Me and Pau's chemistry was key to team success. I was happy about that. All of us had to learn how to play in Mike's system. We have a lot of old guys so it was tough to do the things Mike wanted us to do. We all had to change a little bit, play inside out and I think playing that way got us into the playoffs. We had to sell out to whatever (Mike D'Antoni) wanted, whether we liked it or not. We had to do what benefited the team. It was tough because of all the injuries we had. For the most part, our D got better as the communication stepped up. I was happy to see that. It takes a full year to recover from the injury I had. People saw that I came back and went through training camp and didn't miss any games, (so therefor) I was totally healed 100%. I wasn't but I played through it. I could have sat out the whole year but I wanted to play. I gave it my all despite being in pain, despite guys hanging off my back. I played through it. (Living in LA) It's fun. The weather hasn't been great every day. I thought it'd be more sunny. It rained a lot this year. I love it. I had an awesome first year and we'll see. (How quick will you make a decision?) I'm just gonna get away and I don't think that I should be pressured by anyone to make a decision because this decision is for myself and myself only. Making a decision like this, you don't want to make it off emotions, what other people are saying. It's key for me to get away so I don't make a decision off what people are saying or emotions or anything like that. That's why I want to get away and make the decisions I need to make before coming back and talking to the Lakers. (People pleasing part of your nature) It's tough. I'm a happy go lucky type of person. I love to see people smile. You want people to like you. A lot of people don't understand the business of basketball. It's been tough all year but I've just tried to stay as strong as possible. (You feel like you've been welcomed?) Some days it's good. Some days it's not so good. Best place to be when you win. When you're losing, it's not so good. LA, they love their Lakers. We win as a team and lose as a team. It's not one person who can lose a game for a team. There are things I could have done better in the series and some things I'll work on this off-season. ... (3 teams in 3 different years if you leave): I haven't thought about any scenarios. After the game, I was hurt about the situation, being thrown out and I was upset at myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. I haven't had an opportunity to think about that. (Want to see what other teams have to say?) I just want to have an opportunity to make a decision for myself that will make me happy without the pressures of people wanting me to stay, leave, go here, go there or whatever it may be but make a decision for myself and be happy with the decision I made. I don't want any pressure from anybody. Mitch said he won't pressure me and we're at a good place. I understand until I make a decision, people will make a big deal about it but I'm not gonna be pressured either way into coming out so people can stop. I won't allow the fake rumors of last year to happen this year. If something comes out or people say stuff, you're gonna hear from me. I'm not gonna allow that to happen and cause a circus like last year by staying quiet. I'm not gonna let that happen this year. (Feel like you can be yourself again once this is resolved?) I'm gonna be myself now. I think that's the way I should have been all year. Not let anybody change who I am as a person. If I want to smile and be a big kid, smile and be a big kid. There's nothing wrong with that. I think all of us have some kind of kid left in all of us. I'm not gonna give that up. (Something you'll work on or add specifically?) I'm gonna work on everything. Not having an opportunity last year, I'm gonna cherish this moment and opportunity. I get an opportunity to sit down and re-define things I can do on the floor instead of being one dimensional or just stick myself in the post and play out of there. I want to come back and expand. (If you won this year, would we be questioning?) If we had won, it would be a different scene here in LA. Everything happens for a reason. I don't know why it had to happen this year to this team but everything happens for a reason. We may never know why right now it happens but it's gonna all make us better. (One moment or memory?) .... As far as basketball, just my first game back. I was filled with joy. I was happy to be playing basketball. Never forget that moment. ... The season has made us all stronger.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kupchak on D'Antoni's future: "Nothing has changed from my comments two weeks ago" Meaning, Mike D will be back.</p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/329361075042676736">April 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Looks like Mitch's plan is to sell 2014 free agency to Howard. That mean next year they will not contend for a championship because they want to keep flexibility. Will Howard bite and basicly give up another year an HOPE another free agent chooses LA in 2014? The extra money might help but I think Morey can pitch him more. Hope We can show Dwight we're worth it tomorrow
That's a risky move for Howard(competitively, not financially of course). Next year will be a wasted year even if Kobe does make it back before the playoffs. And in the 2014 offseason, there are no guarantees they'll sign any big name free agents. Especially with Kobe at the end of his career. Basically if Howard reups with the Lakers, it's because A)he wants to get paid and B)they're the Lakers and somehow their roster will be rebuilt with minimal effort because of who they are.
I really think he is going to end up here. Don't see him staying in LA. They need to tank next year to rebuild quickly. Dallas is old. We will need a PF or PG that can really hit the 3 ball.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Mitch Kupchak does not seem convinced Dwight is coming back: "It's hard for me to say"</p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/329358563329855488">April 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The same reason LeBron was willing to leave $30 million and the extra year on the table to go to Miami (and still ultimately left $15 million of it). It comes down to probability. Do we know? No, of course not. But the odds are extremely probable that LeBron, and in this case, Dwight, will get future max contracts. Guys like LeBron/Dwight are already rich beyond their wildest dreams. They have hundreds of millions in their bank accounts already, and at least $90 million guaranteed with this upcoming contract. If you're them, is the 1% chance that something crazy happens and you don't get another max contract really worth dictating your life? Let's say you have job offers in two different cities. One offers you $90 million for four years, along with a virtual assurance that you'll be given a subsequent maximum contract afterward. The other offers you $120 million for five years. If I prefer the first location and work environment, that's where I'm going. As long as the worst-case scenario isn't horrible (and $90 million over 4 years in a place you like isn't that), then it's not worth having your life dictated by fear and paranoia over a 1% possibility. To me, that's a sad way to live, especially when you have the built-in security that NBA stars do. LeBron understands that, and I think Dwight does, too.
