Written by: Bryant T. Jordan
Twitter | @BryantTJordan
Subject: Jim Buss may run Dwight AND Kobe out of town in consecutive summers!?!
I honestly don’t mean to sound like Chicken Little wailing “the sky is falling, the sky is falling,” but the simple fact is that when absolute devastation could be on the horizon, the faithful should be prepared to cope with such ruin.
The above said, there is a distinct possibility that despite all the hope in Lakerdom revolving around the summer of 2014, next summer could actually be far more devastating than this summer has been. Simply put, in 12 short months, Lakers fans could be protesting en masse in front of the Staples Center.
This summer bore witness to Jim Buss seemingly choosing Mike D’Antoni and Steve Nash over Dwight Howard, with the end result being Dwight Howard agreeing to sign with the Houston Rockets and leaving the Lakers with zero compensation. I don’t know about you but when I invest in a big-ticket commodity, I expect a great return on my investment. If I cannot get a great return on my investment, I may indeed take a loss, but never, ever, under any circumstances would I simply agree to receive nothing for my investment. However, such is exactly what Jim Buss received for his investment in Dwight Howard, nothing.
As embarrassing and debilitating as losing the best center in basketball without receiving anything in return was, the fact of the matter is that next summer could be far worse. How, you ask? Allow me to make one bold statement, followed by an in-depth explanation of why such may in fact be true:
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT JIM BUSS WILL RUN KOBE BRYANT OUT OF TOWN THE SAME WAY HE RAN DWIGHT HOWARD OUT OF TOWN!
When the free agency period starts next summer, I honestly believe that Kobe Bryant will not be the focal point for Jim Buss. Simply put, I honestly believe that Jim Buss will focus on both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony when free agency starts, and that he will in effect make Kobe Bryant wait and possibly wait and wait and wait for a formal contract offer until LeBron and Carmelo decide whether they want to become Lakers or not. Such an action by Buss may be all it takes to infuriate Kobe to the point of no return and decide that these Jim Buss lead Lakers are not the same as the Jerry Buss lead Lakers, and look to sign elsewhere.
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There is also the possibility that even if Jim Buss pulls off the Hail Mary and is able to sign both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, that Kobe Bryant would balk at the far below market-value contract Buss would then offer him, feeling like a third wheel and entirely disrespected by the lack of loyalty shown.
There is also the possibility that even if the Lakers are only able to sign LeBron or Carmelo, rather than both, that Jim Buss will decide a youth movement is necessary and still offer Kobe a far below market-value contract, while at the same time trying to sign such younger quality players as Kyle Lowry, Jerryd Bayless, Evan Turner, Michael Beasley, et al.
There is also the very real possibility that if the Lakers are not able to sign LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony that Kobe Bryant will decide that he would rather compete for a ring in another city than waste away on a team that is more playoff contender than title contender, which the Lakers could be at that stage.
I honestly believe that Kobe Bryant will be not be the focal point of free agency this summer for Jim Buss. I believe that Buss will throw max offers at both LeBron and Melo and wait to see what they do; if Kobe expects to “get paid” fast and hard, he is in for a shock as I can see Jim Buss saying, “Sorry, Kobe but LBJ and Melo are my priorities and you’ll just have to wait for them to make their decisions; and, if they both sign on the dotted line, you can either take the offer I authorize of or you can play elsewhere”.
I honestly believe the above is exactly what will happen this summer, and when it does, there is a strong possibility that Kobe Bean Bryant, the greatest Laker in history, gets extremely offended and leaves the Los Angeles Lakers, the only teams he has played for since being drafted 18 summers earlier.
Next Page: More 2014 Possibilities
Perhaps, far worse that simply running the best center and shooting guard on the planet out of town will be that there is also a strong possibility that Jim Buss will have nothing of value to show for such actions. Just as the Lakers lost Dwight Howard while receiving nothing in the summer of 2013 (rather than trading him at last year’s deadline for a king’s ransom like as I suggested), they may infuriate Kobe to the point of playing elsewhere at all costs next summer, while at the same time missing out on both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. As I said, fans protesting en masse in front of the Staples Center!
All of the above said, the 2014-15 Lakers literally could have Steve Nash as their captain and face of their storied franchise with Coach Mike D’Antoni running his fit-for-the-regular-season “7 seconds or less” system, with the rest of the roster made up of solid yet unspectacular players such as Jerryd Bayless, Shawn Marion, Rashard Lewis and Spencer Hawes, along with returning Lakers who could be re-signed such as Chris Kaman, Steve Blake, Jodi Meeks and Ryan Kelly. The Lakers could also use their cap space to sign a former star such as Danny Granger and an all-potential, little-production volume scorer like Michael Beasley if the Suns fail to exercise his team option as I expect them do. Couple such signings with the addition of the players the Lakers draft next year and your 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers could literally look as follows:
PG: Steve Nash / Steve Blake / 1st Round Pick
SG: Jerryd Bayless / Jodie Meeks
SF: Danny Granger / Michael Beasley
PF: Shawn Marion / Ryan Kelly / Rashard Lewis
C: Spencer Hawes / Chris Kaman / 2nd Round Pick
Coach: Mike D’Antoni
The above roster could play “7 seconds or less” basketball till their hearts content and possibly score 105 plus points per game. The bad news? The above roster could also give up 125 points per game!
As for Kobe Bean Bryant and which team the Black Mamba would sign with if not the Lakers, as I see it there would be three realistic options that would stand out above all the rest, and they are the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers … and … the Philadelphia 76ers … yes I’m serious.
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WHY the LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS:
There would be no better team for the greatest player in Lakers history to go to, if he wants to sting his former team, than the Los Angeles Clippers.
Signing with the Clippers would allow the Staples Center to remain “Kobe’s house,” and the amount of pain and angst he would cause Jim Buss and the Lakers brass by staying in the same city and playing in the same building would be enormous. I have no real doubt that when the Lakers and Clippers played each other in Staples, that around 90 percent of the jerseys in the audience would be Kobe Bryant Clippers jerseys and that there would be a “Fire Jim Buss” or “Jim Buss sucks” chant heard around the arena and coming from the mouths of the Lakers faithful. What a spectacle that would be.
When one considers that the Clippers would also quite possibly be the odds-on-favorite to win the NBA title with Bryant on their roster, staying in Los Angeles and playing with the Clippers makes a great deal of sense for Kobe Bean Bryant.
WHY NOT the LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS:
Money, period. If Kobe wants to cause his former team the most pain possible, he would also have to cause himself the most financial pain possible, as the Clippers are projected to be over the cap next season and would therefore only be able to offer Bryant a fraction of his former salary.
WHY the CHICAGO BULLS:
Kobe already nearly forced his way to the Chicago Bulls via trade in days gone by and has made it clear that he would have no problem playing for the team that Jordan built.
Kobe has also always been extremely impressed and complimentary of Bulls superstar Derrick Rose, going so far as to say that other than himself, only Derrick Rose and Chris Paul (of the aforementioned Clippers of course) had the same insane level of competitive fire as he did. Kobe, accepting the challenge of trying to one-up Michael Jordan, in Jordan’s city, while wearing a jersey with a number one digit higher than Jordan’s old #23 just seems fitting.
WHY NOT the CHICAGO BULLS:
Honestly, there is no obvious reason why Kobe would not sign with the Bulls which make them a more realistic choice than the Clippers and perhaps even the 76’ers.
If the Bulls amnesty Carlos Boozer before the start of the 2014-15 season as I expect they will, do not re-sign Luol Deng and do not pick up the team option on little used PG Marquis Teague, they could realistically offer Kobe right around $15 million per season and the ability to play with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, which would give the Bulls perhaps the best starting five in the league.
Again, there really is no good reason why Kobe Bryant would not sign with the Chicago Bulls.
Next Page: Could Kobe return to his hometown team?
WHY the PHILADELPHIA 76ERS:
Four reasons: money, returning home as a franchise savior, setting himself up for life after basketball and a possible majority ownership stake in the franchise … and … money.
If the 76ers allow Evan Turner and Royce White to sign elsewhere next summer and buy-out the contract of Jason Richardson, spreading the $6.6 million he is owed over three years as is allowed, even with a #1 picks salary (Note: The 76’ers look like one of the worst teams in the league at this time and may indeed get the #1 pick in the draft and the opportunity to draft Andrew Wiggins) added to the rather expensive salary of Thad Young along with the second year salaries of Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams and the third year salary of Arnett Moultrie, the 76ers could have right around $43 million in cap space next summer.
Kobe Bryant just recently said that he will indeed play at least three more seasons; however, I have stated for over a year now that I believe Kobe will play through the 2016-17 season and therefore a total of at least four more seasons. The reason I believe such is that by the end of the 2015-16 season, three years from now, Kobe will most likely be sitting at second on the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer’s list and will realize that by playing just one more season he would easily surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and become the greatest scorer in NBA history. I simply cannot see him walking away with such a lofty goal easily within reach. Kobe Bryant is not Barry Sanders, period.
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The above said, I believe Kobe will be looking for a three-year contract next summer and whereas the Lakers may be offering him a three-year deal paying a total of around $30-40 million if they have signed another superstar or two, or perhaps as much as $60-65 million if they were unable to sign another player of significance, and the Bulls could offer him perhaps around a total of $45-49 million, the Philadelphia 76ers would literally be able to offer Kobe Bryant a three-year, $100,000,000 contract with the option of owning a percentage (and possibly a majority share) of the franchise upon retirement!
With the only players under contract in 2014-15 after letting Evan Turner and Royce White walk and buying out Jason Richardson being Thad Young, Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, Arnett Moultrie and their first round draft pick next year (Andrew Wiggins?), along with the aforementioned $42 million or so in cap space, the 76ers could offer Kobe a three-year deal with eight percent annual raises starting at $30.81 million which would pay approx. $33.275 million in the second season and $35.937 in the third and final season, for a total payout of $100,021,584!
On top of the massive financial windfall Kobe would receive in the above proposed deal, the 76ers would also still have around $7 million to spend in free agency, even after five cap holds are figured in, which could allow them to offer someone like Pau Gasol a full four-year guaranteed contract worth around $29.4 million and add various solid players like Kirk Hinrich, Brandon Rush, Ben Gordon, Caron Butler and Ryan Hollins to veteran minimum contracts. If such were done, the 76ers roster could look as follows:
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 2014-15 LINEUP
PG: Michael Carter-Williams / Kirk Hinrich
SG: Kobe Bryant / Brandon Rush / Ben Gordon
SF: Andrew Wiggins / Caron Butler
PF: Thad Young / Arnett Moultrie
C: Nerlens Noel / Pau Gasol/ Ryan Hollins
WHY NOT the PHILADELPHIA 76ERS:
While I do believe the above roster could contend for a title before Kobe’s final contract runs out, he may want the opportunity to compete for a title immediately, which would be the only real reason Kobe would turn down a three-year $100+ million contract from Philly that comes with the option of being the franchise savior in the town you played high school ball in, and an ownership stake in the franchise upon retirement.
If Kobe chose Philadelphia’s amazing offer, could anyone blame him? Would anyone blame him, or would the blame fall squarely on Jim Buss’ shoulders?
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