Lakers aren't crazy, they just got real
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But what's really the difference if he signed for $16-18 million instead of the $23.5 million he'll get next season? The Lakers will still have the flexibility to sign a maximum-level free agent this summer or the next one. They won't be able to chase two of them, but really, how realistic was that anyway?
And yes, they won't have as much to pad out the roster with mid-level players. But if there's one thing they learned this summer, it's that those guys usually get overpaid and there's plenty of talent that's available for veteran minimum contracts. A guy like Earl Clark leaves for a two-year, $9 million deal with Cleveland, and the Lakers replace him with Wes Johnson on a one-year, vet minimum deal. Johnson's having a good enough year that he might leave for more money next summer, but the bet is they'll find someone who can step in for him at a discount, too.
It's not ideal, but it's reality in the new CBA.
The other big bet here is the one Bryant is making. The Lakers, as currently constructed, do not give him the best chance to chase his sixth championship ring. They will not be favored in any of the next three seasons.
But three times in the past eight years, the Lakers have been favored after a series of bold offseason moves and came up empty. Remember when Gary Payton and Karl Malone came over to chase rings in 2004? Remember the 2008 Finals when the Lakers were supposed to roll the Celtics? Remember, um, last year?
Talent is always a great start, but Bryant's seen enough to know it doesn't guarantee a thing in the NBA.
No, the only thing that is guaranteed is the affection a star like him can retire with if he remains with the same franchise for his entire career. Like any marriage, it's not always perfect. But something indescribable happens when a bond is for life, and both sides know how much they've given up to preserve it.
It might not glitter, but it's a special kind of gold.
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