Now that we know NBA legend Kobe Bryant will be sidelined a minimum of 6 to 9 months because of an untimely Achilles tear suffered last Friday night, is it time to start looking to the future for the Lakers?
It’s no secret that the LA Lakers currently have the highest team payroll in the entire Association by a wide margin, paying more than $100 million for the ’12-’13 season, with Kobe being the highest paid player in the league at more than $27.8 million this season.
But once the season ends, prized big man Dwight Howard officially becomes a free agent, and will command a multi-year contract probably worth more than the $19 million he got this year between Orlando and Los Angeles.
With the bulging contracts of Kobe Bryant ($30.4m owed), Pau Gasol ($19.2m), Steve Nash ($9.3m), a player option for Metta World Peace ($7.7m), and the upcoming mega deal that Dwight Howard will undoubtedly require to stay, the Lakers need to consider the NBA’s luxury tax penalty going up to a 3 to 1 ratio for next season.
An achilles rupture can be a touchy injury, especially for a player in his mid 30’s. While Kobe is the one player with the drive, determination, and focus to make a full recovery, several players in recent years have come back from such an injury but with limited results.
It’s taken LA Clippers guard Chauncey Billups a bit longer to return to form after rupturing his Achilles last season and current Dallas Maverick Elton Brand is only a shell of his former self. To put it in perspective, a once 20 ppg scoring Brand is now averaging 11 ppg and 7.2 reb this season.
Why am I bringing up past players with similar injuries? Because there is a rumor floating around that the Lakers are at least considering using their one time amnesty clause on Bryant, rather than get nothing for his immense salary next season.
Although it would be a PR disaster, using the amnesty on Bryant could be a win-win situation considering they may only have the services of Bryant for the last few months of the season in a best case scenario. It makes sense, considering LA may be more than $80 million over the cap, and realistically don’t have a shot at winning next season without the “Mamba.”
It would give Kobe a full year to rehabilitate, they could re-sign him next Summer, and he still gets to pocket the $30 million plus. Or would Kobe use it against them and become the most coveted free agent in NBA history?
Source: Hoopshype
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
