Amare Stoudemire told a local paper he will sign the max extension with the Phoenix Suns by the start of training camp. Source With Yao Ming already signed to an extension and now Amare Stoudemire, who will the Lakers target in 2007? There are still a lot of free agents available, but the 2007 plan might not be about signing just one superstar. Afterall, the Lakers already have their superstar, Kobe Bryant, and might be counting on Lamar, Kwame, or Bynum to live up to their potential. If they do, then the Lakers can just start rounding out the bench with key role players to give the team some depth. You have to look around the league at the successful teams the last couple of seasons. The Spurs have been blueprint to model a team after. The team is not built on winning with two superstars and a weak bench. Instead they have balance and depth to surround their key player, Tim Duncan. As much praise as the Spurs ownership has received, they have had a 5 year headstart on the rest of the league. The year Tim Duncan became a free agent, the CBA made changes to the maximum offers a free agent could receive. They also made 4th year players restricted free agents instead of unrestricted free agents. These two changes to the CBA, where key for a small-market team to hold onto their franchise player and still have money to spend on a solid bench. Let's turn back the clock when Tim Duncan was a free agent. He shopped around and came very close to joining Tracy McGrady in Orlando. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Last month, Duncan announced that he would re-sign with the Spurs despite the Orlando Magic's efforts to woo him with a reported six-year, $67.5 million contract (JET, July 31). Duncan reportedly came close to accepting the Orlando offer, only to be swayed toward staying with the Spurs when teammate David Robinson flew back to San Antonio from Hawaii to make a last-ditch appeal. Duncan could have signed with San Antonio for as many as seven years, but instead chose to take a shorter deal with an eye toward getting a contract worth more than $100 million the next time he becomes a free agent.</div> Source The Spurs where not only able to keep Duncan, they also didn't have to dish out a "grandfather" contract for him. Had the CBA been the same, Tim Duncan could have easily received a similar deal to Kevin Garnett (5yr, $100M) or a deal like Shaq O'neal, where Duncan would hit the $30M per year range. Instead the Spurs only had to pay roughly $15M for Tim Duncan. With the savings, the Spurs have been able to re-sign their young talent, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and keep their core intact. All the credit goes to the Spurs drafting and developing those players, but not having to spend $20+Million a year on Duncan allowed them to keep Parker and Gino. Now getting back to the Lakers, they have their maxed out player in Kobe Bryant. They rid themselves of Oneal's grandfather contract, and Brian Grant's grandfather contract will be gone in 2007. Until Grant's contract is gone, the Lakers won't really be able to start building this team around Kobe Bryant. Right now the pieces the Lakers have is trial and error, to see who's going to fit and who isn't. At the same time the Lakers experiment with players to surround Kobe with, they will also try to make the post season and see how the team performs. Adding Phil Jackson as the head coach gives the Lakers the best chance to over achieve, because he gets the most out of his players. The best case scenario is Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown thrive alongside Kobe Bryant the next two seasons. Those three could be an amazing core to build around if they all play to their potential. If the three workout, then the Lakers have flexibility to add role players, who specialize in rebounding, defense, and are hungry to win a title. The worst case scenario the Lakers have two more seasons of being a lottery team or getting bounced in the first round. If this happens, then the Lakers have the flexibility in 2007 to start all over again.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Heat4Life:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers want LeBron but will end up signing Peja.</div> Peja Stoyakovic? There's no reason for the Lakers to target him unless Lamar Odom isn't working out. If Lamar Odom is working out, then where does Peja fit in? Peja does not play defense, he's not quick enough to guard any point guard in the league, he hasn't been very good in clutch situations, and I can't see the Lakers paying over $8M a season to have him coming off the bench.
I think Andrew Bynum will surprise a lot of people. I also think Kwame Brown(same goes for Lamar Odom) will blossom into a impressive player under Phil Jackson.
