<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">2006/07 Los Angeles Lakers Payroll: $67.6 million 2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 million Roughly: $15.6 million over cap The Good: Kobe Bryant has five years left on one of the richest contracts in the league. The Lakers still owe Kobe more than $100 million dollars over that span. It's a good thing that he is one of the top three players in the league. Bryant had an incredible year scoring the ball as he averaged 35.4 points per game. He hits big shots, is unstoppable from anywhere on the court, and he can get to the free throw line whenever he wants (with a little help from the referees). On any given night, he might even do something legendary (81 points ring a bell?). If any player in this league is worth that kind of money, it's Kobe. On the other end of the spectrum is the player with the great first name, Smush Parker. The young journeyman was amazingly the third leading scorer on the team at 11.5 ppg while contributing 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals each night. Parker will be paid a mere $798,112 dollars next season, exactly 4.5% of what Kobe will make. Despite his struggles in the Suns playoff series, Smush is quite a bargain. Lamar Odom is the other highly paid Laker with three years and over $40 million left on his contract. He still needs to score more to improve his 14.8 average, but with Kobe taking all those shots, his difficulty is understandable. Odom was still able to average 9.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists, which was the second highest total of his career. The versatile forward is a key piece of the puzzle and will need to continue his stellar play. The Lakers will save $10 million dollars in cap space this summer when the contracts of Devean George, Slava Medvedenko, and Vlade Divac come off the books. That's right, Vlade Divac was on their payroll this season. The Bad: The news is good and bad for the Lakers concerning Brian Grant's contract. The bad news is that his deal will still count $15.5 million against next season's salary cap. The good news is that it is the final year of the deal and after being waived under the Allan Houston rule, his salary will not count against the luxury tax. Grant's contract will finally be a memory next summer. Kwame Brown is still young, still developing his skills, and still shows some promise. However, at $8.2 and $9 million the next two seasons, he is an expensive project. Brown contributed just 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season. He will need to average nearly a double-double to earn that kind of money. It's hard to believe that L.A. will pay Aaron McKie $2.7 million dollars next year. McKie played just a few minutes in 14 games this season. The veteran guard is contributing nothing to this team. The Future: It was a surprise when Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers, especially after his public rifts with Kobe Bryant. They have been able to make it work and the team is playing better under the experienced Jackson. Young players like Luke Walton, Brian Cook, and Sasha Vujacic have been able to find roles on this team and can perform them well. Still, is this a team that can climb its way into the top four of the Western Conference? No. The Lakers are one quality post player from being considered a contender. Lamar Odom is an inside/outside player and Kwame Brown may not get much better, which means L.A. will need to find an inside presence at some point. Could they find that presence in? Minnesota? If the Wolves start struggling again next season, the already frustrated Kevin Garnett could demand a trade and the Lakers would certainly come calling. KG and Kobe would be a match made in heaven and would instantly make the Lakers a contender. Could a package of Brian Grant's expiring contract, two young prospects, draft picks, and some leftovers be enticing enough for the Wolves to ship KG to Hollywood? Possibly. Of course, this is all fun speculation, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it happen at some point. Bonus Points? for convincing Phil Jackson to return. This is by far Phil's toughest coaching test to date. If he can improve the Lakers to a 50-win team next season, he will show that he can win games without Jordan and Shaq. Jackson's experience is tough to beat and after patching things up with Kobe, anything is possible. Grade: C </div> link: http://nbadraft.net/2006stateofthecaplalakers001.asp
There's a lot of oversites in this article. The Lakers are over the cap, they don't have $10Million in cap space, all they have is their MLE (rougly $6M). They also cannot trade Brian Grant's expiring contract since he was waived using the Amnesty clause. I don't think Aaron McKie's 2nd year is guaranteed.
The Brian Grant's contract really killing us. I hate playing a waiting game but that what we gonna have to do if we want our team steps up to another level -- an elite status.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">There's a lot of oversites in this article. The Lakers are over the cap, they don't have $10Million in cap space, all they have is their MLE (rougly $6M). They also cannot trade Brian Grant's expiring contract since he was waived using the Amnesty clause. I don't think Aaron McKie's 2nd year is guaranteed.</div> thanks for the explanation shape. i was confused as well. i thought, dang. 10 million? thats a lot! lol. i was also confused about the grant part, and im pretty sure mckies contract is guareenteed. though im not 100%
AS much as I hope that KG will be wearing the purple and gold very soon, I have my doubts if he will be coming over. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">IGN Sports: Are you in Minnesota for the long haul? Kevin Garnett: Why else be in it? I'm not in anything for a short commitment. That's not me. That's not my makeup. I feel like if you're going to commit yourself, commit yourself wholeheartedly 1000%. Just because I'm going through a difficult time right now with the transition, that's not my makeup, that's not my speed. I'm not the type of person to give up just because something gets rough. That's a coward. That's not me. </div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He hits big shots, is unstoppable from anywhere on the court, and he can get to the free throw line whenever he wants (with a little help from the referees).</div> This part pissed me off. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett: Why else be in it? I'm not in anything for a short commitment. That's not me. That's not my makeup. I feel like if you're going to commit yourself, commit yourself wholeheartedly 1000%. Just because I'm going through a difficult time right now with the transition, that's not my makeup, that's not my speed. I'm not the type of person to give up just because something gets rough. That's a coward. That's not me.</div> Thats good news for Minny fans and me, it shows that he is a true NBA player. He doesn't pack up and leave when things get rough. Bad news for LA though.
