http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/57449/20090220/ariza_could_double_salary_in_free_agency/ Before he went to the Lakers, no one knew how to develop his potential and use it to their advantage... I hope he doesn't leave... we need him... 4.5 - 5.5 M? MLE? I think the MLe is a little bit too much though for our 7th/8th player off the bench (with Odom coming off the bench).
He wont be a bench player for long. I see him taking over for Luke next year. He is starter talent, the Lakers just choose to use him off the bench.
I remember hearing an interview somewhere that Ariza preferred coming off the bench. But regardless, I don't want him starting. He is perfect as a sparkplug off the bench. Luke would be horrible.
They don't choose to use him off the bench, Ariza prefers it. A few weeks back there was an article about Ariza starting and him saying he was against the idea. He says he likes to watch the game flow from the bench, see the pace, and decide how he can impact it. Ariza is better off the bench. He isn't bitching about minutes or starting, so keep him where he is happy.
OT, but is there a useful guide for salaries? I don't get them. I assume all the teams have the limit of money for all their players, like 55 million or smth? MLE is something over the limit, right?
Every team does have the same salary cap, but the MLE is there for basically everyone to use, regardless of whether or not they're over the cap. Also, if you own a players bird rights, you're able to go over the cap to resign that player. With Ariza, I expect him to get the MLE from us at the least.
I think Ariza was genuine when he was talking about coming off the bench. He know his role on this team is much better as a 6th man than a starter.
I don't care if Ariza doesn't start, but he should be on the court to close games out. Luke almost cost us last night with his piss poor decisions on defense. It's going to be an interesting summer for free agents because not many teams have money to spend most teams are keeping their cap space open for the 2010 free agent class. The NBA recently took out a loan to help 11 or 15 franchises with their overhead. There's a lot of teams with money problems and this could really benefit the Lakers next summer. Teams without the money to spend won't be able to run up the price tag on Odom or Ariza like prior seasons. The Laker I'm worried about not being able to re-sign is Josh Powell.
You have to wonder about Lamar as well. How much money is Buss willing to spend on him? Especially since he doesn't have a clear cut role on this team, as of yet. He's been an absolute beast lately since he got his starting job back, but we all saw how he played off the bench this season. I think he's one of those players who needs a starting job to play well. He's been a starter his whole career, playing off the bench just isn't for him, or at least that's what he showed this year. He's underachieved this whole season coming off the bench, frustrated me like hell, so with that being said, how does he fit into our long term goals? Does he keep his starting job in the future, and does Bynum come off the bench? And how much is Jerry willing to spend for such a player, who struggles off the bench, but succeeds as a starter? Does Bynum become our sixth man now?
I just don't want to see Lamar go, Bynum being better or not doesn't change the fact that we need Odom's depth. Even if Bynum's injuries were freak accidents, who knows exactly how he recovers now and if he'll be prone to more injuries (I'm not predicting that but it is a concern)? What other player are we going to replace Lamar with who's this damn effective (no way Powell produces nearly this well)? Odom is just too valuable to let go, when Bynum comes back 100% start him over any of the other bigs but we always need to keep Lamar around in my opinion.
Yeah that's what I'm thinking. If we keep Lamar around, it's basically insurance policy. If we want to get a backup big man who will have the same impact as him off the bench, we can probably get one a lot cheaper. If Bynum shows he can stay healthy for once, I wouldn't mind Lamar leaving, but he has not. With that being said, if Bynum goes down for an extended amount of time next year, like he has two years straight, and we don't have Lamar, we're kind of screwed.
After what happened two years straight I'd much rather try to replace Trevor than Lamar. Lamar plays like an All-Star with Pau around, he's simply amazing.
Probably the smarter thing to do, as I guess. Too bad I have grown attached to Trevor, he's one of my favorite players on the roster. Lamar's a good player, but I don't really like him that much for whatever reason. Probably because he's pissed the hell out of me for so long, I have grown numb to his greatness.
About Josh Powell, that's exactly what all Laker fans said about Turiaf: not being able to sign him. I remember what most Laker fans said was a mistake in not matching Golden State's offer. What happened then? We got Powell to replace him. If we are unable to get Powell, it is possible to replace him as well.
