^ you're a Laker fan? lol I just remembered that the Lakers have a team option on Josh next year, Shape. He has a cheap contract, I definitely expect him to be back.
Everywhere I see says Powell signed a 1 year deal with the Lakers. But I read on LG Powell has a team option at the end of the year. He's supposedly someone with ties with the organization, so I take his word for it.
The Lakers want to bring both players back next season and if we win the Championship I think Dr. Buss will pay to keep the team together. The Radman trade saved us a lot of money to re-sign these guys. They are also expecting the salary cap to drop next season by $3M to $4M which could also benefit the Lakers. The Lakers have some assets they can move next year. - Sasha Vujacic - Adam Morrison (expiring contract) - 1st Round Pick - Jordan Farmar
Forgot to mention, the Lakers also struck a lucrative revenue deal with ESPN this year. ESPN paid for the rights to radio broadcast all the Laker games. Source: LA Times The Lakers have a lot of built-in advantages over other franchises and they are able to go over the luxury tax threshold if necessary. This is why I love Dr. Buss ownership philosophy. He cares about winning and understands building a historic franchise will make up for the money he puts into a winner.
YES!!! The market works to our advantage too. Teams are desperately trying to shed salary, I don't see anyone offering Lamar a gigantic contract this offseason, especially with this economy. Not to mention there aren't many teams with a lot of money to spend this year either, and those that do will most likely save it for 2010. I think Trevor is basically a lock to come back next year. He likes LA, he's a crucial part of our second unit. He'll probably cost around MLE money, so that won't be too expensive. Lamar's the one who can be on his way out, but like I mentioned above, I doubt any team throws much salary on him. I think being the biggest, or second biggest revenue team in the league, with the most expensive ticket prices in the league (yes above the Knicks), Buss shouldn't have any problem shelling out some money to resign both, as long as it's reasonable. I doubt he shells out 14 mill to Lamar though, if all he's going to do is come off the bench.
