Looking back, Kobe's 5 year contract was a good move by the Lakers

[J Shuttlesworth]

Though we all said Kobe was overpaid, seeing the Lakers bounce back and win a championship that quickly makes the contract worth it.

A guy like AD seeing that a franchise will pay their stars, even in their twilight years, gives pretty good incentive for players to sign with LA. Contrast this with the Celtics getting rid of IT and the Clippers trading BG. Even AD's dad said he would never want his son to sign with the Celtics because of how they handled IT.

Rewarding your loyal players in the long run is a smarter move than trading them for short term goals.

[starface]

Though we all said Kobe was overpaid, seeing the Lakers bounce back and win a championship that quickly makes the contract worth it.

A guy like AD seeing that a franchise will pay their stars, even in their twilight years, gives pretty good incentive for players to sign with LA. Contrast this with the Celtics getting rid of IT and the Clippers trading BG. Even AD's dad said he would never want his son to sign with the Celtics because of how they handled IT.

Rewarding your loyal players in the long run is a smarter move than trading them for short term goals.


Would you consider Kobe loyal?

Obviously he was with the franchise for a long time. I'm not sure that in and of itself defines loyalty. He did make public trade demands at one point. He feuded with Shaq, he demanded Bynum be shipped out. He often put himself above the team on the court. He took inflated contracts that hamstrung the organization. I actually can't think of many ways he was loyal to the organization besides playing there, which was simply about the benefit to himself.

Kobe was a good dude overall but when it came to basketball he was pretty much out for his own. He stayed with the Lakers because it was the best option for him personally. The end of his career tho really brought the Lakers to their knees. The fact they were ultimately lifted back up to prominence by LeSavior is extremely fortunate, but I don't think most franchises can count on a miracle like that. You can't give washed up veterans 33 million per year and expect to compete consistently.

[Smoke117]

What 5 year contract? Kobe never signed a 5 year extension ever in his career. In 2010 he signed a 3 year extension and then signed that 2 year extension coming off the Achilles rupture. Giving him that 2 year contract after the injury at is age was what everyone was saying was crazy.

[light]

Though we all said Kobe was overpaid, seeing the Lakers bounce back and win a championship that quickly makes the contract worth it.

A guy like AD seeing that a franchise will pay their stars, even in their twilight years, gives pretty good incentive for players to sign with LA. Contrast this with the Celtics getting rid of IT and the Clippers trading BG. Even AD's dad said he would never want his son to sign with the Celtics because of how they handled IT.

Rewarding your loyal players in the long run is a smarter move than trading them for short term goals.

Well IT is not Kobe Bryant. He was barely even a star player. So I can't think of any GM that would have given IT a lot of money after that injury.

AD's dad also has other motives for preferring LA over Boston - a lot of families have the same preferences when it comes to that. LeBron's family also preferred LA to other destinations. Obvious reasons.

But its ironic then that AD not going to sign a 5 year contract with the Lakers. He signed with Klutch to have full control over his future and that is what he is going to get.