As soon as the Los Angeles Lakers gave Kobe Bryant a two-year extension worth nearly $50 million, people called into question whether or not this made basketball sense for the franchise. Bryant was coming off a ruptured Achilles' tendon at the age of 35, and yet they still decided to make him the highest-paid player in the NBA. It was a "Thank You" of sorts for the incredible career and success he had given the Lakers over the years.
The problem with it now is it possibly prevented the Lakers from having proper roster flexibility over the last two offseasons, and considering Bryant's injuries since the contract, he hasn't been able to produce anything close to justifying the present impact of his salary cap number. Still, if Lakers president Jim Buss had to do it all over again, he wouldn't hesitate for a second to give Kobe that big deal. From USA Today:
The Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations made it clear that he has no regrets about the controversial contract.
"You give Kobe Bryant $50 million for two years," Buss told USA TODAY Sports in a wide-ranging interview. "Are you kidding me? What did he bring us? In this day and age, what did he bring us, for 20 years? And if that isn’t what you’re supposed to do, then I have no idea what life is all about.
"You pay the guy. You believe in the guy. If he ends up (staying healthy), that’s fantastic. Well everybody (in the media) cut me up for that, but I’d say over 200 fans have come up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much for letting my kid see Kobe Bryant for two more years.’ And I’m like, 'You know what? I’m glad I can see him for two more years.' "
As much scrutiny as the contract has been thrown, it made a lot of sense from a business standpoint. The Buss family and the Lakers are tied to their enormous local television contract as one of their main sources of income. It's one of the more unique situations in the NBA because the Lakers aren't a pet project for the ownership; it's their main business.
With as much interest, ratings, and revenue the presence of Kobe gives the Lakers, giving him the money was probably an easy decision. There's a sentimental value to it all and from a basketball standpoint, they gambled on him being able to come back from an injury most athletes struggle to come back from. While it made business sense for them, it hampered their basketball plan quite a bit because they couldn't just go out and find big time players to put next to Bryant.
However, it did allow them to be bad, and that process led to some high draft picks. Perhaps they were able to influence the business of the team while adding the foundation of D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to future success of the franchise. We may not know the full impact of this deal for years, but at least Jim Buss feels like it was a no-brainer. Maybe it was.
