VeeshanVault

Go baby go!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1832381

I'm hoping this was planned out long beforehand with Kobe.

Suns = 106M
Laker = 136M

With taxes and last year flex option, the numbers are even closer than that.

Suns contract , 10% raises 1,417,500$ per year
1st year................2nd year.............3rd year..............4th year...
14,175,000$........15,592,500$........17,010,000$..........18,427,500$

5th year..............6th year.
19,845,000$........21,262,500$

=6yrs/106.3M$


Lakers contract, 12.5% raises 1,771,875$ per year
1st year..............2nd year........3rd year..........4th year..........5th year
14,175,000$......15,946,875$....17,718,750$.....19,490,625$.....21,262,500$

6th year...............( 7th year )
23,034,375$..........(24,806,250$)

=6yrs/111.6M$ or 7yrs/136.4M$

Why the 7th year doesn't really matter?
Because whatever contract Kobe signs he will almost definately opt out before he ever plays the 7th year to sign another contract again or he will sign an extension before.

With respect to tax rates, la's highest bracket is 9.3%, phoenix is 5.04%.

Arizona 1st year...2nd year......3rd year.....4th year.....5th year.......6th year
714,420$.......... 785,862$......857,304$....928,746$....1,000,188$...1,071,630$

Total taxes over the 6 seasons = 5,358,150$

California 1st year....2nd year......3rd year......4th year.......5th year
1,318,275$............1,483,059$...1,647,844$...1,812,628$....1,977,412$

6th year
2,142,197$

Total taxes over the first 6 seasons = 10,381,415$

Saves Kobe Bryant 5.3M$ taxes. The contract difference over the first 6 seasons is 5.3M$ in favor of the Lakers.

Conclusion?
Money doesn't make a difference whether he chooses Phoenix or LA. If he signed with San Antonio it would be financially even better for Kobe.

If he signed with San Antonio it would be financially even better for Kobe.

Yes.

Noooo! What's this crap about the Clippers!

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2553680

Bryant has reportedly narrowed his focus to include only the Los Angeles teams and has turned his attention away from Phoenix, and the San Antonio Spurs.

lame! The Suns would be a better fit.

Fuck him though if he doesn't want to come. I don't want him unless he wants to be here.

How typical sports fan of you

His wife wants to stay in the area.

Kelshara wrote:How typical sports fan of you

His wife wants to stay in the area.

She can stay wherever she wants while he's out fucking other women. I don't see the problem.

Seriously though, if Phoenix doesn't appeal to him there's no need to beg. 100M+ is a bunch of money to pay out and I'd want someone that's enthusiastic about coming. I think that's why Phoenix made the offer at 12 midnight. Take it or leave it so the team can make plans and move on either way. There's no time to screw around if it's not going to happen we need to get other free agents signed.

I've actually kind of thought he would stay with the Lakers all along.. we will see I suppose.

They must be fucking crazy to offer him that much. Nobody in the NBA today is worth that.

I hope whoever sells their babies to buy him gets screwed come legal court time next year.

The Suns are done with Kobe-- they apparently reached an agreement with Steve Nash for 5 years, 65 million or so.

That'll give them:

Steve Nash
Joe Johnson
Shawn Marion
Amare Stoudemire
Antonio McDyess?

As their starting five. Pretty good team.

Let me just say, Winnow, I told you so!

Sueven wrote:The Suns are done with Kobe-- they apparently reached an agreement with Steve Nash for 5 years, 65 million or so.

That'll give them:

Steve Nash
Joe Johnson
Shawn Marion
Amare Stoudemire
Antonio McDyess?

As their starting five. Pretty good team.

They still have the money to go after Mehmet Okur from Detroit as their center so the lineup may look like:

Steve Nash
Joe Johnson
Shawn Marion
Amare Stoudemire
Mehmet Okur

Not bad but we had Marbury with that same lineup last year minus a center and didnt do well so it depends on whether whatever free agent we get at center does to help out Amare. Antonio McDyess may be heading elsewhere but he did mention he wanted to stay.

I am disappointed if the Suns never had a shot at Kobe. Im happy they offered the max right at midnight and also happy they didn't screw around and moved on to plan b. Plan B may involve the extra 1st rounder we picked up this year though. The best I see us atm is maybe making the playoffs but that's it if that.

I can only hope Kobe goes to jail as bad karma!

Not trying to knock Nash or anything but 6yr/65mil for him is a bit much. He's not even a top 5 point guard in the NBA.

But nonetheless, their lineup looks good but I'm not sure Okur is the way to go. With that lineup, their is only one thing the suns truly need and that is rebounding. Being in Detroit and watching damn near every Piston game this season, Okur is 6'11" but he plays like a small forward. Seems to me like hes afraid to get in there and bang all game long. If he does go out West. he will get tossed around just about every game. Don't get me wrong, he's young and has lots of room for improvement but nothing was more frustrating this season watching Okur get guarded straight up by people 4 or 5 inches shorter than him. I can't count the number of times I have seen him go to the rim weak and get his shit get tossed when all he has to do is flush the damn ball.

Nash is also 30 so the end of that contract may not even be prime years!

Karae wrote:Nash is also 30 so the end of that contract may not even be prime years!

You don't need to tell me! I'm not excited about this. It's an OK addition that will help but nothing that will really make a huge difference. Nothing besides Kobe would have made this team an instant contender. Nash isn't worth 65 M over 5 years but there's nothing else out there to get that's better for the Suns.

I was actually glad when we got rid of Nash the first time. His game has improved and he will get the ball to Amare, Marion and JJ but with the addition of a free agent center, all we have is a solid team that will compete.

My only hope for next year is that the Lakers suck and whatever team Kobe ends up with doesn't do well. I hope Detroit wins it again and then maybe the Suns will have the maturity and another two first rounders to make a run.

IMO all hope for the Suns lie on Casey Jacobsen's shoulders......

I just saw a headline that some guy signed somewhere.

I wonder if Coach K is really considering leaving Duke. I mean his legacy as one of the greatest coaches is ensured. However, if he up and leaves like this, I'm not sure if Duke is in a position to immediately replace him with a coach who has not only his on the court smarts, but his ability to recruit athletes who are also Duke-caliber scholars.

Duke is not like Notre Dame where you just have to pretend to be Catholic. No dummies matriculate to Duke U.

Nash is a good point guard. I'm not saying that this was a smart deal necessarily, but Nash is a good point guard. Top 5 in the NBA? Absolutely.

Look what he brings to a team:

He's a playmaker who averaged 8.8 assists per game last year. He did play on a team with lots of offensive flash, but now he'll be throwing passes to athletic young scorers like Amare, Marion, and Johnson. I wouldn't expect that number to decline too much.

He scored 14.5 points per game on fewer than 11 shots, an excellent ratio. He also has the ability to score more (he averaged 17.8 the previous two years), and very well could increase his scoring now that there's fewer Antoine Walkers around to hog shots.

He is one of the best (in my opinion, the best) jumpshooters in the game. His career numbers are .465 from the field, .416 from three, and .893 from the line. The importance of a top level jump shooter is huge, especially to a team like the suns, which has been relying on spotty shooters like Barbosa, Jacobsen and Johnson. Nash will create immediate respect for the perimeter, freeing up inside options for guys like Stoudemire.

There are some legitimate knocks on his game. He's not big. He doesn't play very good defense. He is 30. I would imagine that when he's 35, slowing down, and relegated to taking the ball up court and shooting open jumpers, then perhaps the suns won't be happy about paying him 13 million or whatever it is. But don't pretend that the guy isn't a quality player-- he's one of the top three or so talents at Phoenix's weakest position, he doesn't waste possessions with turnovers and stupid shots, and he's played on a team that has consistently won 50 games and often advanced in the playoffs. He'll make Phoenix markedly better.

A lot of those same things could be said about John Stockton, except he consistently lead the league in assists. Having a ball handler that will fucking bury you if you put him on the line at the end of a game is also nothing to scoff at.

Nice post Sueven.

A .916 FT % is a huge asset. Imagine if Shaq or Ben Wallace could hit free throws at that clip.

we need oliver miller back to fat around on the court.. with barklet and dan teh man marjele!

There were some premature rumors on ABC in Phoenix today that Kobe was in town.

Gambo on sportsradio however said that Kobe isn't in Phoenix today BUT said Kobe is still an option for the team especially in sign and trades.

Also we could clear enough caproom again to offer Kobe the max by sending Eisley, Chicagos top3 pick, Vujanic and even Johnson either to Dallas in a sign and trade for Nash or to a team under the cap like Atlanta.

The acquisition of Nash has probably made Phoenix a more desirable destination for Kobe right now.

We can still get him!

Sign and trade deal:

Marion
Joe Johnson
Bulls #1 pick next year
Future #1 pick

Lakers sign and trade Kobe to the Suns.

Edit: I know Lakers said they wouldn't sign and trade but if Kobe asked them to would the Lakers want nothing for Kobe or something like the package above? It's also been said that nothing will happen with Kobe until August so I'd say the Suns aren't out of the race and that's what they just said today as well.

Personally, I wouldn't coach the Lakers with or without Kobe and Shaq for any amount of money. It's not worth tarnishing your reputation as a coach because the two egos can't get along with each other.

I think the Nash deal was generally good if the Suns couldn't get Kobe.

There's not a spot that exists that the players are worth 100 million. There's not a person alive that's worth that much.

No wonder sports suck so badly.