What is a superstar truly worth and how can they be valued? Is it by stats, championships, star power, marketability or reputation?
Kobe Bryant’s recent two-year, $48.5 million dollar extension this week has been met with relentless criticism upon everybody around the NBA with much of the dissent citing his age and the Lakers’ current situation in building a new team.
From first impressions the mammoth amount of the extension would make anybody think that Kobe had been greedy and held the Lakers for ransom which is a fair assumption, but the facts point to a different conclusion.
There is no doubt that Kobe sells tickets. He has been the game’s biggest name for over fifteen years and is the cornerstone of the franchise which is something they realise and more importantly, appreciate.
This contract extension shows the complete respect the Lakers have for his contributions to their brand. Not only the rings and wins, but also the dollars that he brings through the turnstiles and their stores.
Most superstar players who have reached this point of their career usually re-evaluate their priorities and chase glory over the pay check.
Current players like Tim Duncan and Steve Nash showed their desire for a championship which lead them to taking large pay cuts.
As great as these players are though, Kobe Bryant is a different breed. This is a guy who in my opinion is one of the five greatest players of all time and is the best player since Michael Jordan.
So what now for the Lakers? First and foremost they needed to move on from the Dwight Howard fiasco and their plans of building their team around the former Orlando Magic big man.
A team like the Lakers need and deserve a superstar and once again they have left the responsibility on Bryant to assist in ushering in their new phase.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, who has proven his worth of building championship teams, anticipated that by securing Kobe, he would be able to attain at least one major star and a few more ‘second-tier’ stars such as Luol Deng, Kyle Lowry or Gordon Hayward all of whom would definitely contribute for a run at a championship.
Kupchak stated after the contract signing:
“To play 20 years in the NBA, and to do so with the same team, is unprecedented, and quite an accomplishment,” he said.
“Most importantly, however, it assures us that one of the best players in the world will remain a Laker, bringing us excellent play and excitement for years to come.”
A statement which represents all aspects of this contract extension.
Moreover the Lakers simply could not afford to let Kobe test the free agent waters as he would not have a lack of options, they needed to please the fans who love him and appreciate what he has done for the game through his career.
They simply could not afford to make a ‘scene’ of the situation for they as an organisation realise that Kobe is worth much more than what he is getting paid.
They also needed to continue their principles that their late owner Dr Jerry Buss built his legacy upon and that is loyalty and family.
Some might argue that Kobe in anticipation of the arrivals of some superstars is simply ‘striking while the iron is hot’, knowing that by signing early he would get the bulk of the free cash and would not need to step in and take any pay cuts if the Lakers so choose to bring in two other stars.
He is aware that the Lakers would be the preferred team for these superstar players as they are the benchmark of the league in regards to team prestige, but in the end he has earned the right to do that.
To put simply the Lakers were in a position to pay Kobe Bryant enough money as well as challenge for a ring.
The Lakers organisation realise and understands the magnitude of what a championship would provide their balance sheet and evidently they think that Kobe is worth the investment.
“We have the ability to do something special,” Bryant said.
“The Lakers are a stand-up organisation, and they stepped up to the plate. It makes me want to run through a wall for them.
“It kind of adds more fuel to the fire to be able to prove to everybody that they’ve got it right – and everybody else is wrong.”
Kobe is just a product of a great and loyal organisation, in the end they mean as much to him as he does to them and this deal is nothing but fair and expected from both parties.
Just like he has countless times before Kobe Bryant’s desire and competitiveness will shine through and you will see nothing but 100 percent from the eighteen year veteran.
He will be at his best and will strive harder than ever to prove to the critics and more importantly to the Lakers that he was worth the investment and not many people would argue that Kobe Bryant even at the age of 35 on his day is the best player in the NBA.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
This is only a guess but Kobe's talk about winning another ring is with him as the #1 player, not taking a step back so another player can come in as top dog. Whether you love him or hate him because of it I don't think he is the kind of person to have someone come in and steal his glory when he believes he is still one of the best players in the NBA.
Ryan
Guest
As mentioned above, it is no doubt a great business decision to re-sign Kobe; but this is not in question. It is the amount they resigned him for which almost certainly rules out any title aspirations for the near future which is the issue. It was like "where not going to win anyway so lets just max out kobe, milk some money out of him, and try to win some other time". Ridiculous stuff, Kobe should of cut the contract in half (or maybe more) for a shot at winning, he earns more through endorsements anyway. I believe his decision has put a little asterix next to the "winning is everything" sort of attitude he always portayed.
astro
Guest
There had to be a 'middle ground' with the Kobe contract. The simple fact is, he will be one of the top 2 or 3 highest plaid players in the league over the next couple of years, and no matter how great Kobe has been, or what he means to the Lakers, its hard to justify that cost. They still could have paid him around 15, and recognised his value to the Lakers, while still giving themselves some room to move. Fact is, now the Lakers are pretty much locked into a couple of years of (at best) low playoff seeds and waiting for Kevin Love, Westbrook, Durant etc to become available in 2016-17, and hope to get one of those guys...
mushi
Guest
For starters the “smartest” decision can never be pay a truck load more than the next person was able to. Then your statement contradicts – if Kobe “is” the lakers then they can’t have a legacy that allows them to capture the biggest free agents without him. If you business is entirely dependent on a single employee then you don’t own the capital of the business and you will fold when he retires. It can’t be both ways. He can be the “face” of the franchise – great, but faces of organisations change regularly, especially sports teams, without huge impacts on the bottom line. The Melo thing should throw giant alarm bells as to how a basketball team’s monetary values aren’t driven by stars. The Knicks have no on court success that the current generation of fans were around for and less of a super star... and yet they are valued higher than the lakers. Why because they’ve had NY to themselves. Now I’m not saying stars don’t generate cash at all, because you can’t actually “buy” a new market right, but paying a star whose basketball value is declining should only be done for exposure reasons. Now there is no way anyone believes that the Lakers need to pay extra to generate exposure. Then you have the problem that up until about 5 years ago Donald sterling was happy just being an uncompetitive little brother in the LA market because a basketball team in LA prints money. But he now has an eye on hoping to equalise the split between the two, and look this plantation owner style slum lord he isn’t doing it for the competitive thrill. To me if the Lakers were something I was analysing the value of that organisation is where the risk lies, not a nebulous couple of million bucks from fans who have zero affiliation to the Lakers but watch because of Kobe (because they are gone in two or three years anyway). If the clippers are able to sustain a better on court product, whilst the Lakers cash in on the twilight of the image of Kobe (at a rate no other team would have paid for him) then they run a very high risk of not being the bandwagon team in LA. That is worth almost 300m according to Forbes.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
Kobe is the Lakers and has been for the last 10 years. Fans want to see Kobe play for the Lakers and I'm sure when he retires they will go out and get the biggest free agents they can find to keep the legacy going. For now that was the smartest business decision they could make as LeBron was never going to LA and Melo isn't as big a draw card as Kobe.
Mushi
Guest
Even that suggests it was Kobe not one of the most famous clubs, in the entertainment capital of the largest economy, that drives their commercial success. I think perrenial contention is what keeps the lakers value up. If it were simply Kobe then they should sell now as they have a fatally flawed business
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
I wouldnt trade Kobe for the Alphabet heads up.
Tony Loedi
Roar Guru
I agree Kobe will make the Lakers money off the court, But I keep hearing Kobe say that all he cares about now is winning Championships. This is obviously a lie as he should have taken minimum money in that case as the Lakers would be able to surround him with more talent.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
Bad basketball decision but great business decision. The Lakers have made plenty of money off Kobe so if what he says is true and they just presented him with the figure then why shouldn't he take it? It's only a few games in and he is still finding his feet.
Brent Ford
Roar Guru
They have lost every game he has played, he is aging. It's a horrible decision for the Lakers.
Tony Loedi
Roar Guru
Totally disagree with this. And I don't want to sound like a Kobe hater cos I'm not but this is a horrible deal. Kobe was never going anywhere else he wants to finish as a laker. They have no cap room now I don't see how they can build a roster capable of winning a championship. They can add one Max contract but only if they get rid of Gasol. They won't have room for a "second tier star" though and they will have the worst bench in the league