Superstar athlete Kobe Bryant has been in the National Basketball Association for 17 consecutive seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Due to an in-game injury to his left Achilles, Kobe Bryant will not be able to play for the next six to nine months. The NBA has a one-time “amnesty” specification that allows the Lakers to cut Kobe “without paying luxury taxes on his salary,” according to Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times.
If the Lakers decide to amnesty Kobe they would still have to pay his salary for next season of 30.5 million dollars, but they will not have to pay luxury taxes, which would save the Lakers up to 80 million dollars. But in doing so the Lakers “will not be allowed to re-sign Kobe until after the 2014 season and will also lose their “Bird rights” (the ability to sign him for more than any other team) during the amnesty process” according to Schilken.
If the Los Angeles Lakers amnesty Kobe Bryant they will save a lot of money and they will be able to build their team around the newly acquired Dwight Howard, according to Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Kobe is 34 years old now and he’s not getting any younger, should the Lakers amnesty him?
Being from Los Angeles I know that it would be a PR nightmare if the Lakers decide to amnesty Kobe. The local Lakers fans may cause a riot along the streets of L.A. Live and the Staples Center. Kobe had plenty of chances to leave the Lakers but he decided to stay loyal to the team and its fans. If the Lakers amnesty Kobe “they would eliminate all chances to re-sign the star,” according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Giving a team like the Los Angeles Clippers a chance to pick him up. “There’s the fact that Bryant could conceivably return as soon as the start of next season, though midseason seems more realistic. Do you really want to give up on perhaps the best player in franchise history after he hurt himself trying to carry a wobbly team into the playoffs?” said Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
He’s already going to “make $30 million next season whether his surgically repaired left Achilles is ready or not,” stated K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The Lakers should remain loyal to Kobe Bryant; he has led them to 5 NBA championships and is one of the greatest players in Lakers franchise history. I would be very surprised if the Lakers organization decided to amnesty Kobe Bryant.
Related articles
- Kobe Bryant could have serious injury (cnn.com)
- Can LA Lakers Survive Without Kobe Bryant? (bleacherreport.com)
- Kobe Bryant injury: Lakers star has probable torn Achilles (sbnation.com)
- Amnesty For Kobe? Lakers Face $80M Decision In July (losangeles.cbslocal.com)
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