Image via WikipediaSo this is as good a point as any to step back, catch our breath and evaluate the moves and non-moves the Lakers have made since June 17, when they finally subdued the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the Finals. On that rapturous night, none of us knew exactly what lay ahead. We knew that the core on-court talent (consisting of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum) was under contract for three more seasons, but that's where our certainty ended. We didn't know whether Phil Jackson would be back. We didn't know what the team would do with its second-round draft picks. We didn't know what, if anything, the front office would spend to retain free-agent guards Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown. We didn't know whether they would take advantage of their mid-level salary-cap exception (MLE) to reinforce the bench in the free-agent market.The theme unifying all of these questions was money. Team ownership has enjoyed the vast revenue streams that flow from back-to-back NBA championships, but the outlays have been massive as well. In the past two seasons the Lakers have had the NBA's highest payroll by no small margin. This spring, rumors gathered about possible cost-cutting measures: a substantial pay cut for Phil, a salary-dump trade of Odom, a reluctance to spend the team's MLE money.
We as fans have little ability to evaluate the need for such austerity. Unlike, say, shareholders in a publicly traded business, we have no right to inspect our favorite team's financial statements. There are estimates of financial performance available - for instance, in the annual Forbes franchise valuations - but those are just educated guesses. Ultimately, we're forced simply to trust our owners to do right by the teams we root for. Some owners reward that trust better than others.
And few have ever stepped up to the plate the way Jerry Buss has done yet again this summer. At every turn, Dr. Buss has opened his considerable war chest to bankroll the campaign for another title. Phil got paid his asking price, give or take a few ducats. Farmar was allowed to walk, but the cash the Lakers would've spent to retain him was deployed to sign Steve Blake, a superior player. Brown and Derek Fisher were re-upped at salaries they should be happy with. The MLE was used in full to upgrade the backup center (Theo Ratliff) and small forward (Matt Barnes) positions. With their two draft picks, which they could easily have sold off or used to select guys to stash in Europe for a couple years, the Lakers added Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter, both of whom look like they could contribute as early as this season.
http://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/8/20/1632980/money-never-sleeps-the-meaning-of
No comments:
Post a Comment