Did Kobe Bryant Choose His Worth over a 6th Ring?

Since inking his new, two-year, $48 million deal Kobe Bryant has come under considerable criticism. Many, including Bryant himself, have defended the contract.

Those defenses have holes, though. Some of them have substantive issues, and some have logical fallacies.

Let me be clear. I am not arguing he’s overpaid. I’m arguing that he was confronted with a choice—more money or a better chance to win another title—and he chose the former over the latter.

 

Defense 1: He’s Worth It




Let’s start off by just agreeing to agree that he is worth every bit of the $48 million and more. In fact, if you were to pay Bryant what he’s worth, he could eat up the entire cap himself.

So why is there a debate here? The reason is there is more than one discussion going on.

One discussion is about his worth. The other is about whether the deal improves the chances of the Lakers winning a championship.

He is undeniably worth what he was paid. We agree on that. No matter how much you argue he’s worth it, I’ll still agree with you.

At the same time, the Lakers, by rule, can only spend so much money next season. It’s called a salary cap, and not a salary suggestion, for a reason.

The Lakers now have less cap space than they did. And even the little AT&T girl can tell you that more is better than less because more is more. They had more cap space. Now they have less.

 

Defense 2: They Offered the Deal to Him

Yes, they offered him the contract. Semantically, that changes nothing. 

That doesn't mean he had to take it. He has a mouth. He could have said, “No, I prefer that money to be spent on my teammates so I can win another ring. Give me Duncan’s deal.” He didn't. He had the freedom to, but he wasn't obligated to acc...

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