Recently there have been rumors and ideas that the Los Angeles Lakers star’s tenure in L.A could end before the start of the 2013-14 NBA season.
First, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban pondered whether or the Lakers would amnesty Bryant following the season because of salary cap issues.
“If you look at their payroll, even if Dwight (Howard) comes back, you’ve got to ask the question: Should they amnesty Kobe?” Cuban said, according to ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon.
Bryant is set to make $30.45 million next season, the final year of his contract. Next year’s luxury tax rules will bump the price teams must pay to $1.50 per dollar with escalators that kick in for every $5 million a team goes over the roughly $70 million luxury tax limit (h/t MacMahon).
The next, an alarming rumor, comes from ESPN Insider Chad Ford. When asked during a chat on ESPN.com about the future of Bryant and Dwight Howard in Los Angeles, Ford turned some heads with his take about the dynamic between Bryant and Howard and the future in L.A.:
I've heard rumblings that if Howard told Laker officials this summer that the only way he'd stay in LA is if Kobe leaves, the Lakers could end up choosing Howard over Kobe. It's an unlikely scenario, but one worth watching.
As Ford notes it is certainly an unlikely end result to Howard’s drama-filled stay in Los Angeles.
Both of these ideas, rumors or whatever you’d like to call them are borderline absurd even if Cuban and Ford acknowledged that upfront.
Bryant has helped the Lakers win five NBA championships during his long and accomplished career in Southern California. He’s also one of, if not the very best players of the post Michael Jordan era of NBA basketball.
You don’t trade, cut or do anything to jeopardize a player...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
