Pau Gasol: He turned down two deals from the Lakers. One for $23 million (2 years) and one for $29 million (3 years). He made it clear that although Lebron exerted a tremendous amount of forgiveness Pau was not going to follow such a path. The Lakers had burned too many bridges. He would have stayed if Carmelo had come but he wasn’t ready to play one more year and lose. So that ends the Pau Gasol chapter. Six years. Two titles. Brother to Kobe. Great memories. It’s on to Chicago or the Spurs.
Apr 1, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) celebrates a 3 point basket during the second half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center. Trail Blazers won 124-112. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Young: To the happiness of thousands of fans the Lakers made good on their promise to re-sign Nick Young. With Kobe back the Lakers are going to need a scorer to allow him rest. Nick signed a 4 year deal with a player option after the third year. The deal was worth $21.5 million.
Jordan Hill: After Pau Gasol rejected the Lakers they offered Jordan Hill what appears to be a gross overpay. They gave him a two year $18 million dollar deal. On the surface he hardly seems worth it but upon closer examination of the details the contract has a team option after the first year. So essentially Jordan Hill signed a one year deal.
Kent Bazemore: He signed a two year deal with the Atlanta Hawks for $4 million, a tough blow to all that were on board with the Lakers developing young athletic talent.
Lamar Odom: No, he was not a free agent but it looks like the end of the line for LO. He was released by the Knicks who had signed him as a project. Phil Jackson, in his comment, implied Odom was not mentally nor physically prepared to be a NBA player again.
Lebron James: He did what very few thought he would ever do. He dissed Riley. And Spoelstra. He went back home to Cleveland. In a beautifully worded statement in Sports Illustrated, Lebron expressed his love for Northern Ohio as well as his homesickness for the town he grew up in. He wanted to go back home regardless of the impact this would have on his championship legacy. The Cavs are a young team Lebron has to mentor. At least on paper he understood how challenging it will be to win a title with players who have never been to the playoffs.
Chris Bosh: He signed a 5 year max deal for $127 million with the Miami Heat, rejecting the Houston Rockets and their 4 year deal of $88 million. This was a blow for the Rockets. They were all in on Bosh. They traded Jeremy Lin and a 2015 #1 pick to get him. Now the Rockets don’t have a starting point guard. Now Chris Bosh is the star of the show in Miami.