Kobe Bryant spoke to the media on Friday preceding his team’s match-up that night against the Dallas Mavericks. During the media session, he acknowledged the continued scrutiny over his contract extension signed last year, namely in comparison to the massive discount Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki gave his team.
Kobe on still-scrutinized $48.5M contract: "Did I take a discount? Yeah. Did I take as big a discount as some fans would want me to? No."
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 21, 2014
More Kobe on his contract: "Was it a big enough discount to help us be a contender? Yeah."
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 21, 2014
Kobe added, "It's a big coup for the owners to put players in situations where public perception puts pressure on them to take less money."
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 21, 2014
Bryant has been adamant since signing the deal that he left the Lakers with enough cap room to sign another max player and build a contending team, which is true. However, with players like Nowtizki and Dwyane Wade taking big discounts in an effort to create even more cap space for their teams, scrutiny will come Bryant’s way.
No matter your stance on Bryant’s contract, by no means is he obligated to take a smaller amount of money than what he can earn. If rumors are true, the Lakers offered Bryant the contract and the two sides immediately agreed on the extension, no negotiations to be had. Reportedly, the figure the Lakers offered was larger than what Bryant and his agent had in mind for a deal.
Nevertheless, aside from this being old news, the Lakers still had their chance at landing a big free agent this past summer and failed, making the arguments against his big extension a moot point.
Do you think that Bryant took a discount? Would you have offered him the same contract? Let us know in the comments below!