Disappointedly, the Lakers still continue to overpay for the 2009 and 2010 NBA Championships they won. In 2007, Pau was making roughly $13.7 with the Grizzlies, respectively 25th in the league at that time, not bad for a good player on a bad team.
With the absence of Andrew Bynum, Pau's toughness was questioned after he got outplayed by Kendrick Perkins in the 2008 NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics. That toughness was reciprocated with the acquisition of Ron Artest and Bynum coming back healthy the following season. That toughness was presumably the difference maker in losing and winning the NBA Finals, as the Lakers went on to win back to back championships in 2009 and 2010.
The Lakers paid too much money for the 33 year old Spaniard, and continue to do so. Don't get me wrong, the 7-footer can stretch the floor with his offensive abilities, and might have been a good fit for Phil Jackson's Triangle Offense. Pau is not worth that $19.29 million he is getting paid right now, not to mention being the 6th highest paid player in the league the last three years.
With or without a star caliber player around him, it's tough to rely on Pau for much of anything above a 10 point, 10 rebound night. But when that other star caliber isn't around, that 10 and 10 night sticks out like a sore thumb, especially when the level of play has to match the level of play.
Kobe's salary is well earned, the Los Angeles Lakers career leader in almost every category, ranking among greats like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, and many others.
His basketball IQ is no-questions-asked, the greatest of all time. There is no questioning the heart, the emotion, the grit, and the tenacity of the 2-time NBA Finals MVP, who hit 2 two free throws before heading to the locker room with an Achilles injury last season.
Expect Kobe and Pau to take a huge cut in their salary this upcoming offseason, to give the Lakers more room for money AND happiness. Similar to what LeBron, Wade, and Bosh did with the Heat in order for Miami to increase depth on their roster.
Things could be worse... The Lakers also could have overpaid a $20.5 million diva by the name of Dwight Howard, if he decided to stay. If the Lakers would be reimbursed for every Free Throw Dwight misses, I would love him and his salary on my team. Instead, they'd pay a lot of money for abysmal free throw shooting that'd lose games down the stretch due to the 'Hack-A-Dwight' strategy opponents used last season.
That $20.5 million salary would have put the Lakers in range with the $100 million team salary the Brooklyn Nets have this year. With the absence of #12, the Lakers had room to add more depth with the addition of Chris Kaman, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, and Xavier Henry.
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