Still on the Lakers

The pros and cons on the Ron Artest acquisition are just about even. With coach Phil Jackson and minority owner Magic Johnson directly involved in the transaction and resident supreme diva Kobe Bryant almost agreeable to it, Laker owner Jerry Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak should be feeling confident. What they really need to do now is take care of Lamar Odom.

The team has already committed $84 million to 12 players for next season, which does not include Odom. NBA teams are allowed a maximum of 13 players on their official roster. With this current lineup, the Lakers will be paying $12 million in luxury-tax penalties. This is mainly the reason why they are reluctant in making a go with Odom’s asking price of $10 million annually.

Odom is needed by the Lakers but he has to make his salary bid lower. If they sign him with his current asking price, the team will be paying $22 million in taxes because of the dollar-to-dollar penalty given to teams over the tax limit. A viable option is for Odom to sign a one-year deal for $7 million then test again the free agent market next season. If his teammates really feel Odom’s need, they should take a pay cut. Kobe ($23 M), Pau Gasol ($16.5 M) and Andrew Bynum ($12.5 M) between themselves, could take $6 million off from their annual salaries. Taking the amount from the three will give Odom the money he rightfully deserves.

Odom will turn 30 this November but he is a rare 6-10 athlete who can shoot the three, direct plays and do the lowpost. More importantly, his teammates like him and is a locker room favorite. If the Lakers fail to get him, they will have nobody as all the attractive free agents on the market have signed deals. The only way for them to change their roster is via trade, or they wait for next year and sign a veteran for a league minimum salary of $1 million.

Teams over the salary cap are given two spending options - the “mid-level exception” of $5.8 million and the “bi-annual exception” of $2 million. The Lakers have used up both, the first on Artest, the second one on Shannon Brown who signed for a $4.2 million 2-year deal. The team was fifth-highest in the NBA last year in lux-tax payments with $7.19 million. Tops was New York with $23.7M, followed by Dallas ($23.6M), Cleveland ($13.7M) and Boston ($8.2M). I say to Jerry Buss - pay what is due to Odom. The Laker merchandise sales can offset the lux-tax penalties.

Going back to Artest, Coach Jackson is intrigued with this guy. He likes maniacal, outrageous and incomprehensible types and he has successfully dealt with this kind of species before. Hello Dennis Rodman? The Zen Master will somehow figure out a way how to deal with his unnecessary dribbling and poor shot selection. There’s no question on defense, Artest can stick to his man like an unwanted wart.

Another question - can Kobe handle weirdos? Since the era of Shaquille O’Neal, Artest is the next vocal person in the Lakers’ locker room. And we all know what happened before. Shaq talks loose and so does Artest. Kobe is not known for this kind of stuff or aggression. Sooner or later, this would drive him crazy. Will the reigning tough guy co-exist with the new tough guy? And you think only “Boys over Flowers” or “May Bukas Pa” has drama.

Here’s a look at the rest of the 2009 -2010 annual salaries for the Lakers:

Adam Morrison $ 5.2 million

Derek Fisher $ 5 million

Sasha Vujacic $ 5 million

Luke Walton $ 4.8 milliom

Jordan Farmar $ 1.9 million

DJ Mbenga $ 960,000

Josh Powell $ 960,000

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