Kobe Bryant rightly states he and LeBron James are underpaid

[no pun intended]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-...-are-underpaid
[QUOTE=Kobe Bryant]That being said, I took a pay cut. I

[Hittin_Shots]

Yes he did.

Coz he hasn't lost any value from his previous contract by having no legs..

[Castor Troy]

Took a "pay cut" that scuppered his teams chances of winning while he's there. Kobe is the man!

[kennethgriffin]

Took a "pay cut" that scuppered his teams chances of winning while he's there. Kobe is the man!

so if kobe took a 20 million dollar pay cut instead... would lebron and melo have come to LA?

[oarabbus]

IT's true, if Kobe/Durant/LeBron were paid market value their salaries would be a lot higher.

Kobe makes you millions in marketing, maybe half his salary back.

[Threethrows]

IT's true, if Kobe/Durant/LeBron were paid market value their salaries would be a lot higher.

Kobe makes you millions in marketing, maybe half his salary back.

The problem is there is a limited budget allocated for the players. It's the cap. Is it fair? Maybe not, but I've had plenty of jobs where I work a lot harder than people I'm working for, and make less money.

Most people would literally murder someone to be in Kobe's financial position. If Kobe feels the life of an owner is that good compared to the poor work horse players why not retire and buy majority stake in a team? Unlike most people who complain about not making enough money that's a realistic option for him.

It's crazy how unaware some of these guys are of what it's like in the real world.

[JohnFreeman]

Uh... stop lying.

He made 30 million last season. This season he will make 23, the next 25.

That's a huge paycut for one of the most marketable players in the league. Almost 25%.

When, in YOUR life, have you ever taken a 25% paycut?

Yeah, but most people aren't making $20 million +. I don't agree they should take paycuts though.

[Mr Feeny]

so if kobe took a 20 million dollar pay cut instead... would lebron and melo have come to LA?

No because nobody wants to play with Kobe

[poido123]

From a business POV, most definitely.

[NZStreetBaller]

Millions of dollars to do something that they love 25m 30m 60m who cares shut the F up and play your damn game.

[Rose'sACL]

i don't hate any player who wants to make as much money as possible.
that said, kobe didn't take a paycut. taking a paycut means that you were sure that you could have had more money money elsewhere. no playoff bound team was going to pay kobe close to what lakers were offering him.
anyone who thinks that kobe took a paycut is an idiot.

[ImKobe]

No because nobody wants to play with Kobe

No, it's because the Lakers suck and neither Melo nor Lebron would have came here to be at best a 2nd round exit in the Western Conference.

[Mr Feeny]

No, it's because the Lakers suck and neither Melo nor Lebron would have came here to be at best a 2nd round exit in the Western Conference.

Err no. There's a reason Dwight left and Lebron and Melo didnt come to LA. The reason is spelt "K-O-B-R-I-C-K"

[UK2K]

Millions of dollars to do something that they love 25m 30m 60m who cares shut the F up and play your damn game.

No shit.

Millions would do about anything for 6 weeks of Kobe's salary. I know its a tough life, playing basketball and all, but I guess someone has to do it.

[ImKobe]

Err no. There's a reason Dwight left and Lebron and Melo didnt come to LA. The reason is spelt "K-O-B-R-I-C-K"

I'm pretty sure Dwight left because the Lakers sucked outside of Kobe, who went down with a career-threatening injury. Dwight was traded to LA anyways, he didn't exactly go to the Lakers on his own, he wanted to be in Brooklyn. He wasn't going to stay in LA after Kobe had to carry the team the whole season for them to barely make the Playoffs, which was before he tore his achilles and Lakers got swept in the 1st round without him. Dwight also wanted Phil and I believe there was a report that he would have stayed if Phil came. D'Antoni and Dwight did not get along well because D'Antoni does not respect defense.

Melo stayed for his 120+ mil and his family living in NY, LA is so far away..

Lebron wanted to go back home and Kevin Love + Irving is better than anything LA would have had to offer him.