"If he's signing an extension, he's putting himself at the mercy of a CBA that hasn't been agreed to yet," said independent NBA salary-cap expert Larry Coon. "Owners are going to start trying to get more favorable terms -- shorter contracts, lower salaries, lower maximum raises. One of those things might be max salaries. Essentially, we don't know how the max salaries are going to be defined in the next CBA."
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Lakers are far apart with free agents Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom
LAKERS
Ariza isn't pleased with offer of $28 million over five years. The situation for Odom, who is said to be seeking $9 million to $10 million a year, is less clear.
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If maximum player salaries are on the lower side, the extension will be worth $86.3 million, bringing the total five-year value to $134.1 million, $1 million less than Bryant could have earned had he terminated the last two years of his current contract and signed a five-year contract now.
But if maximum player salaries are on the higher side in 2011, the extension could be worth up to $90.9 million, bringing the total five-year value to $138.7 million, $3.6 million more than Bryant could have earned had he signed a five-year deal now.
Etc.
Adam Morrison will play for the Lakers' summer-league team, which begins its five-game schedule July 10 in Las Vegas. Morrison totaled only 10 points in eight games with the Lakers after being acquired in February. Next season will be his fourth in the NBA. . . . Don't look now, but the Lakers are no longer the lone favorite to win the 2010 championship. They've been caught by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who started out at 3-to-1 odds but jumped after the Shaquille O'Neal trade to 9-to-4 odds, where the Lakers currently reside, according to Bodog.com.
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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
broderick.turner@latimes.com
