Is it possible that Andrew Bynum's injury is a blessing in disguise? With Bynum eligible for an extension this summer that would kick in in 2009-2010, the Lakers could be looking at three large commitments for that season with Bynum's extension as well as extensions for Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.
This summer the Lakers have to deal with extensions for Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic. If they give Bynum a huge pay raise and then give Bryant and Odom deals at terms that are similar to what they're currently making, the question becomes how much is Jerry Buss willing to spend to keep this group together?
The injury to Bynum may do enough to scare the Lakers into giving him fewer years and less money than the max, increasing the likelihood they'll keep everyone.
Sasha Vujacic, by the way, has steadily jumped to the top-tier of this summer's available free agents with his outstanding play in these playoffs. I'm not saying that he's a goner, but I will say that he's gone from looking like a three-year, $9 million contract to a four-year, $20 million contract. There might be a team out there willing to give him their full mid-level exemption.
Ronny Turiaf will probably get something in the neighborhood of three years and $9 million. He's not going anywhere. Don't forget that the Lakers' team physician saved Turiaf's life when he noticed his enlarged aortic valve during a physical. The Lakers also picked up the tab for Turiaf's surgery, something they weren't obligated to do.
I wasn't at all surprised to see Kobe win the MVP. I was surprised to see that he got 82 first-place votes to just 18 for Chris Paul. That's all you need to know about both the voters and the criteria that the voters used to make their decision.
Even though I agree with the choice of Bryant, there's no way the discrepancy should have been so wide unless the award is to be seen as a career achievement award where everybody gets a turn.
10) Golden opportunity squandered
The Cavaliers missed a great chance in game one to make their series with the Celtics interesting. Instead it looks like the Celtics will have no problem winning the series in five games.
The Celtics defense on LeBron is as good as the Spurs played against him in last year's NBA Finals.
His supporting cast just isn't good enough to compensate when he goes 2-for-18, like he did in game one.
For those of you who think the Celtics' struggles in round against the Hawks make them any less a title-contender, keep in mind that the eighth-seeded Kings took the Lakers to a maximum five games in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs.
The Lakers went on to beat the Pacers in the NBA Finals that year. Sometimes an early test with a little adversity makes you even more battle-tested when you run into another obstacle down the road.
Trivia Answer: Zydrunas Ilgauskas
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