Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Contracts They Will Be Happy to Void or Restructure

The NBA has entered a nuclear winter. After weeks of what seemed like progress, the negotiations between the owners and players have reached an unfortunate deadlock.

We can blame NBA commissioner David Stern, whose unfairly staunch beliefs have antagonized the players. We can even blame NBAPA executive director Billy Hunter, who has lacked vision throughout the lockout.

Nevertheless, there are a plethora of issues that need to be resolved, and the most notable and highly debated involves player contracts.

Undoubtedly, there are quite a few NBA teams in which the owner has handed out bad contracts while players have failed to live up to their lucrative deals.

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of those teams.

In fact, the team is full of contracts that causes everyone—fan or not—to wince in disapproval.

Thus, I have compiled a list of five contracts the Los Angeles Lakers would be extremely happy to void.

Luke Walton

Luke Walton is set to earn $5.68 million in 2011-12 and $6.10 million in 2012-13.

When you compare his salary to other Lakers, it doesn’t seem like much. However, when you look at what Walton has produced for the team throughout his career, one can understand why his contract is so heinous. For his career, he has averaged 5.0 points per game, including a shockingly low 1.7 average last season.

Clearly, Walton isn’t worth what he is making, and he certainly isn’t a valuable trade commodity, largely due to his contract.

Thus, it’s easy to believe that, if the opportunity presented itself, the Lakers would void Walton’s contract in a heartbeat.

Metta World Peace

Metta World Peace is set to earn $6,790,640 in 2011-12, $7,258,960 in 2012-12, and $7,272,280 in 2013-14.

World Peace has been a great defensive player in his career, as evident by his 2004 Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Certainly, he has provided some defensive presence for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he hasn’t provided much else.

Indeed, World Peace had some clutch moments in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, but his production is inconsistent. This past season, he shot under 40 percent from the field and, at times, took numerous bad shots.

Like many other players on the Lakers roster, World Peace is in his early 30s; it doesn’t seem like he has many productive years ahead of him.

Therefore, it is evident that the Lakers would be happy getting rid of World Peace’s contract—it’s surely possible to utilize a younger player, such as Devin Ebanks, who fill a similar role at a cheaper price.

Andrew Bynum

The Lakers starting center, Andrew Bynum, is due $15,157,667 in 2011-12 and $16,473,002 in 2012-13.

Although Bynum has the potential to become the best center in the NBA, his injury history has hindered the process.

In his six-year career with the Lakers, Bynum has played a full 82-game season only once. Last season, he only played in 54 games and averaged only 27.8 minutes per game.

As a result, Bynum hasn’t produced a lot. He has averaged close to a double-double, but not anything close to what would justify his hefty contract.

In addition, Bynum has had issues with maturity. The incident in the 2011 NBA Playoffs in which he flagrantly fouled J.J. Barea was a manifestation of that.

Clearly, the combination of problems involving Bynum isn’t worth the millions of dollars that he is currently earning. I believe the Lakers would be happy to void his contract, and possibly sign him to a new, fair one that actually makes sense.

Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol is scheduled to earn $18,714,150 in 2011-12, $19,000,000 in 2012-13, and $19,285,850 in 2013-14.

Although his dominance at the power forward position once justified his expensive contract, his disappearing act in the 2011 NBA Playoffs raised a significant question regarding his deal: Is he still worth the money?

Pau Gasol is still one of the best power forwards in the NBA; and he did, in fact, average 19 points and 10 rebounds per game last season. However, at 31, he isn’t getting any younger.

Furthermore, though it’s not impossible, it’s hard to imagine Gasol averaging a double-double, considering his age and how he played in the 2011 Playoffs.

Because of this, I don’t doubt that the Lakers would look into voiding his contract and attempting to sign him to a new one.

Kobe Bryant

The Lakers legend of the present, Kobe Bryant, will earn $25,244,000 in 2011-12, $27,849,000 in 2012-13, and over $30 million in 2013-14.

Over his career, Bryant has helped the Lakers win five NBA titles, while also garnering multiple individual achievements.

But do his contributions to the franchise warrant such a hefty contract? No.

Thirty million dollars is way too much money to invest in an aging player who is deteriorating physically, no matter who it is.

The Lakers absolutely need to fix his contract.