I was asked on Quora to comment on the Lakers situation and if there was a need to give Kobe such a lucrative deal. Of course, we've already discusssed at length how Kobe's contract was a bad, bad move (for the Lakers, that is; hats off to Kobe), but let's examine the scope of the NBA to see who the Lakers were bidding against.
Right Out
I looked for teams that could gather together at least $10 million in the 2014-2015 season to try to lure Kobe. This knocked half of the league out of the running immediately. The Nets, Celtics, Knicks, Bulls, Grizzlies, Raptors, Nuggets, Clippers, Thunder, Pacers, Timberwolves, Kings, Rockets, Blazers, and Cavaliers are all well over the cap.
An Exception Away
The Miami Heat have five players with early termination clauses (Anthony, Bosh, Haslem, James, and Wade). If enough of them exercised their option, the Heat could potentially have had enough to lure Kobe. Of course, why oh why would any of the Big Three stick around to play with Kobe if their friends were leaving? Tim Duncan also has an early termination clause with the Spurs. If he left then, in theory, the Spurs could have approached Kobe. I think pigs would have flown first.
A Trade Away
The Warriors, the Pelicans, and the Bucks are all between $50-$54 million in committed salaries for next season. If they were to clear one player off their books, then they might have around $10 million to offer to Kobe. But Golden State makes no sense given the plethora of scoring guard-forwards they have who are all younger (and cheaper) than Kobe. And haven't we learned that stars go from New Orleans and Milwaukee to Los Angeles, not the other way around?
Cheap Suitors
The Magic, Wizards, Pistons, Bobcats, and Hawks will all have between $13-$18 million in cap space next season. While they certainly couldn't offer the contract the Lakers did, they could have made it interesting. That said, I'm not sold on any of these teams. No way Kobe plays for Michael Jordan. Orlando has already had its share of injured star guards. And the Wizards, Pistons, and Hawks have overpaid a ton for scoring guards. I still don't think Kobe would choose any of these teams. And if he had, the Lakers could have easily matched any of these potential offers.
Bidding War!
After winnowing down our list, we're left with four teams that would have the cap space to make it a bidding war: The Mavericks, the Suns, the Jazz, and the 76ers. The Mavericks did want Kobe...back in 2006 when he was trying to force his way off of the Lakers. With Monta Ellis on a much cheaper contract, I don't think the Mavs would bite. The 76ers haven't extended Evan Turner and have been cutting costs; I doubt that they would waste their efforts on an over-the-hill guard. That leaves Phoenix and Utah. Does Kobe really hit either of these teams hard? Even if they can offer up the money, these teams are a ways out from competing. It seems laughable that the Lakers thought any of these teams were threats.
Competing with themselves
Resident Lakers expert Chris Yeh chimed in on the comments section regarding the Lakers' motives. Namely, the Lakers have always shown contract loyalty to their Yay Points! stars, even as they faded.
It's always worth noting that to the Buss family, the Lakers aren't really a business. Malcolm Gladwell has described owning an NBA team as a "psychic good", which is akin to owning an expensive painting. The pleasure comes from having something rare and valuable. And the pleasure certainly is dropped if you brag to friends how you haggled to get a good deal.
And, like many NBA owners, this signing was definitely meant to keep up appearances. In the same way that the Wizards resigned John Wall despite having the right to match any competing contract offers, the Lakers wanted to prove that money was no object. As Patrick said at the time, it felt like the rich kid trying to buy the friendship of the cool kid. In the end the Lakers were bidding against themselves, and we think they lost big time.