Los Angeles Lakers: Luol Deng and the worst contracts in franchise history

5. Kobe Bryant: Three years, $87 million (2011-14)

Another disclaimer: Kobe Bryant was a superstar who deserved every penny the Lakers ever paid him.

With that being said, not all of his contracts were smart for the franchise. It all started with his second-to-last contract, signed in 2011. After that, the Lakers began their slow decent into NBA obscurity. Why? Because paying a fading star that much money limits a team’s spending power.

With Kobe making $29 million annually, Los Angeles didn’t have the financial flexibility to build around him. Instead, they were forced to make win-now trades for players like Dwight Howard and Steve Nash that both ended up costing the franchise dearly in the long run.

In a way, you could almost say that Bryant’s 2011 contract began a chain of events that led to the Lakers’ complete ineptitude from 2013-17. Although you could try to make the case that it paved the way for the creation of the “young core” that should help LeBron thrive this upcoming season, it was more painful of a process than it needed to be.

Hence, Bryant’s second-to-last contract lands at the beginning of the worst contracts in Lakers history.

Let’s make this clear: there was no problem with paying Bryant superstar money. However, the Lakers giving him that type of green and limiting their ability to surround him with quality talent was a bad move.