NBA Free Agency News: L.A Lakers Won’t Extend Kobe Bryant’s Contract For Salary Cap Purposes

The Los Angeles Lakers are planning to spend much of their salary cap next season to sign high-value free agents before using the remainder of the pie to keep Kobe Bryant, a source close to situation reported on Friday.

Bryant, who will pocket over $30 million in the final year of his current deal with the Lakers, is expected to command a max deal when he becomes a free agent next summer.

According to the Orange County Register, Jim Buss and the All-Star shooting guard reportedly had an understanding on how the Lakers would approach free agency next summer.

"He [Kobe Bryant] becomes a free agent at the end of the season, and Jim Buss says because of the pay structure of the NBA, the Lakers will allow Kobe to become a free agent," the report said. 

"He says he has talked to Kobe and believes they have an understanding, Bryant waiting as a free agent while the team spends to upgrade and then using what is left over to pay Kobe," the story continued.

Bryant, who's still rehabilitating his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon, gave vague allusions to his meeting with the Lakers.

"We've probably talked," Kobe told the Orange Country reporter, "but I'm putting off any thought of that."

Ending Speculation?

In his recent interview with ESPN Los Angeles, Buss squashed rumors about the Lakers allowing Bryant to become a free agent next summer. The Lakers executive stressed that they would never allow a franchise legend like Bryant to hit the market.

"I want to put an end to any speculation that we would allow Kobe to become a free agent," Buss told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Friday night. "That's not going to happen. Kobe is a top priority for us. He's a Laker legend and always will be. I don't think we're done winning championships with him yet."

However, Buss still left some issues unanswered about Bryant's upcoming free-agency, including the time a new deal will be hammered.  

"[Lakers general manager] Mitch Kupchak and [Bryant's agent] Rob Pelinka have been talking, but with him being hurt, it has slowed the process some. I don't know when it'll get done, but I have faith in Rob and Mitch to work things out."

Still A Toss-Up

Despite Buss' firm stance that Kobe will be a Laker for life, it's still unclear how the Lakers would please the former league MVP in their new deal without compromising the future of the team. With plenty of cap space in 2014, the Lakers are in position to sign big time players like Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but the question is how much of a pay cut Bryant would be willing to take to get the Lakers some help. Then again, Bryant isn't even entertaining the idea of a pay cut.

"I'm not taking any at all - that's the negotiation that you have to have." Kobe Bryant told Lakers Nation last July via Yahoo Sports. "For me to sit here and say, 'Oh yeah, I'm just going to take a huge pay cut.' Nah, I'm going to try to get as much as I possibly can."