Lakers and Andrew Bynum Ink Four-Year Deal

Andrew Bynum signed a four-year contract extension for $57.4 million Thursday. The deal came at the end of a tense month-long negotiations period between the Los Angeles Lakers and David Lee, Bynum’s agent. Bynum, who is locked in until 2013, will make $2.8 million this season, can earn nearly $42 million over the first three years of his contract extension and about $16 million for the fourth year as a team option. Bynum appeared elated in a statement to the L.A. Times: “This has been a fantastic week for me so far: turning 21, winning our first two games of the season, and now getting this contract signed. This gives my and my family financial security, and more importantly, cements my future with the Lakers, which in my opinion is the best organization in all of professional sports. I couldn’t be happier.”

This is a different tune than the Lakers and Bynum were singing earlier this week, when Bynum’s agent was asking for an average of $17 million per year on a five-year deal and the Lakers countered with an average of $11 million per year over five years. After spending over a week in L.A. trying to negotiate, Lee returned home to New York Wednesday without a deal, but came back to L.A. on Thursday, one day before the NBA contract-extension deadline for players like Bynum (the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft) and the two parties came to a decision. To see the full article go to the Los Angeles Times Web site.

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Posted in General on October 31, 2008

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