Trevor Ariza's agent David Lee said Monday that the Lakers won't receive a hometown discount from his client.

Lee declined to reveal how much of a raise Ariza will seek when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but he said his client should make him the most coveted wing player on the market.

Among the teams Lee expects to pursue Ariza are Detroit, Portland and Toronto.

"It's a question of how committed the Lakers are to competing again," Lee said. "If everyone else stood still, you could see what happens when a piece is missing, but the reality is teams out there are positioning themselves to be competitive. When other teams are getting better, you can't afford to rest on your laurels."

@ Harry- I think that trevor would still thrive . he has developed a solid jumpshot and can slash and play D, who couldnt implement a player with that skill-set into an important role.. but regarding teams paying him more money. remember we all thought the same thing about ronnie turiaf. and he got taken away.

@ Harry- I think that trevor would still thrive . he has developed a solid jumpshot and can slash and play D, who couldnt implement a player with that skill-set into an important role.. but regarding teams paying him more money. remember we all thought the same thing about ronnie turiaf. and he got taken away.

This agent of his sounds like a real jackass.

Why is he a Jackass for saying what he said? That's what he is paid for. If my agent went out and said I could be had for cheap, I'd fire him. This is, unfortunately the ugly side of business. After all, wouldn't you want to make as much money as you possibly could to support your family?? You think winning another championship will feed your family? Athletes generally have short careers, especially if they become injured and can never play again.

Look at the situation Yao Ming is in. He is obviously going to have a real short career, being plagued with injuries - and I'm not saying this is going to happen to Trevor, but imagine if he ever took a paycut because he thought he would win a title every year, only for your career to suddenly run into jeapordy.

If the Lakers want Trevor, they should pay him at least close to what he is asking for, or what other teams are asking for him. If not, good luck Trevor, go earn your big bucks somewhere else.

now dont you just hate paying bynum so much?

now dont you just hate paying bynum so much?

Why is he a Jackass for saying what he said? That's what he is paid for. If my agent went out and said I could be had for cheap, I'd fire him. This is, unfortunately the ugly side of business. After all, wouldn't you want to make as much money as you possibly could to support your family?? You think winning another championship will feed your family? Athletes generally have short careers, especially if they become injured and can never play again.

Look at the situation Yao Ming is in. He is obviously going to have a real short career, being plagued with injuries - and I'm not saying this is going to happen to Trevor, but imagine if he ever took a paycut because he thought he would win a title every year, only for your career to suddenly run into jeapordy.

If the Lakers want Trevor, they should pay him at least close to what he is asking for, or what other teams are asking for him. If not, good luck Trevor, go earn your big bucks somewhere else.

Steve, don't blame the agent. If he does not take the stand he did then the Lakers FO would take advantage of his client. The Lakers could have signed him early and eliminated the big payoff but they chose not to extend now they need to pay more. Same for LO. The player still has the last say and if he wants to take less and stay with LA he can. The agents job is to negotiate offers for the client not to make the decision for them. Ronny could have taken less money to stay with LA and chose not to.
It will workout fine after the sabre rattling on both sides subsides and negotiations commence. I bet that Trevor signs with the Lakers on July 1.

Ugh... Of course! David Lee again!!

The Agent receives about a 10% Commission on the total contract revenues. If I was an NBA player I would do the contract negotiations myself and tell the team, treat me right and we split the difference, 5% less for you, and 5% more for me. To hell with those parasites, the Sports Agents. Anybody that thinks that these guys are so many Jerry McGuires should have their heads examined.[/quot

Steve, don't blame the agent. If he does not take the stand he did then the Lakers FO would take advantage of his client. The Lakers could have signed him early and eliminated the big payoff but they chose not to extend now they need to pay more. Same for LO. The player still has the last say and if he wants to take less and stay with LA he can. The agents job is to negotiate offers for the client not to make the decision for them. Ronny could have taken less money to stay with LA and chose not to.
It will workout fine after the sabre rattling on both sides subsides and negotiations commence. I bet that Trevor signs with the Lakers on July 1.

Why is he a Jackass for saying what he said? That's what he is paid for. If my agent went out and said I could be had for cheap, I'd fire him. This is, unfortunately the ugly side of business. After all, wouldn't you want to make as much money as you possibly could to support your family?? You think winning another championship will feed your family? Athletes generally have short careers, especially if they become injured and can never play again.

Look at the situation Yao Ming is in. He is obviously going to have a real short career, being plagued with injuries - and I'm not saying this is going to happen to Trevor, but imagine if he ever took a paycut because he thought he would win a title every year, only for your career to suddenly run into jeapordy.

If the Lakers want Trevor, they should pay him at least close to what he is asking for, or what other teams are asking for him. If not, good luck Trevor, go earn your big bucks somewhere else.

Lakers FO wouldn't take advantage of Trevor. He was a major part of this championship and they want to keep him.. He was due for a raise regardless of his agent "taking a stand." it's not the fact that he said he was going to look for a raise, its the fact that he's making it sound like Trevor is some big superstar player who should be getting 20 mill a year and being so rude about it. Let's be honest guys, Ariza isn't worth more than maybe 7 mill. And don't give me that "rings don't feed families." You gotta be joking dude. I mean, these guys make more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. He'll be just fine with 7mill a year, don't be ridiculous.. That isn't even a legit argument.

Since Ariza's agent said this and not he himself, I'm hoping that 1. Ariza doesn't all of a sudden get an ego and think he's worth like 12mill. And 2. LO is true to his word and will take a small paycut. But if Ariza wants to ask for so much money, he can go over to Detroit and never win another ring.

Who are you to decide whether $7mill is enough for Ariza or not? you say his agent is a jackass, but the last time I checked, Ariza is the one who decides who he has, as an agent. He hired him because his job is to get as much money for his client at his desired locale.

By the way, the last time I checked, the only way a ring could feed a family is to take it down a pawn shop and get some money for it. Cold hard cash is what feeds famalies.

Like I said, Ariza has a figure in mind and if the Lakers don't come up with that figure, he is free to pursue his monetery goals somewhere else.

Now you're just getting ridiculous. The money any NBA player makes is a matter of greed, not "needing to feed their family." I guarantee you he won't have any trouble getting food on the table making what he does. My father has no trouble and we're a single income family and his job isn't exactly high paying. So like I said, it's a matter of greed. Not a matter of desperately trying to feed his family.

Ariza isn't worth more than 7 million. It's not a matter of "who am i to say that" it's a matter of being obvious. If he weasels more out of that than the Lakers than more power to him, but we have to worry about other players besides just Ariza.

Marvin,
This is just in line with my way of doing things. I always cut out the middle men when I can, you know, the guys that are somehow trying to get a cut out of even letting us use our own money. An example, when I need to buy any big ticket item, first I shop around and compare same trademark, same model prices among stores, and every time I do I bargain with the sales people to see just how much they will come down. Then, I hardly ever buy anything using my credit cards. Why should I pay people approximately 18-20% interest so that I can use my own money? I buy just about everything in one cash payment. No financing, the thing is mine, and I don't have to worry about it ever again. I even buy cars after bargaining them down, and then I pay cash. I just hate debts, and I do not like middle-men getting in between what I need to buy, and for the pleasure of using my own money. They weren't there when I worked hard to earn the money, and so why should they get a cut?

Yes, I would say that "sleazy" is probably redundant. It is an intrinsic quality of the state of "lawyerness"! Satan's helpers are lawyers after all.

Why am I being ridiculous? This is basic business - supply and demand. If someone is willing to pay ariza big bucks for him then he should consider going to that team especially if the lakers cannot offer him a similar amount. Yes, you are right that these athletes seem overpaid but if these teams are willing to pay for his services then so be it. I never said I agreed with it or not, but unfortunately, that is how the business is. After all, he hired an agent so he could get the deals he wanted.

Think of it this way Sammi, there is no way for anyone to predict what the future holds for any of us. Just look at Michael Jackson, his world abruptly ended last week and he squandered all the millions he made. Luckily, he still has enough in assests that his "kids" will be well looked after.

$7million sounds like a lot of money for people like me and you and the reason athletes make so much money is because they have relatively short careers, be it through injury, retirement or just the simple fact that they are no longer needed. Ariza's career could come to a crashing end in the next year and if he had taken the smaller contract, imagine he would never have the chance to do over again and make what he could have made. For him or anyone to cut themselves short of a payday is foolish.

I'm still at a loss as to why you say his agent is a jackass? Would he not be a Jackass had he came out and said Ariza loves his team so much he's willing to sign with us for less money? Honorable? Yes, Smart? No.

His agent is a jackass because he's saying it like Ariza is the most important player on the team as though he should ask for some ridiculous amount of money. Yes, his agent wants his client to get as much as possible (for his own benefit, not trevors) but the way he's acting is that without trevor we will never win another championship. I do think he should get a nice raise, but they need to not go overboard. He's made some jerk comments regarding this situation and it really seems to me like he absolutely hates that Ariza wants to come back.

I get what you're saying, he has to get what he can while he's playing. But I simply disagree with you. to say it is to "feed the family" is absurd. If he were to have to go work a normal job, well, let me tell you.. He would survive! Lots of people don't make that much in a lifetime. These guys have so many ridiculous over the top luxuries in their life that it just makes me sick, so to hear anybody use that excuse as to why they are greedy and go after big bucks is ridiculous to me. Every player out their is, to an extent, too money hungry.

I'm liking his agent...because his assumption of how much Ariza could make and how much value he has will make it easier for him to be resigned. Same thing happened with Bynum. Took forever to sign him, and thanks to his idiot agent, Bynum settled for about $3 million or less than the previous offer. This will definitely get worked out...trust me...no doubt in my mind. Ariza and Odom will stay Lakers...not sure about Shannon though but I'm pretty sure he'll stay too.

Now it's Trevor following in his agents footsteps. "You have to be open to anything, it's a business, I have to do whats best for my family at this point." The Lakers are not going to like those comments. So much for team loyalty. If he's going shopping, then the Lakers are going to go shopping. And If Kobe is making the decision, Ron Artest will be a Laker before the end of the week.