What would the “Bench Mob” be without Ronny Turiaf or Sasha Vujacic?
That’s the question the Lakers will have to answer this offseason as both of their colorful, energetic young reserves become restricted free agents July 1.
The Lakers can match any offer another team makes them, and while both Turiaf and Vujacic said Thursday that they would like to stay in LosAngeles, the financial reality could change things.
“I know I’m going to be next year with a team that wants and needs me the most,” said Vujacic, coming off a career season where he established himself as a premier outside shooter and pesky defender. “Who it’s going to be, I’m not sure right now.
“But we are a great team, we have great chemistry. Who wouldn’t want to keep that together?”
Vujacic made $1.8 million this season, Turiaf $770,610. This is a relatively tight free-agent market, so it’s unlikely either would land an exorbitant contract, but each should be in line for a substantial raise nonetheless. How big that raise is will likely determine whether the Lakers decide to match it.
“If they want me here, I for sure would be more than happy to keep on going on this journey I started about three years ago with all my teammates,” Turiaf said. “I built relationships here that are very strong and it would be tough for me to say goodbye to that.
“But when it comes down to it, this is a business decision for both sides. They have to worry
about salary-cap issues and I have to find the best situation for me as far as playing time, also as far as the financial situation.”
Turiaf said that he would only play for France in the Summer Olympics if his contract status is resolved in time.
Small forward Trevor Ariza and center Chris Mihm, who each have a player option for next year, said they planned to exercise them and return to the team.
“It’s like a dream almost, playing here,” said Ariza, a former UCLA standout. “I don’t really want to wake up from it. I want to just stay in my dream, sleep through everything and ride it for a long time.”
It would seem the Lakers feel likewise.
“They told me that this is a good place for me, that I fit in really well and I can be here for a while,” Ariza said of his meeting with Jackson and Kupchak.
Ariza said his injured foot, which kept him our for nearly four months, feels great, but that he’s going to have an MRI on it Monday to get another assessment.
His goals for the offseason include getting stronger, gaining weight and working on ball-handling. He’ll also be switching his jersey number from No. 3 to No. 1.
“I’m going to try to put on like 10 pounds if I can, but that’s always been a problem for me,” he said. “I can’t really put on weight too well. I can get stronger, I just stay skinny.”
Mihm, who played in just 23 games due to lingering complications from his surgically repaired foot, said he feels better now than he has in two years and is looking forward to training at a high level this summer.
“Over the last three to four weeks, I really started to find my old explosion,” he said. “I was finally able to start training my legs in the weight room to get some pop back in my step that I’ve been missing for quite a while.”
Ariza, Mihm say
they’ll be back Bryant, Gasol
bound for Beijing
Kobe Bryant (United States) and Pau Gasol (Spain) said they’d take a week or two off before starting preparations for the Summer Olympics, but are looking forward to their scheduled confrontation in Beijing during group play.
“The important thing is, when I do that training to still be able to do the things that will get my body ready for next season,” said Bryant, who re-iterated that he would have surgery on his right pinkie after the Games.
“It’s a bit of a balancing act, but we’re used to doing stuff like that.”
Asked whether the chance to win a gold medal will help assuage the pain from losing in the NBA Finals, Bryant used some colorful language, not fit for a family newspaper or the evening news, in his answer.
“They’re two different things and I wanted both of them,” he said. “I told Pau: `Being that we lost this series, you (guys) have no chance now because I ain’t going 0 for 2, homey.”
Said Gasol: “That was (his) threat before the Finals, it’s been a threat the whole time. He talks about that a lot.
