Kobe Bryant Decides Not to Opt Out of Contract with LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant will not opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to reports Wednesday.

Bryant chose not to terminate the final two years of his contract. He had until Tuesday to become an unrestricted free agent.

Now the Lakers and Bryant's agent will negotiate a contract extension. He has spent his entire 13-year career with the team, winning four NBA championships. He was named Finals MVP as he led the Lakers to their 15th championship last month.

On June 19, Bryant said, "I'm not going anywhere. I know I ain't going nowhere, so it's just a waste of our breaths just talking about it."

Bryant is scheduled to make a salary of $23 million next season.

The Los Angeles Times reported late Tuesday that Bryant will sign a three-year extension with the Lakers sometime this month. Bryant could make $47.8 million over the next two years and another $86 million to $91 million with the extension, with the difference depending on the future salary cap, the newspaper reported.

Bryant told the team that he wanted them to bring back Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza, both of which are unrestricted free agents. Odom, who made $14.1 million last season, will likely take a substantial pay decrease, while Ariza ($3.1 million last season) will get a significant raise.

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