Lakernoise

Wow.

When Jerry Buss lays his cards on the table, you have little choice but to sit back in awe.

The Lakers owner has re-signed Kobe Bryant for Jordan-level money. MJ made $30 mil per season over his final campaigns with the Chicago Bulls.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports report that Bryant today signed for three years and roughly $90 mil, an extension that will take him through the 2014 season and into his mid 30s.

In his day, Jordan did the extraordinary by proving that a guard could still dominate pro basketball in his mid 30s. Bryant has neared many of Jordan’s mileposts, but this will clearly be the most daunting of those challenges.

And Buss is willing to pay to see if Bryant can do it. It is an astounding show of faith in a competitor for the ages. It suggests an almost unprecedented relationship between an owner and a player.

Even Jordan has to envy such a relationship, such respect. And it’s not a gift. Kobe Bryant has earned every penny of it.

In fact, with Artest and Gasol back for the same duration, Buss had made a huge commitment to talent. He has given Bryant an opportunity to establish an unrivaled legacy.

Even so, Bryant will need good fortune in the coming seasons to achieve it. But the big thing here is the show of support and respect from Jerry Buss.

There’s little wonder that Buss can sit back and wait to read the situation with coach Phil Jackson. As he nears his 80th birthday, Buss has the talent in his pocket. His hand is as strong as any ever played by any owner in pro sports.

Even Phil Jackson has to survey this table in awe. No wonder he has begun hinting recently about taking a pay cut. In Jerry Buss, Jackson has met his match. His longtime mentor Tex Winter always said that Jackson is such a strong personality, so brilliant, that he needs someone around him to stand up to him.

For years, Winter has been that person, but Winter has been slowed by a stroke. It’s clear now that Buss stands up to Jackson in a fashion that no one else can come close to matching.

Buss has a lineup that any coach would die to lead.

If Jackson walks away from this team, or is denied the opportunity to coach it to another title in 2011, Buss has assured that he will be able to pick from the top coaching talent in the business as a replacement.

When Jackson was sent packing in 2004, the team erred stupendously in signing Rudy Tomjanovich, a setback that cost it dearly competitively and financially.

It’s a smart bet that Buss won’t repeat that error.

By signing Bryant, Buss has set the capstone on his era in Los Angeles. He has assured his own legacy and silenced any critics (such as me ;0).

My hat is off. There has never been such an owner in the history of American sports.

If Bryant and his Lakers find good fortune, they will win championships during this three years.

And if they don’t, no one — not even I — can say they missed it due to a lack of commitment.

Roland Lazenby is the author of Jerry West, The Life And Legend Of A Basketball Icon, recently released by ESPN Books.