Since Etan's name has been thrown around on this forum: (Apologies if this has been posted already...) From ESPN Insider: Etan Thomas the next big to fall? With bigs flying off the shelf, the word out of Milwaukee is the Bucks are seriously considering offering Wizards big man Etan Thomas a six-year deal for between $37 and $39 million -- roughly the full mid-level exception. Thomas averaged 8.9 ppg and 6.7 rpg but is considered an undersized center at just 6-foot-9. The Wizards, who would have until July 29 to match the offer, need bigs in the worst way, but would they really drink that Kool-Aid? Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld told Insider on Friday that while he hadn't heard of an offer to Thomas, Washington likely would match any offer. "We really want to keep Etan," Grunfeld said. "We have the right to match an offer for him, and we want to keep him."
39 million for Etan Thomas is NUTS! The whole league seems to have lost their minds. I for one am glad the Rockets haven't yet signed anyone. It's insane to commit the kind of money that's being tossed around to players like Etan Thomas, Mark Blount, Brian Cardinal, Adonal Foyle, Brian Skinner and the like. Even Marcus Camby got ridiculous money considering his history of injuries. No wonder Boozer had to take 68 million. If these other guys are worth 40 million he's most definitely worth 68 or more. p.s. anybody see Brian Cardinal got a 40 million dollar deal from the Grizzlies? I thought that guy would get MAYBE half the MLE.
Im not at all surprised by the contracts people are getting this offseason. Its basic economics. When demand is high(teams with alot of Cap) and supply is low(good freeagents) then people will offer alot more money. If you you are not going to pay people what they want then the next team is going to pay them its simple. Its either overpay for freeagents or dont improve your team through free agency.
I wish we had a shot at Etan Thomas. He is tough, rugged and a nasty rebounder/defender that is a JVG style player. He's a combination of a young Antonio Davis/Brian Grant. He's exactly what we need complimenting Yao, the only thing he doesn't have is a mid-range jumper.
funny thing is....... look at the contracts going around for bigmen that arent worth as much as Cato is....and tell me again about how Cato is so egregiously overpaid . At this point, I would gladly pay that kind of money to get a replacement for him that does what he did here last season.
I want no part of Etan Thomas if it means ponying up $40 mil over 6 years. I'll just wait for Malick what's-his-face to come over.
5M a year is peanuts for a C. Skinner and Blount got more. I would've liked to see him as our PF, assuming he showed a willingness to work on a simple jumper. Very basi 15-ft jumper, and he'd be worth around 6-7M to us. Very good shotblocker, tough player, big body, defender, good rebounder.
Well Cato signed a 6 year $42 million deal and Mo signed a 6 year $48 million deal. So comparing them with the current FA market for big men: Boozer: 6 years $68 million Camby: 6 years $50-60 million with incentives Okur: 6 years $50 million Mo-Tay: 6 years $48 million Foyle: 5 years $42 million Cato: 6 years $42 million Blount: 6 years $41 million Skinner: 5 years $25 million I guess that sticks Cato and Mo-Tay into an average salary slot for big men. Let's face it, centers and pfs are more overpaid than any other position in terms of production. The difference is that if you're getting paid big bucks you better produce. Cato wasn't producing the first couple of years of his contract so we hated him for it. He started producing the past two years so many around here praised him. That's how it goes. Now if only Mo can grab a couple more rebounds, he can start living up to his salary.
