[ESPN] No thanks: Nets nix Abdur-Rahim deal; Acquire (Marc) Jackson

You and 20 GMs, evidently.

 

We have no further to look than Ronny Turiaf to find a case where something turned up on his exam that is obviously not only career threatened but also life threatening. And yet he had a productive year last year and through the tryout camps. It is life and it happens. All I can say is to give the Nets the benefit of the doubt.

I saw on another thread that SAR had already signed with another team, but I don't know the details. So, maybe the Nets were the villains in this scenario.

 

Of course the Nets are going to try to spin it to put them in a positive/understanding light, so no "the only thing needed to validate the Nets concerns are release of whatever it is that concerned them" is not enough. What SAR does or does not do the rest of his career will determine whether this was the right roster call/judgement--and this only impacts half of the equation, not the other part that concerns rapoire with players/agents they are giving up.

A little over drammatic. I said it looks bad, very bad. But it may not be--this could be a devastating injury condition--and if this pans out the Nets have a great case for what they did, we will see. But my hunch is the Nets will very much regret their whole summer, it is a hunch, of course I could be wrong.

What both you and apostolic3 are not recognizing is this wasn't like a normal trade where players just have to do what they are told. SAR signed a much less below market contract and only negotiated heavily with the Nets. In sum he showed a ton of good faith. They had better be confident this was a devastating injury, not just "a concern", given these other factors--way below market contract, good faith, even turning the screws on Portland to make the deal. If they got a 70% SAR they still had a solid deal all the way around.

But yes, if SAR has a Turiaf like condition I'll admit I was wrong about their judgement.

I don't think are "villains", but they very well may be shortsighted dumbasses--both in terms of their immediate roster and long term rapoire with players/agents. We will see.

 

The rest of his career won't determine whether or not this was a good move in the least. The legitimacy of the concern decides that. It may very be that the condition doesn't become a problem, but if there was a good chance it would be, then it was the right move regardless.

SAR chose a sign and trade because he wanted more money than just a regular free agent signing - he wasn't some innocent victim here. The Nets negotiated a price based on the expectations of having a healthy player - if they didn't feel that were the case, there's nothing wrong with saying "no thanks".

Shortsightedness would have been to commit millions of dollars for 6 years on a player that they think might not be fully healthy because they were concerned about PR ramifications. Players and agents, for the most part, chase money. If NJ has the most money, a player isn't going to turn them down because of a failed sign-and-trade with another player.

 

Couldn't have said it any better. I like SAR. IMO, he is a good guy and I feel sorry for this happening to him.

I just can't figure out why this whole deal has many on this forum so animated one way or the other. When the issue first came up, SAR was a complainer, whiner, etc because the Nets were being careful. Now that the deal is dead, the Nets are total idiots.

 

Karma for what. The Rockets have no one to blame but themselves. Karma is when someone screws you purposely and then they get screwed. The Rockets screwed themselves on E.G. And how is Karma when they themselves turned down the deal. Maybe this is another situation of the Nets doing their homework as they did on the Griffin deal.

 

He turned down $47 mill from the Bucks (larger deal than the Nets' S&T), so it's fair to say he wasn't pulling the total greed card. That was Antoine Walker.

SAR and NJ have had a mutual love affair ever since Kenyon Martin left town. Too bad that ends with Thorn hurting his standing with agents a bit and SAR left to pick among his fourth-fifth-sixth choices; non-contenders or cities where he doesn't really want to live. Would you really want to sign somewhere long term if it's just a place you're settling for? Can't wait for the quotes when he plays in New Jersey for the first time next year.

-edit- Forgot to mention: In defense of NJ, they did try and work a deal with SAR before calling off the S&T. They could not get his contract insured because of the condition (knee, pre-existing) so they offered to make the first 4 years and $22 million guaranteed, but the last two years nonguarnteed. SAR told them no way. Kidd apparently even called him about it, but no dice. Above information found in today's NY Daily News.

Evan

 

I don't think "good chance" covers it. 50/50 or more that SAR is in big trouble healthwise, yes. They were getting probably a 40% discount on SAR's contract, so if it is only a 30% risk, it was worth taking. And this is just based on the player assessment, independent of the potential rapport damage for pursuing the next FA.

NJ wanted to do the sign and trade so that they could retain their MLE. Reports indicate SAR was fine to do an MLE, which was marginally different from the S&T--just 1 year more and the difference of like 2.5% raises.

Further NJ didn't "negotiate" that price. The MLE and the practically equivalent TE were all they had to offer. SAR wanted to go there 1st or he wouldn't have considered those offers. It is like saying the Lakers "negotiated" to bring Payton and Karl Malone at a market price last year--in truth those players selected where they wanted to go and were willing to take below market value. Also, supposedly Milwaukee offered substantially more (over 40 mil, 5 years). Look no farther than Walker's contract with Miami to see what a "market value" contract for SAR would look like. SAR had give them a tremendous, like 40% off, discount as a show of good faith.

"Might not" is not good enough here. They better have been able to say "probably not" be healthy. If they got a 70% SAR it was still a good deal, heck of lot better than a 100% Marc Jackson.

Was it short sighted to sign Shandon Anderson for his 2nd contract even though due to health or other reasons we knew he sucked at that point and was never going to earn that money? Or could that rapport have gone a long way to players like Tmac, Swift, Barry, and Deke making efforts to come and play for the Rockets.

Usually yes, but SAR this year, Payton and Malone the year before, and a few others, have been notable exceptions. SAR closed off other options and gave up a lot of money to play for the Nets, and they spit him out after most his alternatives have dried up. The Nets better have had a great reason—both for personnel reasons and rapport reasons—not just a modest concern SAR might develop arthritis that might slow him down here and there.

 

Looks like the reason Marc was shipped out was because the Sixers just signed "Stone Cold" Stephen Hunter (so-called because he has no pulse!!!)