http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/news/2003/06/15/fa_past/ History lesson Recent free agents have more duds than studs With a loaded free-agent market in the summer of 2003, a number of clubs will be tempted to break out their checkbooks to ink star players from other teams to big contracts. Based on recent history, however, they might want to reconsider. Over the past three years, only a handful of the 19 players who changed teams by signing blockbuster contracts of more than $25 million can be called successes. The following chart tells the sad story: Maurice Taylor 6 years, $48 million 2001 Verdict: Taylor wasn't that good to begin with, and he blew out his Achilles before he ever played a game for the Rockets. (I assume the writer meant 'on the new contract') Shandon Anderson 6 years, $42 million 2001 Verdict: Anderson couldn't help the Rockets much before being sent to the Knicks, and he's helped them even less.
I think the problem with these contracts isn't exactly the dollar amount, its the duration. The only time I think a player should be given more than 4 yrs is if he's going to be a key cog to your team and a top player. Otherwise, 4 yrs is better for both sides on both fronts. Now if the guy is going to be a franchise type player, thats different, but most of the guys on the list were avg role players. Free agents studs and duds Signed by... Player Contract Terms Year Signed Chauncey Billups 6 years, $33 million 2002 Verdict: The Pistons couldn't have won 50 games without all the big shots from their point guard. Billups is still getting better and could make the All-Star team next year. Derek Anderson 6 years, $48 million 2001 Verdict: Portland lifted Anderson from San Antonio, forcing it into a sign-and-trade deal, and got a rare commodity: a Trail Blazer who behaves. Calvin Booth 6 years, $34 million 2001 Verdict: Seattle has never gotten the hang of signing big men (see also McIlvaine, Jim; James, Jerome). Ruben Patterson 6 years, $34 million 2001 Verdict: Patterson never cracked the starting lineup after signing his deal and has spent much of the past two seasons on the verge of incarceration. Joe Smith 6 years, $34 million 2001 Verdict: As if the T'wolves hadn't learned their lesson from the first time they tried to sign Smith. Maurice Taylor 6 years, $48 million 2001 Verdict: Taylor wasn't that good to begin with, and he blew out his Achilles before he ever played a game for the Rockets. Eddie Robinson 6 years, $31 million 2001 Verdict: The Bulls were excited that they plucked Robinson from the Hornets, but a rash of injuries has held him down. Todd MacCulloch 6 years, $34 million 2001 Verdict: The Nets got one good year out of him, but the last five will be a wash, thanks to a nerve problem that likely will end his career. Shandon Anderson 6 years, $42 million 2001 Verdict: Anderson couldn't help the Rockets much before being sent to the Knicks, and he's helped them even less. Clarence Weatherspoon 5 years, $27 million 2001 Verdict: The Knicks bought Weatherspoon's stock at its peak and have been counting their losses ever since. Danny Fortson 7 years, $38 million 2000 Verdict: Fortson collects his paychecks at the end of Golden State's bench, and he'll have that seat for four more years. Glen Rice 4 years, $36 million 2002 Verdict: Somehow, he sold the Knicks on the idea he could still play. Then again, a lot of people on this list have done that. Ron Mercer 4 years, $27 million 2000 Verdict: It's hard to see how Jerry Krause never got the Bulls turned around, isn't it? Tracy McGrady 7 years, $93 million 2000 Verdict: Actually, stud is an understatement. Let's just say this one worked out for Orlando. Grant Hill 7 years, $93 million 2002 Verdict: They might have wanted to check out that ankle a bit more thoroughly. Howard Eisley 7 years, $41 million 2000 Verdict: The one misstep in the Mavs' dramatic rebuilding job, but they pawned him off on -- you guessed it -- the Knicks. Eddie Jones 7 years, $93 million 2002 Verdict: The Heat's sign-and-trade with the Hornets was a disaster; Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown for Anthony Mason and Jones. Brian Grant 7 years, $86 million 2002 Verdict: And Jones wasn't even Pat Riley's worst deal of the 2000 offseason. Ben Wallace 6 years, $30 million 2002 Verdict: Included as a sign-and-trade in the deal for Grant Hill, he ended up being the best player in the trade. Other than T-Mac and maybe a healthy Hill, no one else on that list was a 1st option more less even building block. Its the length, more than anything.If a couple of those deals were 3 yrs shorter, teams would jump at the chance to take a couple of those players. Jones and Grant max contracts don't look so bad if they were they were 3 yrs shorter then there would be a couple of teams ready to pay that price.
so which ones are they saying are studs and which are duds? Billups, McGrady and Wallace are the only ones with decent write ups?
Was the Ron Mercer comment serious or wrongly used sarcasm? The layout he used on this article is ridiculous, he should have made it clear whether each player was a "stud or dud". I don't agree with his comments on Todd MacCulloch, especially considering his illness was unknown and he's no longer on the Nets.
has any team ever come close to signing/taking on as many horrific contracts as the current knicks? i mean the blazers pay a lot of people a ton of money but they're actually a good team (if a little crazy). i still can't believe the shandn and eisley ones. you've already got spree making a lot, you have houston signed to a horrible contract and while you have rice at a horrible contract, it ends in 4 years. so you send the bad deal that ends in 4 to houston for a bad deal that ends in 6? wtf, how hard could it be to see that shandn is horrible. and then in the same offseason they take care of eisley and his 6 year deal. i couldn't believe it at the time and i still can't. it was like layden was trying to purposely sabotage the knicks.
Grant Hill was signed to that huge contract in 2002? WTF I thought it was a 3-4 years ago! Orlando is S-C-R-E-W-E-D.
