I asked this in one of the Morey threads in the GARM, but the more I thought about it, the more I'm blanking on how many superstars (or even perennial all stars) moved teams as FA in their Prime, especially after the current CBA came into place. I've came up with Shaq, Bosh, Lebron, and Amare over the last 10+ years. Most of the other players that sign max contract to move pretty much didn't live up to those contracts and were clearly over paid from day one. Most of the big Superstar movements called for a disgruntled player and another team with trade-able assets, which I think Morey in the last 4 years have done a good job collecting.
Barkley (correction, I'm wrong here. forgot the 76ers traded) Tracy McGrady (technically a sign-n-trade--but same thing, and so was Lebron and Bosh) Steve Nash Grant Hill joined TMac in Orlando same year Dikembe Mutombo left Nuggets for Free Agency. Carlos Boozer (to Utah) Carlos Boozer again (to Chi) Joe Johnson (4-time All Star since signing with Atl)
Anthony is similar to McGrady. You may even say that Deron Williams did the same thing forcing a trade by threatening to leave via FA. It is rumored that Dwight Howard wants to jump ship after his contract is up.
Barkley was not in his prime when he signed with us, and we traded 4 players (including Horry and Cassell) for him. Unless you meant Pippen (who if looked at the stats, was over his prime by the time we gave him a big contract) or Barkley to the Suns (which was REALLY long ago). You know, I did forget about Grant Hill and McGrady, that was another major time when FA joined a team with cap space, just didn't turnout well for that team due to injuries to their one super star. Steve Nash was not Steve MVP Nash when he signed with Phoenix. Dallas basically picked signing Eric Dampier to a major contract over re-signing Nash. The fact that we have to include guys like Carlos Boozer (who was being out played by Milsap at the end of his Jazz run) and Joe Johnson to have a list over the past 15 seasons show that it's actually pretty rare for a team to acquire a real superstar through FA. You really only get a super star in two ways.... 1) Luck into drafting them or 2) Stockpile enough assets and find another team to tango I also think if we look at the list of people offered max money to move teams you might also find that signing a major name of a good season or two to a major contract doesn't always end well. For every Steve Nash that outplays his previous performance, you could also get a Stephon Marbury [S&T I believe] Baron Davis, Elton Brand and etc.
He absolutely was when he left 76ers. That's what I meant. But now I remember it was a trade. My mistake. I typically point that out as one of the examples to not trade a superstar. Not sure why I included it as Free Agency.
They were All-Stars after signing nonetheless...and they were highly coveted. We could say that Amare is in their class, in terms of their effect on wins. Obviously, there are very few Superstars who leave. Larry Bird rights and their ability to create their own winning team usually keep them in place.
I see. But he wasn't in his "prime" when he left Toronto, was he? He was never a full-time starter in Toronto. Anyhow, if the point of this thread is superstars jumping to another team when the contracts expire, then forcing their teams to trade them should count too, because presumably if the teams didn't trade them, they would leave anyway.
I'm not seeing the reason to nit-pick about this and Steve Nash by wizkid83. They were both highly coveted Free Agents. So Nash and TMac don't count, we aren't allowed to say Joe Johnson and Boozer count, and we aren't supposed to pick an All-Star who faltered later...we can only pick Superstars who were Superstars before and after the signing? TMac signed a max contract with Orlando. He scored 16ppg in Carter's shadow, then all of a sudden 27ppg his 1st year there. Made the All-Star team. I don't think that was a secret. People saw a star. He scored 33ppg in the Playoffs, that year too. Nash and TMac definitely count as FA stars.
We can count them, I definitely count T-Mac, they gave him a max contract because they know he really will be a 27 ppg scorer when given the chance to runt he team. With Nash, I would also like to point out that while Nash was coveted, he wasn't offered a max contract, i.e. people didn't view him as a super star, he was pretty much where Kevin Martin's value is at right now. He didn't hit the next level till he started running (pun intended) the Suns. My main point was that you can't expect a superstar through FA, and not getting one should not stress fans out, it usually doesn't happen. Getting a super star is all about if you're in one of the coveted cities (LA, NY, Boston, or Miami) that have players demanding trades to go there, or just luck into it through the draft. The last way is having enough assets to entice another team to trade you their superstar.
Fair enough. I still think McGrady's second move (to Houston) fits better with the OP's spirit of the thread. At least that's how I understand it. To me, the point is, how much we can expect superstars available on the market in their prime. It is true that superstars don't change teams very often. The impression is, it's getting more frequent. The vast majority of these moves were initiated by the players. It is extremely rare for a team to trade away or simply let go of their star players unless the players want to leave.
^ Well, Moses Malone did, too. But you know, that statement is less about Free Agents, and more about how great Magic, Bird, Hakeem, Duncan and Jordan were. Guys who never left their team in their prime if at all. Then you had Detroit Pistons who you probably wouldn't include in the statement that were really led by won person (so they one 3 times, twice in 80s, once in 04) And that covers about 26 titles. Add Kobe .. 28. Making statements about what it takes to win a title really comes back to the same point -- top 10 HOF talent usually rules. Applying it to why free agency doesn't work is somewhat silly.
