I might have my dates wrong, but i believe the current CBA will expire in three years. HeyP brought up the idea of Steve getting a three years contract like Duncan did (http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38077). My question is does this play into Steve's/his agent's mind when negotiating this contract? Does he want to run the risk of doing a Pippen and missing out on truely crazy dollars? Or would the opposite be true under the new CBA (though he would still get a fortune regardless)? Just another issue to throw into the mix of things relating to his contract length (health, headaches, re-habbing habbits, leadership, ...)
IN regards to the new CBA, I think it is in the interest of both parties to go for maximum contract length. Given the recent trend of a plateauing/decline in the league's revenue (recently illustrated by the first decrease in the salary cap), I expect the NBAPA to be in a bad bargaining situation when the CBA expires. I doubt they will get many concessions from the league and may, in fact, be forced to submit to a couple extra price controls. Who knows what may happen 3 years hence, but my money is on the amount Francis is eligible not going up significantly. Even if the chance was big enough to risk it, would it trump all the other considerations, such as risk of injury? As for the team, signing Francis to the max is a no-brainer. He's certainly worth what he's eligible to be paid right now. Why create bad-blood with your cornerstone. You don't want to alienate Francis. And you don't want to look cheap and untrustworthy in front of the rest of the league. Everyone knows he should get max salary and max years, so give it to him.
