[NBA Apocalypse] Would LeBron take the NBA minimum for rings?

Just makes too much freaking sense to work.

 

You know, as often as there have been opportunities like this in NBA history, never has a player gone to such ridiculous extremes to win a championship so early in their career.

Btw, why the hell does Lebron take the minimum? WHy can't it be Bosh or Wade, etc

 

I think what you meant to say was, makes to little freaking money to work.

It really isn't too much for Lebron to ask management to put a championship caliber team around him, while he still gets the league maximum.

If he took that dramatic of a pay cut to try and win a championship, he'd be the very rare exception.

 

He wouldn't do that if even money is not an issue.
All greats commanded maximum to championships, if he takes minimum in order to get another max player, it's like cheating.

 

I'd say LeBron would be the most willing based on how much he makes off the court. Of course, he has also said that he wants to be a billionaire, so this article was all in fun. He'll be signing with Houston to get into the Chinese market even more than he already is...

 

His premise is that Lebron would make more, long term, through endorsements to offset the $50m + he'd be giving up by passing on a max contract.

Which assumes he would definitely win titles, and that there's significant endorsement money on the sidelines for him that's unavailable unless he's a 'champion.' I don't buy it.

Stacked teams don't necessarily win. And endorsements money isn't championship dependent. Just ask Tim Duncan.

 

The players association would go hard on him though.

 

Charles Barkley is the only player in NBA history to do this. Yet, a lot of people around here say he is a "Rockets hater."

 

Are you kidding me? OK, MJ needed Pippen to win.
And Lebron needed Wade plus Bosh to win and that'd get him past Jordan? Now that's funny.

 

He might also be seen as the one who stacked a team to win.

Risky. Especially if he doesn't win.

(A slightly less then max deal might accomplish the 'team first' facade. A min salary would scream 'desperate -- can't carry a team by himself.' Too extreme).

 

The "take less money to win rings" concept should play out best in Houston since we have the whole nation of China to market to. Nowhere would championships mean more than here with Yao getting his rings.

 

this is teh guy who said in the beginning not that he wanted the most rings or to be the greatest player, but to be the first billionaire...but then he found out marketing, winning, all that is tied into being the first billionaire, so tehn he started making this big deal about his passion for winning and basketball(and he admitted bball is not his first love, foot ball was), he just doesn't seem like antural bball junkie like he tries to play off, he didn't even watch the nba much in high school...doesn't have that obsession or student of the game deal like kobe, lebron seems too calculated

 

as much as it pains me to say it... barkley is not the only guy to do this... malone did it too. when he went to the lakers before he got injured.

and nobody of lebrons (or chucks) calibur has done it IN THEIR PRIME.

 

No. That's not the same situation.

Malone went ring chasing to a team and signed for a small amount of money.

Chuck was already a member of the Rockets and gave up a higher salary and resigned for little so the team could afford to sign Pippen.

 

I'm glad you said 1994, but i think the Pistons who beat the stacked Lakers with future HOFs could argue your point.

 

Why go to all the trouble with bizarre contracts? Figure that if you were to add these contracts up, say $1 mil for the first two years, $8 mil for the next two, and $20 mil for the next two. You'd be looking at $58,000,000 over 6 years. Why not just sign all of them for around $9.5 mil per year?