Good post, but I disagree. There are a lot of dumb decisions made by NBA GMs every day. Chris Wallace trying to get Z-Bo and Sterling turning it down all happened in one day. Remember last year's free agents? Corey "Half Season" Maggette signed a 5 year, $50 million contract with GS. Baron Davis signed a 5 year $65 million contract with the clippers. It's a safe bet that some GM will throw at least $10 million to Artest.
I doubt it - times have changed. Wafer may be out of luck as well. Remember, we have a new President that doesn't care much for the wealthy.
this is exactly what i'm banking on. there's no reason to bid against ourselves. i would wait to see what offers ron receives. my guess (as i stated in the op) is that all he's going to see is MLE offers. he might push for a one year extension, but i'd rather lock him into a lower salary for the next few years.
I know its probably not a good move to let him go, but if Ron is going to be the number 2 option, then I'd rather go a different direction. If it's like smoothie predicts, then signing him is a no-brainer, but I agree with The Pharmacist. Just one year ago, Davis, Maggette, and Brand signed those ridiculous deals. Although I think the deals were signed in reaction to the Celtics' success, I doubt they learned their lesson. I'm definitely glad we have Morey.
I honestly don't see any playoff team comfortable with signing Artest to anything more than 7-8 million per. My main belief is that, regardless of cap situation, he is a make it or break kind of player. You either win big his signing or lose big. I know we had success with him but other teams will point to Adelman and the overall build of our team as the reason why. Portland would never sign him for more than 7-8 mill b/c they know Mcmillan can't control Artest when he goes into his poor-shot selection mode. The only other team that I can think of would be the Lakers (but they seem to be more enamored with resigning Odom). Artest will be a Rocket next yr with a very reasonable contract. Book it.
In today's sports world teams that lowball, dis, their players in negotiations usually live to regret it. Why would a player 'need' 12mm instead of 10mm? Because of ego, those are the definings of the NBA/MLB/NFL culture. That said, there are no teams IMHO who will pursue Artest this summer with straight cap money. He could 'force' an SnT (Miami/Haslim and Beasley perhaps?). If that were the direction (an SnT) I could live with that. Otherwise, Artest is a Rocket for the next 3-5 years.
IMO, the highest offer he gets will be full MLE. the idea of a lowball offer is that it is below market value. if the rockets wait to see what offers other teams are making and then match the highest offer, they are not lowballing him. if ron decides he'd like to go to another team for MLE money, then the rockets have a decision. either they make an offer exceeding the MLE in hopes of luring him to stay, or they work out a S&T as you mentioned. one thing is for sure, you can't just let him walk without getting anything in return.
I hope not they are already to long for us. Getting him will make them even longer. We will hardly ever get a rebound.
You cannot rationalize irrationality and irrationality is the mindset of the athlete, particularly where it comes to money i.e., comparing contract size (they'd rather whip out their contract and prove it's bigger than the other whipper outer thinger). I do agree that just letting him walk makes no sense, and is not likely to eventuate. However, matching an MLE offer would be the suicide pill in their relationship with Carmichael Dave's fav.
i agree... but for the most part i see athletes as somewhat predictable when searching for a new contract. that predictability is money. simply, they will sign with the highest offer every time. the thing is, i'm not sure he's worth more than the MLE. the league probably wont offer more and neither should the rockets. even if ron is insulted by the offer, let him find a better one if he can. he probably wont. the number one rule is never bid against yourself. that's when you make a corey maggetty, rashard lewis type of contract. always let the market determine the players value before negotiations start.
Yeah, but. And I apologize for that BTW, but - yeah, you are right - in a sane, ordered world. If Player A is on another team and you offer the most $$$ then that is fine (your Shard reference, exactly). But when Player uh, RA is already on your team then the psychology diverges from sanity. This is why my personal hope is for an SnT. However, I believe the Rox and the Artest team will have to sit down 'like gentlemen' and fleece the Rox - just not too badly. 3/27 or 4/36 will be the contract in my guesstimation. Too much, but workable for all IMHO.
Why is Maggette's deal seen as ridiculous? The guy is a 20ppg scorer for 10 million a year.... And he is highly efficient...... Strange. DD
In the age of free agency and salary caps, I don't think the concept of allowing a player to "walk away without getting anything in return" has any meaning. The money a team "saves" by not resigning its own free agent for an amount that is more than his value to the team becomes available to sign another free agent player, either through mid-cap exception or straight free agent signing (if the savings reduces the payroll below cap amount.
Are you in grade school? Did you find it simply impossible to make whatever point you were trying to make without offending the Jewish members of the BBS, and those, like me, who have no religion but are also offended by language offensive to a group of millions of Americans? Either clean up your act or go post on the ESPN boards. Thanks in advance. I just wish I could hand out a negative rating. You'd get it.
very true. but if there is any variation of the "norm" as you and i see it, it would be for a hometown or loyalty discount. i do see your point and it's a good one, but this is the way i see it. you and i will have to wait and see what the outcome is in all this. the thing about a "workable" contract is that (in your example) it's still above market value and i dont see DM going for anything above market value. ron can't demand more than MLE if no one else is willing to pay it. if something can't be worked out, i'd be happy with a S&T as long as we get a young athlete in return.
I don't think you can necessarily rule out Category 2 teams as teams that would be interested in Ron. I bet OKC wouldn't mind putting Artest next to Durant so they'll actually have a big wing who will play defense. Also, Portland was one team that I thought might be a threat, too, but in addition the the reason you mentioned, don't they also need to save some cap space for giving Aldridge and Roy their $$$?
Maggette has had many injury problems. The 2 years before his contract, he played 75 and 70 games, which was amazing for him. The year before that, he played 32 and this year he played 51 games. He's basically had some type of knee or hamstring injury that kept him out 10-20 games his whole career. The point I was making was that Maggette only gives you offense, while Artest can give you both offense and defense. If Maggette can get $10 a year, then Artest can get at least that much as well, even in a buyer's market.
