Everyone in Cleveland breathes a huge sigh of relief, though I have a feeling that Lebron will still be out of Cleveland within the next 3-4 years. He's not hurting his marketability by being 'that guy' who ditched the team that drafted him as soon as he could, but now he's 'that guy' who gave it his all but just wanted to play for a championship and the team wasn't able to do so, etc.
Scene: Mark DeRosa's brain. The year is 2005. Part of Mark DeRosa's brain: Come on, another position change? One day it's second base, the next day right field, now it's third? Why, I oughta go into Buck's office and throw his talking fish on the floor! Other part of Mark DeRosa's brain: Hold on, other part of the brain. We're making $500,000 this year. Last year we made $725,000. All for playing a damn kids' game. This is, as they say in Brainland, a no-"us"-er. We're not going to complain. Part of Mark DeRosa's brain: You're right, dude. Let's go back to looking at this crazy porn Teixeira gave us!
The motivation appears to be that LeBron wants to be in a position to sign for more money after becoming a seven-year veteran. Shooting for more cash is nice and all, but it also looks like Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony are going to back out of the deals they've agreed to and sign shorter deals in favor of more money down the road.
I give all the credit in the world to James for knowing his own value, but Anthony and Wade both need to know when a deal is a deal. It isn't fair to shake hands on one deal and then go back on it later just because someone else proved to be a smarter businessman.
When I read that LeBron was going for a short deal, I thought it was because he was planning to leave if he felt that the team hadnt done enough/anything to build a winning team around him. It never occured to me that he was doing it to get to that 7-year veteran max salary faster. I guess it makes pretty good business sense, and I bet we'll see even more young players doing this in the future.
At the same time, it does suck that Wade & Melo agreed to long term deals, then went back on their agreements so sign these shorter deals instead. Unfortunately, that isnt the first time this has happened & it wont be the last.
Plus it's worth noting that barring a trade none of these guys are going anywhere for at least four years and possibly five if they exercise their option, because none of these extensions kick in until the 2007-08 season.
Of course I'd love to have Dwyane Wade locked up for the next decade, but this is business and not personal and it's just a way for him to get to his super-max contract a little bit faster. I can understand that.
"I don't know if it's Biscayne Boulevard or where it is, but there is an image in my mind about the symbolic championship parade."
Originally posted by It's FalseI give all the credit in the world to James for knowing his own value, but Anthony and Wade both need to know when a deal is a deal. It isn't fair to shake hands on one deal and then go back on it later just because someone else proved to be a smarter businessman.
If the NBA wants to prevent this sort of situation from occurring, let guys sign contracts on July 1st rather than being able to agree to contracts but not being able to sign them. Either that or push the negotiating date back to match the signing date. Until then, unless a deal is signed, it doesn't exist.
After a talk with his family, Carmelo Anthony has decided to go with what he agreed with. He's signing with Denver for 5 years, $80 million. There is an option, however, to terminate the contract after the fourth year, which could potentially be interesting depending on whether Denver ever gets over the hump and gets to at least a conference finals.
Rather than sign the deal he initially agreed to, Dwayne Wade signs with Miami for 3 years, amount unknown but surmised to be $60+ million. He has an option for a fourth year also. I don't like this in the long run if I'm a Heat fan, because this team could go downhill fast once Shaq and 'Zo decide to call it a career, which could very well be after next season. What's to say Wade won't decide to bolt town if that happens?
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