Well if he pouts and doesn't give 100%, then he WON'T get paid. If he doesn't get the extension, at least he'll be playing with a lot of motivation. It's a win-win for the Blazers organization and the fans. Not much for LMA, but that's the biz.
what did everyone expect? they played hardball with roy. i mean if they get these deals done wout any negotiations.. blazers will get a rep for giving in. dont forget we have to resign guys like rudy and oden. my point... we hold all the cards... if a deal doesnt get done... then guess what... we match next summer. see paul millsap.
He hadn't commented on it all summer. He did in the article I posted. I thought that was somewhat newsworthy. I guess it was as important as your useless post.
Oh but everything is ok in Blazerland. Because KP is running the show! I mean, he couldn't fuck anything up....
Well, if LMA continues to progress, and if the Blazers make it further in the playoffs this season with LMA playing a primary role, it's possible that the Blazers will have to overpay next summer compared to what they may have been able to ink him to this year. This would impact any negotiations on Oden, Batum, or Rudy. Hell, I'll even throw Bayless in there. So, if the idea is hardball, keep in mind that the team may pay up to $20 million more or so over his next deal than they might pay now for an extension. Money that will be likely be double taxed once the 2007 class is extended. It's not like the Blazers are without risk. I still think we'll see a 4-5 year deal averaging roughly $11 million signed by 10/31.
Maris, I'm sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but Sergio isn't ON the team anymore. Roy is the best now. I know this must be hard for you.
Thanks for taking the time to post about something that you don't give a s**t about. Meanwhile, some people may have wanted to read LMA's first public comments on his lack of a contract extension.
Yeah, it should be a concern. Keep in mind that a ton of teams are aiming to have a bunch of money under the cap next summer. If neither LaBron, Wade or Bosh move teams, LA would be a hell of a consolation prize. The Knicks could throw a max deal his way and still have enough to sign another good player. The Nets will have a ton of money as well, along with a Russian gangster who likes to spend. Portland would be way better off getting a deal done by the 31st.
The weird thing is that if the Blazers settle on a hard figure (let's say 12 million per year) and the salary cap recedes from 58 million to 51 or 50 million next year, there's a pretty good chance his contract ends up being a max deal anyway, and any team that tried to offer him a max deal would end up being roughly the same amount of money he could have made in an extension. This is the primary reason I'm fairly confident some kind of deal will get made I think the best hope is that both sides settle on a figure in the 11-11.5 million per year range (for chrissakes, the Raptors paid Andrea Bargnani 10 million per year!) and maybe lace it with some incentives like they did with Roy for the final year or two on the contract. 5 years 55-60 million sounds about right for a guy with his skillset and remaining untapped potential.
