Is this as bad as Anthony Carter's (agent's) mistake that was Miami's (now second-) biggest present ever?
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong... But didn't Jefferson make another HUGE contract-related mistake a few years ago by not getting some paperwork in on time or something? I feel like he didn't get a HUGE contract extension paperwork in on time or was planning to opt out for a big deal and didn't get it in on time, or something. Anybody else remember that? I'm pretty sure it was Jefferson? Obviously this is a gaffe more due to his own overestimation of his skill and value in the league, but (assuming the first one WAS him) it seems to me like he's cost himself a ton of money over the years.
Everybody thought he was crazy for opting out in the first place, this just proves how incompetent some of these guys (and agents) are in the NBA...
Yes and no. The agent's job is to get his player the most money possible, but what agent's going to have a job if they're brutally honest? "Richard, you're old, broken and suck now. We need to hang onto this last $9Mil and hope for anything next year" doesn't really sound like an agent doing a very good job. I'd venture to guess that over 95% of NBA players are arrogant, vain, egotistical and narcisistic, some nearly to the point of delusion (if you believe the rumors of RJeff's vanity, you'd have to assume he's one of them) and on top of all that, most have hangers-on and yes-men telling them what they want to hear constantly, and unquestionably their competitive nature leads them to believe they "can still hang". So who shoudl they believe? All their friends and family telling them what they also believe (that they still got it) or the one honest voice telling them that its time to cash in and call it a career? No-win situation here if you ask me.
He may be trading one year at $15MM for a five year MLE deal for $35MM that may not be available after the new CBA.
Don't forget that there's a lot of concern over the new CBA and potential lockout next year. Players are trying to get long term deals with a lot of guaranteed money this offseason. I kind of get the logic for Jefferson. Teams have been doling out shitty contracts the whole summer, I bet it won't be long before he gets something decent.
Its an interesting point about long term guaranteed contracts. I would love to see an NFL style of free agency/cap w/o guaranteed contracts with the only money being guaranteed being the signing bonus. That way when players like Dmiles come around they can be dumped like Lebron dumped Cleveland. I also think it would make a lot of players better, since they will actually have to play to earn that contract.
If Jefferson gets the full MLE, he'll probably come out ahead... but it's a big gamble that he'll even get that. Ed O.
