That seems like a very fair offer to me. He can go the Dalembert/Chandler/Okafor rout and hold out for big money and then spend the rest of his career bouncing from team to team like they have. Or he could go the Kaman/Nene/Bogut rout and be a fixture for a good team (ok, not the Clippers). A million dollars is a lot of money, but is $13 mil worth the moving around?
Given a month ago, you didn't even think Noah would get $10M, can't say I am surprised. Not sure I quite understand the logic about signing the extension means a player will stick around. Hinrich signed the extension and he is on his second team like Okafor. Nene, whom you have in the wrong category, was an RFA and is still with Denver. Dalembart stayed with 76ers 5 years after signing as a RFA.
It's a fair offer. The problem is there is almost no way that Oklahoma City doesn't offer him the max next summer, and I think both Noah and his agent know that.
I'm going to go with speculation since we're talking about something a year into the future Anyway, I think there are a few things working toward Noah getting more. First, it's very hard, I think, for a team to argue it wouldn't trade a player Carmelo Anthony and then argue that player shouldn't be paid anywhere remotely close to Carmelo Anthony. Second, if you look at the guys on that list, I think it's fair to say that Noah probably rates out on the upper end of it. And that makes the argument that he should be paid on the lower end of it a difficult one to make.
You have New York, New Jersey, and Oklahoma City as the three main free agent contenders. Then you have teams like Memphis and Minnesota with cap space too, but no one will want to go there. Carmelo Anthony and Tony Parker are the top two free agents, and neither makes sense for Oklahoma City, so they're going to want a center, and Joakim Noah is the best center on the market. He's going to get money thrown at him. Out of the 5 or 6 teams that will have cap space, at least one is going to make Noah a max offer sheet. This free agent class just isn't all that top heavy.
Bulls should meet him half way and take him off market , because , if he has the same year he had last year he's getting that offer as an RFA . I'm cool at $65M and call it a day . Happy wife Happy life and all that shit
BTW....beyond what Jo baby says ....I reckon New York could deep down be the place he really wants to be Noah Stoudamire Anthony ? Felton bench Turiaf / Mozgov ( James Bond Villian ) Randolph Gallinari Chandler Douglas OMG....looky looky New York is a real team that could contend in the East Jo doesn't need the mony and could play it out to go home and join that team
