I think they got a good deal, he could have easily gotten a lot more money had he waited. On the other hand, this is a contract extension done the right way, not like the other one that happened during the summer. Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka has reached agreement on a four-year, $40-million plus contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Ibaka, 22, could’ve been a restricted free agent next summer, and his deal now locks into place three of the Thunder’s core young stars --- Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Ibaka. Durant and Westbrook each have the maximum contracts allowed under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--s...n-four-year-extension-with-oklahoma-city.html
I don't see how they can extend Harden for what he'll demand. They're right around the luxury tax threshold right now.
durant + westbrook +ibaka + harden at 13 million + perkins = 66 million next year, its true they will figure it out though, it seems like they always do
I think they'll figure it out by trading Harden for a younger player on a rookie deal or for something that brings them a good draft pick.
I would trade Westbrook and Ibaka for a real star. Serge doesn't seem like a great defender, more like a great blocker. Harden is the kind of player that fits into any offense.
Perkins is as good as gone. Also, Have any of you thought that Harden likes his team, his situation, his role and would take less money to stay? That just might happen.
Doubt it. He has gone on record saying he wouldn't mind playing for the suns. I agree with Perkins being gone unless they have another trip to the finals Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
I guess anything is possible, but that seems like a pretty big longshot. In a perfect world, he might like to stay on a winning team like OKC and make max money to be a Manu Ginobli clone, but if it turns into an "or" situation between the role or the money, then the money is the thing.
Nice to see the Blazers aren't the only ones overpaying for role players under the new CBA. And make no mistake about it, that's what Ibaka is - a role player. The guy averages 9.1 pts/g and 7.5 reb/g and he gets a $50 million contract (latest word is it's $49 million guaranteed, and up to $51.5 million with incentives). He blocks a lot of shots, but that's really all he does. He can't guard bigger (either taller, or stronger) players in the post. Aldridge destroys him head-to-head. So, OKC has to put Perkins on Aldridge. That worked fine when Ibaka got to guard Camby or Joel, but in the last game against OKC, Hickson lit up Ibaka for 21 points on 9 - 10 shooting. As mentioned above, resigning Harden will likely mean OKC will be at the luxury tax threshold with just their top five players in 2013-14 when Ibaka's and Harden's extensions would kick in. And the luxury tax penalties are MUCH higher under the new CBA. $10 million over the threshold = $2.50 for every $1.00 over. $15 million over = $3.25 penalty for every $1.00 over. Given that they will have another 10 roster spots to fill, extending both Harden and Ibaka could end up costing Clay Bennett and Aubrey McClendon nearly $200 million in luxury tax penalties over the 4 year length of those contract extensions. Personally, I'm all for anything that hits Bennett and McClendon in the wallet. Of course, they can always save some money by dumping other players (like Perkins and Sefalosha), but that could weaken them on the court (at least on the defensive end) as they try to find cheap replacements for those guys. BNM
Would any of you see it as a good idea for us to Offer Harden Max $$ next offseason? I know PHX and others will have cash too.
I think we would need to trade Matthews with no salary coming back and not extend a few players like Babbit and Elliot.
Problem is, in today's economic climate, they'd have to also give up something of value for anyone to take on Perkins' undesirable contract. In order to dump Perkins, and not take back a similarly hideous contract, they'd need to either give up a young prospect, or two (Perry Jones, Reggie Jackson), a proven, but cheap player (Eric Maynor, Nick Collison), and or future first round draft picks. So, anyway you look at it, overpaying for Ibaka, and extending Harden will hurt them in some way. BNM
According to Storyteller's site, the Blazers are currently committed to $44.5M in contracts for next year. Jeffries' and Pavlovic's contracts aren't fully guaranteed. Hickson is on a one year deal so his money comes off the books. There are team options on Babbitt, EWill and Nolan Smith.
Would you rather have Batum or Ibaka? Seems like both are being paid roughly similar money based on their potential.
