I agree with Nate, why would he make this statement now? What good does it do? It is a completely selfish statement and Mo being a vet should know better. Are we sure it wasn't Wright who said it
I am not too concerned. By the end of the season he will either deserve more money or he won't. If the Blazers play well with him in there then they will pay him more to keep him. If they don't play well with him in there......who cares if he leaves. I thought this was the plan all along.
I think he'd come back at the MLE if McCollum proves to not be ready for major minutes. Mo is worth at least the MLE from some team, and he gets too much heat on this board. He's a very good back up swing guard.
I don't think so. This is his last chance at a big payday before he becomes a veteran minimum guy. If we aren't competing for a ring he is following the money.
Nobody is giving Mo Williams a starting job at PG for more than the MLE. His payday will be the MLE from someone. If it's as a starter, he'll be on a bad team. If he wants to win a ring, it will be on a team like Portland.
I think he will be looking for a four year deal in the range of $25-27 million. He's an offensive minded shoot first point guard, a bad team would likely throw money at him. He is an apt scorer. He could be insurance for Derek rose in Chicago. Maybe optimistic but likely is looking to get paid. Despite his turnovers I'm happy with him here but likely not at the price he will command
It all depends on how he plays this year and the blazers success, as well as the free cap space situations. He may not but he wants to maximize his money and length of contract and he's worth more than his current salary. That's probably his target, he may not get but that's what the agent is there for
With a player on the wrong side of 30, "how long" on the contract can be more important than "how much."
Where do you come up with this stuff? This is why (via Chris B. Haynes csnnw) “I would like to be here long term,” Williams revealed to CSNNW.com. “My goal is to work something out with Portland this summer. I like it here and I want to make this place home.” “With our team, we have a makeup of individuals that do something really, really good and when we mesh together, it’s like gumbo,” he explained. “That’s the best example I can give you of our team. Some teams have a dish where you got your steak, potatoes and asparagus. We’re gumbo. Without one of the ingredients, the gumbo just doesn’t taste well. But when everything is in that pot, it’s just like grandma did it.” “For me, it’s about finishing my career the right way for the X amount of years that I have and I’d love to do it here because of the fan support, the familiarity with the coach and [General Manager] Neil [Olshey]. I love my teammates. I love the style of play we play so everything is a positive and a plus. My goal is to be here long term.” The team can plan better now. I think it would be more selfish were Mo to keep it to himself until the final second when the Blazers have less flexibility that he planned on opting out.
It would be more selfish for Mo to keep it to himself that he was going to opt out. It would have been more professional of him to keep the idea of opting out in house rather than say it publicly in the middle of this season. Is Mo thinking about winning or his next contract?
Great, so we've established Mo's comments to Haynes weren't "selfish." Just speaking for myself here, but I'm not baggin on Mo every game, so maybe I'm not fully qualified to say that questioning Mo's professionalism for being honest about his situation is dumb opinion to maintain. Mo's family likes it here and Mo is looking for 1 more contract to finish out his career. The news is that he wants to remain a Blazer. In order to do that, he would need to opt out and sign a longer contract. It is not news to the organization, as Haynes mentioned. What is the purpose or reasoning for your slights about him being selfish and unprofessional? How does talking about his situation and desires for the team and his future affect anyone (other than apparently you) in a negative way? What the Flip Sanders does that have anything to do with Mo's professionalism? lol
That was a very bunny comment the news came out after two terrible losses and it does absolutely no good to announce that then. If Mo wanted to make such an announcement why not wait until the all star break where his comments can come and go without impacting any game.
I went through this with the JJ Hickson crowd last season. I wrote he wasn't worth more than 5 mil to Portland before last season even started, and that's what he ended up getting from Denver this season to no real surprise. So much belly aching. There is no way Mo is worth the full MLE (around $20 mil/4 years), not at his age. Not unless Neil is doing some kind of drug deal with Mo, which I don't see meeting Allen's approval. But it is no surprise Mo would opt out of the 2.6 mil contract he's under now; that was the Blazers Room exception in order to sign him over the salary cap. Portland will have the full MLE (or the non-tax payer exception) 5.3 mil. Not only could Portland pay Mo more money per year, but more importantly to Mo, Portland can sign him for up to 4 years vs the 2 year max under the Room exception. So two things. One, I don't think Mo is worth more than what he's being paid now, and two, the length of the contract is more important to Mo than the amount. It sounds like he wants stability for his family and would love nothing more than to call Portland home for the next 4 years, even if it means taking less money. And that's what is great about the MLE, it can be used on any number of players as long as the total contract doesn't exceed $5.3 mil, the MLE amount for next season.
I don't have a good enough feeling on whether I would be sad on if Mo left after this year (yet). That depends on how this team does, how CJ does, how Mo continues to do, etc. I do know that there is no way I would want Mo around for 4 more years after this year though. That is ludicrous.
I don't see anything wrong with what Mo did. If he intimated that he is planning on opting out so he can sign a longer deal with Portland, that's fine. I have no beef with that at all. I actually appreciate when players are honest with a reporter. It would have been one thing if he had said, "I'm opting out" and left it at that, but it was in the context of wanting to stay here long term and put down roots so I think it's fine.
