One was a five-year max contract worth an estimated $95 million, leaving them with space to offer another max deal to either Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire or Chris Bosh. The other option -- as reported Tuesday by SI.com -- was to offer James a five-year deal, with a starting base salary of $11.5 million, which would leave room for Johnson and Stoudemire to join James in New York at similar salaries. The Knicks essentially would be counting on James to help recruit them as teammates by convincing them to accept at least $5 million less per year than they could earn elsewhere on the promise of ultimately receiving more income from off-court deals that would be available to them in New York. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/07/01/johnson.knicks/#ixzz0sSjZoOWl
Never fear Richard Jefferson is here ... Richard Jefferson doesn’t have a deal with the San Antonio Spurs and would prefer to return to the New York area to play for the Knicks or Nets, league sources told Y! Sports. Jefferson is seeking a multiyear contract that averages in the range of $8 million-$10 million, sources said. He opted out of the $15 million final season of his contract with the Spurs on Tuesday. Jefferson has built a good relationship with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, but doesn’t think the team’s system best fits his skills. Source: Y!
