In this market, this isn't a bad price. I'm not a fan of Meyers, but I think this is a reasonable price to make sure he never explodes somewhere else.
For the same reason why we should have waited four more years with Jermaine O'Neal. It's not that bad of a contract in this new market.
People in this forum tend to get WAY too invested in their opinions, both positive and negative, about certain players. The thing that cracks me up is they actually think they know more about a player's worth than the GM and coach that are paid millions of dollars to make these decisions. Meyers got $41 million over 4 years, which is reasonable in today's market for an 8th or 9th man. It sounds ridiculous to say that, but it's the state of the current market. He's not a star, but then he's not paid like one either. He's now locked in as part of our team for four more years. Like the poster you quoted, I'd love to see him prove the detractors wrong. Not so I can thumb my nose and say, "See, I told you so", but because any player that improves helps the team on the court and any player that outperforms their contract also helps the team improve the roster. Aminu, Davis and Ezeli are all on great value contracts. Neil knows a bargain when he sees it. As I stated, Meyers contract seems to be perfectly in line with his current role and performance as an 8th or 9th man. If he improves and outperforms that contract, the team will benefit. If he doesn't, you can bet (just not with HCP) the Meyers haters will be sure to let us know. So yeah, I kind of get where the poster you quoted was coming from. The Meyers bashing around here gets tedious. He's a Portland Trail Blazer, can't we all root for him to succeed? If not, why not? What do we gain from him failing? BNM
I think this signing/contract is FANTASTIC. One of two things will happen. Meyers will become the true unicorn we hoped he would be by hitting threes and defending at the rim. OR, he will show some flashes, but not consistently, and will be a very tradeable asset to someone else who still thinks he can be their unicorn. Best of all we have four years to work this out.
If he remains 8th-9th man no this contract is not good even nowadays, it's really bad. 10M is 10% of the cap. When your best player receives 25% of the cap and your 2nd best player normally receives 20% of the cap then your 8th-9th man shouldn't take 10%. So the rest take what? 45% for 12 players? And how much do the 3rd-7th man should make then? I don't know why many people think like that, doesn't make sense for me, the cap didn't go to 200M. 10M should be the salary of a vital role player (let's say Aminu last year), not 8th-9th man like Meyers was last year. If he doesn't improve this is a terrible contract and it should be traded.
That's not how it works. You will always have some players on cheap rookie contracts and some on vet minimum deals. Neil got some bargains with Aminu, Davis and Plumlee last year under different market conditions. I said it in this very thread, over three months ago, that under the new salary cap, 8th and 9th men making $10 million per year will become the new norm. That doesn't mean EVERY player in your top 8 or 9 will make that much, but anyone in that range who is a free agent can expect to be paid that much on the open market. So, if you think this contract is so horrible, what do you think about matching Crabbe? He's our 6th man and making almost twice as much as Leonard, our 8th/9th man. BNM
This is a win win!!! Good contract! I get to keep wearing my Jersey AND MM IS CRYING!!!!!!! Sorry MM, couldnt resist.
I love this contract for Meyers simply because of what Meyers brings to the table. If he is healthy and has a nice stretch of games not only showing his health but shoots his normal 3% then he won't be hard to move and will have some actual value. His age/athletism and skill set are great so teams will talk themsevles into being able to "mold him", he won't get us a lottery pick but a 1st from a team that is missing the lottery might not be hard, look at what Channing Frye got dealt for and Meyers is a very similiar player with a lot higher upside.
I think it's a relatively reasonable contract to see if he puts it together in the next few years. If by the start of year three he hasn't become a solid part of the rotation, I say move him.
