Who said all the big name stars would only be available in 2010?
Restricted or unrestricted, we have Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, and Ron Artest out there. While they’re not what you would consider max contract stars, they’re not there just to hand out Gatorades either.
And then there’s Gilbert Arenas.
“Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has informed Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld he will agree to a six-year deal worth $111 million, in his words, giving back roughly $16 million of the max, $127 million deal the team offered him Tuesday morning. “This is in line with what I’ve been saying the whole time,” Arenas said Thursday evening in a telephone conversation from China. “You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don’t wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can’t do anything about it.“
Link to full story here
Although I’m reserved to the fact that I won’t be seeing that much money in this lifetime, I think Agent Zero is giving himself too much credit here. He “gave back” $16M spread over 6 years? Based on the 06-07 salaries of NBA players, you won’t even be able to sign an aging Brian Scalabrine with that amount. Pffft.
Even if the guy is a bonafide superstar, no one coming from a career threatening injury should be given a contract of that magnitude. If he had played an injury free 07-08 season, his intentions would have been much more believable.
When Purefoods abandoned their UE connection of Artadi and Yap, I was sure the former’s transfer to Ginebra would hardly make a difference. After all, how could a turnover prone point guard who can’t make outside shots find a place in the PBA? Being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with it. 12 consecutive wins hence, and the Ginebra Gin Kings are back in the finals.
