After reporting that LeBron James was telling teams he wanted to make a decision by July 5, Ric Bucher is now saying that LeBron not expected to shut down this free agency circus by Monday.
The source said although James wanted the interview process to be finished by the Monday deadline, he may not decide on a franchise until later in the week. Previous reports had James making a decision by Monday, but the source said no specific reason was given for the delay.
Sigh.
It looks like Dirk Nowitzki is staying in Dallas, and he agreed to a deal for less than the max.
With no guarantee the capped-out Mavericks can land the elite sidekick he seeks to keep Dallas relevant in the Western Conference, Nowitzki agreed Saturday night to give a hometown discount to the only team he’s ever known, reaching terms with owner Mark Cuban on what sources close to the talks say is a four-year deal worth $80 million.
That’s $16 million less than the $96 million maximum Nowitzki was eligible to receive and likely would have commanded had he been serious about shopping himself on the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time, given Nowitzki’s stature in the league as a former MVP and the fact that his game is aging well at 32.
Only in the NBA does a player sign a deal for $20 million per season and people say that he gave his team a ‘hometown discount.’ The extra $16 million would allow Mark Cuban to take on some additional contracts since the Mavs are perennially over the luxury tax.
From the start, it was clear that Nowitzki wasn’t going anywhere. Pundits talked about how he’d be a great fit here or there, or with this player or that player, but Nowitzki is a very loyal guy and Cuban has been good to him.
Joe Johnson gets it. He has a max offer from the Hawks on the table, but hasn’t agreed to sign it just yet. He wants to see which big-name free agents land where, to see if there’s a secondary or tertiary role for him on a championship contender.
Sources said Johnson was still considering whether it would be a better career move to play in New York or Chicago, and his ultimate decision would hinge upon which of the top free agents make commitments to those teams.
Johnson’s decision is this — would he rather be the best player on a good-but-not-great Atlanta team or the second- or third-best player on a Finals-caliber team?
Maybe he’s reading the LeBron/Wade tea leaves and realizes that LeBron’s ego may not accept the perception that he needed Wade to win a title. Johnson is the next-best shooting guard on the market, and would be a decent fit alongside LeBron in New York, New Jersey or Chicago.
Writers like to throw around the phrase “leaving $30 million on the table” when referring to home/away max contracts, but that number is misleading. Through the first five years of the deal, the difference is ‘only’ $4 million. It’s that (extra) sixth year that makes up most of the difference in the total value of the contract, but players would presumably still be able to re-sign for a good amount of money. So really, the difference in the home/away contracts is this:
Diff = $4 million + $25.3 million – E
where:
E = expected value of first year of next contract
For a player like Johnson, who would be 33 after the final year of a five-year contract, the value of E would be quite a bit less than someone like LeBron, who would be 30 after the final year of a five-year deal. Assuming both players stay healthy, Johnson would be leaving more money on the table than LeBron would by signing a max deal with an away team.
Before free agency started, Stephen A. Smith reported that a LeBron/Wade/Bosh combo in Miami was pretty much a done deal.
As everyone knows, I reported last week on my morning drive show on Fox Sports Radio that LeBron James would join Dwayne Wade in Miami and take Chris Bosh with him to join the Heat.
Now, of course, that trio joining forces in Miami doesn’t seem to have legs, and Bill Simmons had some fun at Smith’s expense on his Twitter feed:
Stephen A. Smith is reporting that Stephen A. Smith’s report was incorrect. http://stephena.com/?p=953
Oldest trick in book: Report something is done, and if you’re wrong, claim it WAS done but something last minute derailed it. Child please.
What is Simmons talking about? Here’s what Smith said ‘derailed’ the deal:
At the moment, that is still very possible, but there’s been a potentially huge monkey wrench thrown into the equation — with (understandable) greed on the part of Bosh being the main culprit.
It was shocking news at the time, so it’s not a huge surprise that the report seems to have fallen apart at the seams.
What’s interesting is that Simmons has been silent on Dan Le Batard’s report that there was a trade in place bringing Chris Bosh to Miami.
Ira Winderman reports the following on his Twitter feed…
Potentially staggering news, Dwyane Wade is poised to meet again tonight with the Bulls, likely in the presence of his agent.
For a time, it seemed like Wade was one of the few top free agents that would stay put. Now it looks like he may bolt to Chicago after indicating all summer that he planned to stay in Miami.
This is a strange turn of events, and Pat Riley has to be feeling the heat. (No pun intended.) Not only is he potentially going to lose his star player, but Wade’s free agency courtship is undercutting the Heat’s ability to sell the idea of playing with Wade in South Florida.
And didn’t he just badmouth the Bulls franchise a few days ago?
Update: Chad Ford has a source that says that Wade is leaning towards signing with the Bulls.
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