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Tag: 2010 NBA free agency (Page 8 of 57)
On Monday, I wrote a long piece about how Michael Jordan’s assertion that he never would have called Larry Bird or Magic Johnson up and figured out a way to join forces with them isn’t a fair comparison to Miami’s new Super Friends.
Now Magic Johnson is getting into the act, per Bloomberg News:
“We didn’t think about it cause that’s not what we were about,” said Johnson, whose Michigan State squad beat Bird’s Indiana State team in the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. “From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird.”
“It was never a question in our mind because nobody has ever done that,” he said.
So which is it, Magic? You didn’t think about it because that’s not what you were about or because nobody had ever done it before? Because those are two completely different reasons not to do something.
While Michael’s comparison holds a little bit of water since the Bulls didn’t look like a championship-caliber team until after his fourth season (when he signed his eight-year deal), Magic Johnson joined a stacked Lakers team and won a title as a rookie. In fact, he won two titles in his first three years and went to eight Finals in his first 10 years (winning five titles total). What about that situation gives him the perspective to comment on LeBron’s decision to leave Cleveland to chase a ring? Of course he didn’t try to join forces with Larry or Michael — HE WAS ALREADY ON A STACKED TEAM.
Next up, Larry Bird. Let’s get this over with.
(By the way, I’m still trying to figure out who Chris Bosh is supposed to be in this comparison. He’s a good player, but Larry or Magic he’s not.)
According to Marc Stein, Richard Jefferson will officially back with the Spurs sometime soon.
This is the week, by all accounts, that San Antonio and Richard Jefferson will complete the restructured deal that we’ve all assumed had to be forthcoming since Jefferson stunningly opted out of a $15 million salary for next season on the eve of free agency. The specifics in terms of years and dollars remain unknown, but I’ve been assured that Jefferson will officially be back with the Spurs quite soon.
In describing his decision to leave $15 million on the table, the word ‘stunning’ is totally appropriate. Jefferson sees himself as a 20-point scorer in an up-tempo offense, but the rest of the league sees him as a 30-year-old aging athlete who averaged 12 points a game last season. He probably thought he’d get a deal in the four- or five-year range at $9-$10 million a season, but it looks like he’s going to have to settle for quite a bit less. He did the Spurs a favor by opting out, so maybe they’ll treat him well.
Matt Barnes announced via Twitter that he was going to join the Raptors on a two-year deal worth $10 million. Yay! But wait, the Raptors already used the bulk of their mid-level exception on Linas Kleiza. They must be working out a sign-and-trade with Orlando. Yay! But wait…
The Magic, though, are prevented by salary-cap rules from starting a sign-and-trade deal for Barnes at higher than $2 million, because Orlando doesn’t have Barnes’ full Bird rights after employing him for only one season. A sign-and-trade deal would also have to span at least three years, although only the first year is required to be guaranteed.
Barnes was initially believed to be on the verge of signing with a title contender late last week — such as Miami, Boston or the Los Angeles Lakers — when the Raptors made an aggressive late rush to join the bidding.
Barnes also gave serious consideration in recent days to the Cleveland Cavaliers before talks with Toronto got serious.
How do Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors miss this? Aren’t they paid to understand the salary cap and its rules?
For at least a year now, we’ve been hearing people criticize LeBron for potentially (and now actually) leaving the Cavs to play with another superstar. One of the arguments they often bring up is how Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson would never have left Chicago, Boston or L.A. to form a dynasty elsewhere.
Now, even Jordan has said that he wouldn’t have called those guys up and tried to join forces.
“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,’ ” Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. “But that’s … things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”
Skip Bayless, in his infinite wisdom, has been saying this for months, and took this moment to gloat a bit about what MJ said.
“Michael said, ‘I’m going to stay in Chicago.'”
In September of 1988, coming off his first MVP, Jordan signed an eight-year deal worth $25 million. (Soak those numbers in for a moment…the greatest player ever to play the game made about $3 million a season in his prime. Amazing.) The Bulls were 50-32 the previous season (Scottie Pippen’s first year in the league) and were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. So his playing situation was not unlike LeBron’s, though I don’t think too many NBA stars would choose the city of Cleveland over Chicago.
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