Those of you who are saying $7... in the real NBA world, is there really any difference between $7 and $8M? Does that mean your #8 & #9 guys in the rotation have to take a pay cut? That you pay luxury tax? What is the real difference? Serious question, not a rhetorical one. I've blasted IT more than I've supported him but I'm not gonna begrudge him getting paid properly after last year.
Seriously if you want a player - a real piece - at $7M, don't you also want him at $8M?
If IT gets paid less than $8M after what he did last year he should definitely fire his agent.
not necessarily, because there's a fair amount of difference between $7 million
per year and $8 million
per year across several seasons, especially when you're brushing up with the possibility of having to pay out for the increasingly punitive luxury tax. salary cap management has become an art form in the nba, and if we're talking about a player that the front office considers to be a major component of the future, then i'm sure they won't be shy about writing the checks. now, is isaiah thomas one such player? i dunno. i suppose we'll find out...
really, the danger is not so much in overpaying to keep a single quality talent, but rather in stacking up hefty contracts for mid-level players (as the kings have been doing for almost a decade now), leaving the team with little flexibility and not much to build on. hopefully the new regime learned a lesson from the carl landry deal; you don't throw money around in desperation, not for roleplayers, not for "locker room guys," not even for the sake of "culture."
of course, the line is much, much blurrier with respect to isaiah thomas. he's not a star, nor is he a scrub. he's a first class scorer, but he's also undersized and a very weak defender. he's a capable playmaker, but there are questions about whether or not he can make his teammates better, particularly if there are other scorers whom he should defer to in the offensive hierarchy...
so what do you pay him?
I see him as a long-term sixth man, so
I pay him MLE money. but perhaps the front office sees him as a long-term starter, in which case they may be willing to write a larger check. then again, we've heard rumors that PDA already has a figure in mind for IT, a figure that i'm assuming he won't exceed, as was the case with tyreke evans. if nothing else, it should an interesting offseason. then again, we had an interesting offseason last year, too. i suppose my only hope is that it's not another
disappointing offseason...
