bajaden
Hall of Famer
I think I have riased this before! Good defensive Cs are the best paid types after superstars!
Take a look at the likes of Bynum, Okafor, Chandler, a 37 year old Camby, Noah, Biedris etc and you will realise that this is the going price for that type of player and rightly so as they are the most valuable asset on a team after the superstar!
Under the current conditions, your right. But those conditions are going to change with the new CBA. And most likely, player salaries will be going down along with the amount of guaranteed years. So even if we could do an extension, it would be just plain stupid to pay a player 12 to 14 mil a year when you could have had him for 7 or 8 mil a year just by waiting. Yes, I'm just speculating on the 7 or 8 mil, because I have no idea where it will end up. Its possible that under the new agreement, that in a four year deal, only the first two years will be guaranteed with the remaining two being a team option. Sign him to an extension right now and all four years would be guaranteed. Which means that if he blows out a knee in his second year, your still stuck with his contract for the next two years. And its a contract worth around 14 mil a year.
So waiting is the prudent thing to do. We still retain his Bird rights, if there are Bird rights after the new CBA is in place. But if there are, then the Kings will have the advantage of being able to offer him more than anyone else. Its all so very confusing. I think I'll go drink a cervesa to help clear my mind.