2018-19 NBA Off-Season

Half-baked thought: Is LeBron (and, to a lesser extent, Chris Paul) hurt by his position in the players’ union? As the heads of the union, I feel like they’re de facto required to take full contracts at the peak rate. Taking less would be actively harmful to the union. Meanwhile, the Warriors have multiple all-NBA guys taking discounts. LeBron and Paul can’t compete with that.

 

Chris Paul left a lot on money on the table when he left the Clippers. He negotiated a system that would reward player in his position and then didn't use it.

 

So the Eastern Conference is now Boston and... did I already say Boston?

 

Philly. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Sunday was the greatest day in Raptors history.

 

Damnit

Forgot about Philly

 

Thinking on it more, I think the injury might be more serious than the hand-wringers (myself absolutely included) are acknowledging. A return to playing doesn't equate to returning at 100%, and I think the contract reflects that.

I think the Warriors threw out a super-lowball offer - basically the value of not having him on the Lakers or Celtics - and offers from other teams didn't materialize. I'm sure Boogie wanted max money, but no one was willing to give it to him because of the injury. So he took what he could and bet on himself that he could contribute and prove he's healthy. He'll leave in a year, with a ring and hopefully healthy, for a max deal on a 39-win team.

 

Exactly. There's a very good chance Boogie is never the same player, and either way he's probably missing half the season. No one was going to offer him anything close to the deal he could get healthy.

 

Boogie in the D-League is going to be an awesome sight.

 

That's one theory I've seen floated. If CP3 doesn't demand - and get - a max contract to look union strong, the Rockets don't lose Azaira (sp).

 

LeBron has taken less money from both Miami and Cleveland over the years.

 

Boogie says he had no other offers

https://deadspin.com/demarcus-cousins-says-he-had-no-other-offers-1827313494