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Paul George gets MAX ... is he the next Rudy?

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  • Paul George gets MAX ... is he the next Rudy?

    The Indiana Pacers have signed young star forward Paul George to a five-year maximum contract extension through the 2018-19 season, sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

    The Pacers are expected to announce the deal Wednesday.

    Contract terms will not be finalized until the extension kicks in next year, but George is expected to be guaranteed about $80 million. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, George can increase the value of the contract to more than $90 million if he makes an All-NBA team or wins an MVP award after this upcoming season.

    Locking up George to a long-term extension was a priority before training camp for the Pacers. He won the 2012-13 Most Improved Player Award (after earning his first All-Star berth), averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He was also named to the league's all-defensive team.

    George is the second player from the 2010 draft class to sign a maximum extension, joining the Washington Wizards' John Wall.

    Source
    I don't know about this ... George is good.. but giving a MAX contract to a 23 year old ...
    And this contract is actually worth $7M more than Rudy's was.

    What do you guys think? Is Paul George worth $18M a year?

  • #2
    He won't get 18 mil a year unless he makes another All-NBA team next year. And if he does make an All-NBA team, then that kind of answers the question, he would easily be worth the money in that case. He'd be a top 6 forward 2 years in a row. Which would be special considering how stacked the forward positions are right now in the NBA. Bosh has only made an All-NBA team once so far. So, yeah.

    If he doesn't make All-NBA next year, then he's making 80/5, with starting salary at around 14.5 mil, average salary at 16 mil. Which isn't a major risk considering how young he is and how good he was this year. Besides, the cap / tax will keep increasing every year from now on, which will make it easier on the Pacers.

    I think it's a very easy choice for them. Little risk. He might get injured of course, but that goes for every player.

    I'm just a bit surprised that they didn't manage to negotiate it down a little. Not because it's a bad deal, but because the Pacers were in command here. They are the only ones who can offer him 90 mil. Major props to George's agent, if these reports are correct. Still, if the choice was to give that extension or wait till the summer, they made the right choice IMO.

    Comment


    • #3
      BobLoblaw wrote: View Post
      He won't get 18 mil a year unless he makes another All-NBA team next year. And if he does make an All-NBA team, then that kind of answers the question, he would easily be worth the money in that case. He'd be a top 6 forward 2 years in a row. Which would be special considering how stacked the forward positions are right now in the NBA. Bosh has only made an All-NBA team once so far. So, yeah.

      If he doesn't make All-NBA next year, then he's making 80/5, with starting salary at around 14.5 mil, average salary at 16 mil. Which isn't a major risk considering how young he is and how good he was this year. Besides, the cap / tax will keep increasing every year from now on, which will make it easier on the Pacers.

      I think it's a very easy choice for them. Little risk. He might get injured of course, but that goes for every player.

      I'm just a bit surprised that they didn't manage to negotiate it down a little. Not because it's a bad deal, but because the Pacers were in command here. They are the only ones who can offer him 90 mil. Major props to George's agent, if these reports are correct. Still, if the choice was to give that extension or wait till the summer, they made the right choice IMO.
      This is exactly what I was thinking; just surprised they couldn't get him for less.
      Great points everywhere else though.

      However, to the second part of the bold, if they're going to offer him Max, why not just wait and see if he gets anywhere close to that on the open market? Max is still Max, right?

      But I guess the CBA was done the way it was so teams like the Pacers can keep players .. but it was also to protect small market teams from biting off more than they can chew .. I guess George had a slightly better season than Rudy did the year he got Maxed, so hopefully George can live up to it.

      Comment


      • #4
        If they wait, then other teams will offer him a 3+1 (player option) 60 mil deal, so it's a risk. Should they lock him up for 5 years, or should they get a few mil/year discount and let him become a free agent in 3 years? Also, does George take it as disrespect, like Kevin Love did?

        I thought they'd manage to have him waive the Rose portion of the contract (take 80 mil, no All-NBA bonus). Or at least part of it. But if that wasn't possible, then I think they did the right thing to lock him up for 5 years.

        Btw, maybe he did waive part of the Rose bonus? Full Rose contract would be ~95 mil. We'll know these details soon enough, I guess.

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        • #5
          Doesn't this contract go against trend? I guess the Pacers are confident with their team as is. I was expecting a 12-14 Mill contract. I guess it's not that much more, but this contract doesn't exactly give the Pacers much flexibility to add to a team that needed to improve their bench... They must really like the moves they made over the summer to fix that bench.

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          • #6
            Brandon wrote:
            Now, all of this is part of the post-19th century idea that non-economists have that markets don't work, freedom doesn't work, and we need legislation to repair freedom's faults. So, to make sure that the teams that don't have the very best players can compete with the teams that do, the NBA has legislated a system heavy on rules and regulations. As a result, the team with the best player has been to 3 straight finals and won the past 2 championships.
            Of course it doesn't work, if they want to maximize profits, which they do.

            Re soccer example, soccer teams lose a bunch of money, btw.

            Comment


            • #7
              The NBA is full of high stakes gamblers. The Pacers will do this because they feel strongly that someone else will make such an offer if they don't. Most guys who get max money turn out to be overpaid when compared to the absolutely best players in the league but owners can't help themselves. No doubt if the league was collectively more responsible with their spending the Pacers would not need to make such a play but I get what they're doing. It's 50/50 odds on if this pans out in my opinion.

              Comment


              • #8
                BobLoblaw wrote: View Post
                If they wait, then other teams will offer him a 3+1 (player option) 60 mil deal, so it's a risk. Should they lock him up for 5 years, or should they get a few mil/year discount and let him become a free agent in 3 years? Also, does George take it as disrespect, like Kevin Love did?

                I thought they'd manage to have him waive the Rose portion of the contract (take 80 mil, no All-NBA bonus). Or at least part of it. But if that wasn't possible, then I think they did the right thing to lock him up for 5 years.

                Btw, maybe he did waive part of the Rose bonus? Full Rose contract would be ~95 mil. We'll know these details soon enough, I guess.
                Thank you for pointing out why team's give max RFAs extensions before they hit FA. Very risky to let the player go to FA and get a 3+1 offer from the Lakers, and you match it. Then you've got a guy that clearly doesn't want to be in Indiana, wants to be in LA, and will likely go there in 3 years after his contract is up.

                Now they have George for 5 years to try and win a title with.

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                • #9
                  I'm a little surprised by this. I think George really emerged as a superstar this past season and playoffs. He started off a little slow but I'd say the last 55 games or so+playoffs he was probably a top 5 player. I think he's worth the max and I think Indiana can still remain contenders. They showed last season they were almost on par with Miami and now with some depth and experience, I'd say it's very reasonable they could win a title. He'll only get better and has superb defense and has shown he can lead an offence with some consistency. I think Indiana made a great choice locking him up.

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                  • #10
                    BobLoblaw wrote: View Post
                    I'm just a bit surprised that they didn't manage to negotiate it down a little. Not because it's a bad deal, but because the Pacers were in command here. They are the only ones who can offer him 90 mil.
                    I understand your angle, however, thats looking at it from a position of not knowing the relationship there. George might be a great team guy, good person, plays by the rules as it pertains to media, public appearances and community service. Indiana management might simply like him, appreciate he wants to be there, and were simply happy to reward him.

                    It isn't always an adversarial negotiation. George is worth good money, and if he's a great dude for the organization, the benefit of giving him a bit more might just be that, a reward.

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                    • #11
                      Xixak wrote: View Post
                      Thank you for pointing out why team's give max RFAs extensions before they hit FA. Very risky to let the player go to FA and get a 3+1 offer from the Lakers, and you match it. Then you've got a guy that clearly doesn't want to be in Indiana, wants to be in LA, and will likely go there in 3 years after his contract is up.

                      Now they have George for 5 years to try and win a title with.
                      Right, but I'm sure this was exactly the same mindset that Atlanta had when they signed Joe Johnson to Max, and Memphis with Rudy Gay. While I can appreciate and understand the desire to not lose a player for nothing, I believe the risk to be just as great going the other way, where you're stuck with a player, on the hook for everything.

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                      • #12
                        I don't think he is the next Rudy Gay based on his current production.

                        After just 3 years in the league he has shown to be much more efficient and versatile than Rudy.

                        I'm not sure if he is worth MAX money but I'd rather pay him max than Rudy because he brings much more to the table.

                        Plus he has just 3 years under his belt and is only 23. With Rudy - eyes or no eyes - I think you know what you are getting. There is a ceiling with George that has not yet been reached.

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                        • #13
                          I think it's a gamble that Indiana had to take.. similar to Houston's gamble in trading for Harden and giving him a max contract. With Houston it looks like it paid off (they were able to get Howard because they already had Harden and Harden exceeded expectations in his first year in Houston).

                          Memphis had to gamble on Gay to keep him.. a small market team has to do that. It didn't work out for them but they were able to trade him pretty easily. If Indiana wanted to flip George in 3-4 years I'm sure it would be doable.

                          The problem with Indiana though is that they have two players on their roster getting the max. Those are two good players but not elite (well George isn't yet).. and that could backfire on Indiana. We'll see what happens.

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                          • #14
                            It will be interesting to see how they solve their 2nd wing problem next year. Will they be able to afford Lance Stephenson? Will they have to pair George with a rookie? They could have a formidable team this year if Granger is healthy. But if they miss this chance to win, they might not have another one quite as good for a long time.

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                            • #15
                              Apparently he did take a paycut (compared to the full Rose max), but they also gave him a player option. Yuck. I wonder how big is the paycut.

                              Mark Montieth ‏@MarkMontieth 4h

                              @TimDonahue8p9s @PacersScribe He said he got a max deal, but not the "ultimate" number he could have gotten.


                              Mark Montieth ‏@MarkMontieth 4h

                              Fifth year of Paul George deal is a player option, so he can leave after four if he wants. "I doubt that will be the case," he said.

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