A rare occurrence is any profession, let alone for a athlete.

Quote :

""I didn't even think I was worth max (money) this year anyway," Jefferson said at a press conference on Thursday. "I would've been a fool to go up there and ask for max, having not really proved myself for that. So the number I got was the number that was my goal from Day 1. And I think it was a win, win situation.""

Dwight Howard signed for the max - 5 years, 85 million. 17 million a year. He is far and away the best player from the draft class and is still only 21. Few would argue that he's not worth it.

Al Jefferson is 22 and viewed as one of the best young bigs in the league. He was the central piece the the KG deal, so Minnesota obviously thought very highly of him. He signed for 5 years, 65 million. 13 million a year.

This is roughly what the Bobcats offered Emeka Okafor. He is 25 and is injured several times a season. He is a solid player no doubt, but has nowhere the upside of either Howard or Jefferson. He wants the same contract as Howard, 17 million a year. He will play this season on the last year of his rookie deal and then be a restricted free agent next summer, meaning the Bobcats can match any offer. He could blow up for 20, 12, and 3 blocks and play 75 games or he could get hurt again and tank.

Charlotte can't afford a repeat of the Alonzo Mourning departure to its already apathetic fanbase. I'm hoping we're able to work something out without having to give him the same money as Howard got. If he ends up leaving and the teams continues to struggle, it could be a long time before anyone in Charlotte gets excited about the the NBA again.

11/2/2007 8:30:07 AM

good for AJ, realizing that he hasn't really done anything more than show great potential...

as for Okafor...he's really bothering me. I know it's about supporting himself and his family, but there is no way he deserves even close to a max deal. Why spend a bunch of money on a guy who has basically reached the heights of his potential, doesn't have much of an offensive game, and spends half the season on the bench with injuries? Defensively, he's a beast, but unless he can stay on the court and be a legit offensive threat, why does he deserve any more than AJ got?

[Edited on November 2, 2007 at 8:44 AM. Reason : ?]

11/2/2007 8:41:55 AM

I'm pretty sure if people can manage to find ways to support a family on like 40K a year he should have no problem doing it on a couple million a year, its more like thinking he is better than he really is compared to some of the other guys. Max money should really only goto a handful of players, if you arent considered the best player at your position then why should you be getting paid as such?

11/2/2007 9:37:16 AM

I figured Okafor was waiting to see how good this team was gonna be this year with the addition of J-Rich...Emeka is a very solid player...70 games, 15 points, 11 boards, 2 blocks a game...not Dwight Howard though

Quote :

""I plan to be here -- I love the city, I love the team, I love the staff. It's just a matter of time for things to work out," he said after the last practice before tonight's season opener against Milwaukee. "The Bobcats were fair and reasonable, but I've always been a goal-driven person. I've always had high expectations for the team and myself. I want to attain that. That's just the way basketball is sometimes." While the Bobcats' contract offer was attractive, it wasn't sufficient for Okafor to accept. A source familiar with the discussions confirmed the Bobcats offered nearly $13 million a season, which would have made Okafor the highest-paid player in team history. The source said Okafor wanted something approaching the five-year, $85 million maximum contract Dwight Howard signed with the Orlando Magic in July. "

11/2/2007 9:42:13 AM

has okafor even made an all star team? Wtf is he thinking wanting dwight howard money, when he is older, not as talented, and injured half the damn time?

11/2/2007 10:07:03 AM

11/2/2007 10:23:59 AM

Quote :

"He signed for 5 years, 65 million. 13 million a year."

What a generous SOB....give me a break.

Albert Pujols is arguably the top player in his sport and he took $10 Million a year and plays double the amount of games.

11/2/2007 11:00:38 AM

pujols also married a single mother whose child has downs. he just may be the best rich guy in the world.

11/2/2007 1:29:36 PM

^^ homer

11/2/2007 1:31:06 PM

Dwight Howard is awesome.

11/2/2007 1:46:45 PM

gg Al Jefferson

11/2/2007 2:09:50 PM

fwiw i saw some picture one time of pujols in a tank top...its pretty obvious he is not on steroids...dude just looks like a fatass

11/2/2007 3:34:31 PM

Quote :

"Albert Pujols is arguably the top player in his sport and he took $10 Million a year and plays double the amount of games"

yeah, double the amount of games with half the amount of effort (compared to a pro basketball player)

I don't want to turn this into a sport vs. sport thread, but baseball is a lazy man's sport where you can play just as effectively drunk as you can sober. so don't bring in this "double the amount of games" BS.

Okafor deserves to get paid, yeah, but maybe not even as much as G-Force.

11/2/2007 4:34:58 PM

Ehh maybe but the salaries on average are higher in MLB for that comparison. Pujols could have easily gotten $20 million or more.

11/2/2007 4:37:01 PM

BASKETBALL PLAYERS AREN'T AS SMART AS DOCTORS

DOCTORS SHOULD MAKE $1000000000 BILLION PER YEAR

shut up

11/2/2007 4:38:00 PM

Duncan just did it too but I think it's cheating he just trying to improve his legacy by letting his team cheat and sine better players so he can win more rings. that's bs the market should decide instead of artificialy stacking teams

11/2/2007 5:19:50 PM

that might be the dumbest post in the history of sports talk

--

Quote :

"im mostly from the ESPN boards where I have over 100,000 posts"

OH it's that guy

[Edited on November 2, 2007 at 5:30 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2007 5:29:36 PM

Actually, the dumbest post in the history of sports talk was

Quote :

"Since when did Miami represent themselves with a bird? Or do I just not know anything about their sports program?"

11/2/2007 5:30:41 PM