First off, I agree with most of what Madman said.
I concede that when Odom IS at his best he is a
franchise guy. But with the infrequency that has happened
over his first three years in the league, I'm not sure
if that's gonna be $13,000,000 material when his
time comes. He hasn't reached his All-Star potential
yet, and who is to say he ever will? You must admit,
for a player of his caliber, Odom is very
lackadasical!<br><br>To me personally, the maximum contracts should be
reserved for the proven winners and All-Stars, not the
"potential" greats because how many guys are there like that
in the league? I'd say 20 or 30 at least - there are
already several others like that on the Clips. Obviously,
guys like T-Mac and KG who signed mega contracts
before they became All-Stars are the exceptions. Then
you've got guys who signed for the max like Ilgauskas,
Stoudamire, Howard, Tim Thomas etc. who are now only
serviceable players - if that.<br><br>And with the luxury tax
affecting all but a few super-rich teams, I don't believe
many teams will offer Odom the max unless he has an
unbelievable year next year. The only teams I think might have
a chance are the Bulls, Mavs, and
Blazers.<br><br>He'd probably love to go to the Knicks, but they'd
have to trade either Spree or Houston to LA, or get
another team involved. And I don't think the Clips are
going to take on one of those big salaries, nor are
they gonna trade him for Travis Knight and Howard
Eisley - then waive both those guys - and a bag with
"$$" on it.<br><br>So if Odom doesn't deserve $13 mil,
then who does? I'll tell you - ELTON BRAND!! The guy
is already an All-Star, he just got punished his
first 2 years for being on such a bad team. And the way
he has seamlessly slipped in and become their best
player night in and night out, that's the kind of
consistent performance that demands the big money!<br><br>I
do agree though that if NONE of our current young
stars are signed to extensions it will be the last
straw for us suffering fans. But I will not blame
Sterling if he re-signs Brand and lowballs - or is forced
to trade - everyone else because let's face it, the
NBA's economic climate is RIDICULOUS.<br><br>Everyone
complains about baseball salaries and the Yankees payroll,
but if all these young guys around the NBA sign for
the max - or even close to it - it's gonna be very
ugly!! Let's look at the numbers:<br><br>Nearly all NBA
teams' payrolls are in the $40-50 million range, going
as high as Portland's $84 million - and that's only
for 15 players! That figure would even be excessive
in baseball (and that's 40 players per team)! And
there is not an epidemic of small-market disparity in
the NBA - even losers like Memphis and Denver are
paying the big money!<br><br>If all these teams were
baseball teams, with more than twice as many mouths to
feed, we'd be talking $80-100 million payrolls
league-wide - only a few baseball teams are that rich. I know
that is a highly hypothetical scenario but if all
these young players sign $10-13 mil contracts the NBA
will become a PR disaster and another strike will
probably end the current trend.<br><br>With any luck, that
will happen before all the young Clips are ready to
re-sign. That way, maybe we'd have a realistic shot at
keeping this exciting team together. Otherwise, I say
face reality and enjoy this while it lasts. I know I
am!