ESPN Insider on Dampier Trade

[Evilmav2]

I haven't seen this on any of the Dampier threads, so apologies if I am reposting this.

Teams might regret summer spending sprees

By Chad Ford

ESPN Insider


And so it ends the way it begins.

In big hat Dallas -- where the steaks are big and the wallet of Mark Cuban is even bigger.

NBA owners went wild this summer. It all started in Dallas on July 1st with unrestricted free agent Steve Nash. It all ended Tuesday, in Dallas, with the Mavs pulling off a sign-and-trade for Erick Dampier.

In the span of seven weeks, NBA teams handed out more than a billion dollars worth of contracts. Enjoy it while it lasts. In the short term, having guys like Dampier or Nash will make fans happy. In six years, when these guys are broken down or washed up, fans will rue that day teams opened their wallets.


Cuban

On July 1st, Mavs owner Mark Cuban sat down with Nash and offered him a five-year, $45 million deal with $41.5 million guaranteed. At the time Cuban thought he was paying market value for Nash.

Within hours, Cuban got a return call from Nash. The Suns were offering a six-year, $65 million deal with $60 million guaranteed. Cuban gagged, calling it a "max-type contract". Within a few minutes, Nash was shaking hands with Jerry Colangelo and the Mavericks had lost their starting point guard.

It was about that time that Cuban, one of the NBA's last big spenders, began preaching fiscal responsibility in basketball, calling the Suns contract a "crazy offer".

Cuban, in his weblog, claimed that the idea of giving a 30-year-old player a near-max deal was unprecedented. He fretted over Nash's durability. He claimed that the collective bargaining agreement was coming up for renewal, meaning that older players getting huge contracts would become untradeable. He claimed that cap flexibility was more important than signing a player who would only go downhill as his career went on.

"If you sign a player to a long-term, high dollar contract, the expectation has to be that you will not be able to trade that person ever. He will play out his contract. If at some point in that contract, the player no longer plays at the level he was at when the contract was signed, you have a huge problem."

Nash's agent, Bill Duffy, shrugged his shoulders. "He underestimated Steve and he underestimated the market," Duffy told Insider on July 2nd. "I think you're going to see contracts going up, not down this year."

Duffy was right. Cuban had misjudged the market. Nash's deal with the Suns was just a sign of things to come. The flood gates had opened.

Within a day, Cuban, in a effort to salvage the summer, offered Marquis Daniels a six-year, $37 million contract. Daniels was an undrafted rookie last season.

Adonal Foyle got five years, $41.6 million -- guaranteed. In his seven-year career, Foyle has never averaged more than 5.9 ppg and 7 rpg. Last season, he averaged 3.1 ppg and 3.8 rpg. In the 2008-09 season, he'll be making $9.8 million.

Mehmet Okur, who could barely crack Larry Brown's rotation toward the end of the season, got a six-year, $50 million contract from the Jazz.

Just days later Carlos Boozer, who was a second-round pick two years ago, pulled down a six-year, $68 million contract from the normally fiscally responsible Jazz.

Kenyon Martin got $91 million from the Nuggets, forcing the Nets into a sign-and-trade.

Jamal Crawford got six years, $60 million from Isiah Thomas.

Brian Cardinal, a career reserve, got six years, $34 million from Jerry West despite averaging just 1.9 ppg in his first three years in the league.

Derek Fisher, who didn't even start for the Lakers last season, netted $37 million for six years despite being 30-years-old. His numbers have been dropping the past four seasons.

The beat goes on and on. By the end of the summer, Nash's deal with Phoenix actually started to look reasonable.

But nothing tops Cuban's finale. After preaching all summer that it was irresponsible to offer aging players max-type deals. After claiming that cap flexibility was important. After claiming that he had to protect the Mavs' business interests, Mark Cuban blinked.

The seven-year, $73 million contract offer to Dampier truly is "crazy." Dampier, who, come to find out, is only 29, not 30, is coming off a career year. For the first time since 1998, he averaged more than 10 points a game or 28 mpg. For this first time in his career he averaged more than 10 rpg a game. For the fifth time in six years, he finished the year on the injured list. He did all of that on one of the worst teams in the league last season.

Numerous teams, including the Grizzlies and Pacers, coveted Dampier. Only one other team, however, the free-spending Knicks, was seriously considering paying Dampier those type of numbers. Like Nash, there are serious questions about Dampier's durability. He's played in fewer games and for less minutes than Nash has over the past three years. Unlike Nash, there are also serious questions about Dampier's motivation. Everyone believes there was direct correlation between Damp's performance and the fact that he was in a contract year.

Nash is a winner. A team leader on a team that legitimately competed for a championship the past few years. Dampier is a tough, physical big man who has never played a playoff game. Nash wasn't worth $10 million a season over five years. Dampier, apparently, is worth more than $10 million a season over seven.

Big men have always come at premium and, given the market this year, Dampier's deal sounds just about right. He was a top-four center in the league last season behind only Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming and Ben Wallace. Dallas desperately needed a tough, physical big man and Dampier was the ONLY one available.

In the short term, the move was a slam dunk. Dallas moves itself back into contention in the West. In the long term? Maybe Cuban was prophetic.

The collective bargaining agreement will change. Contract terms will likely be shorter. Luxury-tax penalties will likely be stiffer. Aging or overpaid players with long-term contracts will be untradeable for years. Two or three years from now, when Dampier is playing 45 games a year and is back to averaging around 7 ppg and 6 rpg -- Mavs fans won't be as happy.

They won't be the only ones.

"Anyone who says that owners don't need the luxury tax anymore, look at this summer," one NBA executive told Insider. "We've all screwed ourselves and we did it, because there was talk, speculation really, that we wouldn't have a luxury tax next season. Now, with the way we've all been spending, even that's now in doubt. Two years from now, a lot of people are going to look back on this summer as a disaster. The teams that were conservative will come out winners in the long run."

Maybe Cuban, in July, was right after all. The probability of a luxury tax next season is estimated to be around 30 percent now, due in large part to the summer spending spree of owners. If the luxury tax hits, owners will respond by tightening budgets, ordering GMs to make cap-cutting trades and refusing to sign or re-sign free agents in the future.

Nash and Dampier got their money this summer. But it may be the fans in Phoenix and Dallas who'll have to pay for it in the long term.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

[lonny22]

I get tired of this CRAP!! Millionaire and billionaire owners buy these NBA teams. They spend a lot of money and if they want to save money, they make trades and cuts. The players get what they can and the owners pay what they're willing to pay.

I don't care if an owner decides he wants a Bentley or a Hyundai when it comes to players. Why do so many people worry about how so many other people spend their money. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY! Every person alive knows he has less money buying the Bentley, but if he's happy with it, I have no problem with it.

As far as our local owner, he has good reasons for his spending. Nash was broke and was never going to be fixed. The injuries and time away will increase over time. He will drop off in production. They obviously thought they had somebody in Harris or they would've panicked more to sign Nash. They knew they had a decent chance to get a PG for Walker.

The Mavs built incentives into Dampier's contract to keep him motivated. They also didn't pay him as much as Chad Ford says. They need 4-5 good years from him and trading players has never been a problem. Having Avery around will help him and I think he will really produce her.

[HexNBA]

And besides, last year, weren't all those sports writers going "wow I cant believe Dallas got rid of so and so's contract" (Raef and others). I'm sure Dallas will find a way to get rid of Dampier if they need to.

[nowitzki_prophecy]

If Dampier proves his got game,than he'll have at least 3-4 good years,and 3 years is apparantly something Cuban is ready to absorb to win a championship.
But i still think Ford is wrong,Cuban actualy made this team with enough talent to pull us for a long time : Dirk is signed through 2007 and will probably sign an extension,Harris is signed through 2008,Quise 2009,Howard 2008,and if PPod actualy developes into something that could do some damage,we have a 7'4 C signed through 2009(but maybe thats overly optimistic).
The point is,though you have some contracts that may tie you down,like Finley or Dampier,he still managed to build you a team to grow with this team and be a team for the future.. We have a lot of talent on this team.

I rather have JT/Harris and a true Center for a couple of good years,than have Nash for a couple of years and still a hole in the middle.
We were moving in a circle for a couple of good years ,but now,i actualy think we have one hell of a roster,we really have a chance.

[GP]

What is the most annoying thing to me about these sportswriters is that a very good player like Jason Kidd can get hurt and then the owners are labeled idiots for paying them in the first place. They do this all over the league. They are always saying its such a bad contract how could you ruin your team but in the same article they will trash some team like Atlanta or Golden State for being cheap. These guys truely have their cake and get to eat it. They never, never, never are consistent. They change their opinions on a daily basis and say or write things just to hear themselves talk. I hate the whole damned lot of them.


edit: damned homonyms