Salmons to opt out of contract with Milwaukee

[Lucky17]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/67360/20100622/salmons_tells_bucks_hes_opting_out/

By leaving $5.8 million on the table, he'll become a free agent. I doubt he gets more than that in the first year of his new contract, but he ought to command several years' worth of some team's full MLE.

I was under the impression that he was doing this to get a long-term deal from Milwaukee, but perhaps he wants to play the market. A possible target for Ainge this offseason?

[Who]

Milwaukee reportedly offered him a four year extension on top of next year's deal which was roughly the equivalent of an MLE deal.

I can't see him getting any better than that in the open market + Milwaukee is about as good a situation as he could possibly hope for.

I'm not sure why Salmons is opting out of his deal. I see no point to it.

[indeedproceed]

Me thinks maybe Salmons hates him some Milwaukee. Must be the bratwurst.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I wouldn't be surprised if he did get more than the MLE. But then I'm finding it impossible to judge the current NBA market - the decline in revenue, the number of teams with gobs of cap space, the FA franchise players, the impending lock-out, the whiff of desperation in the air...

As for our interest, I'd expect Salmons to be a bad fit here. He's never shown he can find his rhythm in short stints. He's at his best when he has the opportunity to start the game and play long stretches while being given plenty of chances to dominate the ball. (His favorite shot is the off the dribble, pull up jumper.) And even then he strikes me as a poor man's Pierce.

And as good a man defender as he is, he's an equally poor system defender.

[Lucky17]

Milwaukee reportedly offered him a four year extension on top of next year's deal which was roughly the equivalent of an MLE deal.

I can't see him getting any better than that in the open market + Milwaukee is about as good a situation as he could possibly hope for.

I'm not sure why Salmons is opting out of his deal. I see no point to it.

Perhaps the extension negotiations turned acrimonious? Agreed, it's doubtful he's going to get much more than the rumored extension.

[the_Bird]

Seems like every season, there's always one guy who makes a really bad decision in free agency. 

Maybe he figures that the Milwaukee offer is going to be good regardless, so he'll see if one of the teams with cap space that gets spurned by LeBron/Wade/Bosh will panic and make him a dumb offer.  I'd laugh uproriously if New Yorks comes out of this summer with Carlos Boozer and John Salmons instead of LeBron and Bosh. 

Maybe he's looking at the money Ben Gordon got last summer and thinking that should have been him. 

Maybe he just needs to have his ego stroked, and wants to be wooed by other teams. 

[Who]

I wouldn't be surprised if he did get more than the MLE. But then I'm finding it impossible to judge the current NBA market - the decline in revenue, the number of teams with gobs of cap space, the FA franchise players, the impending lock-out, the whiff of desperation in the air...

As for our interest, I'd expect Salmons to be a bad fit here. He's never shown he can find his rhythm in short stints. He's at his best when he has the opportunity to start the game and play long stretches while being given plenty of chances to dominate the ball. (His favorite shot is the off the dribble, pull up jumper.) And even then he strikes me as a poor man's Pierce.

And as good a man defender as he is, he's an equally poor system defender.

Yeah, I wouldn't want the Celtics to sign Salmons either.

Too many doubts about whether or not he would fit in. He might but it's not worth the risk. There's a stronger chance that it goes the other way + their other players available in free agency who are more of a sure thing. Better value.

Plus, Salmons will be 31 near the start of next season which makes him a bad candidate for a 5 year MLE deal ... especially for a club like the Celtics that are going to have to undergo a major rebuilding process in the near future.

[Lucky17]

Interesting. Just saw that those Maggette rumors appear to be real, and that Bell and Gadzuric are heading to Golden State in exchange. Rotoworld is reporting the deal is done.

So, that's probably it. Salmons heard about the Maggette deal, and decided to move on.

[Cman]

Interesting. Just saw that those Maggette rumors appear to be real, and that Bell and Gadzuric are heading to Golden State in exchange. Rotoworld is reporting the deal is done.

So, that's probably it. Salmons heard about the Maggette deal, and decided to move on.

.. or when the Bucks realized Salmons was opting out, they pulled the trigger on the Maggette deal.

[Lucky17]

Interesting. Just saw that those Maggette rumors appear to be real, and that Bell and Gadzuric are heading to Golden State in exchange. Rotoworld is reporting the deal is done.

So, that's probably it. Salmons heard about the Maggette deal, and decided to move on.

.. or when the Bucks realized Salmons was opting out, they pulled the trigger on the Maggette deal.

Touché. I wonder who blinked first?

[twinbree]

Some of these players are getting carried away with the opting out - Tyson Chandler, Matt Barnes, now Salmons are all considering it. The market is already choked with FAs and after the top 5 or 6 are signed, I'm sure GMs will be very conservative with the contracts they give out.