Ray and Shaq reach out to Rip Hamilton

[Fafnir]

Anyone remember how much money Richard Jefferson gave up?

I don't think he was bought out though. He opted out of 15 million or so and then got another longer term deal for more money overall.

[BballTim]

Anyone remember how much money Richard Jefferson gave up?

I don't think he was bought out though. He opted out of 15 million or so and then got another longer term deal for more money overall.

  Wasn't he bought out by Milwaukee? I might be thinking of someone else.

[Chris]

Saw this on the realgm message boards . Would Hamilton really be willing to get bought out to come join the C's? I think its highly doubtful, but Rip was mentioned in the boston globe article yesterday so makes you wonder if it is a real possibility...

In a word...no.  There is no chance they buy him out this season.  They will likely trade him (and may pay a premium to do it), but he is not being bought out of the remaining $20+ million on his deal. 

I am sure theyre not not playing him because his lack of skills, its more a trade desire but what if they didnt trade him
are they going to play him, see the treatment backfire, wait for him to be a gentleman and a proffesional.
Or keep him in the bench for 2 years..
its tough maybe he can agree to buy part of his buy
who knows.

Look at it this way...If they just keep him on the roster, they can likely trade him next year or the year after, and could possibly get a more valuable player in the trade, and could still save a couple million (or much more) if they work the trade right.  Or they can buy him out now, and might save $3 or $4 million, but will have his dead money on their cap for the next 3 years with no way of getting it off the cap.

And then there is the possibility of there being something in the new CBA where they could possibly take him off the cap completely, or something like that.

Rip is not a trouble maker.  He is a classy guy, who is unhappy, but will not be a cancer to his team.  There is absolutely no reason to buy him out and throw away every opportunity to do something more productive with his contract over the next couple of years.

[Lucky17]

Anyone remember how much money Richard Jefferson gave up?

Jefferson opted out of the final year of his old contract, which would have paid him $15.2 million dollars, to sign a new four-year deal that totals just shy of $39 million through 2013-14 (final year of the deal, for $11 mil, is a player option).

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/spurs.jsp

[Chris]

Anyone remember how much money Richard Jefferson gave up?

I don't think he was bought out though. He opted out of 15 million or so and then got another longer term deal for more money overall.

  Wasn't he bought out by Milwaukee? I might be thinking of someone else.

Definitely thinking of someone else.  Jefferson opted out of the last year of his deal, so he could sign a longterm deal under the current CBA...and he did. He gave up money in the short-term, but made it in the longrun.  

Basically, he did the exact same thing Pierce did, but on a smaller scale.  

[Lucky17]

The whole thing about the Rip Hamilton fiasco in Detroit is that Joe Dumars has been conspicuously quiet lately.

Joe initially had a talk with Rip during the first week when Rip was held out of the lineup, but there's been no reports of any further discussion with the front office.

Kuester has to be gone by the end of the year. I had forgotten that Brian Hill is there as an assistant coach. I was watching the Suns-Pistons game this weekend (Detroit made an inspired comeback to win), and during a crunch-time time-out, it was Hill with the clipboard diagramming plays for the team in the huddle, not Kuester.

The body language of that team around Kuester is completely transparent. They cannot stand him.

Detroit risks making Tayshaun Prince another casualty out of this whole affair. He's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. If things don't change, he'll turn his back on that franchise and sign elsewhere. Pistons fans will be devastated.

[bruinsandceltics]

Everyone assuming that Rip is willing to give up 5-10 million dollars to get bought out. That's a ton of money!

Especially given that they're trying to get the team sold, I don't think it can happen until new ownership is in place.

It all comes down to if he wants to play or not. If he does, he would give up some money to play. If he doesn't then he would sit on the bench and collect a lot more money.

Personally if it were me in the Rip situation, I would take the paycut and find somewhere else to play, especially if I have been in the league as long as Rip and had made plenty of money as long as I saved up.

Roughly 5% of your career basketball earnings is a lot to give up. Plus as 'Toine has shown us, we can't assume he's financially secure.

I'm not saying he should or will. I'm just saying what I would do. And I obviously wouldn't manage my money like Mr. Walker.

I would hope that Antoine is the exception not the rule when talking about how professionals handle their earnings.

[Edgar]

Saw this on the realgm message boards . Would Hamilton really be willing to get bought out to come join the C's? I think its highly doubtful, but Rip was mentioned in the boston globe article yesterday so makes you wonder if it is a real possibility...

In a word...no.  There is no chance they buy him out this season.  They will likely trade him (and may pay a premium to do it), but he is not being bought out of the remaining $20+ million on his deal. 

I am sure theyre not not playing him because his lack of skills, its more a trade desire but what if they didnt trade him
are they going to play him, see the treatment backfire, wait for him to be a gentleman and a proffesional.
Or keep him in the bench for 2 years..
its tough maybe he can agree to buy part of his buy
who knows.

Look at it this way...If they just keep him on the roster, they can likely trade him next year or the year after, and could possibly get a more valuable player in the trade, and could still save a couple million (or much more) if they work the trade right.  Or they can buy him out now, and might save $3 or $4 million, but will have his dead money on their cap for the next 3 years with no way of getting it off the cap.

And then there is the possibility of there being something in the new CBA where they could possibly take him off the cap completely, or something like that.

Rip is not a trouble maker.  He is a classy guy, who is unhappy, but will not be a cancer to his team.  There is absolutely no reason to buy him out and throw away every opportunity to do something more productive with his contract over the next couple of years.

Yes that sounds totally right now that you put  it that way.
Everytime a player like him is avaiblable its tough to see him out of reach and its nice to find a way. But when its not logical is not.
Now they still can find another team with cap space. I agree with lucky that detroit is a mess right now
they overvalue stat insert bad word here, stuckey and theyre paying the price of horrible horrible moves

[Chris]

Everyone assuming that Rip is willing to give up 5-10 million dollars to get bought out. That's a ton of money!

Especially given that they're trying to get the team sold, I don't think it can happen until new ownership is in place.

It all comes down to if he wants to play or not. If he does, he would give up some money to play. If he doesn't then he would sit on the bench and collect a lot more money.

Personally if it were me in the Rip situation, I would take the paycut and find somewhere else to play, especially if I have been in the league as long as Rip and had made plenty of money as long as I saved up.

Roughly 5% of your career basketball earnings is a lot to give up. Plus as 'Toine has shown us, we can't assume he's financially secure.

I'm not saying he should or will. I'm just saying what I would do. And I obviously wouldn't manage my money like Mr. Walker.

I would hope that Antoine is the exception not the rule when talking about how professionals handle their earnings.

Here's the thing though...it's in their best interest to trade him.  They want to trade him, and eventually they will trade him.  So why should he give up that money now?

[PosImpos]

I don't think so. He is still a very good player and should be playing and wants to play starters minutes (30+ minutes a night).

I think Dallas and Chicago would be the two frontrunners for his signature should get bought out. Both can offer Rip a starting position and major minutes + would be legitimate contenders with Rip on board.

Agreed, Dallas and Chicago both make much more sense for Rip, although his lack of range would make it difficult for him to fit in on those teams as well as they might like (both teams really need a guy who can stretch the floor at the 2-guard, and Rip isn't a very good 3 point shooter).

[Moranis]

I don't see how a buyout can be achieved.

Beyond this season, Rip is owed $12.5 mil next year, and has an ETO for the following year for the same amount.

He may hate what's going on in Detroit, but would he really give up $10-$20 million to play somewhere else, given the uncertainties surrounding the next CBA?

Yeah, this is the big thing - I've never heard of a multi-year buyout at this scale. 

But if the only options are to take a buyout or sit on the bench and age...Rip loves the game and seems like the sort to have saved up a bit. 

Philadelphia bought out Chris Webber when he had two years and $43 million left on his contract. Or 18 months and $30 million. Something like that.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=76erswebber

That's the biggest buyout that I can remember.

------------------------------------------------

I don't think Rip Hamilton gets bought out. I don't think the Pistons will green light any expenditure of that magnitude while trying to sell the team.

Too much dead weight.

Their going to have to pay him either way, whether they do it now, or in the future, does it really matter?

And if they can get Rip to agree to a smaller % buyout, say half the total value of the contract, wouldn't you jump at a chance to save the team the kind of money over the length of it?

Granted they will obviously try to trade him if they can, but if (when) no team will bite, what would be better; pay the guy a 20million buyout and move on, or pay him 45 million over the next 3 years to sit on your bench?

of course it matters they lose the ability to trade him, which doesn't matter much now, but as an expiring contract would be a huge chip to lose.

[pearljammer10]

I don't think so. He is still a very good player and should be playing and wants to play starters minutes (30+ minutes a night).

I think Dallas and Chicago would be the two frontrunners for his signature should get bought out. Both can offer Rip a starting position and major minutes + would be legitimate contenders with Rip on board.

I feel like Chicago has to be a front runner if this actually does end up happening, which I dont think it will. Hamilton could actually start in Chicago and fill in nicely as the missing SG that they need.

Rose/Watson
Rip/Brewer/Bogans
Deng/Korver
Boozer/Gibson
Noah/Thomas

When healthy, thats a scary starting line up, that could end up being a pretty scary contender. Upgrading at PG off the bench certainly would help a bit.

[Sizzlack]

Everyone assuming that Rip is willing to give up 5-10 million dollars to get bought out. That's a ton of money!

Especially given that they're trying to get the team sold, I don't think it can happen until new ownership is in place.

It all comes down to if he wants to play or not. If he does, he would give up some money to play. If he doesn't then he would sit on the bench and collect a lot more money.

Personally if it were me in the Rip situation, I would take the paycut and find somewhere else to play, especially if I have been in the league as long as Rip and had made plenty of money as long as I saved up.

Roughly 5% of your career basketball earnings is a lot to give up. Plus as 'Toine has shown us, we can't assume he's financially secure.

I'm not saying he should or will. I'm just saying what I would do. And I obviously wouldn't manage my money like Mr. Walker.

I would hope that Antoine is the exception not the rule when talking about how professionals handle their earnings.

Here's the thing though...it's in their best interest to trade him.  They want to trade him, and eventually they will trade him.  So why should he give up that money now?

Only way you trade him is as a throw-in to a Melo type deal. There has to be a team getting something considerable to want to take on that contract.

With that Nets deal dead, there aren't a whole lot of teams willing to tie up 25mil over the next two years for a past his prime SG.

[BballTim]

Plus as 'Toine has shown us, we can't assume he's financially secure.

  Strictly philosophical, but if $80M or so isn't enough money to be secure, $85M-$90M won't cut it either.

  Although he should have a good fallback career, as anyone who can blow through money like that belongs in congress.

That's not true however. You can have already spent your 80 million poorly, but the $5 million is future income. You can utilize better judgment and thus become secure.

Which is really my point, he could be in a situation where giving up 5-10 million dollars in future earnings doesn't make sense.

  I'd amend "that's not true" to "that could possibly be false"

Okay if you want to play that game I'll amend your statement "Strictly philosophical, but if $80M or so isn't enough money to be secure, $85M-$90M possibly won't cut it either."

There we both can walk away "winners".

  Okay. I'd say that my claim was much more likely to be true than yours, but congratulations in any case.

[BballTim]

Anyone remember how much money Richard Jefferson gave up?

I don't think he was bought out though. He opted out of 15 million or so and then got another longer term deal for more money overall.

  Wasn't he bought out by Milwaukee? I might be thinking of someone else.

Definitely thinking of someone else.  Jefferson opted out of the last year of his deal, so he could sign a longterm deal under the current CBA...and he did. He gave up money in the short-term, but made it in the longrun.  

Basically, he did the exact same thing Pierce did, but on a smaller scale.  

  Yes, I think I was thinking about Gooden, who (of course) was bought out by someone other than Milwaukee. But I had the Spurs part right...