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I read a couple things of note on the wiretap this morning:

Deng delivered an ultimatum to the Bulls...sign him before Aug 4th or he will take the one year tender and leave via FA next year.

Okafor has also soured on negotiations with the 'cats and is ready to leave via FA next year as well.

It really makes me wonder if this whole crop of restricted free agents (or their agents) hasn't over-valued themselves. Igoudala is potentially the best of the big name restricted free agents but he has turned down two offers to date. Only Josh Smith had a good showing in the playoffs but his negotiations aren't going anywhere either.

Is this a matter of seeing one guy get signed before the rest fall in line? Or is this the beginning of an epidemic where borderline stars want to get paid like the elite? The longer these negotiations drag out the worse it will be for the team (and the fans).

steveb21 wrote:I read a couple things of note on the wiretap this morning:

Deng delivered an ultimatum to the Bulls...sign him before Aug 4th or he will take the one year tender and leave via FA next year.

Okafor has also soured on negotiations with the 'cats and is ready to leave via FA next year as well.

It really makes me wonder if this whole crop of restricted free agents (or their agents) hasn't over-valued themselves. Igoudala is potentially the best of the big name restricted free agents but he has turned down two offers to date. Only Josh Smith had a good showing in the playoffs but his negotiations aren't going anywhere either.

Is this a matter of seeing one guy get signed before the rest fall in line? Or is this the beginning of an epidemic where borderline stars want to get paid like the elite? The longer these negotiations drag out the worse it will be for the team (and the fans).

Teams do not have the money under the cap to go shopping for players, however teams that sign thier own players can go over the cap, so they are not in a rush to pay the luxury tax. Chicago is going to make a deal. It's just a matter of time and so will the Nets.

Well of course the Deng and Okafor talks are affecting Igoudala.

It establishes precedence. The leverage belongs to the teams not the players and now they are being offered less than the original offer. Completely fair tactic since the player would excersize the leverage for more money if that were the circumstance.

Every year a few guys get paid on the open market but the unfortunates who enter FA in years where there are only a few buyers should learn the lesson. Maybe it's BAD advice from your agent to pass on the 57M and let the market set the rate. A lot of risk in that strategy and we're seeing those results now.

With other teams thaking this stance I wouldn't be surprised if the Sixers follow suit with Igoudala.

steveb21 wrote:I read a couple things of note on the wiretap this morning:



It really makes me wonder if this whole crop of restricted free agents (or their agents) hasn't over-valued themselves.

They all want what they think they could get as unrestricted free-agents without risking the next year on a one-year contract. The reality is that they all have very little leverage. The only leverage they have is to vow to not negotiate with their current team if a deal is not done this summer. Otherwise, the teams can just sit back and wait to see if another team makes an offer. If so, then they still can match.

It appears as if Deng and Josh Smith are getting low-ball offers. I don't know about Okafur offer, but I do think that Iguodala definitely overvalued himself. I think the sixers offer that averages about 11 million per season was very good, especially considering when they offered it last year he was still two summers from unrestricted free-agency.

However, I can't say that Deng and Josh Smith have been offered deals that make me think they are overvaluing themselves. Restricted free-agents are just not fun to try to sign for teams with cap room, so if their current team is not offering them a good contract, then they should be encouraged to take the qualifying offer and test unrestricted free-agency.

could we be interested in a sign and trade for Okafor...Maybe a S&T of Okafor and Matt Carroll for Sammy and Willie Green....any thoughts?

then they should be encouraged to take the qualifying offer and test unrestricted free-agency.

That's what scares me. I don't want Iggy and Lou to test UFA next year. It's scares me. Ed should get to some reasonable contract with Iggy and just sign him already.

Philly Family wrote:could we be interested in a sign and trade for Okafor...Maybe a S&T of Okafor and Matt Carroll for Sammy and Willie Green....any thoughts?

Okafor is a PF not a Center. We already have two PF's in Brand and Speights and Sam brings more at the 5 position than Okafor would in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, Okafor would be a great PF but I don't see him as your prototypal Center.

STChaser

i think its good for the sixers if deng and okafor take one year deals. next years free agent market is very very very thin. iggy's agent may see that as a reason to take a one year deal and play the market next year instead. but with this two added to the pool, there will be more competition for dollars and less money to go around.

Right now the RFAs are all like dominos that are lined up. If Deng or Ellis or Smith sign a deal, you could see the others shortly behind. Okafor and Biedrins are big men so I don't think they're comparable. I'm sure both of their agents are trying to get their guys a deal similar to what Milwaukee just gave Bogut.

IF we do see some guys taking the one year deal, I'm not sure if that's good or bad for Iguodala. It could encourage him to do the same but as someone else said, that will mean more UFAs on the market next summer with less money to go around.

Here's the thing about next year's offseason. The two biggest players are going to Memphis, Portland (assuming Darius Miles doesn't make some miraculous comeback), and whoever buys up expiring contracts before or at the deadline. I work with a guy who used to be with the Blazers and he's told me on numerous occasions they're very high on Iggy and are intrigued by what he would look like next to Brandon Roy. Memphis could've made a run at any of the RFA's they wanted this summer if they were really interested because they're the only team left with a significant amount of caproom and wouldn't have to worry about getting into a bidding war. So while I agree the more RFA's that take the qualifying offer, the better for the Sixers, I really hope we can get our guys locked up, a lot can happen in one year, as evidenced by our very own offseason.