Metallikid wrote:youngcrev wrote:Metallikid wrote:
The logic is that they didn't treat a player they traded for well, maybe didn't accomodate him, and then played hardball with him in negotiations despite the fact that he plays well on the court. I think that would resonate with other marquee free agents.
It would be the 3rd bridge Jimmy has burnt in 3 years if it were to happen. I don't think players would hold it against them. And clearly that part shouldn't be a concern for them if the Sixers are offering them a contract.
I wouldn't exactly say he burned his bridge in Chicago. Hard to say that when his former coach ended up trading for him and the whole organization was moving towards a rebuild anyways. To be honest while things went down in a bad way, I mostly blame Thibs for letting it get to that point in the first place - Jimmy wanted a commitment that the organization that traded for him also planned to sign him to a max contract, and he didn't get that. So now the Sixers come in and trade for him, saying they will sign him to a max or very close to max deal, but now they don't like x and y and they're getting cold feet. That's worse than what the Timberwolves did. Free agents don't like teams that have a history of reneging on players.
Plus I think that Jimmy being a locker-room issue is overblown and whatever tension there is has in large part to do with behind-the-scenes talks between Jimmy's agent and the team, and that they aren't going the way Jimmy expected.
That's a pretty Jimmy slanted view of the situation.
Listen, I want things to work out with Jimmy, and I think it's far more likely that he's re-signed than let walk. The team just can't let him walk all over them just because he's a star player though. He doesn't have the same type of leverage to do whatever he wants here since he's not the franchise centerpiece or best player, the team isn't capped out (so it's not a him or nothing proposition in free agency), and he's not a no-brainer 5 year max guy. This isn't a Kawhi situation where you're begging him to take your money. He's got to play nice.