LA_33 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
The issue is that if he gives up Early-Bird status for next year, he's not likely to get more than the vet. minimum from anyone, because he's not the kind of player teams will dip into their MLE to sign.
If he maintains early-bird status, though, he could easily get $2-3M next year from someone wanting a veteran wing defender and spot-shooter with championship experience (like the Mavs did when they brought him in), most likely through a S &T with the Mavs (or to stay in Dallas, although that's highly unlikely now). Since he's on the wrong sid eof 30, the next season or two are probably the last chances he'll have to earn more than the minimum no matter what, so giving up his best chance for a few extra million this summer is a very real blow.
He and Bartlestein area already backtracking, though, so I expect that he'll eventually relent and allow this to happen as agreed upon. Good thing for Dallas that they finalized this with some time to spare before the deadline, though. If they had hit this snag on deadline day, it would have killed it completely...
I think they'll realize he's not going to make that much and agree to this deal. Matt Barnes essentially plays the same role as George, is younger, and had a much better year last year and couldn't find any takers.