If J. Oneal were to opt out of his deal, what is he worth??

[pl]

I agree with Hunter here.
4 year deal, with the fourth year partially guaranteed, starting at about 13 mill would be about right.
If his agent pulls some magic out of the hat, maybe one year longer deal..

[Serpo]

Before anybody signs him the team will take a very very close look at his knee , meniscus whatever before anything . If the doctors give possitive sign's he well get big money . Not in the range of his current contract but alot more then people here are saying . 10-15 Million per with particular guaranteed money / years is a good price if you're possitive about his health . It's not like you just gamble without taking a look at him.

[5DOM]

MLE

[AfricanSensation]

THe people here saying that he is worth the MLE will be the same one whining that the league is rigged if a contender gets him for expiring contracts and late 1st round picks...

[LakerFanMan]

Id pay him 8-10 mill a season. His value is very low right now. He's comming off a season where he just put up 14/7 and only played 42 games. He's been injured constantly, hasn't played 70 games or more since the 03-04 season, he's played less then 55 games in 3 of his last 4 seasons, and has shot under 45% in 4 of his last 5 seasons (horrible for a PF/C). He still plays great D and is one of the better shot blockers in the league. However, you just can't ignore the fact that he's been constantly injured lately.

[Serpo]

Which is the reason let your doctors take a close look at him before you sign him . He won't opt out if the doctors don't tell him everything's fine , anyway .

If he is healthy he's worth more then that.

[JordansBulls]

Around 8-9 million a year.

[Train Wreck]

Gimme a break with this MLE crap. Guys like Rasho, Nazr and Pyrzbilla sign for the MLE. Big men are almost always overpaid and there would most certainly be a market for JO. You can argue it would be a mistake (and you might be right) but some team would most definitely be willing to overpay for his services.

4 years, $55-60 mil. 4th as a team option and some bonuses worked in there for games played and/or certain statistical benchmarks.

He certainly would get more than the MLE but there is no way he comes close to 15 million a year...

Typicially the only teams with caproom are ones that would have no use for a broken down O'Neal who really wasn't even that good to begin with.

Rashard Lewis got very lucky last year.

[Malinhion]

There are two ways to figure what an NBA free agent should be paid.

There is the typical approach, which considers the teams that can make a run at him, and how much money they have. Then you look at his skill, and how bad that skill is needed as a general commodity. You take into account size and athletecism versus age and injury history. A lot of teams need a big man, so I'm willing to bet someone makes a reach even though JO's skills and health have been declining, and his FG% is terrible for a big man. Even though he should be getting paid half of what he is, I think he'll wind up getting a deal at $13-14 million over 2-3 years. Anything longer will have a team option on it.

Then there is the Joe Dumars approach, which asks, "what do I want to pay this player if I'm trying to win a championship?" If I'm Joe, I tender an offer structured like this:

Year 1: $8.50mil (age 30, 13th season)
Year 2: $9.35mil (age 31, 14th season)
>>>Team Early Termination Option
Year 3: $10.2mil (age 32, 15th season)
>>>Player Early Termination Option
Year 4: $8.50mil (age 33, 16th season)

If he's having health problems or can't bring his FG% up on a better team, you cut him after the second season and don't have to pay the big salary. Then you give him the option in the final year to play for his original compensation. If not, he can walk. If I keep him, I'm saving cap room because he's taking a pay cut. I don't plan on keeping him past his 16th season, so four years is the max I'm going. If JO doesn't want to sign this deal and I really want to get him, I'll just up the final year's compensation and then cut him when my team option comes up.

[Warspite]

Who has any cap space to begin with??

Oneal is worth more than the MLE but nobody has the money to pay him. Only 2 teams can offer 10 mil a yr but who wants to go to Memphis or Philly? Furthermore why would Memphis or Philly use there cap space on J Oneal??


These RFA are all going to get a rude awakening and many UFA are going to seriously weigh other options than $$$ like weather, lifestyle, closeness to family and contender status. its a great yr for a contender like the Spurs to get an AllStar like Jamieson for the MLE.

[RJM]

What is he worth? The MLE. Nothing more. He's too much of a liability right now.

[LakerFanMan]

Which is the reason let your doctors take a close look at him before you sign him . He won't opt out if the doctors don't tell him everything's fine , anyway .

If he is healthy he's worth more then that.

He's not opting out at all in my opinion. He and his agent aren't stupid. They both know he's not going to get paid anywhere near what he's being paid now. Even if a team's doctors evaluated him and said he was 100%, he still wouldn't get paid anywhere near what he's making. Im guessing he'd get paid in the 10-12 range, possibly 13, I'd pay him 8-10.

[Malinhion]

Yeah, there is no way JO opts out of $44million at this stage. First chance at getting out of Indy will be as an expiring contract.

[Slava]

Phoenix should have taken their chances with him than the other O'neal!

[Mateen Cleaves]

Mid Level Exception

[Wade2k6]

I'd say somewhere between 6-9 million. He can't stay healthy, but if he could I would assume he would be closer to the 9 million.