Mavs / Howard agree on 4 year, 40mil+

[thegrahamcrackr]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2632299


The Dallas Mavericks and Josh Howard on Thursday reached agreement on a four-year contract extension believed to be worth in excess of $40 million, team sources told ESPN.com.

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[SIZE=-2]Howard[/SIZE]

The Mavericks and Howard were facing an Oct. 31 deadline to agree on an extension and prevent Howard from becoming a restricted free agent in July.
The new contract won't kick in until next season, with Howard scheduled to earn $1.7 million in the final year of his rookie contract.
Howard, who was eligible for a five-year extension, admitted in recent days he was "disappointed" with the slow pace of negotiations but also told ESPN.com earlier this month that he hadn't abandoned hope of securing a new deal before the Halloween buzzer.
"You never know," Howard said with a smile on Oct. 7.
It's believed the Mavericks, sensing the issue might linger with Howard all season, increased their offer in recent days to make it clear to the swingman how much they value him.
Howard has been Dallas' best player in training camp, showing little outward sign of being distracted by his contractual situation, but the absence of an extension before the regular season could easily have been perceived as another slight for a player who slipped to No. 29 in the 2003 draft. Reaching terms with Howard means Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will have awarded new contracts to four of the biggest names in the organization since the Mavericks made their first trip to the NBA Finals in June: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, coach Avery Johnson and Howard.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2632299

 

[Louis]

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will have awarded new contracts to four of the biggest names in the organization

So much for that Cuban is getting cheap talk.

This only drives Boris' price up IMO. Or at least supports his $10 mill / year desires.

Throw that in with the offer made to Kaman and money much lesser players have received this off season...yikes.

Oct 31 is only 12 days away...

 

[abomb]

This only drives Boris' price up IMO. Or at least supports his $10 mill / year desires.

Throw that in with the offer made to Kaman and money much lesser players have received this off season...yikes.

I am not a Suns fan, but I think the price for Diaw just went up quite a bit. If I were his agent, I would look for around $11M-$12M/year which would put him around the 35th highest paid player in the league.

Some team would definitely give him that much in FA.

 

[Chaz]

This clearly hurts the Suns position.

The Agent has a much stronger case now to get what they are asking for. I don't think this will make Boris raise his price. At least I hope not. While I would rather have Boris I think he and Howard are comparable players.

 

[The Commish]

Boris is not better than Howard. $10mil/yr max for Diaw.

 

[Amare32]

Yes he is

What does Howard do better than Diaw exactly? shoot threes better I guess...but overall Howard is not a better player than Boris.

 

[Cheesebeef]

if Boris doesn't get signed with the Kaman and Howard contract number floating out there, Sarver will deserve a ton load of scorn.

get the freaking deal done.

 

[goldseraph]

Howard rebounds better, plays better defense, and is longer. They aren't really even the same position. Diaw distributes and scores better, overall I would say Howard is a bit more valuable just because he has done it for more than 1 season. I think Diaw is reasonable in asking for 9-10 per.

 

[Forrestham]

We had better get Boris signed. Dont think we want to play chicken letting him be a restricted free agent. Any updates from the Suns?

 

[nowagimp]

Boris is not better than Howard. $10mil/yr max for Diaw.

I think that Boris has more upside than Howard, but he is not as proven(1 good year, 1 great playoff). Josh Howard is an excellent defender both help and on the ball. Boris is a good defender on the ball and very good on help. Boris upside is in his ability to initiate offense, at which Howard is clearly not as good. Boris needs a better midrange game, quicker shot release to make the most of his playmaking talents. With these tools he will create better spacing on offense and surpass Howard in value.

 

[Cheesebeef]

So now, we have barometer deals (both Kaman and Howard - 10 + per) for the non-superstar, but young talented with a lot of upside players who are KEY component of good teams in place. That's good - it should make it easier to get things done as the market for next year's RFAs is being set.

However, it also puts MORE pressure on the Suns to get this deal done because now, the market for young very talented players in dwindling. The Suns CAN NOT go into the next offseason with Boris as the youngest stud available - he will get a ridiculous offer.

Get the deal done.

 

[arthurracoon]

cmon Suns.

get it done

give him his 5 yr 50 mil

 

[Muggum]

We're about to be reminded again why Cuban is a better owner than $arver.

 

[SunsTzu]

We're about to be reminded again why Cuban is a better owner than $arver.

Tell that to Nash.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

We're about to be reminded again why Cuban is a better owner than $arver.

Yeah... So, Sarver should have paid him $50 when he got him for $45?