[mwardiaParticipant]

some players only wanting to get their big pay day instead of actually playin for a championship, taking less money, and wanting to win… for example, guys like joe johnson, boozer, etc. only want the money, it’s pathetic

[Mr. BasketballParticipant]

its a business first.

[llperez]

take the money then get your ring. Teams will trade you in the blink of an eye if they think it makes them better.

[dwat4444Participant]

Ok, but what is the difference between 20 million and 14 million? Ahhh…poor baby only gets 1 house in the hamptons instead of 2? 🙁 Really, and if u win a title you’ll get that money back in endorsements anyway…

[SpencerIsHawesome2Participant]

the difference between 20 million and 14 million is SIX MILLION DOLLARS. Not exactly chump change.

If you could get paid 120,000 or 85,000 dollars which would you take?

[mwardiaParticipant]

those r good points. Isnt 5 million enuff money to help u feed ur family? whats the difference between 15 mill and 5 mill, okay 10 mill bucks, but u got 5 mill DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! I’m tellin u, if im bosh, lebron, i take a pay cut and form an amazing trio with any of the big free agents, win all the rings u want, seriulsy, thou people may not like that….

[mwardiaParticipant]

@spencerishawesome, were talkin bout millions of dollars here, not thousands

[llperez]

yeah, easy for a bunch of guys on the internet not in their shoes to say how they should turn down millions to win a title.

A few things to keep in mind: lots of athletes want to push themesleves and believe they can be the man and win a title as the man. Joining 3 or 4 other all-stars and being just one of the guys doesnt appeal to them. Maybe its selfish, but its not for lack of competitive spirit. Also, there is no gaurantees you win a title just becasue you take less money. WHat happens if you take less and dont win, then you will feel pretty stupid. Money talks and athletes should make what they can and then bust their ass trying to win a title for the team and city that supports them.

[dwat4444Participant]

No matter what these playeres are going to live better lives than 99% of the freekin population! If u have an opportunity to be recognized as the best in the world at something u take it, and giving up that 6 mil could make that difference. I know 6 mill is a lot of money, but is it really going to hurt these guys at all? what would they spend that money on anyways? with 14 million you could buy almost anythinga reasonable person could possibly want.

[mwardiaParticipant]

look at those laker and celtic teams of the 80’s though…

lakers had johnson, worthy, abdul jabbar, those 3 superstars

celts had bird, parrish, walton when healthy, mchale, those 3-4 superstars

those are 3 superstars on each of those teams, u didnt hear them wanting to be the man somewhere else… they understood their roles, and won rings.

2008 celtics is a good example, sure sacrifices were made, but loook at the ending result>>> a ring!!!

[ZeroParticipant]

And I laugh when former NBA players become bankrupt.

[mwardiaParticipant]

the reason y former nba players become bankkrupt is cuz they dont know how to wisely spend their money

[ZeroParticipant]

That’s what I meant…

[mwardiaParticipant]

ohh shi+, my bad man lol

[Eric_GuilleminaultParticipant]

After watching Antoine Walker and Kenny Anderson to name a few go broke I think they should go for the money.  Not to say that with even more money they wouldn’t go broke either but at least it could last them longer.

[llperez]

as for those 80’s lakers and celtics teams, those guys were put together the old fashion way. Magic, worthy and byron scott all started their careers right out of college with the lakers and kareem was there before any of them. Celtics were together early in their careers as well through drafts and trades not like they turned down money to go to those teams by choice.

ANd the 2008 celtics trio is a bad expample becasue not one of those guys took a penny less to make it happen.

Im not against players taking pay cuts to join good teams, i just dont think less of them if they dont. Im not turning down money. And i dont think its selfish of athletes to stick with their team and try win where they are at either.

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

i dont think you guys remember that other than miami most states charge state taxes. so if you go to los angeles the difference between 5 and 15 million is more like 12 million. so why not get the most money while your still young.

[JJeff6Participant]

Ray allen is a legit player who really wants to win a championship. Hes openly said hes willing to take less to win a ship. Thats a real player right there

[mwardiaParticipant]

but not everyone is like allen tho

[llperez]

ray allen is also like 35 and has been pulling in 20 mill a year for awhile now.

[JJeff6Participant]

thats true but if he was offered say 13 mil for the charlotte bobcats and 9 mil for the heat with the big 3, he would go 4 mil less. and hes always been that way, hes just gotten max money because he deserved it.

[llperez]

ray is no longer an all-star and he was taking a huge pay cut regardless. Easy of him to say it now. I think veterans who have made well over a 100 million in their careers and are on their way out should look to go somewhere to win even if it means taking a little less. But to knock guys who dont like thats what every player should do, espceially since the vast majority have not made anywhere close to what ray has and they are currently in their prime in terms of asking price, thats just not a fair comparison to say "see, ray is taking less".

[llperez]

ray is no longer an all-star and he was taking a huge pay cut regardless. Easy of him to say it now. I think veterans who have made well over a 100 million in their careers and are on their way out should look to go somewhere to win even if it means taking a little less. But to knock guys who dont like thats what every player should do, espceially since the vast majority have not made anywhere close to what ray has and they are currently in their prime in terms of asking price, thats just not a fair comparison to say "see, ray is taking less".

[MrAnalyst]

20 mil isn’t enough for everyone, look at Antoine Walker hahah.

[JJeff6Participant]

well i know your not gonna believe me, but i actually do know ray in person. He used to live 3 houses away from me in arizona and lemme tell you, hes one of the nicest and most sincere guys you’ll ever meet. Hes not one of those guys who will just take less to help his ego. He would easily do it if it ment winning. He really never even cared that much about his salary. You should see his lifestyle. The way he lives and the way he portrays himself to live while on tv are 2 different things.

[TheFactionCoalition.comParticipant]

Honestly I think I would despise a player more for taking less money so he can sign with 2 other superstars, than if he were to sign for the most amount of money. I remember when Malone and GP did it with the Lakers and even though they didn’t win a championship that year I still despised them.
Being an athlete is about competition. Watching sports is about enjoying competition as well. So why would I want to watch 3 guys BUY a title like the Yankees do? Essentially they are buying it because they are paying the gap between what they could be making and what they are making so they can have the highest chance of winning the title.
It’s sports and business so I know things like this may happen, so I’m not trying to complain, just saying I think either route has its negative side.

[llperez]

phxsuns, i dont care if you knew ray allen personally. Im sure most athletes come off as great people for the most part. BUt plain and simple, he never took less money in his career before. I remember reading articles about how he was going back and forth with seattle for awhile over money trying to get as much as he could. There was many reports out that he used kobe’s contract as a bargaining chip saying he wanted close to what kobe got. SO who cares what he was thinking or how he is a swell guy, when it came time to negotiate, he went for every penny he could get. Thats fine nothing wrong with that. But why compare him NOW taking a pay cut to win after he’s banked tons and is on his last legs and say all-stars in their prime should follow rays lead this summer.

[JJeff6Participant]

Why not? hahahahaha lmfao. Okay, name me 3 guys who are YOUNG that would take less to win. and when i say youn i mean 28 and younger. if you name me 3 guys who would do that then i would be shocked.

[llperez]

what are you asking me? I been saying all along players shouldnt take less money and now you some how flipped it like i need to name you young players who would turn down money to prove my point? WTF?

[JJeff6Participant]

oh and btw HE DESERVED THAT MONEY BACK THEN!

[llperez]

exactly. Dude you seriously need to go back over this whole page and start over. You totally just flipped our arguments around Im confused, you just did a 180 on me, lol

[JJeff6Participant]

isnt that the point of this thread…..lmao. You are saying that Ray is/was a selfish guy who only wants money. I said he wasnt. I agree with you that players now adays only care about money. I flipped it because I want to know if there is anybody who would take less. Cuz i cant thinkof anyone. I wanted to see if you could. Im sorry if i offended you

[bobbybParticipant]

It is all of them ,not just Boozer Joe Johnson, They care only about the money and more importantly ego. There is bragging rights about getting “MAX CONTRACT”, because there is only a nominal difference between 16.5 mil and 14.8 mil. you still will drive the same car , eat in the same restaurants rock the same clothes. Guys like Antoine Walker wouldnt matter if he made 200 mil it wouldnt be enough. When he filed bankruptcy he had 12 mill in liability and only 4 mill in assets

[llperez]

wow, you can not be more wrong about this whole argument we had. Let me give the cliff notes:

I said players should take the money while they can and there is nothing wrong with that.

you said ray allen is willing to take a pay cut this summer and that shows he is a REAL player.

I said it is easy for ray to take a pay cut now because he already made bank and he is no longer in his prime.

you said you know ray and he has always been willing to take less to win, but just hasnt had to.

i said ray never took less money before this summer. He did what nba players should do and get paid. How on earht you interpreted that as me saying he is selfish is beyond me. I siad he did what guys should do. You seem to think he is better then other athletes becasue he is willing to take less money now at 35 years old.

Now you want me to prove my point about how i think players should take less money by providing you with players that would take a pay cut? Again, I have no idea why you are now pulling a 180 on this argument. Players in thier prime should not take a pay cut. Ray should not have taken a pay cut in the past. That is what i have been saying all along.

[JJeff6Participant]

Okay then we’ll leave it at this. you and i disagree. nothing wrong with that. If LeBron was to get a deal from say the timberwolves that was 3 mil more than a deal say from the lakers (im just using the most lopsided teams here. Im not saying that will ever happen) he should take the less lakers deal with less income to win a championship. thats my opinion. Oh and by the way, I dont think i ever said ray allen is a better athlete because hes willing to take a pay cut. So idk where you pulled that from.

[WrecklessParticipant]

1 mil is a blessing from where im from.

No matter what, there will never be a correct answer on what you should do. It differs from person to person.

[JJeff6Participant]

thank you thankmelater haha. good point

[JJeff6Participant]

damn double post

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

Players are corporations nowadays…. how often does Microsoft sell product for less than market value…. why should players? The owners won’t pay what the owners can’t afford.

[llperez]

phxsuns, you said in your very first post that ray is a real player for taking less. Go back and read it. Thats where i mysteriously got that “he’s a real player” from.

[JJeff6Participant]

i thought u would know what i meant. I never said he was a better athlete. those two things have different meanings.

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

If LeBron, Wade and Bosh happen to sign with the same team that franchises value will double instantly.

[llperez]

and like i also said from the begining, i have no problem with players taking less. I agree it is a person to person thing up for them to decide. But when someone starts a thread about how they are sick and tired of players not taking pay cuts or when people say "so and so is a real player" for taking a pay cut, i disagree with that attitude. Guys should do what is in their best interest and we shouldnt judge them for taking the money when they can.

[llperez]

who said anything about better athlete? I quoted you exactly word for word and exactly how you implied it.

[NYCrealdealParticipant]

some people forget that this is thier job a championship is like employee of the month after some time you just want the raise instead of your pic on the wall
the emplyee of the month would be nice though but i thnk everyone wants the raise

[JJeff6Participant]

“You seem to think he is better then other athletes becasue he is willing to take less money now at 35 years old.”

That is what you said. I told you how i implyed it and i never said he was a better athlete. i just said he was “a real player right there”. So you tell me where that came from, cuz obviously it never came from me.

[llperez]

Im clearly not implying that he is a better athlete with that phrase. Im implying that you think he is better then other athletes by taking less money which has nothing to do with skills as an athlete but as a person or they are the bigger man. ANd yes you did imply that when you said he "is a real player" implying that he is somehow better then these other players/athletes or above them for taking a pay cut.

[JJeff6Participant]

okay i understand what you meant now, but clearly you dont understand me. Who do you think you are to tell me what I implied on MY post with MY opinion. I know what i was implying. I dont think hes a better player now than the other superstars in the NBA. i think he is a better person (human being) than them. Skills wise, nope not any more.

[llperez]

no one is talking about skills. You implied he was better then these other athletes as a person for taking less money. I disagree. I think ray took the money when he could and i think players today should do the same and take the money when they can and are in theri primes just like ray did. Maybe when they are 35 and have banked a ton they can take less too. But unlike you, i dont judge them for not doing it.

[JJeff6Participant]

It all depends on the situation. I dont judge anybody. i just have an opinion. one of my favorite players is amare, i dont judge him for wanting more. Am I allowed to have an opinion or is it against the rules?

[Leftovers16Participant]

it’s only when u don’t have money that you would settle for less money when you have money and talent you would want more money for ur service

[llperez]

of course you are, and im allowed to disagree with it. And when you compliment someone for taking less and say that makes them a “real player”, it’s kinda hard for others to not assume you are juding players when it comes to how they handle free agency.

[SDEParticipant]

stop hatin; They better get that money ask Ed Curry how it feels to be broke

Hatin is for suckas

[JJeff6Participant]

I dont judge them over free agency. I judge them by their skills on the court and their reputations as people. I can just have an opinion over free agency. Sorry if i came off the wrong way earlier, cuz apparently it confused some people as to what I think.

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