RJ considering leavingto go play in a system that suits him better?

[Daddy]

Any truth to this? If so what can we do to encourage him to leave?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16214

"Jefferson has a Early Termination Option for next season worth roughly $15 million, and a source close to the situation told HOOPSWORLD recently that he's considering leaving that money on the table to go play in a system that's more suited to his game. There's little doubt that Jefferson, still very much in his prime after nine NBA seasons, can be a 20-points-per-game scorer again on a different team."

[yavozerb]

Does anybody know the date when he must decide by?

[TimmehC]

Hoopsworld. So no, no truth to it.

[Daddy]

Is hoopsworld known to make up sources?

[Spursfan092120]

Is hoopsworld known to make up sources?
sources..stories..whatever..they're not very reliable.

[Chr!s Childs]

come to new york rj...you'll be better coming off the bench behind lebron

[Supreme_Being]

I know the source's dodgy at best, but I'd be happy to see Dick go.

I mean, it's cool if he picks up the slack next season, but TBH, I'd be much happier if he packs up and leave.

[yavozerb]

I think it would hurt the spurs more than help them if he opts out. With that said, I do not think anyone in the front office would shed a tear if he left. I also keep hearing how there is no way RJ will opt out and leave 15 mil on the table, why not? There is alot of $ to be had this summer and only a select few will get max contracts. If RJ could for example could recieve a contract from the nyk for 40-45 mil for 4 yrs I think he would be very happy.

[Daddy]

Would it be possible for us to unveil the opposite of Miami's We Want Wade campaign for Jefferson?

Complete with billboards saying We Don't Want Jefferson and a site like this: http://www.wewantwade.com/

[rjv]

in the best of all possible worlds we can convince atlanta that RJ would be a great fit for them and then orchestrate a sign and trade for joe johnson.

[scottspurs]

Jefferson probably won't even get the MLE. Something like 3 years for 10 million is what he will get. I think he will take the 15 mil then find the right fit a year from now.

[yavozerb]

Jefferson probably won't even get the MLE. Something like 3 years for 10 million is what he will get. I think he will take the 15 mil then find the right fit a year from now.

:lol, your kidding right....So you think RJ will get the same contract that bonner signed a couple of yrs ago, huh.

[MaNu4Tres]

Hoopsworld...Enough said

[ploto]

If he left, it would simply mean a reduction in payroll for the team and no improvement.

[scottspurs]

:lol, your kidding right....So you think RJ will get the same contract that bonner signed a couple of yrs ago, huh.

Yes, the free agent crop is very good and deep this year and there is not enough money to go around. Jefferson would be stupid to opt out.

[yavozerb]

Yes, the free agent crop is very good and deep this year and there is not enough money to go around. Jefferson would be stupid to opt out.

Miami,NY,NJ have 30+mil to spend and the bulls are not far behind...There will be plenty of $ to go around and RJ in the right system will put up big #'s again. RJ will make at least 8-10 mil this summer if he opts out. Not saying it wouldnt be stupid to opt out, but he will make more this summer than next. Also, what if RJ gets hurt this coming season then what? It may be better to try and find a 3-4 yr contract now instead of risking an injury on a 1yr deal.

edit: minnesota,sac., and lac all have 20+ mil to spend as well

[Riverwalkman]

He should decide it by July 1st? I think his 2nd year as a Spur will be much better, that's the only thing we can count on, because his contract is now overvalued thus no trade will be acceptable.

[Shastafarian]

If he left, it would simply mean a reduction in payroll for the team and no improvement.
Edit: Nevermind

[gospursgojas]

Hoopsworld so I didnt bother reading but,

Wasnt this article around like 2 mos ago?

[Pero]

Any truth to this? If so what can we do to encourage him to leave?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16214

"Jefferson has a Early Termination Option for next season worth roughly $15 million, and a source close to the situation told HOOPSWORLD recently that he's considering leaving that money on the table to go play in a system that's more suited to his game. There's little doubt that Jefferson, still very much in his prime after nine NBA seasons, can be a 20-points-per-game scorer again on a different team."

There was an article posted here quite some time ago where he said that he's considering opting out so he could get a long term contract which could end up being more profitable for him. Perhaps this is reffering to that in some way. But in that case it's not really "news".

[ChumpDumper]

If he left, it would simply mean a reduction in payroll for the team and no improvement.If he left to be signed outright by some other team. I suppose it is a possibility if someone still has money after the big free agents are signed.

[fyatuk]

It fits with some comments RJ made earlier. He obviously is aware he doesn't fit in the Spurs system. He's probably thinking that while he won't get the salary on the option, he might be able to get more this year than next, and spread over the life of a contract, it's a good amount.

He needs to go to someplace like NY, Phoenix, Golden State, or Dallas.

[Russ]

Money talks, Hoopsworld walks. :)

[manu the best]

.. it will be better if we trade him .. rather than losing him for nothing in return ..

[eisfeld]

There was an article posted here quite some time ago where he said that he's considering opting out so he could get a long term contract which could end up being more profitable for him. Perhaps this is reffering to that in some way. But in that case it's not really "news".

Yes, I remember that too. Still, it's pick your poison - letting him go for nothing or using his expiring as a trade bait. I'd prefer if he not exercises his ETO.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I know the source's dodgy at best, but I'd be happy to see Dick go.

I mean, it's cool if he picks up the slack next season, but TBH, I'd be much happier if he packs up and leave.

Why would you prefer that he's gone? I'd understand it from Holt's POV as he'll have less to pay, but as a fan and from a basketball perspective, RJ opting out makes the Spurs worse, with no money to get a replacement.

[jdev82]

i like rj as a person, and im sure he wants what is best for both him and the spurs, but hed have to be either a stupid motherfucker or not your typical capitalist or he has enough money type guy to ETO his way out of 15 mil to make MLE money on another team.

[boutons_deux]

he'll stay in SA and continue to make well over $1M per PPG.

[PM5K]

RJ opting out makes the Spurs worse, with no money to get a replacement.

What do you mean, we have all the money we were wasting on him to spend.

[venitian navigator]

anybody knows when is the last moment when he can exercise his option for the last year ?
Because is just from that moment that we'l have the chance to decide what to do with the cap space left or with the trade asset he could became.
I'm sure in this moment he's already talking with our F.O. and with his agent about the better decision to take for himself and the team.
If he exercise his option and stays, and we don't find a trade partner for something that could be a better fit for our team, expecially on defense (example, Andre Iguodala or something like Jamison + A. Parker) an extension for, say, three years at 6 million each could make sense.
Expecially considering that usually in the second year with our team, wing players usually play a lot better than in the first year...

[SenorSpur]

God, let it be. :angel

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

What do you mean, we have all the money we were wasting on him to spend.

Nope - even without his $15 mil on the books, we'd still be above the salary cap, so no money to spend, apart from MLE, LLE and min.

[MannyIsGod]

What do you mean, we have all the money we were wasting on him to spend.


No, the Spurs are still over the cap with him off the books therefore can't use any of that.

[venitian navigator]

next year, spurs are committed for 66 millions rj included...
if rj doesn'tb exercise his option, we'll be committed for just 51 millions.
the cap is more than 54 millions ... so if he don't exercise his option, we are under the cap...

[lurker23]

Not that I put any credence in this report, but if RJ truly wanted to play in another system, the smartest thing to do would be to threaten to opt-out unless the Spurs traded him. It'd be the best thing for all parties:

1. Spurs get some talent in return (though who knows what they'd get for RJ's expiring at this point).
2. Spurs get to save face by saying RJ forced their hand (hopefully this would come out AFTER the trade, for the sake of #1).
3. RJ gets to play in a new system.
4. RJ gets to make his $15.2 million, considerably more than he would get in the open free agent market.

[lurker23]

next year, spurs are committed for 66 millions rj included...
if rj doesn'tb exercise his option, we'll be committed for just 51 millions.
the cap is more than 54 millions ... so if he don't exercise his option, we are under the cap...

Correct...between Tim, Manu, Tony, McDyess, Hill, and Blair, the Spurs are committed to $50.97 million. They also have non-guaranteed contracts for Gee, Jerrells, Temple, and Hairston. If they drop all of those non-guaranteed players, and relinquish all rights to all of their free agents, then with a projected cap of $56.1 million, they will have about $5.1 million below the cap to play with. However, teams below the cap do not get the MLE, which last year was $5.854 million. So, they would gain absolutely nothing basketball-wise by RJ opting out.

[WalterBenitez]

Really? Could we help him :D

[ffadicted]

RJ opting out will officially end the TD era, from a 'winning titles' standpoint anyway. Not to be overly dramatic or anything

[vander]

RJ opting out will officially end the TD era, from a 'winning titles' standpoint anyway. Not to be overly dramatic or anything

no, that ended this year (or maybe when manu got injured in 08, depending on how you look at it), we don't have a chance at titles anymore with or without RJ.

the best spurs fans can root for now is the continuation of the 50 win season streak.

[NFGIII]

I think it would hurt the spurs more than help them if he opts out. With that said, I do not think anyone in the front office would shed a tear if he left. I also keep hearing how there is no way RJ will opt out and leave 15 mil on the table, why not? There is alot of $ to be had this summer and only a select few will get max contracts. If RJ could for example could recieve a contract from the nyk for 40-45 mil for 4 yrs I think he would be very happy.

After this season I really can't believe other teams will fork over that amount of money for RJ. I could see it in the range of 4.5 - 6.5 but not much more. Anyway he has a bird in hand so why look for those two in the bush? He needs to be in another system for sure but walking on 15M with the assumption that he will get a 4 year deal worth 40-45M is pretty speculative.IMHO


Would it be possible for us to unveil the opposite of Miami's We Want Wade campaign for Jefferson?

Complete with billboards saying We Don't Want Jefferson and a site like this: http://www.wewantwade.com/

Wanting him to go is one thing but for nothing? Now that's another issue all together.


.. it will be better if we trade him .. rather than losing him for nothing in return ..

Agreed. Get something in return.



Correct...between Tim, Manu, Tony, McDyess, Hill, and Blair, the Spurs are committed to $50.97 million. They also have non-guaranteed contracts for Gee, Jerrells, Temple, and Hairston. If they drop all of those non-guaranteed players, and relinquish all rights to all of their free agents, then with a projected cap of $56.1 million, they will have about $5.1 million below the cap to play with. However, teams below the cap do not get the MLE, which last year was $5.854 million. So, they would gain absolutely nothing basketball-wise by RJ opting out.

That's why you trade him rather than hope that he walks. It's in his hands so he could walk and the Spurs will get screwed.

Do you see the Spurs letting Gee, Jerrells, Temple and Hairston all walk? That would really hurt their minor league system and make them start from scratch again. Those are their most talented players. That makes no sense. So essentially they're scrapping the fruits of their system in order to free up money - 5.1M - to sign who to replace RJ?

And how much is Splitter going to cost? Might be better to keep RJ and be over the cap and offer Tiago most if not all of the MLE and then trade RJ's expiring next year while developing some of their younger talent to eventually replace RJ.

[Trainwreck2100]

What do you mean, we have all the money we were wasting on him to spend.

nope

[lurker23]

Do you see the Spurs letting Gee, Jerrells, Temple and Hairston all walk? That would really hurt their minor league system and make them start from scratch again. Those are their most talented players. That makes no sense. So essentially they're scrapping the fruits of their system in order to free up money - 5.1M - to sign who to replace RJ?

No, I don't expect them to let all those guys go. I was just carrying the argument to the point of absurdity, pointing out that even if RJ opts out and the Spurs did absolutely everything in their power to get under the cap, they would end up having LESS to spend than if they just stayed over the cap and used their MLE.

In the end, I expect them to keep 1-3 of those young guys, with 2 being a pretty good bet. My guess would be Temple and the training camp winner between Gee and Hairston.



And how much is Splitter going to cost?


My guess is Splitter will cost the full MLE. There's a slight chance that the Spurs can get him to accept a starting salary of $4 mil per year, but I think both the Spurs and Splitter know that they can't afford to low-ball him and let him walk.



Might be better to keep RJ and be over the cap and offer Tiago most if not all of the MLE and then trade RJ's expiring next year while developing some of their younger talent to eventually replace RJ.

Exactly.

[BackHome]

Yes, the free agent crop is very good and deep this year and there is not enough money to go around. Jefferson would be stupid to opt out.

Are you kidding they are four to five teams that have hardly any payroll next year. Alot of teams have shed their teams payroll and contract players in hopes of getting one of the All Stars and all five are not all going to get them.

[NFGIII]

No, I don't expect them to let all those guys go. I was just carrying the argument to the point of absurdity, pointing out that even if RJ opts out and the Spurs did absolutely everything in their power to get under the cap, they would end up having LESS to spend than if they just stayed over the cap and used their MLE.

In the end, I expect them to keep 1-3 of those young guys, with 2 being a pretty good bet. My guess would be Temple and the training camp winner between Gee and Hairston.



My guess is Splitter will cost the full MLE. There's a slight chance that the Spurs can get him to accept a starting salary of $4 mil per year, but I think both the Spurs and Splitter know that they can't afford to low-ball him and let him walk.



Exactly.

Thanks for your input. And the question was a rhetorical one and not aimed at you. Your point about absurdity is well taken since that would gut the Toros and their plans at present for developing new talent. And Temple has shown signs of being a decent backup PG while Gee is a terrific athlete with much promise.

And I believe you're correct about Splitter. This team can't afford to low ball him. His services are absolutely needed to help out TD unless he can be bundled with another player, hopefully RJ, and traded for that big the Spurs need. This team ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE A BIG AT 5 in order to get back to the finals. Playing TD with undersized 5s isn't going to cut it. IMHO

[Whisky Dog]

He'd be the dumbest mofo in the history of dumb mofos not to cash in on that 15 mil left and go elsewhere for 10 mil or so less next season. Pop could have sex with his mother and he'd still be back to cash in. He's not going anywhere.

[dastrey]

RJ would be lucky to get a 3 year $15 million contract. He is not opting out.

[fyatuk]

Actually, I think THIS year, RJ could probably get a contracting starting around 7-8 mil a year. After this year it'll probably drop to 5-6 mil or less. This is purely due to the abundance of teams that cleared cap space. Salaries given out in free agency are going to be inflated this offseason.

If he drops to 7 mil this year, that's 8 mill he loses out on, but if he's making 2-3 mill more a year than if he got a contract next year, he just needs a 3-4 year contract to make up the difference.

[ploto]

The only reason I could see this as possible is if he thinks that another year of looking bad on the Spurs will significantly reduce his chances of getting a good contract the next summer.

[jag]

It's always been said that a player needs a year to get used to the system, so i wouldn't mind seeing him back for next season. As bad as he's been, the Spurs got him for Oberto, Thomas, and a retired Bruce Bowen. He hasn't been great, but he makes the Spurs a better team.

[MaNu4Tres]

As bad as he's been, the Spurs got him for Oberto, Thomas, and a retired Bruce Bowen. He hasn't been great, but he makes the Spurs a better team.

I agree JaG.



You simply can't turn down a Kurt Thomas/Oberto for Richard Jefferson deal.

Spurs were dealing with dead money and the money Jefferson was paid this year would have been paid to Kurt Thomas, Oberto and Bowen's retired salary regardless.

It's not like Spurs used up their cap space to sign Jefferson.

Spurs had already used up all their cap money. It was dead money and for 2 years that remained on his deal, it wasn't as bad as his salary suggests.

People need to start realizing this.

[cdcast]

If the Spurs were to trade RJ before the cutoff date for RJ to opt out.
As soon as the trade is made, RJ decides to opt out. Does that team get
$15 million off their cap immediately? Would the NBA allow that?

If it's allowed, maybe that could be incentive for a team to go after RJ.

[lurker23]

If the Spurs were to trade RJ before the cutoff date for RJ to opt out.
As soon as the trade is made, RJ decides to opt out. Does that team get
$15 million off their cap immediately? Would the NBA allow that?

If it's allowed, maybe that could be incentive for a team to go after RJ.

Had to look this up, but it turns out it's not allowed (which makes one of my posts above moot; Spurs can't trade him until he officially decides what to do with his contract). Here's the answer from the all-powerful CBA FAQ:

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q83

87. When can't a player be traded? Can players be given "no-trade" clauses in their contracts?

...

In addition, teams cannot trade players under the following circumstances:

...

# When the trading deadline has passed. Teams are free to make trades again once their season has ended, but cannot trade players whose contracts are ending or could end due to an option or ETO.

[Agloco]

Is hoopsworld known to make up sources?

Misrepresent or misinterpret would be more accurate. In the end, you'll just get laughed at for posing Hoopsworld articles on this board.

[21_Blessings]

RJ fits in a losing system perfectly. Which is why he should stay in San Antonio.

[e20dylan]

RJ fits in a losing system perfectly. Which is why he should stay in San Antonio.

lakers = cheaters

[Harry Callahan]

Is 21 Douchebags even humanly capable of an intelligent post? Is 21 Douchebags even human, or a highly developed monkey? I'm not sure.

[tdunk21]

^ 21 blessings thinks he is funny with his 2nd grade jokes.....

[21_Blessings]

Jefferson has never been that good. I told all you dumbshits last summer when you were singing championship delusions.

End of the day it comes down to karma. Kicking Bowen to the curb like that was some shallow shit.

[tdunk21]

Jefferson has never been that good. I told all you dumbshits last summer when you were singing championship delusions.

End of the day it comes down to karma. Kicking Bowen to the curb like that was some shallow shit.

stfu cumface.......

[rascal]

in the best of all possible worlds we can convince atlanta that RJ would be a great fit for them and then orchestrate a sign and trade for joe johnson.

Never happening.

[NFGIII]

Jefferson has never been that good. I told all you dumbshits last summer when you were singing championship delusions.

End of the day it comes down to karma. Kicking Bowen to the curb like that was some shallow shit.

Bruce was done, period. It was time for him to hang them up. So "kicking him to the curb" is absurd. And this karma crap is just that - crap. If there really was such a thing then you guys should have been screwed over for the Gasol trade. Talk about a one sided BS trade. Without that trade you don't win last year and aren't in the WCF for the last three years.

Anyway the Spurs thought that RJ would help and getting rid of those older players was a good move on their part. His style of play obviously doesn't fit very well with the Spurs system and that became quite clear as the season wore on. He needs a Nash/Paul type of PG and that's why he plays so much better with Manu than with TP. He needs a distributor and not a scoring PG. The fact that it didn't work out is sad but in retrospect if any GM doesn't pull the trigger on that trade he would have been fired or severely ripped at the very least.

But I do agree wiith you on the fact that RJ isn't that good. In the sense of being a go to guy that is. He is a contributor and should be considered a 3rd or 4th option. Get his points on fast breaks and open court cuts. In the half court style of O that the Spurs mainly use he isn't that effective.

If he gets traded to say the Warriors (Nellie ball), Hornets (Paul) or even the Suns (Nash) then you will see his point production go up significantly.

[kaji157]

The only good scenario for us with Jefferson is a team wanting him for 3 years at 30 milions or something like that, and with a free agent or players we want so we can do a sign n trade instead of loosing him for nothing.