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I guess Miami isn't a done deal as most people thought, or else why would he waste his time meeting with the brass of three other teams.
Very interesting.
No quick decision expected from Finley
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2140564
Face-to-face negotiations are under way in the Michael Finley sweepstakes, but no signing commitment is expected from the in-demand former All-Star before next week at the earliest.
Sources close to the process have told ESPN.com that Finley and agent Henry Thomas have invited the leading suitors to Chicago for sitdowns in Finley's hometown as opposed to launching into a series of recruiting trips.
The Miami Heat's Pat Riley and Stan Van Gundy was the first to visit Finley on Monday, with delegations from the Phoenix Suns (Tuesday), San Antonio Spurs (Thursday) and Detroit Pistons (TBD) also scheduled for visits this week.
There is likewise a chance that the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the fifth team to get an up-close chance to woo Finley, with the most prominent casualty of the NBA's new amnesty clause apparently intent on a deliberate evaluation of his options. The 10-year veteran was waived by the Dallas Mavericks late last Monday and became an unrestricted free agent after clearing waivers Thursday.
Riley, Minnesota star Kevin Garnett, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and ex-Dallas teammate Steve Nash are among the luminaries who have personally reached out to Finley by phone since he was released.
Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, meanwhile, enjoyed an unexpected head start in the lobbying process late last week when he and Finley were guests at the Phoenix wedding of Mavericks athletic trainer Casey Smith, a former Suns employee.
Various league executives have maintained for weeks that Miami is the heavy favorite to land Finley, with the Heat able to offer a full mid-level exception of $5 million next season and the lure of playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, who's also represented by Thomas. Finley, furthermore, is quite familiar with Van Gundy, having played for him at Wisconsin.
Yet, sources insist that Finley has not yet established a favorite. Intensely private throughout his eight-plus seasons in Dallas, Finley has been typically tight-lipped about his future, telling reporters at Nash's July 29 charity game that he wasn't ready to discuss the prospect of free agency and declining interview requests since being waived by the Mavericks.
Thomas, though, did confirm last week that Finley is "most interested" in joining a team with championship potential.
Of the four teams that best fit that description, Miami and Detroit can both offer a starting salary of $5 million. The Pistons, however, are poised to cut into their mid-level exception to sign power forward Dale Davis this week -- and potentially take themselves out of the running -- if they sense that Finley's interest is waning.
San Antonio and Phoenix are the other two teams, but going to either of the Mavericks' Western Conference rivals will require Finley to make a financial sacrifice. The Spurs are limited to offering a starting salary of just over $2.5 million, and Phoenix can't pitch anything more than the veteran minimum of $1.1 million for the 2005-06 campaign.
Thomas, though, did confirm last week that Finley is "most interested" in joining a team with championship potential. Of the four teams that best fit that description, Miami and Detroit can both offer a starting salary of $5 million. Going to either of the Mavericks' Western Conference rivals in that category will require Finley to make a financial sacrifice, since San Antonio is limited to offering a starting salary of just over $2.5 million, and Phoenix can't offer more than the veteran minimum of $1.1 million for the 2005-06 campaign.
The Mavericks tried for weeks to trade Finley to an Eastern Conference team before waiving him in hopes of keeping the swingman away from the Spurs or Suns. Reports persist that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was prepared to offer Finley a restructured payment schedule on the nearly $52 million left on Finley's contract to help persuade him to go East, but NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that no such deal was struck.
The presence of San Antonio and Phoenix on Finley's list of finalists indeed suggests no such arrangement exists. A "spread provision" in Finley's Dallas contract stipulates that, upon being waived, his remaining salary will be paid in annual installments of less than $5 million.
I guess Miami isn't a done deal as most people thought, or else why would he waste his time meeting with the brass of three other teams.
Very interesting.
thanks for posting.
Although it's nice to still be holding a ticket in the Micheal Finley sweepstakes, I don't really like the idea of having to wait a week or two for the guy to make a decision if the Spurs are still considering pitching a position in the direction of Nick Van Exel.
He might be doing it to ensure he gets the full MLE from Miami. They might try to lowball him slightly - but give more than anybody else - in order to finesse another player onto their squad.
P.S. Is there any indication at all the Spurs are willing to pitch an offer of any kind to NVE?
NVE will have to take either vet min or the LLE (if he wants to play in TX), neither of which affect negotiations with Fin.
That might be the rationale for a trip to Detroit, but not here or Phoenix.He might be doing it to ensure he gets the full MLE from Miami.
so i guess it's a "how badly do i want a ring vs. how badly do I want the $$" thing.Thomas, though, did confirm last week that Finley is "most interested" in joining a team with championship potential.
San Antonio and Phoenix are the other two teams, but going to either of the Mavericks' Western Conference rivals will require Finley to make a financial sacrifice. The Spurs are limited to offering a starting salary of just over $2.5 million
personally I'm thinking there is a 20-30% chance of Finley coming to SA.....
BTW- how much do ya'll think he could get at the most id $$ were not such an issue for the teams that are wanting him?
I say Finley is making everyone waste their time.
finley, bring on van exel
if we sign van exel we will be putting an end to the reign he's had of owning us
if we sign finley we're signing a player that bowen owns
and i thought Miami is a lock already.
and I'm happy this one rumor isn't true after all. It's been circulating around:
i think Finley is not so keen on Miami, it took him this long to sign with them. He's got other team on his mind. Now that Davis is poised to sign with Detroit, Mckie with the Lakers, Evans might re-sign with his former team. the Spurs might as well pursue on the Ex-Mav even more...Reports persist that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was prepared to offer Finley a restructured payment schedule on the nearly $52 million left on Finley's contract to help persuade him to go East, but NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that no such deal was struck.
God this is a long off season.
no man, and yet we still won the championship
i remember the 2003 offseason going by extremely fast
Finley's probably trying to get more years out of Miami or perhaps another suitor via a sign and trade.
Personally I think it's just that players think highly of Pop and want to show him their respect by letting him make his pitch.
I think there's something specific that didn't seal the deal for Finley with Miami. They've been noted as the frontrunner all along and if their meeting went perfectly today, then I think he would have signed there today. There's no bargaining going on because everyone knows how much each team has to offer him.
He must really not be totally sold on them.
I'm not a big Finley fan. So I was hoping he'd just sign with Miami and it would be over. Now this is looks like it's going to stretch out for another couple weeks.
I wish the Spurs would sign Earl Watson and Matt Barnes and call it a summer.
This is looking better and better. I thought all along that Finley to Miami was pure speculation. Phoenix makes a lot of sense for playing time, but he has to know that swapping himself for Joe Johnson is not going to be enough to overcome the Spurs.
Detroit seemed logical since we barely beat them and he could make a difference. But who the wants to live in Detroit?
Shaq's best days are behind him and Miami is looking like a team with chemistry issues before they even play a game.
Finley would fit right in on the Spurs and have a blast playing in SA. Let's get real on the money issue. This guy has $50 mill. coming to him, I don't care if it takes 10 years or 20 years, he is set for life. If he gets a clever tax accountant, having the money spread out may even help him! If I was that rich I would do what I thought would make me the most happy. Money can't buy happiness, or as Mark Cuban proved, championships!!
I think we have an excellent chance to land Finley and I am glad he is taking time to think this over carefully. I will be very surprised if it comes down to $.
im not an earl fan
where has all the glenn robinson talk gone...did he already sign up somewhere?
The pursuit of Finley really worries me. I'm concerned if Finley agrees to sign on with the Spurs, that will signal the end to Devin Brown. Devin's younger, cheaper, more versatile and has a tremendous upside.
Finley, on the other hand, is a prideful player who feels as though he's got plenty of juice left and can contribute to a team's championship aspirations. I'm also fairly certain he sees himself as a starter. I certainly don't fault him for that.
Let's face it. Finley will never start in S.A. IMO, he would never be happy as 6th, 7th or 8th man on a championship team. Anyway, why would he come here versus going to PHX or MIA, where he can start, get PAID and compete for a le?
To me this is Jason Kidd all over again (less the exhorbiant price tag). Is the price of bringing in this one-dimensional, no defense-playing, shooter to our team worth losing Devin Brown? Personally, I'd take him over Finley anyday.
I know he won't come here, but Earl is the perfect backup point guard for the Spurs. He's strong, a good defender, and knocks down clutch shots.im not an earl fan
Okay, back to the Finley subject ...
Nobody is going to get signed until finley chooses a team because all the major teams have to save their $ for him..I think a signing of finley would be a great addition and worth the wait!!!
If we give finley 2.5 mil how much do we have left??
If you think Finley wont be a Heat player by this time next week you are fooling yourself.
Miami is where he wants to be.
Miami is where he will be.
Is he really incapable of playing defense? I am thinking that is a product of the system. Even Barry did OK on defense in Pop's system.
then why the hasnt he signed yet? if he is so dead set on them why even waste time with the Spurs? He KNOWS Miami's offer and he knows what SA can offer also
I don't know. He strikes me as too intelligent a guy to want to spend a lot of time around a clown like Shaq.
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