LeBron James is No Longer Accepting Discounts
And if his NBA free agent brethren are smart, they won’t either.
LeBron James apparently has discovered the NBA’s dirty little secret about free agent negotiations: Owners always win. Long lauded as one of the — if not the — most unselfish superstars in the history of the game, the King will reportedly no longer endure salary discounts in his chase for rings.
When James and his partners in crime, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, took less money to play together in 2010, it all seemed very noble — or terrible, depending on your perspective. It was undeniable, though, that three max-caliber players were making at least some level of financial sacrifice to put themselves in the best position to win.
Fast forward to 2014, and it appears the trio has become disconnected when it comes to their top priorities. James, a four-time league MVP, wants to cash in — as owners are making unprecedented amounts of money. The Milwaukee Bucks limped their way to the NBA’s worst record (15-67) and the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but that didn’t preclude the franchise from selling for a whopping $550 million in April to a group led by hedge fund savants Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. With a record $2 billion deal on the table to purchase Donald Sterling’s Los Angeles Clippers, it is clear that the NBA is thriving now more than ever.
Surely, James — he of the “I want to be the first-ever billionaire athlete” aspirations — has taken notice. The Kings have been a laughingstock on the court since James entered the league in 2003, making the playoffs just three times. When the team was being rumored to have a sale in place for $525 million (it was eventually sold in May of 2013 for $534 million), James took to Twitter to express his displeasure.
With local and national television deals bringing in billions of dollars, it doesn’t seem like the league’s license to print money will expire anytime soon, either. And so when Former “Best Player on the Planet” Kobe Bryant made no apologies for taking $48.5 million over two years to finish out his career in a Laker uniform, the backlash was surprising. Still, despite withering media and fan criticism, Bryant made no secret of his feelings on the subject of his worth, both to the Lakers and the Los Angeles community.
“You can’t sit up there and say, ‘Well, I’m going to take substantially less because there’s public pressure,’ because all of a sudden, if you don’t take less, you don’t give a crap about winning. That’s total bull—,” Bryant said.
Bryant’s passion for basketball and, more specifically, winning, is not in question. Nor is LeBron’s. Though the latter’s reputation took a hit when he joined the Heatles, “The Decision” hasn’t ultimately hurt his brand. All that mattered to James was winning, and taking his talents to South Beach has proven to be a wise call after netting two NBA championships in four consecutive trips to the Finals.
Last season, however, Miami struggled to dominate as they had in previous regular seasons, and that inconsistent level of play culminated in an absolute massacre in the Finals at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. In retrospect, Heat owner Micky Arison’s decision not to bring back key role player Mike Miller before the start of the season — presumably because he did not want to pay the luxury tax — was shortsighted, at least in terms of team potential. James was not thrilled then, and we can only assume that his frustration peaked while watching his teammates crumble around him on the league’s biggest stage.
Amazingly, James has never been his team’s highest-paid player, let alone the NBA’s.
ESPN business analyst Darren Rovell estimates that James would be worth nearly $100 million more than he’d be earning in Miami if he were to sign a max deal there. That’s not chump change. Sure, LeBron has his rings, and his greatness has already been validated in full, but to expect him to play for less than he can take — when, even at the max, he’s already playing for far less than he’s worth — is unfair, at best.
While James mulls over where to play next — on Wednesday, rumors have picked up even more steam that he’s headed back to Cleveland, of all places — there are a plethora of free agents still on the market that can have a great impact on contending teams. They, too, must decide if they are OK with taking less money while ownership concurrently lines its coffers.
The allure of staying in Miami, assuming Lebron stays, is great for Chris Bosh, but he also reportedly has a max deal on the table from Houston. Would it be selfish of the Texas native to take that juicy cash and head “home”? Not at all. That is his worth on the open market, apparently. Carmelo Anthony faces the same quandary James did back in 2010. Under immense pressure to win — this will be his 12th year as a pro, and he’s escaped the first round of the playoffs just twice— he must choose between “greedily” accepting the $129 million that the New York Knicks can offer him, or chasing rings in Los Angeles or Chicago for less money.
For fans, the players’ choices should be easy: play to win. But in Anthony’s and Bosh’s cases, they will never be worth more than they are right now. They should do what is best for them and their wallets, and follow LeBron’s max contract-seeking lead. The time has come for players put the onus on the ownership to make sacrifices, too, by spending both freely and wisely. The NBA’s elite are expected to win as soon as they enter the league. Why should established owners and management escape that same level of responsibility?
