Sauru wrote:i know the league is different now. i did not mean its different now cause of superteams i mean its different now as big name free agents are much more willing to relocate. it was not very often you saw an all star player switch teams in the prime of his career. its kind of expected now
But it's not anymore. It wasn't even really much of an idea until the late 1980s because it required compensation and arbitration which is why Wilt, Kareem, etc. all forced their way out through trades. (And Hakeem and others attempted it.)
What changed were the two late-90's CBAs where Jordan, Ewing and others wanted to settle the score with the owners. Magic for example had signed a $25 million over 25 years contract. Jordan signed a $6.3 million over SEVEN YEARS rookie deal and he had the amazing ability (for the time) to renegotiate after five years during which he signed a MEGA DEAL (one of the largest ever if not the largest ever per year) for $25 million over EIGHT YEARS.
When they redid the CBA in 1995 after that lockout the caps on salary were essentially gone which is why Jordan made $30+ million a year from 96-98 even though the salary cap was only $23-27 million. This is also what allowed Shaq to make MORE despite bolting for the Lakers. (And Juwan Howard to amass the GDP of a small island nation.)
They "fixed" this as part of the compromise in 1999 which is why the only other MAJOR free agent signing since then was Hill and McGrady to Orlando as sign-and-trades. The same thing that got Bosh and LeBron to Miami. The difference is that Bosh and LeBron took pay cuts.
Seriously, what other big free agents have their been? Amare? I don't think Nash, Arenas and Billups really count. Ben Wallace to the Bulls? Rashard Lewis to Orlando? Joe Johnson to the Hawks? Despite all the speculation over the various years Duncan stayed put, KG stayed put, Kobe stayed put, Kidd stayed put, Webber stayed put, Paul Pierce stayed put, etc.
The one thing you can say about the Miami Three is that they might have seen the greater restrictions coming with the next CBA, since there were more after 2005, that's why they signed three year deals back in 2007. Melo signed the fourth year and that's why he desperately needed the trade to maintain his salary. It's why the Lakers (and everyone else) worked so hard to get Paul and Dwight through trades because they have to give up $30 million to go play somewhere else.
You're talking about an era (1996-2006) that's basically over now. We're now in a era where teams will willingly deal not just decent players but superstars (Harden) to escape the luxury tax.
