Can't believe how many people trust this rumor.......
Confirmation bias. People who think poorly of Rondo or want to trade him will be inclined to believe this rumor because it bolsters their case.
Max is always around the team, played for the Cs, and played with Ainge. If he's saying it, I would tend to believe him. Which begs the question, is the rumor so outlandish? This will be Rondos final huge contract so is it really such a stretch that he would ask for max money to provide financial security?
Max is the same guy who was telling people that Baby's second contract (3 years, $8M total) was going to be $10M a year. He was just as plugged in then as he is now.
Maybe more plugged in than you gave him credit for...
Chris Forsberg @ESPNForsberg ·
Rondo asked if he sees himself as a max contact guy. Answers "yes" as Ainge playfully blinks hard next to him.
Honestly, what would you expect him to say?
Whatever Rondo signs for, I wouldn't take it as evidence that Max is really plugged in though.
You've always maintained that there was no definitive proof that Rondo wanted a max despite quite a few reports stating it.
Of course he's looking for the max. Why wouldn't he be? Players want to get paid, especially one that will be looking at his final big payday.
Every player in the nba wants max money. Why wouldn't they? I'd take $20M a year if I could get it. I'd guess that I said something along the lines of he might sign for less than the max. I might not have explicitly added the disclaimer that he'd want as much money as he could get, I assumed people were smart enough to realize that.
That's not what you've always said, though. In fact, it basically contradicts some of your earlier thoughts on Rondo.
This was you, in this very thread, in a response about Rondo's agent asking for 85M, according to David Aldridge, and then settling for 55M.
That's one of the reasons this has legs, people *still* buy that Aldridge rumor despite everyone involved denying it
So I assume when you wrote that you weren't smart enough to realize people always want as much money as possible.
Also, who exactly denied that report? I challenge to show an example of someone denying the report, other than his agent (not good to ask for 85M and settle for 55M) or the team (who doesn't discuss contract negotiations anyways), because you're just making stuff up to support your argument.
Most of the articles that came out after Rondo signed the extension were like:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/celtics-rondo-55-million-extension-081000953--nba.html
"League sources said the extension is for five years and guarantees Rondo at least $55 million. With the two sides facing a Monday deadline to get a deal done, Duffy said he called Celtics president Danny Ainge on Sunday to inform him Rondo was prepared to play out his contract and become a restricted free agent next summer because they weren’t satisfied with the team’s previous offers. Ainge, however, surprised Duffy by responding that Rondo’s contract hopes would be met.
“As much as we were willing to wait his contract out, the Celtics stepped up to the plate to meet the original request,” Duffy said by phone."
That hardly constitutes my "making things up". Other accounts you can find will even say that the Celts offered $45M and when up by $10M to meet Duffy's demands.
By the way, do you even read what you write? You challenge me to find an example of someone denying the report other than the agent or the team. You might have trouble wrapping your mind around this, but those are the only people who would actually know what went on in the negotiations.
Why would Duffy acknowledge that he initially asked for 85M, but was rebuffed? That's not doing his job as an agent. Not only does that make no sense, but also contradicts you stating that "every player wants max money". So how can you make that comment, but then suggest that Rondo's agent went to the negotiating only seeking 55M over 5 years?
For one that often questions others ability to read, your reading comprehension sure seems lacking. Your condescending nature never lacks though. You must have a lot of friends.
So… every agent for every player should always start out negotiations _asking_ for the absolute maximum contract their client qualifies for, regardless of whether it will realistically be met?
Journeyman, bench role player FAs should be asking for max deals? Because they probably 'want' that much money, right? According to the logic you are expressing here, because Rondo might want as much money as he can get, therefore his agent _must_ have asked for $85M -- and not the $55M that the agent claimed to have asked for and that Ainge has never corrected him on and never mind that no one other than Aldridge ever seems to have reported that $85M number.
There is a difference between acknowledging that all players might _want_ to get a max deal versus the action of actually _asking_ for a max deal in negotiations.
Starting out negotiations too far from where you are willing to meet in the middle is not really a very good negotiating ploy. That can lead the other side to think you will not meet them at a reasonable point so they won't negotiate in turn and the next thing you know a player is traded or becomes a FA when it could have been avoided all along. A good agent, like a good GM will typically have a common understanding of where in the market a player's value sits and they will negotiate around that point knowing they will end up near it.
You're arguing about certain things that I never said. I never said all players should ask for max deals, but Rondo's agent should do his due diligence as an agent to have asked for 85M over 5 years. I wouldn't have considered that outlandish. Moreover, I would say that Rondo at 23, following an amazing playoff run vs Chicago and Orlando deserved the max more than the Rondo of today, who last we saw had lost a step or two.
That was confirmed by the very credible Aldridge and refuted by no unbiased party. I take what Duffy says with a grain of salt. As an agent which sounds better, "we asked for 85M, but settled for 55M" or "the Celtics met our original request"?
So you are saying that only Rondo's agent should follow this ill-advised strategy? Why single only his agent out?
Deserving or not, the Celtics would have been put pretty heavily into the luxury tax by such a request. The C's were taxpayers during most of that period. That extra 6M per year would have cost a heck of a lot more when you add on tax penalties. The Celtics also were looking forward to having other big contracts to sign in the next couple of years. Duffy would know all this.
It makes no sense that an agent representing a player who _wants_ to get signed by a particular team would ask for a number that the team couldn't possibly meet or puts them up against the wall in order to do so.
I see zero evidence that Aldridge is more credible on this topic than the agent and GM involved in the actual negotiation. The number Aldridge provided has been confirmed by no other source as far as I can tell. If you have an independent verification of it, please share. Otherwise, it sounds like it was made up out of thin air.
The "Rondo of today", is not really relevant. The contract, if any, will be signed next summer.
Topic: Rumor: Rondo wants max extension (Read 49199 times)