Zeller re-signed on a 1+1. As I predicted when I started this thread, it would be resolved today.
I'm curious why they chose to give him twice the QO. I mean, did he turn down other teams to come be a third-stringer with us?
Because he's a) giving up his right to veto a trade, and b) if he gets traded he can now bring back more salary in return. Considering that a main reason to sign him is to trade him mid-year, and that many of the players we'd target make a lot of money, paying him more now is useful.
Id also imagine c) becuase year 2 is a team option. was a factor as well.
That is included with answer a. Because the second year is not guaranteed (which is different than a team option) he can't veto a trade. If it were a team option, he could still veto.
But it is a team option. Regardless I don't see the difference. Doesn't the team have the option to not guarantee the second year? Didn't he lose his veto powers once we renounced him?
1) It's not a team option. Some in the media are lazy with the difference between non-guaranteed years and team options, but they are very different in how the CBA treats them. This is a non-guaranteed second-year. I don't know when it guarantees.
2) He was never renounced. I don't know where you picked that up. Sullinger was, Zeller was not.
3) Even if he were renounced, since he didn't sign with any teams in the meantime, his Bird rights wouldn't reset.
4) Players who have Bird rights can veto any trade if they sign a 1-year deal. Player option and team options do not count as years on a contract. That's why this deal was sign as a two-year deal, the second year not guaranteed. Now, it could mean that the second-year guarantees June 30th, the same time a team option gets decided. Or it could be later in the free agency period, or even after the season starts. Obviously the later the guarantee date, the better for the team. Also, the later the guarantee, the more Zeller would get paid this season in a negotiation, since it would hurt him next free agency period to be waiting.