In case you forgot and needed a reminder, big men get paid! Whether it’s Roy Hibbert or Brook Lopez and to a lesser degree Ian Mahimni, this summer is proof that when in doubt, just give your seven footer too much money. Even restricted free agency didn’t delude the big man market this summer. In fact, being restricted kind of forced Indiana and Brooklyn’s hand on their two not quite franchise big men. With Portland offering Hibbert the max and both Portland and Charlotte expressing interest in Lopez at a max rate, Indy and Brooklyn really had no choice in giving max contracts to non-max players. Enter JaVale McGee, the other seven foot restricted free agent. Benjamin Hochmann of the Denver Post reports McGee has a standing offer to stay in Denver at a very reasonable price.
“The Nuggets continue to pursue restricted free-agent center JaVale McGee, who has a five-year, $50 million offer on the table, a source said. But McGee’s representatives don’t appear to be in a hurry to get a deal done and will continue to negotiate.”
You might be saying “$10 million for that knucklehead? Are you nuts?!” Still, considering McGee’s potential and youth, $10 million a season is a steal when you consider Hibbert and Lopez just got maxed out. Yes, McGee has some growing up to do and his game does need some refining, but how often do you find a guy with that potential? George Karl has done a masterful job his entire career grooming players and dealing the ones who are a little nuts, boneheaded, immature, etc. Hell, he once coached Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Allen Iverson and Chris Anderson all on the same team. Karl is the perfect guy to help groom McGee, who isn’t a bad guy by any means. He’s just a immature and absent minded at times. But he’s also very young and those kind of things happen sometimes. His agent should probably hold out for a little more money, but five years, $50 million is a great price if that’s what it ends up being.
