It wasn’t too hard to see this coming:
The Pistons wasted no time in finalizing one of their training camp to-dos Monday. Just after noon, the team announced it was picking up power forward Jason Maxiell’s option for the 2008-09 season, the last year of his rookie contract.
“Jason is a tough, physical player on the front-line who continues to grow and mature within our system,” team president Joe Dumars said in a statement. “We look forward to the contributions he will bring this season and beyond.”
Maxiell will make just over $1.8 million in 2008-09 before becoming a restricted free agent. It’s funny how things work out: Maxiell was a first-rounder in 2005 while Amir Johnson was a second-rounder. Maxiell also cracked the rotation last year while Johnson toiled lit up the D-League … yet Johnson is the one with a new contract that pays him more than double what Maxiell will earn over the next two years. Sometimes being a first-round pick isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The biggest difference is that if Amir had blown out his knee on day one, he would have been in big trouble. No matter what Maxiell did for these three years (05-08), he was going to get approximately $5 million.
I’ve always thought that if I had a kid who was on his way to becoming a huge basketball star, I’d suggest going in the draft too early with the express purpose of going undrafted. Very risky, but if you pull it off, you can sign with any team for any contract you can get. Imagine if there was a bidding war over Oden and Durant…
They have both had to work very hard for their contracts/extensions, which are still on the low end for players in the L who will be looking at 20+ minutes/game. I can hardly sit still now, waiting for the season to start. Of course, I’m not going to be able to watch any of the games…
I would love to be a fly on the wall in the practice facilities today. There must be BATTLES going on.
I’ve also decided that I’m going to give Flip a clean slate and try to believe what he says about being revitalized this season. A solid coach is what this group of veterans and young players needs, so maybe Flip will respond.
Taco John: that’s not a bad idea, especially if you could latch on to a European team and make a few million while your counterparts in the US are in college.