The Ballad of Drew Gooden
Posted July 25th, 2006 by Brian Windhorst
It ain’t easy being a restricted free agent. This is the tedious and tenuous reality Drew Gooden is now going through.
Many of you have e-mailed me asking about Gooden recently looking for an update. There’s been no news coming out about it. His agents have stopped taking phone calls from me and the Cavs aren’t commenting, either. So I’m going to break down the situation as I see it for you, point by point. As of this moment, of course. Hopefully you’ll see why this is taking so long.
1. The Cavs are probably standing very firm on a contract offer. My guess is they have probably offered a deal that starts a little higher than the mid-level exception of $5.3 million available to all teams. I’ll guess it starts in the $6 million range. That would be a five-year deal worth about $38 million or six years and about $45 million should he sign for the maximum length. The Cavs feel this is fair because it is more than any other team can or will offer him in the current market.
2. Gooden doesn’t have negotiating position since no teams with cap space likely have interest in him. If Gooden were to sign some mid-level deal somewhere, the Cavs would gladly match. His agents were hoping to get a sign-and-trade going, but so far there has only been smoke and the Cavs don’t have to be cooperative.
3. Nene got six years and $60 million, it sounds as if Al Harrington is going to get six years and $57 million. Gooden is hoping to get as close to that as possible, because he feels he’s comparable to both players. Statistically he has a point, so you can see the gap here.
4. Drew’s one-year qualifying offer is $5.3 million, ironically the same as the mid-level. His agent has told me playing it out is a realistic option. Now, that would be bad for the Cavs because they wouldn’t be able to trade him without his permission and would risk losing him for nothing. That is unacceptable.
Judging by history, it might not be a good decision for Drew either. Players like Stromile Swift, Michael Olowokandi, and Vladimir Radmanovic have done this in recent years. They got their unrestricted free agency as they wanted and all switched teams after their one-year deals. But all signed for the mid-level exceptions the next year. Since I believe the Cavs are offering over the mid-level right now, Drew would seriously risk leaving lots of money on the table.
Just look at Radmanovic. He supposedly turned down a six-year $42 million deal with the Sonics last year (a deal above the mid-level, I might add). He signed with the Lakers this summer, which surely made him happy…but for five years and $31 million. Are we all getting the drift here?
One more point on the one-year option. Sure, Drew could work a sign-and-trade next year or get traded during this upcoming season and sign a huge deal with a new team. But if he says with the Cavs on a one-year deal, it isn’t likely he’s going to get a chance to have a huge statistical year simply because the way the Cavs play him. So I don’t see his value going up. Also, Drew likes playing for the Cavs, why would he want to leave for less money?
5. Drew’s agents are smart. Last summer, in my opinion, Ferry overpaid and overextended for free agents. I think we can all agree Larry Hughes getting $70 million was a little much unless he becomes a regular All-Star, which I don’t see and I’m a Hughes supporter.
Ferry also gave too many years to Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5), Donyell Marshall (4), and Damon Jones (4). He had to do this to get these free agents to Cleveland. It’s a cold-weather city with a bad tax structure and a bad history. I am not blaming him, he had to fire his bullets. But don’t think the agents didn’t notice, it is their job. Also, don’t think they don’t see how Dan Gilbert isn’t afraid to throw money around. I’m sure they feel if they can find a way to put a little pressure on, Ferry/Gilbert may cave.
So there you have it. Hunker down, it is going to be a continuous struggle. It will be interesting to see which side wins out and whether any mud-slinging goes on before it gets done. It is hard for me to predict what will happen since I don’t know the inner-workings. Stay tuned.
If you’re bored with Drew Gooden and want more LeBron James — and who doesn’t? — check out my latest ESPN.com piece. It is lighthearted yet educational.
July 25th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
Thanks, Brian. A point I didn’t follow - why would the Cavs need Drew’s permission to trade him if he signs a 1-year qualifying offer? Is that normal for qualifying offers?
If the Cavs sign him long-term, I hope they arrive at contract terms that will allow them to trade him in the future (if needed). My fear is that they cave and give him a little more $ and an extra year, and they’re stuck for the duration of his contract.
July 26th, 2006 at 6:27 am
Is it me or is this Drew Gooden thing going on way too long?!? You’re right on when you talk about the recent failures of guys taking the qualifying offer. Flip Murray is another example of a guy who turned down big bucks only to sgn for way less, and only 2 years at that…
Beyond Drew, any other FA news? Devean George? Greg Wesley?
July 26th, 2006 at 9:00 am
A LOT of players are statistacally “comparable” to Nene. Denver COMPLETELY blew the curve for every team in the NBA when they offered that deal. Now every solid, yet unexceptional big man is looking for that kind of money, including Chris Wilcox, who has only done it for 1/3 of a season.
Al Harrington is not comparable to me. He has accomplished a lot more over a longer period of time…and is still only 26.
Can you believe he’s going into his 9th season…and Jonathan Bender is already retired? Where does the time go?
July 26th, 2006 at 9:24 am
I think I can answer One Year Question’s question. If Gooden plays for the Cavs on the one-year qualifying offer this year, then his contract is up after this year. Then, if the Cavs want to sign-and-trade him next year, he has to sign an NEW contract. This is where Gooden would have the option to just not sign if he doesn’t want to. A similar thing happened to John Salmons this year (see: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-raptors-salmons&prov=ap&type=lgns)
Does that make sense? Am I correct?
July 26th, 2006 at 11:35 am
To clarify, if Drew took the one-year deal it is a new contract but the Cavs retain his “Bird rights” meaning they can go over the salary cap next year to sign him.
If he is traded, however, his new team would not have any rights to him. This is why he must approve a trade. This happened last year with Vlad Radmanovic and Flip Murray, both approved their trades and lost Bird rights, when they were traded from the Sonics.
Hope that helps.
July 26th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Sports Guru, it’s clear Murray didn’t turn down big bucks. If he was actually offered big bucks, his agent would have accepted. Ya can’t accept what was never on the table.
Ferry, in his infinite wisdom, paid big bucks and long years for one preexisting stiff, and two stiffs-to-be. I’d be shocked if Marshall and Ilgauskas don’t end their NBA careers, let alone the coming season, sitting on a bench chair with a cane and a walker. The way they played much of last season, they should already be eligible for the Golden Buckeye Card.
With respect to the one guy who wasn’t a stiff, Hughes is merely Murray with slightly better range. After paying that much money for him, Ferry isn’t counting on Hughes to miss games again, so Murray is redundant. Hughes without a gangsta neck tattoo. With such a derth of cap space caused by last summers’ blunders, Ferry is absolutely correct that it would have been a mistake to pay a premium for that four to five years of Murray Insurance just to wait for Hughes’ annual stints on the disabled list.
July 26th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
With respect to John Salmons, I have to question the sense and sanity of his agent. What’s Salmons’ agent waiting for, somebody to offer an escape clause so he’ll be able to play with LeBron in Brooklyn? What a maroon.
July 26th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Flip apparently turned down a deal for around $14 million
with the Sonics. But it doesn’t matter now…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002525039_soni28.html
July 26th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
In the grand scheme of things, five years for that money pales in comparison with the cash his agent went into the market looking for. Finally, Ferry showed some restraint. Although, he might have returned to his dopey contract ways if that Hughes/Murray backcourt experiment had shown any semblance of success.
July 27th, 2006 at 2:58 am
Does anybody know where I can find a copy of Drew’s birth certificate? Or how about LeBron’s Nike contract?
July 28th, 2006 at 7:00 am
Drew’s birth certificate? This one went straight over my head…I don’t get it.
July 28th, 2006 at 8:01 am
I was just giving BW some gentle ribbing, as that’s what passes for Cavs news this summer judging from his ESPN article.
Ferry played it “close to the vest” before the draft and is now ignoring BW’s phone calls–do you think he has something on the cooker or is he just pleased as punch with what he’s assembled? GMs are often limited by bad contracts and yet get things done, so that’s no excuse.
July 28th, 2006 at 9:28 am
O.K., now you make sense. I don’t know what I found to be more light and frothy, the A&W Root Beer I had for lunch or that BW espn.com piece.
Gotta love that “close to the vest” stuff. It’s a lot nicer than saying, “As clueless as his father was.”
July 28th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
oh, tucker is sooo right about ferry’s dad! he was the worst gm EVER! he only won one nba title! ha! can you imagine how unacceptable it would be to us here in cleveland, AKA “titletown,” to *settle* for ONE professional sports championship?? boggles the mind!
man, tucker, i know i have cracked on you for not knowing *anything* about basketball before but dude, i take it all back. you are one of the few to know what’s REALLY going on in the nba and basketball in general. have you thought about getting ahold on espn via brian? i know many people think they need another nba insider and dude, you are THE insider! look into it, ok?
July 29th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
He didn’t win anything. For Pete’s sakes, if memory serves, the Bullets won 44 games that season.
Bob Ferry was the very definition of mediocrity. His teams were like following the Gund Cavs. Abe Pollin didn’t have the heart to cut Ferry loose. He’s one of those old-school guys that has a history of sticking with his people for far too long after they’ve outlived their usefulness. That’s why Jordan was shocked when Pollin’s shoe was inserted a mile deep up Jordan’s ass.
Larry is right. Like father, like son. Besides, if Ferry really tried to unload all the trash he signed last summer, he would be admitting he made a mistake. And that will never happen.
July 29th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
“He didn’t win anything”. Yeah, he just put together the team, like GMs are supposed to do.
Bob Ferry was twice named executive of the year and his 1978 Bullets won the championship. Let’s all hope his son is that “clueless”.
At least we know, Alan, who you pattern yourself after when it comes to admitting your mistakes. You’re a complete idiot.