Sheridan Hoops

A better basketball site. For intelligent readers, from veteran writers.
Keep scrolling down. Good stuff here.

Tweet of the Day: Lance Stephenson Is Heading To The Hive

by

Lance Stephenson

Lance Stephenson, seen posing with $1 million in cash, will be cashing in upwards of $27 million in Charlotte.

Lance Stephenson has chosen to turn down longterm offers to stay in Indiana for the Charlotte Hornets.

The reports seem as perplexing as his on-court behavior. He was being offered five years and $44 million guaranteed to remain with the Pacers, but opted for three years and $18 million guaranteed—the third year is a team option.

While it may seem puzzling to many, doing the math, he did take choose more (if ever so slightly) per year.

It is interesting that he and his agent, Alberto Ebanks, were willing to go for two years, giving the Hornets the leverage on the third, as we’ve seen quite a few free agents opt for shorter deals—LeBron James, Mike Miller and Dwyane Wade, to name few—while keeping the leverage to themselves with player options on the second year.

The idea behind the shorter contracts, even where one is likely to remain with the same team, is the ability to become a free agent sooner. It’s no secret that, as league revenue continues to go up and franchises increase in value, the salary cap will continue to go up. Some are projecting the cap to surpass $80 million in two years. For a player, a higher cap means a higher payday.

Why lock in to a five-year, $44 million deal in a $63 million salary cap, when in two or three years, your potential market value may be higher (with improved play and on/off-court behavior)? And, in some ways, he should be able to hope for greater improvement to his game. He just traded Larry Bird for Michael Jordan. Who better to talk to and seek mentorship from than the greatest the game has ever known?

Makes sense, in its own way.

Stephenson took to Twitter to thank Indiana and the Pacer Nation.

His tweet is obviously the beginning of a larger statement, which reads:

Indy, I had a great 4 years. Thank you Larry Bird, the fans, my coaches and teammates for the incredible experience. I will never forget any of you! I now have to look to the next phase of my career and the wonderful opportunity to continue to grow as a player and as a person in Charlotte! I’m excited to play for this franchise and the fans!! #buzzcity”

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer broke the details of Stephenson’s contract, after which many other reporters helped further paint the picture explaining why he and his agent chose to go in this direction.

Stephenson’s agent, Ebanks, released a statement of his own:

While we tried our best to come to the best possible terms for both sides, there was not sufficient flexibility in the terms of the contract, particularly the length of the contract. Reports throughout the negotiation process with Indiana have often strayed from the truth but suffice it to say that it was less about the money. Lance will miss the city, the team and the mentor who helped transform him into the dynamic player he has become. He looks forward to making a strong contribution and beginning a new chapter with the Charlotte Hornets.”

Something else of interest might be shoes, or more specifically, shoe endorsement. Stephenson is not signed to one of the big brands (Nike, Jordan and Adidas).

That’s right, Stephenson is the only NBA athlete representing And1.

However, he now plays for Jordan (literally). It will be interesting to see if he even bothers maintaining his relationship with And1 two years from now when his contract is up and he still has a year remaining (via team option) on his contract with the Hornets.

Leaving Indiana isn’t all joy and happiness. He leaves behind his brethren, with whom he played alongside for the past four years. For Pacers center and former teammate Roy Hibbert, losing Stephenson seems to be a tough pill to swallow.

In the end, while some may question Stephenson’s motives, it is quite apparent that Jordan and Hornets GM Rich Cho filled their need. After falling short on Gordon Hayward, whose offer sheet was matched by the Utah Jazz, they targeted the Pacers wingman.

Jordan, Cho, head coach Steve Clifford and associate head coach Patrick Ewing met with him and his agent Tuesday night in Las Vegas and worked out the details of his contract.

The move now pairs him with guard Kemba Walker, both were rival prep stars in New York City.

The scary thought, when considering the ramifications of his signing, is that Charlotte ranked amongst the top defenses in the league (fourth in opponents points per game) last season without Stephenson. He is, by all counts, a talented two-way player, though he is a superior defender.

Individually, he netted a defensive rating of 102 last year, ranking him ninth among all NBA players. Among those ranked above him, Hornets center Al Jefferson (ranked sixth).

Charlotte may have gotten a lot scarier to opposing offenses.

 

 

Previous Tweet Posts:

Tweet of the Night: Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday And Anthony Davis Welcome Omer Asik

Tweet of the Day: Is Cleveland The New Miami?

_______

Michael Brumagin writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com.

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives