[外電] Contract Players

[RonnieBrewer (Ronnie Brewer)]

Contract Players

Earlier this month, the New York Islanders inked Rick DiPietro to a 15-year
contract, the longest in NHL history. The 25-year-old goalie will rake in
$67.5 million over the course of the deal. It got us to thinking, who in the
NBA would be even worth considering for a 15-year deal? Pretend that every
player in the League was eligible for a contract extension today. Who would
be in the discussion for such a long-term deal?

LeBron James
The problem with trying to sign an NBA player to a 15-year deal isn't only
that the owners wouldn't want to (too risky given injuries), but that today's
superstar or potential superstar player is too business-savvy to lock himself
into a deal that long. LeBron is the prime example of this; he broke tradition
by signing a less-than-maximum length extension this summer, and was promptly
followed by D-Wade and Chris Bosh. So while the Cavs would probably love to
lock ‘Bron down for as long as possible, no way ‘Bron would go for it.
But without a doubt, he's still the No. 1 player on this list. At just 21
years old, LeBron is already one of the two or three best players in the world,
and he hasn't even entered his prime. And even when LeBron's freakish
athleticism, speed and quickness diminish with age, he has the court vision,
passing skills and crunch-time warrior mentality to remain a dominant player.

Dwight Howard
His offensive game needs work, but that can come in time. At 20 years old,
Howard is already up there with the best rebounders in the game and is a force
on defense despite his relatively low shot-blocking numbers. Dwight is also
one of those David Robinson/Tim Duncan types - a solid character guy whom an
organization can feel safe handing over status as the face of the franchise.

Josh Smith
Another 20-year-old ATLien, J-Smoove is developing into a dangerous wing
scorer and a potential lock-down defender. And last year he improved his
outside shooting, making him even more of a threat. He might not ever be
Dominique Wilkins, but he's not a bad choice to be the cornerstone of the
Hawks franchise.

Carmelo Anthony
’Melo has improved on the court and gotten in better physical condition every
season, and he’s just 22 years old. He's a crafty scorer who doesn't have to
rely on his physical tools, and he's already gained a rep as a clutch scorer
with no conscience. And as we saw with Michael Jordan, the blood only gets
colder as one gets older. If he stays healthy, ‘Melo could have the career
that Bernard King was supposed to have.

Shaun Livingston
All things equal, Livingston can be a skinnier version of Magic Johnson. He's
that special. But at 21 years old, he's already suffered too many injuries
for a team to invest in him for a real long period of time.

Dwyane Wade
If you've picked up our September issue, than you already know how we feel
about D-Wade. Right now, there's no one better in the world. And while he gets
a ton of buckets by utilizing that wicked first step, he'll adjust his game as
time goes on and the legs get heavier. But Flash takes such a pounding, get
knocked down so many times, can he stay at a superstar level for the next 15
years? Probably not. But then again, Allen Iverson has been doing it going
on 11 seasons now (and still has the nasty first step), so why can't D-Wade?

Chris Bosh
CB4 is one of those guys who, 10-plus years from now, you'll look up and
realize he's put up Hall of Fame-type numbers almost under the radar. Or
more accurately, that will be the case if he continues playing for bad teams.
Bosh's scoring and rebounding stats have risen every year he's been in the
League, as the 22-year-old put up 22 and 9 last season.

Amare Stoudemire
Had this question been raised a year ago, Amare would be an absolute "yes"
when it came to an extra-long contract. But coming off last season's knee
injuries, no one knows how Stoudemire will respond.

Chris Paul
Normally it takes a point guard a few years to really "get it" in the NBA
(see Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, etc.), but CP3 looked like he had it down
as a rookie. The passing, the leadership, the defense, the maturity, plus the
clean-cut positive image … the Hornets would be happy to keep Chris on the
payroll for the rest of his career.

Deron Williams
Chris Paul got all the attention last year, but Deron Williams wasn't too
far behind him, and in their head-to-head meetings, Deron got the best of
CP a few times. He doesn't have the total package like Paul, but Williams
is another guy you could build a team around.

Gilbert Arenas
Hard to believe, but Gil is only 24 years old. In a few years we could see
him being the most prolific scorer in the game, and with his shooting ability
and competitive streak, Arenas could be a problem for the rest of the NBA for
a long time.

Kirk Hinrich
Hinrich is another guy who is ultra-quick, but isn't totally dependent on
his physical tools, which is what long careers are made of. He's not quite
the passer that John Stockton or Mark Jackson was, but Hinrich could have a
long, productive career similar to those two. In 15 years, Hinrich will be
40. Stockton was 41 when he retired and played in all 82 games. Jackson was 39
when he hung 'em up.

http://www.dimemag.com/feature.asp?id=2543

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