KL - "I have to admit that finding out they gave him a "take it or leave it" offer wouldn't turn me off. Where's he going to go, and do we even know he'll be any good (almost) a year from now, when he's back?" ---
That's not the equation at all.
If you don't get to a deal he likes, he goes nowhere. Mavs aren't off the hook. YOU choke down the $45M cap hit year where he plays half the year or less.
Then he walks as a FA, you get no compensation, and someone else gets him for the ensuing years when he's full speed again. You think that's a win somehow? Goodness, I don't.
Of course, if you think he's done, then yeah, you don't tack on extra years. Obviously if he's done, he's done, and you don't compound the problem with more money. But I'm willing to bet he'll be back and be good again.
That's not the equation at all.
If you don't get to a deal he likes, he goes nowhere. Mavs aren't off the hook. YOU choke down the $45M cap hit year where he plays half the year or less.
Then he walks as a FA, you get no compensation, and someone else gets him for the ensuing years when he's full speed again. You think that's a win somehow? Goodness, I don't.
Of course, if you think he's done, then yeah, you don't tack on extra years. Obviously if he's done, he's done, and you don't compound the problem with more money. But I'm willing to bet he'll be back and be good again.