Apparently, there has been some back office uproar amongst the agents of NBA players. There is no denying that this past off season has been near stellar for Danny Ferry. Stellar would have been if Chris Paul was a Cavalier. What can I say, I’m a tough customer. But one signing that made it near stellar was the contract that was agreed to by Daniel Gibson. While we think it is a solid deal for Danny Ferry and the Cavaliers, said agents are on the other side of the fence.
Agents thought the Cavs took advantage of the father-and-son duo at the negotiating table. Many thought Gibson could have gotten more money had he been represented by a savvy, veteran agent. Gibson was a restricted free agent and there was little — if any — talking done with other teams.
It is not every day that an NBA team can lock up a young, sharp-shooting guard like Gibson for roughly four million dollars per season. But coupling Gibson’s role on the team with the fact that the Cavaliers have championship expectations and Ferry did what a solid GM should do. But was it in fact a swindling of sorts? Not in Gibson’s eyes.
“The deal I got was good, fair,” Gibson said. “An agent might have gotten the same thing, possibly more.”
“In the end, it wasn’t about the money,” he said. “At this point in my career, I wanted to set the table. In the future, I want to set the table for my family.
“Right now, it’s a matter of how much I love the game. I would play the game for free.”
Now, “free” may be a tad tongue-in-cheek but it is these types of statements that show some of these guys truly love playing the game. This situation could not have been more inverse from that that the Cavaliers experienced last season with Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. Gibson really enjoys what he does and who he is doing it for. He’s a fan favorite despite not necessarily having a starting role. He’ll be remembered for his explosion two playoff seasons ago, and as a fan, I cannot wait to see what he can do with a season of full health. I think it goes without saying that players like Gibson make it that much easier to love this team.
Author: Scott
Scott is a co-founder/editor of Waiting For Next Year who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or email him at scott@waitingfornextyear.com.Scott has written 1701 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
This guy is a rock star.
As the star he shaves in his head points out every postseason.
is his dad his agent or something?
he should shave the old Oilers logo in his head this year
didn’t he leave college early? So doesn’t that contradict that whole statement?
His performance against Detroit in last year’s playoffs will probably remain with me my whole life. Great. I’m really glad we have him around for a while.
shoot it boobie! shoot it!
I might have to buy a Gibson jersey. Not that I didnt want one before though.
Do they sell jerseys that say “Boobie” on the back, rather than “Gibson”?
Then I’d get one too.
The agents are just pissed because they lost $200k or whatever.
It’s just more proof that agents don’t give a squat about the players they represent at all. If Gibson is happy in Cleveland (and, being a sharp-shooter on a team with LeBron is certainly a good place to be), why can’t he take a little less to stay there?
I’m with DP – the agents are going to knock this deal because they weren’t a part of it. Could he have received more money if he’d gone the route of Varejao and Pavlovic? Maybe, but he didn’t miss a single day of practice, preseason or camp – oh and he’s making four million dollars.
Don’t think he’ll be struggling to survive.
The agents are mostly crabby because contracts, as they get signed, set the market. Just as easily as Leon Rose pointed to what the Knicks gave Chris Duhon during his negotiations of Delonte West’s contract, the Cavs pointed to what they paid Daniel Gibson. They set the market for undersized “point guards” that don’t handle the ball particularly well. Eventually, this fact coupled with sincere interest to have West remain with the club from West/Ferry/Mike Brown, rose capitulated and the Cavaliers got Delonte West into camp on time for a relative song. I truly believe that the deal that Gibson signed had a fair amount to do with that.