Would you be willing to call LeBron on is bluff and risk him walking over a measly $5-$10 million over 5 years for Tristan? LeBron left Miami because Arison got greedy.
Yes.
We don't know the numbers, but we can still discuss parameters/principles.
TT has one value on the open market among teams with cap space who can go after alternatives. The Cavs would gladly pay that.
He has a higher value to us because we can't just go out and sign someone else. If I'm Dan, I'd still be willing to pay whatever value that has, even if that is more than he would get offered on the open market by other teams.
But then there is the additional possibilty some have raised that LBJ is helping leverage TT's value even higher to help out his friend, or simply to flex his muscles and demonstrate how much power he has. I wouldn't "blame" them if that is what is going on.
But
if that is part of the equation, I ignore that if I'm Gilbert/Griffin , and base.my offer on TT's value to the franchise without considering LBJ.
The Cavs just signed Love and Shump to long-term deals, and signed Kyrie to the max as well. Gilbert is not Arison. LBJ and his family are fully integrated into the local community again, and as long as the team is willing to pay him the max, spend shitloads of money to surround him with two other superstars, and go deep into the tax to pay other players more than they can make elsewhere, the chances of him leaving are negligible.
He's certainly got power, but it is not absolute. And I think the Cavs know that.
ETA: it should be remembered that even if the parties are "only' $2m/year apart, that's actually $10m over the life of the deal. And when you add in the luxury tax complication, that measly little $2m looks more like $
50m.
So yeah, if I'm DG, I'm only bending over as far as absolutely necessary.
