Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:
 |
Do the Grizzlies trust him enough to give him a rich, long-term deal? Especially when a new collective bargaining agreement could change all the rules? Why would the Grizzlies sign Randolph to a contract under the current collective bargaining agreement when the new one is almost certainly going to be harder on the players?
All of which means that owner Mike Heisley will likely offer Randolph considerably less than the max deal he’s been playing under the last few years. And it’ll be hard to blame Randolph if he declines.
Yes, Randolph seems to genuinely like Memphis. Yes, he’s gratified by the way he’s been welcomed. But he’s also the best and most dominant player on the team. Is he really going to play for substantially less than Rudy Gay?
At some point, it may become a point of pride for Randolph. He considers himself one of the elite power forwards in the league. Why should he settle for something less than those players make?
