From Mike Wells of IndyStar.com:
The Hawks were ready to sign Harrington to a six-year, $57 million deal, then send him and center John Edwards to the Pacers for their $7.5 million trade exception and a future first-round draft pick when Indiana owner Herb Simon nixed the deal because he didn't like the length of Harrington's contract. Simon wanted Harrington, 26, to sign a four-year deal worth about $9 million a season, and he also doesn't want Edwards, the person said...
The Pacers, who are trying to rebound from a disappointing season, have spent more than a month trying to work out a deal with the Hawks. The Pacers were the front-runners for Harrington, who spent his first six seasons here, but they'll have trouble getting him now. Denver and Golden State are believed to be willing to acquire Harrington for about $65 million over six years. The Los Angeles Lakers are also expected to be in the mix.
This is pretty interesting for several reasons:
- The Pacers organization seems to know what they're doing here. They realized that this year's market has been unkind and there's no reason to give Harrington a long, expensive contract given Wilcox and Gooden's contracts (see Sonics Ink Chris Wilcox to a "Show-Me Signing" and Good(en) Deal for Cavs Exposes Bad Deals for Warriors).
- The Denver Nuggets don't have a clue. Fresh off giving Nene-money to well, Nene and 2 years after inking Kenyon Martin to a superstar contract (great defender and running big man when healthy, but NOT a superstar), they're trying to tie up $65 million to a player who will undoubtedly get in Melo's way and overload their front court even further. Strange, very strange. They shouldn't even be trying to get Harrington. They need a 2 guard and a long range bomber badly.
- Chris and Rod don't seemed to have learned their lessons. Harrington's a nice player, but he's not going to single-handedly launch the Warriors into the playoffs. If Wells' rumor is true, $65 million over 6 seasons (nearly $11 million a season) for Al Harrington is another huge miscalculation. That's close to superstar money for a player who will most likely never make an All Star team.
Maybe I'm completely off. I honestly didn't watch Al Harrington last season as closely as I would have liked to, but it's "surprisingly hard" to catch many Atlanta Hawks games on national TV. Anyone out there live in the ATL or catch many Hawks games on NBA League Pass? Does signing Al Harrington to a 6 year $65 mil deal make dollars & sense?
Track of the Day: DJ Quik- "Dollars & Sense" from the classic Murder Was the Case soundtrack
More on Al Harrington:
- Rumor: Warriors Back in Harrington Trade Talks
- Rumor: Warriors Still Trying to Get Al Harrington
- Al Harrington Fires His Agent... Warriors Nation Should Be Terrified!?
- Warriors Concede Defeat in Al Harrington Dealings
- Warriors Strike Out: Al Harrington Traded to the Indiana Pacers
- Rumor: Hawks in No Rush to Sign-and-Trade Al Harrington
- Rumor: Harrington for Murphy + MP2 or 3 team deal
- Rumor: Troy Murphy + Mickael Pietrus + Chris Taft for Al Harrington + Tyron Lue
- Rumor: 33% Chance of Al Harrington to the Warriors
- Rumor: Warriors in Deep Pursuit of Al Harrington
- Rumor: Bet on Harrington to the Warriors
- Rumor: Warriors More Likely Than Pacers to Get Al Harrington
- Rumor: Al Harrington's Agent Thinks the Warriors are a Stable Organization
- Rumor: Al Harrington Genuinely Interested in Warriors
- Rumor: Warriors Interested in Al Harrington
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!