Free Agency: Shorter Contracts Give Sense of Excitement and Urgency

Has it ever before occurred that a team was worried about its franchise player bolting two years before his contract expires?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are probably the first to feel such overwhelming premature anxiety.  With players accepting shorter-term contracts, however, the Cavs probably won't be the last to feel this way.

Cavs’ fans are biting their nails, and Knicks’ fans are praying fervently every time Lebron James playfully hints at the possibilities that await him should he don a Knicks’ jersey in the summer of 2010. 

New Jersey is also in the James auction, having positioned themselves to have their own chunk of cap room to throw at him.

Other teams have been trying (and failing) to subtly put themselves in position for the golden summer of 2010. 

Their thinking is that even should they be only witnesses to James signing elsewhere, their "fall-back" plans include Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming...ok, you get the idea.

After seeing James' strategy in signing a shorter contract extension, Wade and Bosh promptly followed suit that same summer. 

The Yin and Yang of future point guard supremacy, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams also went with the short-term extension this summer.

All of this temporary relief for teams hoping to keep hold of their stars is great for the league. 

Fans become more interested with the possibility of player movement (this past year was a dream-come-true for fantasy fans, with names such as Garnett, Allen, Brand, O'Neal, and Kidd all changing addresses).  The press can't get enough of it.

The effect is probably felt most by the general managers of those teams whose franchise players agree to these shorter contracts.  In all fairness, San Antonio's Tim Duncan preceded the James in signing a shorter contract. 

He didn't want to be stuck with a lame-duck franchise for more than 3-4 years.  The Spurs have responded by consistently retooling around Duncan when needed, keeping them in contention and (more importantly) Duncan happy.

The same cannot be said of the Cavaliers.  They've retooled around James, true, but they've been running in place as opposed to moving forward with him.

Wade must have been praised his agent and his own foresight for his shorter deal this past year. 

After the Heat won the championship in 2006, Wade was in the storybook position of signing a 6-7 year extension with his team, which most young franchise players would and have done after leading their teams to the Promised Land.

Instead, Wade chose the shorter deal.  After a second-round exit and a trip to the lottery, Wade can calm himself by saying he's not stuck in this situation should it prove unbearable. 

If the combination of himself, Marion, Beasley and whatever Heat brass can come up with before 2010 isn't sufficient for success, Wade can just walk wherever he wants, instead of suffering even longer.

The thing that really has fans, writers, and even the players geeked up about this new trend, is that there's a greater chance for multiple stars to join up on the same squad a few years down the line. 

James set the NBA world on fire this summer with the mere mention that he and Wade would play well together.

All of this excitement and intrigue two years ahead of time?  We can thank shorter contracts for that.