"I don’t begrudge somebody saying, 'No, I earned it.' …
· Yahoo Sports
Stefan Bondy: I spoke with John Calipari a couple days ago and he brought up an old well-known tale about the Gary Trent Jr. situation happening before, without punishment from the NBA: In 1994, the Suns had just $1 million under the cap and used it to sign Danny Manning. It was a shake-hand agreement from Suns owner Jerry Colangelo that Manning would get a larger contract after one year. The problem? Manning blew out his knee midway through that first season. But Colangelo kept his word and signed Manning in 1995 to a seven-year, $40 million extension (which was massive back then). Colangelo even gave Manning part ownership of the Diamondbacks (talk about circumventing the cap). Anyway, Calipari told me this should be a viable way for players and teams to operate in the apron era. He also applauds the stars who are taking discounts to build contenders around them. "I don’t begrudge somebody saying, 'No, I earned it.' I don’t begrudge. But I’m saying it’s kinda neat. Because I’m about team. And that means – I care about myself and my family, but I also care about this team. What’s the common ground? What’s the middle ground? I got to give up a little bit?"
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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: "I don’t begrudge somebody saying, 'No, I earned it.' …