Tam wrote:
So how does that work in NBA then. Using your Mbappe example would it be the case that he moves at the end of his current contract and only signs for one season at his new team? Then that would start the cycle of short term contracts?
kevin durant is a good example. when he went to golden state, he signed a 1 year deal with a 1 year option (his player option) to extend. after the first year, he "declined" his option year, then signed the same type of deal again, 1 year with a 1 year player option. after his second season, he declined his player option and again signed a 1 year deal with a 1 year option. then this summer, he declined his player option and chose to go to brooklyn. due to the NBA's weird sign and trade rules, he technically signed with golden state and was then traded to brooklyn. but he effectively decided he was leaving because his contract was up, and golden state was able to trade him to the team he wanted to sign with.
so, he signed basically 3 one year contracts with golden state, then decided he wanted to go elsewhere. he now signed a 3 year contract with 1 player option after the third year, so it is essentially a 3 year deal. lebron james did similar things when he came back to cleveland.
from a team perspective, it is tough to plan long term. for the player, it allows them maximum leverage and power, both to go where they want to go, and also to pressure their team to stay competitive or they will leave. given how reliant some clubs are on transfer fees to stay afloat, it would be a huge change. this would probably only happen for the best players in the world, because they will have staying power consistently for the duration of their career. for younger players, or non-superstars, having the longer term guaranteed is probably better for them