I can't make a realistic topic about the Ollie contract situation I know nothing about

[zls44]

Per Dom:

"Ollie would have to pay UConn $2.55 million if he were to leave now — and whether such a large buyout clause should be included in a new UConn contract appears to be a sticking point, rather than years and money."

If you didn't believe KO has ANY interest in the NBA, wake up. I don't think he will leave now, but I think he will someday.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

10 years 30mm will trump a lot of NBA offers.

Not any that would be offered to Kevin Ollie. NBA teams know it would take a lot to get him to leave Uconn.

 

[djct1999]

My guess is if Ollie left UConn for Cleveland, his family would stay behind in Glastonbury. Ollie already said he won't take the escalator, that is for cowards. In other words, no way would Ollie ever leave UConn for that hot mess of an organization.

 

[CTMike]

If people think the deal isn't done because UConn is trying to cheap out on negotiations... You are helpless. KO is calling the shots on this, and will get paid what he wants, by whom he wants.

 

[itgoeslike]

I think Dom is right in that the sticking point is the exit clause. UConn will pay, but wants to have some continuity for the program for a period of time (5 years?) and KO wants to have the latitude to leave in the future (NBA) without wiping out a chunk of what he's accumulated. Both parties are justified in seeking something reasonable.

BTW, we should pull together a collection and pay to re-crop Dom's twitter photo.

 

[The Viking]

Why would KO worry about an exit clause when his pay will at least double and any NBA team who wants him will pay him a lot AND likely cover the exit fee.

 

[sawxfan23]

If you didn't believe KO has ANY interest in the NBA, wake up. I don't think he will leave now, but I think he will someday.

He is gone within the next 5 years

 

[djct1999]

He is gone within the next 5 years

No buyout clause would extend that long anyway. This is an important sticking point for the university. If KO doesn't have strong language in his contract, this charade of him leaving will go on every off season. Its simple really..............if KO sees himself at UConn for more than 3 years, its a non issue. The buyout decreases significantly or all together after that. If he is concerned about leaving before then, as unpopular as it may be, he should probably leave now.

 

[8893]

Per Dom:

"Ollie would have to pay UConn $2.55 million if he were to leave now — and whether such a large buyout clause should be included in a new UConn contract appears to be a sticking point, rather than years and money."

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me. That's not a large buyout clause, especially if he's getting a larger contract. I can't imagine him not agreeing to that if he's getting close to $3M/ yr. for more than five years.

 

[jleves]

So I fixed the thread topic - but the rampant speculation is over the top. Who really doesn't think they are working on it and both sides just want it right? It's called negotiations for a reason - things go back and forth for a while.

But just because I want to have an opinion on something I know nothing about, I'm pretty sure the sticking point is the escalators in the new practice facility. Ollie wants them replaced with stairs and it's a big issue for the older donors that don't want to take the stairs.

 

[Scot-e]

Yawn.

 

[itgoeslike]

Why would KO worry about an exit clause when his pay will at least double and any NBA team who wants him will pay him a lot AND likely cover the exit fee.

Only money and future opportunity. Of course, the following is complete conjecture (a boneyard first), but if we apply his current exit clause of 2X his base earnings to a salary of $2.5-$3M it could approach $6M, which would likely reduce over the term of the contract. That could be somewhat prohibitive. And whether KO pays it or the NBA team pays it, it still comes from the same pot so to speak. It could conceivably be more affordable for an NBA team to hire KO this year than to wait.

Conversely, UConn doesn't want to invest substantial dollars and have to recruit a new coach and rebuild the program in 12-24 months. Anyhow, hope it gets wrapped up sooner than later.

 

[SubbaBub]

Sometimes I wonder if anyone here has negotiated anything. KO is holding all the cards, he needs to do nothing, he has a contract and can probably get some NBA team to hire him as head coach. Time is on his side. Now, I doubt this is about $, because as someone said, 3 years at $4M is nothing compared to 5-7 years for $12-20M with the ability to roll it over indefinitely.

The hold up I'm sure has to do with buyouts, and other clauses allowing him to jump ship if the program (conference affiliation) goes to crap because it can no longer be funded to a decent level or if Gampel isn't replaced or if Warde looks at him the wrong way.

 

[UConnfan8]

how is the obvious team OKC when they're still in the playoffs?

because of KO's strong ties to OKC, plus Brooks really being on the hot seat this season. Again- in the NBA, there is no guarantee for job security. He has brought them to the finals one year, but has yet to win a championship with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook together. Sam Presti (OKC's GM) loves KO and I'm afraid to say that no matter what- if OKC doesn't win a final this season, Brooks is gone.

 

[Kitaman]

Either the horse ain't dead or we need a bigger stick.

 

[Waquoit]

By all means let's assume UConn is not trying hard to extend Ollie's contract.

There is no try, only do.

 

[aceboon]

because of KO's strong ties to OKC, plus Brooks really being on the hot seat this season. Again- in the NBA, there is no guarantee for job security. He has brought them to the finals one year, but has yet to win a championship with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook together. Sam Presti (OKC's GM) loves KO and I'm afraid to say that no matter what- if OKC doesn't win a final this season, Brooks is gone.

the article said an NBA team was going to come at KO "soon", OKC is still in the playoffs and could go well into June, they aren't in a situation where they need to be hiring a coach or replacing one "soon". The only hot seat Brooks is on is the one created by the media/OKC fanbase/message board & twitter anaylsts. As much as I don't like the dude's in-game coaching there hasn't been any rumblings coming out of OKC that he's in trouble if the Thunder flop and usually those type of things leak out in the media like what we saw with the Mark Jackson situation or D'Antoni throughout the season.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

$2.5MM is peanuts for a buyout if Ollie is going to the NBA in the future, particularly if he leaves in a few years. The only reason that buyout would matter is if Ollie wants another college job.

 

[Huskybass]

KO isn't going anywhere. He is just making sure the deal is on his terms.

 

[Dove]

I hope there are a lot more Ollieisms in our future. Am hoping the last one isn't "I don't chase money. I want money to chase me."

 

[HuskyBballFan]

$2.5MM is peanuts for a buyout if Ollie is going to the NBA in the future, particularly if he leaves in a few years. The only reason that buyout would matter is if Ollie wants another college job.

How much money do you think NBA coaches make? Even if he got $5M/year (which would be a lot), the buyout is half a year's pay. That's a ton of money.

 

[alfonse]

krzyzewski made 9 million last year and lost in the first round to LOW seeds in 2 of the last 3 years, talk about screwing up the market.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you create a topic saying you can't make a credible topic on the subject because you don't know anything, the only rational response is to ask why the hell you created the topic? This place is even more nuts in the offseason.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

How much money do you think NBA coaches make? Even if he got $5M/year (which would be a lot), the buyout is half a year's pay. That's a ton of money.

Ollie would get a minimum 3 year contract, and realistically probably a 5 year. The buyout would be 10% of the NBA contract value if Ollie signed with UConn and then left for the NBA within a year. By year 3 of a UConn deal, the buyout would probably be $1.5 or $1.0 million.

Peanuts.

 

[scrappy2.0]

If you create a topic saying you can't make a credible topic on the subject because you don't know anything, the only rational response is to ask why the hell you created the topic? This place is even more nuts in the offseason.

That wasnt my topic header--someone changed it