4th option
In what universe is $10/year (basement) 4th option money?
Players who make $9.5-10.5 MM
Tim Duncan (18 PPG)
Danilo Gallinari (16 PPG)
Gerald Wallace (8 PPG, 15 PPG in 2011 season)
Stephen Jackson (6 PPG, 18 PPG in 2011 season)
Tiago Splitter (10 PPG)
Stephen Curry (24 PPG)
Jrue Holiday (18 PPG)
DeMar DeRozan (18 PPG)
Paul Millsap (15 PPG)
There are outliers here (some underpaid first/ second options (Steph, Jrue, others overpaid aging vets (Wallace, Jackson)), but looking on average ~15 PPG, typically second or third option numbers.
Would Gordo look odd if he were in the list? I think not.
I think Justin Zanik and Dennis have a really good sense of market value and are playing this perfectly. The risk is that someone bets max or near-max money on Gordo, in which case you make the right decision and let him walk (team is better without him than with him at max money, given financial constraints).
I double GMs put him in the elite category, not will they by year end (he'd be a third option at best on Clippers, despite Docs mancrush).