Tony Parker’s contract with the Hornets was initially reported as two years, $10 million.
That wasn’t totally accurate.
Zach Lowe of ESPN:
The second season of Tony Parker's contract with Charlotte is non-guaranteed with a trigger date of July 4th, 2019, per league sources. It is also worth $5.25 million if picked up, so the deal is really two years, $10.25M, sources say.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 23, 2018
The unguaranteed second season makes a significant difference.
At age 36, Parker has already considerably declined and will only continue to slip. I get the logic of paying him next year, even if that money could have potentially gone to better use. Charlotte so desperate at backup point guard, Parker should be an upgrade. He’ll also help the Hornets transition to new coach James Borrego, who was a Spurs assistant coach. But I wouldn’t want to lock into paying him at age 37.
That’s especially true with Charlotte, which already have more than $85 million committed next season to Nicolas Batum, Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. As long as Michael Jordan refuses to pay the luxury tax, the Hornets must be more careful in their contracts.
In this case, they were.
If Parker beats the odds and has a renaissance season, Charlotte could keep him. If not, he’ll hit free agency again next summer.