The first question to ask about any free agent.

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(02-16-2016, 01:50 PM)fredtoast Wrote: We all understand that simplistic explanation.

The real question is "Why would his original team not pay enough to keep him?"   All teams like to keep their best players and will pay to keep them.  So when  guy hits the FA market it is important to mfigure out why.

I would assume that every team knows their impending Free Agents going into the off season, and probably has an acceptable amount tagged to each player that probably figures into some grand amount they are willing to spend on Free Agency total. If market value for that player dictates him being out of their initial amount then they may not even attempt to negotiate, or the agent for that player just says hey my guy isn't going to entertain offers until the off season, which means they want a bidding war.

I hate when players use the excuse that contract negotiations are a distraction, when we all know that the agent does about 99% of the actual negotiating. All the player does is agree to the contract and sign it.

Im sure if a team has a high value on a guy they are probably willing to trim the fat in other areas to a point in order to keep that guy around..

I guess the easiest explanation would be balance. Not handicapping yourself too much in other areas, to keep one guy.