For NBA fans, 2010 is always going to be remembered--for better or worse--because of the free agent bonanza. In many ways, the availability of a plethora of the league's best players and the upcoming labor dispute that is bound to derail the league next season, has influenced the entire league for the past three seasons.
In 2006, the vaunted draft class of 2003 became eligible to sign extensions. Many of the players taken that year had become superstars quickly in their careers, and--arguably--the three best players chose to leave money on the table rather than take the maximum allowable. There were many reasons to explain the seemingly odd decision (I mean, how often do you tell your boss you appreciate the raise offer, but you'd rather take less now so you can make more later? You take the money on the table, right?). For LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh they had the confidence that they could continue building their brand for three more years when they would hit the magic number for years experience right before armaggedon was scheduled to hit the league.