Dude please be realistic for a second. This will potentially be his first big paycheck he receives and is guaranteed money. NBA players do not leave money on the table for the FIRST contract. It just does not happen. You think he doesn't have confidence in himself to go to another team and put up big numbers? He's 7'1 and the most athletic specimen on Earth. He's clearly only getter better by the day as he hones his skills. It's not about if he makes more than BG or CP3 - they signed contracts a long time ago, why on Earth would he feel bad about taking a paycheck that he earned. Because his BFF doesn't make as much? GTFOH dude Ballmer will offer him the max. There's no other way around it. We're actually extremely lucky that his contract is expiring now.
"Nearly half the league will have upwards of $10 million or more in cap space, and that’s before factoring in cap-clearing deals that could be made in the next month or so before the trade deadline. Four years ago, Jordan got nearly $11 million a year under a much tighter cap, when his potential impact was more of a hope and a prayer than an actuality. Now that his influence is real, he’s surely in line for a hefty raise.
It’s not every day you see a 26-year old big man who can anchor a defense hit the open market. That’s the kind of scenario that just screams “MAX CONTRACT,” and with the improvements he’s shown, the upside that may still remain and the major influx of TV money coming into the league shortly, he very well would be worth it.
With the cap projecting to pass $80 million by the start of 2016, a Jordan max deal isn't exactly as much as it seems just by its terminology (the cap projects to be a little over $66 million next year). The NBA's new TV deal means everything, and Jordan is going to be one of the beneficiaries of it, whether he gets maxed out or not.
A max contract in 2015 is going to be worth far less than one doled out once the cap explodes. Because of that, retaining Jordan this summer (even if it's for a max deal) would actually be the cheaper option than chasing a top-of-the-line guy the following offseason."