For stars such as Dwight Howard, less is more in free agency

Recent events show that money isn't necessarily the predominant influence for free agents. Denver wanted to re-sign Iguodala for five years at a reported $60

For stars such as Dwight Howard, less is more in free agency

Recent events show that money isn't necessarily the predominant influence for free agents. Denver wanted to re-sign Iguodala for five years at a reported $60 million ($52 million guaranteed), but he agreed to a four-year deal reportedly worth $48 million from the Warriors, who upset his Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs just nine weeks ago.

The Spurs have remained in contention for 16 straight years by establishing a similar formula. Duncan, the greatest power forward in history and currently an All-NBA first-teamer, was paid a bargain $9.6 million last season. Tony Parker, an MVP candidate at point guard, made $12.5 million. Manu Ginobili, a future Hall of Famer, recently agreed to return for $14 million over two years. All three stars have left money on the table to maintain the premium working conditions they've established together in San Antonio.

But then, at the same time, there will be the inner voice that wants to win as many or more championships than Michael Jordan, and it will be pleading with Bryant to take less money in order to win additional titles. The debate will rage within him: What is the value of money?

Published Jul 8, 2013 | Modified Jul 8, 2013

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ian Thomsen, who joined the magazine in 1998, is one of SI's top basketball scribes. Along with writing columns and features for SI, Thomsen is a frequent contributor to SI.com. Before joining SI, Thomsen spent six years in Europe as the sports columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the world's largest international English-language daily. While at the paper Thomsen wrote about an array of sports for a global audience, including the major world and European soccer tournaments, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Ryder Cups, Grand Slam tennis events, Grand Prix auto races and, very rarely, cricket. Thomsen, who graduated from Northwestern with a journalism degree in 1983, was a feature writer for The National Sports Daily during its short, expensive run of 1990-91. His first job was with The Boston Globe, where he covered Doug Flutie's Boston College Eagles and all three of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the 1980s. Thomsen was a feature writer at SI before taking on the NBA beat fulltime in 2000. With Luis Fernando Llosa and Melissa Segura, Thomsen covered the 2001 scandal of overaged Little League pitcher Danny Almonte and wrote the first SI cover story on Kobe Bryant in 1998. Thomsen lives with his wife and two children near Boston.