OPINION

By Bethlehem Shoals

updated 11:51 a.m. ET July 11, 2009

Professional athletes never know which game will be their last. Careers last only so long. And if the team's willing to guarantee them huge amounts of money, come hell or high water, they take it. The NBA seemingly caters to these expectations and anxieties. That's why, labor-wise, it's been a "player's league" since the Jordan years.

In the summer of 2006, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decided against signing the customary superstar contract (five years plus a player option for a sixth). Instead, they opted for three years plus an option for a fourth.

This went against all conventional basketball labor wisdom. Superstars should want to be "locked up," so their hypothetical prime can be invested in — as soon as possible, for as long as possible. But this sense of security cuts both ways. Yes, the star has officially made it, and doesn't have to worry about forfeiting his earning power. However, it also erases team accountability from the equation.

That's why the mini-max could've been a revolution. These shorter deals, copied two years later by Chris Paul and Deron Williams, were expected to make these players more money, due to some intricacies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (as it is, perhaps that won't be the case if the salary cap continues to fall). But they also could have permanently altered the relationship between franchise and franchise player, leveling the playing field while making both act like adults.

To return to the "locked up" language, once a superstar was inked, the team was off the hook. But what LeBron, Wade, and Bosh did was nothing less than take control of their own destinies. Consulting players on personnel moves was nothing new; however, it was almost a token gesture compared to this new arrangement, which simply gave teams very little breathing room when it came to doing right by the players. (Case in point: Haven't we heard about LeBron leaving since he first signed this extension?)

But this week, reality has intervened, and we've begun to see the logic of these deals unravel. First, while the Heat can't really make any moves this offseason short of trading Michael Beasley, they still expect Wade to sign an extension before determining their future course. Wade, on the other hand, wants the team to show him the team first.

Say it comes down to next summer. Then we're in the normal free agency situation, but with bad blood, and disappointment, built up.

LeBron's case is even more unsettling. The Cavs made a splash this summer by trading for Shaq. But from the perspective of keeping James around, it would've arguably been more important for Cleveland to sign a free agent like Artest, Ariza, or even Charlie Villanueva. Supposedly, James recruited Artest and Ariza, but confusion arose when the subject came up of whether LeBron would be around past 2010. No one's entirely sure what happened, but for what it's worth, James's camp eventually had to come out and deny he'd already decided to stay in Cleveland — without somehow making it sound like he'd decided to leave.

Herein lies the tragic flaw of the mini-max, or at least its most evolved form. The Wade/Heat dance remains largely abstract at this point. In the case of LeBron and the Cavs, we're already seeing the tension between James-the-star and James-the-central-Cav. It's almost schizophrenic of LeBron to think free agents wouldn't be interested in his plans.

Perhaps the Heat will cave when directly confronted with the possibility of losing Wade. When it comes down to the time when James has to make a choice, maybe it won't be so hard for him to make a guarantee to prospective FAs. There could also be some wiggle room in that one-year option, or at least some grounds for compromise. Like the chance for a trial period with their new team, after which, in theory, further tinkering could occur before the star left once and for all.

However, now it's clear that the mini-max won't actually make life easier for the likes of James and Wade. Instead, it places a new kind of responsibility on them, forcing them to, in some ways, do the work of the front office.

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In all truth, it's Chris Bosh — the Raptor who, while he longer is highly-regarded enough to carry Wade or James-like clout — who may be getting the most benefit out of his mini-max. Because the Raptors aren't bending over backward to accommodate him, and he's off the hook when it comes to the team's future. He's just getting his freedom sooner, most likely to pursue a title with Wade or James.

You have to figure that Chris Paul and Deron Williams are watching these situations unfold and wondering, exactly what they'll get for all the headaches. It was a noble goal, but one that just doesn't seem to work out in practice.

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