For free agents in today’s NBA, navigating the free agency marketplace can be resemble a game of Jenga. Removing a brick from the base of the structure is the risk a player incurs by waiting out the market and placing that brick of risk on top of the tower signifies the heights of their potential earnings. Theoretically, more patience (removing more bricks) allows the market to squeeze and a free agent’s potential pile of money to grow.
However, this is a decision made on a razor’s edge. At some point, you have to pull the trigger on a deal as the tower will, eventually, become unstable.