You are confusing the other side of the equation of market forces.
If the product owner values his product at x, but the magnet thinks it's only worth x-y, then the product owner needs to reduce the price or risk not having a sale.
It's the essence of negotiating a deal. If Leffew gets a better offer, we need to accept the risk of losing him if we can't come up with more funds. Or how he loves Syracuse and his prospective situation so much he's willing to take less. I took a lower paying job when I was 24 because I could literally play video games half the time I was on the clock. (Too bad that place went under, I'd still be there.) Maybe Leffew feels that strongly about Syracuse.
If Leffew negotiates too hard, he could have all the teams move on and be forced to accept an offer significantly worse than what we already offered. We might even take him for 100k to be a backup if things go badly enough for him...
When Boras (the biggest MLB agent) screws up the contract negotiating badly enough for one of his clients, he has them sign a one year deal for a high average value, but not as many years as they wanted. He calls it a "pillow contract" as a way to soften the blow.
But every year is a pillow year in college basketball free agency, so the risk is even higher for college kids and the total rewards are lower. Thus, market forces should bring down pricing as the music comes to an end.
In the other hand, Red could get fired if we play a season without a quality point guard, so if he's holding back available resources to stick to his idea of x, I think he's got to blink at some point.
Unless, of course, we literally have no more to offer. Then we're back to the beginnings of this whole conversation.
