Earlier today, Rook posted a column by Peter Vescey of the New York Post that suggested Ted Leonsis offered Ernie Grunfeld a three-year, $4.5 million contract extension that Grunfeld turned down. The report, however, is not true, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Sources within the Wizards organization have denied a published report that President Ernie Grunfeld recently rejected owner Ted Leonsis's three-year, $4.5 million proposal to stay with the franchise. Grunfeld's contract is set to expire after this season, but team sources said he has not been offered an extension and another person with knowledge of the situation said the New York Post report was "made up."
Leonsis himself declined to comment when I asked him about the report via email.
As Lee notes in his piece, the three-year, $4.5 million proposal that is reportedly untrue would mean a pay cut for Grunfeld, who makes between $3.5 and $4.5 million on his current contract. I had been told before that Grunfeld's salary was, as Lee noted, one of the league's highest for a GM, but I didn't know the specifics. Lee also reports that many general managers are taking pay cuts as teams look to trim their budgets.
In any event, it looks like we can put this one to bed. Vescey, keep in mind, is the same person that wrote Leonsis stripped Wes Unseld of his season tickets, a claim Leonsis and Unseld both vehemently denied. As you can see, he has a history of making things up.