Well howsabout we talk about just THIS season? What could he have done differently to make our defense better? I agree with the poster that says that the last years of this contract might well be odious but that probably goes for 99% of the UFA contracts that are handed out. Myers was pretty much the best option available, imperfect though he may be (signing UFA's to bolster you team is not the greatest way to improve it but it IS one option and one that costs the team nothing but money which FAQ seems to have lots of). I agree he has made mistakes along the way but I don't see what else he could have done THIS off season. What do you think?
The best option available was no signing. That's almost always the best option when it comes UFA signings. Why? Because the contract is often times more important than the player.
The issue with your rationale is that you want an answer that conforms to the context Benning created for himself. This automatically lacks perspective. Think about it this way instead:
1. How many deviations away from a #4 Dman is the money paid to Myers? You say that all UFAs are overpaid, and this is largely true, but this doesn't tell us how much he is overpaid. Once you quantify that he is a top32 paid dman that actually has the performance markers in the top97 to top128 dman range, you will understand just how bad this contract actually is.
2. With perfect distribution, a dman at the 112th rank (split the difference between 96 and 128), should be making 1.74 million~ . That is about 3.5 times less than the 6 million given to the top32 defender. That's the value disparity. Now obviously, perfect distribution is not directly applicable. There is scarcity involved and an altered contract status (UFA). That shouldn't amount to 4m+ AAV though.
3. Next, money is an asset. When you say it costs the team nothing but money, you are actually saying that the money cannot be utilized in a better fashion than it is being utilized here. That's wrong. Money is valuable in the context of cap space. Benning doesn't know this.
4. Many have listed options that would have been preferred. C. Miller, Subban, or even going back and trading for Jensen. There are many things that could have been done. They were not done, and here we are.
5. Benning had to create a playoff team now. Is Myers the difference? I hope you don't think he is? If he's not the difference, then you are looking at a much bigger problem than simply supplementing the defense in 1 offseason.
I would recommend changing the paradigm with which you choose to judge Benning's moves. In isolation, this is a bad contract. That's first. In the context of what Benning has done, it's probably passable with what he has already done -- which is an indictment in of itself.
