The big news this week has to be the “Art of Negotiation.” We have three examples reaching their climax in the next week.

The first example is the most recent and surprising news from Kevin Gausmann. The news that an underclassman draft pick is “thinking” of returning to school is the oldest trick in the book. Nevertheless, the ploy is a little surprising from Gausmann since MLB has a new system that was suppose to make negotiations less complicated.

If he decides to return to LSU, it would be the best off-season baseball news since Blake Dean returned for his senior year. The next season, LSU won it all. With that being said, I fully expect to wake up Friday morning and read how much Gausmann signed for at the last minute.

The next and worst example comes from Eric Gordon. Gordon is showing either his immaturity or ignorance. Say whatever you want to try to force the hand of the other side, but the goal is to always look good in public.

Gordon has made himself look very bad in a situation where he should realize that there is a 97 percent chance he will stay in New Orleans.

The Hornets are going to match the Suns' offer because there is no Plan B, and Gordon received a reasonable deal from the Suns.

While some Hornets fans are upset with the lack of love shown to New Orleans from Gordon, their bigger worry should be if Gordon has the make-up to lead a NBA team. The Hornets have said repeatedly, that Gordon is the one they want to rebuild around. There are many talented players in the NBA, but few players that can lead an organization.

I thought Gordon could be that guy, but I am not so sure now. Let me put it another way...think of a NBA player that led his team deep in the playoffs in the last 20 years.

Now, ask yourself if that player has missed over 20 games in three consecutive seasons. Then ask yourself if that player has ever milked an injury for most of the season and only come back in the last seven games to “showcase” his ability. The guys that do that and make themselves look bad in negotiations don’t lead NBA teams to glory because they lack the qualities that go beyond basketball skill a NBA player needs to be in the elite category…to be a leader.

Lastly, the most important example we have is the Drew Brees situation.

A situation that Gordon should be taking notes on, since Brees has demonstrated why he is elite. You let your agent do his job, like leak it to Chris Mortenson that Brees will not play without a long-term contract.

Meanwhile, the Saints are leaking information that they are the ones who have shown the best faith or have made concessions.

Both sides are doing what they do best, which is waiting until the last minute in order to get the best deal for their side. My guess is that the Saints will cave on giving Brees more up front, guaranteed money than they have offered so far, and Brees will relent on having an average of over $20 million over the life of the contract. This way, the Saints won’t have to be the first team to pay a player $20 million a year, and Brees will get more money before the fifth year since that year will probably be terminated anyway.

In the end, most of what we have read in the paper is posturing and a bunch of bull, but it makes for good discussion and stories.