For guys who demand that, but clearly don't have the ratings/stats to back it up, I edit them to their weakest or second weakest position (guard to bigs, bigs to guards) and then negotiate their contracts from there. It lowers their cost usually by a good amount to something reasonable. You generally want to keep guys in that 77-80 range making somewhere between 9M and 17M -- but again it depends on their position, if they have any leverage, and how much their financial security vs. team loyalty is.
If loyalty is higher, I generally let them take a bit of a discount to re-sign.
If security is higher, than I generally let them have the number they want if they've shown improvement (mostly) in year-to-year stats. That implies progress, which is good for an investment in a player.
If their stats haven't improved and they have a high security, than I generally give them a number in the teens but make it a flat rate (that's the "Type" option, it goes from Bird 5% to Front, Back, and Flat) and the flat rate gives them the same cap hit every year over the contract -- the Oladipo special (he has a flat hit of 21M over his contract every year, no increases).
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