NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

This time's S+ gift package contains these three items and 20,000 experience points. Lin Tian recalled the last time he opened an S+ gift package. Last time he got a rune and a health chamber, and this time it was a halo, a 'Ramadan' and a 'pre-disease card'.

Hmm... on par!
However, could this weird thing only be available in the S+ gift package?
Lin Tian thought about this and decided that no matter what he said next season, he would have to try another S+ gift package!

If for no other reason, I just like this kind of evil taste!
……

In the next few days, Lin Tian and his Knicks teammates had a great time drinking and partying, celebrating to their heart's content, and then there was the team's championship parade. The entire Knicks team traveled around New York City, and no matter where they went, there were crowds of people, and countless fans expressed their support and love for them.

The madness of New York fans was indeed far beyond Lin Tian’s imagination!

This is New York City after all! There are lots of people, lots of money, and lots of streets!
So much so that the championship parade took much longer than his previous ones.

But... I'm still very happy.

After relaxing for a while, Lin Tian started paying attention to the talent show again.

After all, he was idle at home, and the Knicks didn't have any draft picks that were particularly worth paying attention to, just the 30th in the first round and the 30th in the second round. Walsh did ask Lin Tian who he would like to play with more.

Lin Tian also directly gave him a few names and let Walsh decide.

After all, although Lin Tian is too lazy to participate in the operation of the team, he doesn't like to keep his eyes open all the time. After all, such a long list of rookies looks quite tiring!

Anyway, his principle is that if you ask me, I will tell you. If you don’t ask, I’m too lazy to take the initiative to take care of it.

The main point is laziness!

As time goes by, the draft officially begins!
Lin Tian turned on the TV and listened to the sound from the TV from time to time while completely relaxing.

"With the first pick in the first round, the Toronto Raptors select...Andrea Bargnani!"

Stern's familiar voice was heard, and the Raptors chose the famous Italian softie Baggnani, just as they did in history.

There is nothing much to say about this choice. Just like the Raptors' history, it is unremarkable.

"With the second pick in the first round, the Charlotte Bobcats select ..."

This time, Lin Tian pricked up his ears. He wanted to hear who Jordan would choose this time. Would this guy be obedient?
"LaMarcus Aldridge!" Stern's voice came again!
Jordan actually listened to the advice this time!

This Bobcats team...are they really going to rise?

Lin Tian scratched his head. If Jordan had listened to advice all the time... well, he didn't have to listen to it all the time. If he listened to advice 2-3 times, the Bobcats would probably be able to complete the reconstruction.

No, they are not rebuilding, they have never built it, this is called initial construction success.

Then the Rockets selected Tyrus Thomas with the third pick, and the Trail Blazers took Shelden Williams with the fourth pick.

Well, these choices are not worth mentioning. The quality of this year's rookies is indeed mediocre, and the success rate is surprisingly low. If Lin Tian remembers correctly, the only ones who succeeded among the top ten picks were Aldridge at No. 2 and Roy at No. 6.

Roy retired early before reaching his peak due to injuries.

Apart from those, only Guy has made a name for himself, while the remaining seven are all worse than the others, none of them is the worst!
Then, Brandon Roy, the most powerful rookie of this class, was selected by the Eagles with the sixth pick.

Another thing worth mentioning is the Pacers who picked eighth.

Bird begged and pleaded with Lin Tian a few months ago, but all he got was Lin Tian's suggestion that Aldridge be the No. 1 pick. Other than that, he didn't get any other hints.

He looked around for the eighth pick and finally chose the NCAA king, Adam Morrison, known as "Little Bird", with tears in his eyes.

The reason why Morrison was mentioned specifically is because this guy is someone Jordan has his eyes on.

Jordan felt that the king of the NCAA could definitely become the king of the NBA.

If Lin Tian had not recommended Aldridge to him and if Lin Tian’s previous recommendations had not been extremely correct, Jordan would have gotten Morrison with the second pick no matter what.

He thinks this guy is awesome!

Well, maybe the only person in the entire league who thinks Morrison can become a star is Jordan. Otherwise, Jordan wouldn't have not chosen this guy and dropped directly from the original third to the eighth.

Another reason is that this guy's nickname is 'Little Bird'.

As we all know, when a player is called Jordan, he must have at least two of the following qualities: explosive physical fitness, powerful breakthroughs, accurate mid-range shots, and unparalleled psychological qualities.

If a person is called a little magician, he must have top vision, tall stature and excellent passing skills.

If a person is called a small shark, then he must have a huge weight and a huge body.

If a person is called Xiaolin Tian, ​​then he must be very handsome, a popular person, and loved by everyone...

cough cough.

Well, but if a person is called Larry Bird, then he is 100% a tall, slow, soft white guy who is known to have excellent basketball IQ and accurate shooting.

For this kind of player, the probability of water falling is definitely more than 90%!
It can be said that if a player is called Little Bird, his NBA career is likely over.

Also, if a rookie player is favored by Jordan, then his NBA career is likely to be over.

As for Morrison, he is facing two major NBA debuffs at the same time. Unless he can turn two negatives into a positive, this guy's career is basically over.

Well, that’s exactly what happened afterwards.

He only played in the NBA for five years, one of which was a season-ending year. Except for the first year, he only played a total of 5 games in the remaining three years before leaving the league in a hurry.

Although he left the league early due to his constant injuries, he finally proved that even without injuries, he would not be able to adapt to the high-intensity confrontation in the NBA.

Then, during the draft, the Warriors sent Randy Foye, whom they selected with the seventh pick, and their protected pick in the top ten next year to the Rockets in exchange for Tyus Thomas, the third pick selected by the Rockets with explosive physical fitness!

After this trade, the Warriors also got a quartet of Chris Paul, Jason Richardson, Steve Jackson and Thomas.

Paul's passing, vision and organizational skills, coupled with two jumping men with explosive physical fitness, and Jackson, a jack-of-all-trades forward, will guard the Warriors. No matter what the Warriors' record is next season, at least they will definitely play well!

Apart from this transaction, there were no other shocking transactions in the league on the day of the draft.

As for the Knicks, they selected Marty Collins with the 24th pick in the first round, and then quickly packaged this guy and the team's second-round pick and sent them to Minnesota in exchange for Shannon Brown, who they selected with the th pick!
Another backcourt player with explosive physical fitness, who can fly and dunk, but is currently quite immature.

I have to say that Walsh's selection of players now really reflects his inertial thinking and habit.

For several years in a row, the players he selected for the team were all physical men who could fly, dunk, escape into the air, and do everything physically.

Although the facts have proved that such players are indeed suitable for the Knicks and are indeed suitable for old Nelson's system.

But it also proves that this guy is really quite lazy and his abilities are quite mediocre.

Again, the reason why Walsh can be the general manager of the Knicks is not because he is so awesome, but because he is self-aware.

When a team has two top figures, Lin Tian and Old Nelson, his best choice is to keep the situation as unchanged as possible. If he can't wait any longer, he can talk about it later!

Walsh's task this year is actually very simple. Among the team's main players, only Anthony has the need to renew his contract in advance this year, and the remaining players have no contract issues.

Walsh once again demonstrated the unique characteristics of New York: as long as he thinks you are worth it, he will just give you the money regardless of anything else!

So, on July 7, the first day of the free agent market, Anthony and the Knicks reached a four-year, $1 million maximum salary contract extension!

Although Anthony entered the league a year later than Stoudemire, he still had a slight advantage. With the same four-year maximum salary, his annual salary was $4 million more than Stoudemire's.

His maximum salary contract will officially take effect at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season.

By that time, the Knicks' salary cap space will face huge challenges.

In other words, their challenge actually started from the new season!

Stoudemire's 4-year, $5800 million contract is about to take effect!

In the new season, the amount of Lin Tian's super contract reached an exaggerated 3900 million! According to the league's forecast, the luxury tax threshold for each team next season will be 6000 million!
Lin Tian alone occupies 64% of the salary space!
Add to that Stoudemire's 1400 million, and these two guys basically occupy all the space!
Also, don't forget that there is Okur's 800 million, Houston and Wallace will each take 400 million, Anthony's rookie contract will also take 600 million US dollars in the last year, and Ward will take 300 million US dollars in the last year of his contract.

Just these seven people will take away 7 million US dollars next season.

Although the rest of the players basically receive minimum salary or rookie contracts below 200 million, the remaining 8 players still have to take away nearly 1300 million US dollars.

This means that if the Knicks do not make any trades to cut costs, the Knicks' total salary next season will reach 9100 million US dollars!
Although it did not exceed 3000 million, and although the luxury tax seems to be only million, don't forget that they used the God Clause to sign Lin Tian, ​​which means that they have to pay double the luxury tax.

Next season, the Knicks' luxury tax alone will reach $6000 million! This is higher than the total salary expenditure of more than half of the teams in the league!
This money will also be evenly distributed to all teams in the league whose salaries are within the salary cap at the end of next season.

This is also why, when Stern proposed the "God Clause", all teams agreed.

And by the next year, which is the fourth year, when Anthony's new contract takes effect and the salaries of others increase, this number is likely to reach 1 million!

Those teams that are not over the cap will spend eight figures on luxury tax just from the Knicks in the next two years!

This is a fortune falling from the sky! So why don't they agree to this clause?

Anyway, Lin Tian will not come to their team, so it is better to let those rich teams fight it out!

You guys win the championship, and we small teams just need to get the money!
At the same time, when Anthony reached a four-year maximum salary contract extension, he was not like Stoudemire in 4 who was the only one to get an early maximum salary contract extension.

Anthony's classmates are all excellent!

Wade, Milicic and James all got the same four-year, $7 million contract as Anthony as soon as the free market opened on July 1.

Among the top rookies of the 03 generation, only Chris Bosh has not yet received the money he wanted.

Popovich and Buford are still talking to him, and they hope Bosh can give up some money so that the team can maintain its current roster.

They hope Bosh will make a sacrifice.

"Why did I have to make the sacrifice? Why didn't you persuade LeBron and Tracy to make the sacrifice?"

"Chris, you have to calm down. We certainly don't want you to make any sacrifices, but the pressure on the team is really great!"

"You don't even have to pay a dime in luxury tax now. Even if you give me a matching contract, you only have to pay about 500 million in luxury tax." Bosh shook his head and said, "The Knicks will have to pay 6000 million in luxury tax alone!"

"Chris, we can't compete with the Knicks. We really hope we can have a good talk." Popovich still wanted to continue trying to persuade Bosh to stay.

"Four years, $4 million. Not a penny less." Bosh said firmly, "I'm no worse than anyone else. I want a maximum salary. If we can't come to an agreement, then there's no need to talk. I can try the free market next year."

"Then we will both suffer. You should know that those teams don't have your bird rights, and they can't give you such a high contract! Stay with the team, only by staying with the team can you maximize your benefits!" Buford was still exhorting.

"If the premise of maximizing benefits is to lose my benefits first, then I can't accept it! Or you can go and persuade LeBron to see if he is willing to cut his salary for the championship and to maintain the depth of the lineup, and give me his part of the money."

Bosh is very angry now because all the guys in his class got big contracts except him.

Why?
Am I that bad?
I don't agree!
Without a maximum salary, I’ll leave!

The situation between Bosh and the Spurs was somewhat tense, while the Lakers announced some big news.

One was announced at the end of the finals in June: the team's general manager Jerry West and head coach Phil Jackson both resigned and left the team.

Jackson was not in a hurry to find his next team. He obviously wanted to take a break, while West joined the Golden State Warriors almost the day after he resigned.

The Warriors' move of trading Foye for Thomas in the draft was the first deal he led!
Another news about the Lakers is that their newly appointed general manager Kupchak has officially put O'Neal on the shelf!
The team owner Buss maintained his usual demeanor and magnanimity, as well as his image as a good boss.

"Go talk to Shaq, talk to Shaq first, and then if he agrees, come to us. We won't send Shaq to a place he doesn't want to go!"

This sentence really gives O'Neal enough face.

When O'Neal came, he was welcomed by everyone with great anticipation.

He is leaving now, and the Lakers have given him the greatest dignity and respect, and they are parting ways amicably. There is no falling out between the two sides this time.

"Shaq, you can choose the team you want to go to. As long as the offer they make is not outrageous and as long as they show sincerity, I will send you to where you want to go even if it means suffering a loss!" Buss said this openly and in private as well!
"Even if you want to go to the Celtics, I will send you there!"

"I just want to tell you that I don't want to send you away, and I really appreciate everything you have done in the team over the past 10 years. You are the greatest free agent signing since I bought the team, and I will always be grateful for your efforts."

"It's just that it's time for us to change, isn't it?"

Buss's words were full of deep feelings, and O'Neal, a man of sentimental character, was also deeply moved and said that he would definitely consider it carefully.

O'Neal's trade will definitely happen this summer, but when it will happen and where he will go is still a mystery.

"Larry, are you free to come to Boston?" Also in early July, Bird received a call from his mentor Auerbach.

"What's wrong, old man? Do you have any good wine to offer me?" Bird remained his usual jerk-like self: "Any ordinary wine, don't try to trick me into coming to Boston."

"I can give you all my wine. I can't drink anymore." Auerbach's voice was filled with fatigue and weakness. "I may not live to see the new season start. I should stop now."

"I hope to see you again and have a good chat with you."

"I'm leaving right away!" After hearing his mentor's voice that sounded like he was about to die, Bird quickly stopped teasing and joking, hung up the phone, and bought a plane ticket to Boston.

He dared not delay.

The tone of Auerbach's voice just now was full of the feeling that the end was near.

He didn't want to miss out on seeing his mentor for the last time because of his delay.

He will regret it for the rest of his life! (End of this chapter)