Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 196 Why should I save money for my boss?

This is a very complex issue.

First and foremost, of course, is what the Heat want.

If it is just a simple replacement, there are only a handful of players in the league who are stronger than James, and most of them are not for sale.

So the more likely option is a center plus a 3D small forward.

But even with such conditions, not many people can meet them.

If Granger hadn't been disabled by James, the Pacers could have offered Granger and Hibbert as bargaining chips.

But this actually involves the second problem. If Riley does not intend to rebuild, then he will most likely not trade James to the East.

This is the same reason why the Cavaliers would not send Hansen to the East, because if they were eliminated in the playoffs in the same division, it would be a shame in their career.

So if we narrow the scope to the Western Conference, there are very few chips that can match James' trading value.

Then there is the third question, where does James want to go.

James came to the Heat without saying hello to Wade and Bosh, but he definitely had an agreement with Riley.

So even though there is no trade veto power, James' personal wishes will also have a lot of weight on this issue.

In fact, after Five Reasons broke the news, Windhorst from ESPN wrote an article expressing James' interest in joining the Knicks.

The article stated that James has always wanted to work with the Knicks, but he chose the Heat because of the strong invitation of Wade and Bosh.

Now he has not changed his original intention, and is full of expectations for working with his good friend Carmelo Anthony.

The article even gave the chips that the Knicks could offer, Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin.

Finally, there is Nike’s interference.

Although James has not been successful with the Heat, Nike's huge investment in him has not yet been realized, and it is impossible to change the top star in the short term.

Nike will inevitably put pressure on the league in transactions, and as the NBA's largest financial sponsor, that influence cannot be ignored.

So theoretically there are 29 teams in the league that can trade with the Heat, but there may be only a few, or even no, teams that meet all the conditions at the same time.

But this is where it gets interesting. It would be even more interesting if Riley didn't trade James in the end because of disagreements among all parties.

There was no news from the Heat yet, but the Grizzlies, as the defending champions, made their first deal of the 2012-2013 season.

They sent Tony Allen to the Pacers in exchange for Dahntay Jones and a future second-round pick.

This deal is very intriguing because Jones is a well-known dirty guy in the league. He was the starting shooting guard of the Nuggets in the 2008-2009 season and played all kinds of dirty tricks on Kobe in the playoffs that year.

The Grizzlies' move was clearly a response to the league's punishment.

Didn't you ban me, Johnson? Then I'll change to someone really dirty.

Or maybe Wallace felt that Johnson's nuclear deterrence was not enough, so he switched to Jones's conventional deterrence.

If you meet someone who dares to step on your feet again in the future, you must be prepared to be stepped back.

And this is also in line with the Grizzlies' trading habits in the past two years: collecting former Grizzlies players.

That's right, Jones is also a former Grizzlies player. He was the 03th pick in the 20 golden generation and played the full four years of his rookie contract with the Grizzlies before leaving the team.

As for Allen, he went to the team he wanted to go to, so it can be said to be a win-win situation.

Time flies and it is June 6th. Hansen is still recovering at home. This year's draft has already kicked off on this day.

The Hornets welcomed their new owner Tom Benson in April this year, and also won the first No. 4 pick in their team history.

Just wait and see about the lottery. This No. 1 pick is one of the necessary conditions for the Hornets to find a new local owner in New Orleans.

And this pick is very valuable because this year's draft includes Anthony Davis, who is called "the future of the American domestic line" by the media.

Since Han Sen couldn't train yet and his black fan value wasn't high enough to redeem new talents, he also paid attention to this year's draft.

There was no suspense about the Hornets selecting Davis with the No. 1 pick.

The Bobcats, who tanked extremely badly last season and only won seven games, eventually used the second pick to pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

When Han Sen saw this long name and the face he had never seen before, he couldn't remember who this person was.

In addition to expressing his admiration for Boss Joe's consistent vision, he also felt sorry for the Charlotte fans.

If it weren't for Stern's manipulation, they would have got the No. 1 pick and selected Davis, and the Bobcats and Hornets, two teams that had swapped names in history, would really have swapped their history.

The Wizards selected Bradley Beal, the future Suns player with the highest salary in team history, with the third pick.

Last season, the Cavaliers won 20 games under Irving's leadership and ranked second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. They finally picked "Little Wade" Dion Waiters with the fourth pick.

This choice shows that they are unlikely to keep Mayo.

Taking into account Thabeet who had been abandoned before, this means that the Cavaliers' previous trade for Hansen has completely failed.

The Kings selected Thomas Robinson with the fifth pick. Han Sen had some impression of this player. When he was playing in the CBA, he was called for a technical foul for sitting on a billboard. After he learned that he would be fined, he burst into tears on the bench.

So there is a reason why the Kings are bad, because the Trail Blazers selected Lillard with the next pick.

With Cousins ​​in the inside, the Kings would normally choose an outside player to pair with him.

The Warriors selected "North Carolina Black Hawk" Harrison Barnes with the seventh pick, forming the Warriors' left arm (Curry at the head and Thompson at the right arm).

While watching the talent show, a pop-up news window on his phone attracted his attention.

Windhorst posted again, updating the range of teams that James is interested in.

In addition to the Knicks, James is also interested in the Clippers and Spurs in the West.

Apparently, his request to go to the Knicks was rejected by Riley.

In the article, Windhorst stated that the Clippers were a team that had not been associated with "success" in the past.

James led the Cavaliers to success in Cleveland, and he is interested in doing the same in Los Angeles.

This was within Hansen's expectations, because Nike wanted James to go to a big city. The Knicks were in New York and the Clippers were in Los Angeles.

Why not just go to the Lakers?
Now that Kobe has not retired, James can handle Wade, but if Kobe goes there, he will really be Pippen.

It was this Spurs that surprised Hansen.

San Antonio is a basketball desert, the kind where even a championship can't boost the basketball market.

He looked carefully at what Windhorst had written.

The Spurs and James have both experienced a failed season, and they can be the perfect complement.

He also took out Popovich's original words praising James in his early years, "He is so good that I can't even understand it," to express the possibility of cooperation between the two sides.

"San Antonio lacks a small forward, and LeBron can continue the championship aura for that city."

Han Sen touched his chin and thought about it, and he had figured it out. James urgently needed a championship to prove himself, and the Spurs not only had the best chance of achieving it, but also as GDP aged, he would also be the boss of the team.

Of course the most important point, which everyone will subconsciously overlook, is that where James goes now does not mean he will stay there forever!
In 2014, James could opt out of his contract and become a free agent, and then he could naturally get away.

After reading the news, Han Sen found things interesting.

Although it is still uncertain where James will eventually go, it is certain that James is coming to the West!

In fact, to be honest, James is his No. 0 anti-fan leader and the largest one.

He couldn't help but feel a little excited.

By the time he finished reading the news, the first round of the draft had already come to an end.

In the second round, the Warriors picked Green at 35th pick.

This guy who had once trash-talked him in the NCAA finally finished four years of college at Michigan State University and joined the NBA, forming a crotch team with the Warriors.

The Grizzlies did not have a first-round pick this year, and the team finally selected Robert Sacre at the 56th pick.

Han Sen had some impression of this name. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he was the water dispenser manager who contributed to the famous scene of lying on the bench during the Lakers period.

He remembers that he was a big center, and it seems that the team is not planning to continue signing Haddadi this summer.

To be honest, his impression of Haddadi was not bad. That guy was very good at handing water to him.

I hope Sacre can also inherit Haddadi's work and protect the Grizzlies' water dispenser.

The draft has just ended, but fans don’t have much time to discuss rookies, because in two days, the 2012 free market will officially open.

Last season's shortened season affected the draft until the free market opened, and the time was back on track.

There are not many big fish in the free market this year. The biggest name should be Deron Williams of the Nets, but there are many free agents that attract attention, such as Nash of the Suns, Jeremy Lin of the Knicks, Garnett and Ray Allen of the Celtics, Kidd of the Mavericks, Ibaka of the Thunder, etc.

Hansen also received an early contract extension from the Grizzlies management on the first day.
A five-year, $5 million contract.

Han Sen frowned after reading it.

He knew about the early contract extension, and Thomas had already talked to him about it.

Whether it is being selected as an All-Star starter for two consecutive years or being selected to the All-NBA Team for two consecutive years, his conditions have met the triggering conditions of the "Rose Clause".

"The maximum contract Han can get is 9500 million," Thomas corrected promptly.

Wallace also gave an explanation.

The Grizzlies are now facing a lot of salary pressure. Hansen's big contract will start to take effect next summer. The Grizzlies are nearly 2000 million over the luxury tax and need to pay 5000 million in luxury tax.

At that time, the team would have to consider breaking up the core five.

However, if Hansen does not use the Rose clause, he can save the team nearly 3000 million in luxury tax every year. By then, the Grizzlies can replace some role players and reduce the luxury tax to less than million, and the core lineup can be barely maintained.

This situation is also happening with the Thunder. Westbrook has also met the "Rose Clause", but he did not use this clause. Instead, he only signed a five-year, $5 million contract with the Thunder.

"Our goal is to win three consecutive championships," Wallace said finally.

Han Sen looked at Wallace and noticed that Wallace looked very conflicted.

Based on his understanding of Wallace, Wallace certainly knew that this would make him unhappy, but Wallace had to do it.

Because this was the will of the management, or to be more precise, the will of Heisley, whom he had met once at the championship award ceremony.

This is not surprising at all. From the information Hansen had previously come across, Gay's contract renewal and Conley's contract renewal were both overpriced without exception.

In a small ball market and with a poor boss, they will suppress as much as possible until it becomes a habit.

The Spurs and Thunder, Ginobili and Harden, this kind of thing is not unique to Memphis.

By this calculation, Gilbert of the Cavaliers is considered to be lucky. After all, when James was there, he paid huge luxury taxes every year.

And there is an even stronger reason for the price cut this time, because Han Sen just said that he wants to win three consecutive championships, and to win three consecutive championships, it is necessary to make sacrifices.

Because if no sacrifices are made, the core lineup will not be maintained, and if it is not maintained, there will be no guarantee of winning three consecutive championships.

After all, in terms of the amount, Hansen only needs to sacrifice 200 million every year, which can save the team 1000 million or even 2000 million a year, which is very cost-effective.

"If I don't sign, the team is going to trade me?" Han Sen put down the contract.

"How is that possible! Absolutely impossible!" Wallace waved his hands quickly.

Hansen had just helped the team win its first championship in history, and was a city hero to Memphis. Unless he wanted to leave, given the state of the city where shootings occurred during championship parades, anyone who touched him would most likely be treated to peanuts.

Han Sen shook his head.

Why should he save money for his boss?

Wallace's theory actually has a big loophole: paying luxury tax and maintaining the lineup are not mutually exclusive.

Didn't the Lakers also exceed the cap by more than 2000 million? Did they pay the same tax?
Don't even mention that the Lakers are richer. Lakers owner Buss is one of the poorest owners in the league.

As for the team's revenue, if he really leads the team to a three-peat dynasty, and your team still loses money, then it is purely a problem of management's ability.

Not to mention that he has the support of the Eastern Conference market. Rockets owner Alexander relied on Yao Ming to rise from the poorest to the top. Can't you, Heisley, do the same?

Therefore, the luxury tax should be paid, the lineup should be maintained, and money should be made. These three things are not in conflict at all.

Of course, Han Sen knew that Wallace had no say in this matter, so he was too lazy to argue and just gave him the decision.

"The early contract renewal issue ends here. We'll talk about the renewal next summer." Hansen was also giving Haisley a warning.

He deserves and is well worth every dollar he earns.

If you really can't play anymore, you can choose not to play and just sell the team.

The Grizzlies and Hansen ultimately failed to reach an early contract extension agreement.

And their troubles don't end there. The team's backup power forward Speights also encountered problems with his contract renewal.

Speights was a rookie in 2008 and his rookie contract expires this summer.

The championship halo worked on him, and he received a two-year contract worth over 2 million from the Cavaliers.

The Grizzlies tried to lower the price in Hansen's contract renewal, but this contract was definitely not a match, so they had no choice but to let Speights leave.

But the good news is that on the same day that Speights announced his signing with the Cavaliers, yes, Jamison came.

Jamison and the Grizzlies reached a one-year minimum contract.

Jamison had previously asked Hansen if there was still a place for him in Memphis, and now there is.

-Dividing line-

①: When a player has one year left on his contract, his parent team can renew the contract in advance, and the new contract will take effect after the original contract ends.

(End of this chapter)