The Legend of the Hungry Wolf in Basketball

Chapter 210 [Salary cut?He is the owner of the Clippers! 】

On July 7, Kidd made his official debut in Los Angeles, attended the press conference with Thibodeau, Ariel, and Ye Feng, and showed the No. 13 jersey.The fans welcome him to join. Kidd said in an interview that the Clippers will be the last stop of his career, and he believes that he can win a championship here.

In the same Staples Arena, Kidd is happy to join, and Kobe is making a transfer on the other.Kobe Bryant wanted good teammates.How much luxury tax the team pays has nothing to do with him. The Lakers' salary exceeds [-] million, and being able to win the championship is also a success in his opinion.

Artest is straightforward and never expresses his wishes in a roundabout way. As early as in May, he had already put forward his own conditions to the general manager of the Rockets, Morey, to renew his contract for 5 years and 5 million US dollars. I think I deserve tens of millions of annual salary.Now that I have won the championship, I want more, at least 5000 million.Of course Morey is unwilling to renew his contract, the risk is too great.

According to regulations, if Artest renews his contract with the Rockets before July 7, then he can get a maximum of 8 years and 4 million US dollars. The contract is bigger.

The strength Artest showed last season deserves an annual salary of tens of millions, but few teams are willing to give him so much money. First, considering his age, and second, his temper. live him.The teams that are interested in him all hope to make a difference in the playoffs, and the purpose is to let him defend James and Ye Feng.

The teams chasing him mainly include the Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, and Lakers. The first two teams do not plan to offer him tens of millions of annual salary.

The Lakers also don't want to spend that much money, and they are currently in an awkward position.If Artest is given 5500 million, it will be even more troublesome to renew Odom.But without Artest, they can't deal with Ye Feng, and they don't have an advantage when they meet James and Pierce. How can they win the championship?
Now that Kidd is in Los Angeles, the Clippers have attracted more attention. If the Lakers lose again next season, I am afraid that the fans will run away. Kobe may also make a transfer and really jump out of the contract.Without Kobe, there will definitely be no fans. The Lakers will enter a dark period suppressed by the Clippers, which is not what the management wants to see.

In this situation, Ye Feng also feels quite surprised, it's all a chain reaction of the Rockets winning the championship unexpectedly.In his previous life, Artest joined the Lakers for 5 million in 3395 years.At that time, Artest only wanted the championship ring, and he went to the Lakers to hug his thigh. Of course, he was embarrassed to ask for a high salary.It's different now, he pulled it up when he got the ring.Some people say that he is qualified to win the finals MVP, which makes him more confident. Even if he goes to the Lakers, he is going to be the savior. A salary cut?Unless he's mentally ill...

When the Lakers hesitated, the Rockets made a move first, and Ariza was poached for 5 million in five years, which made the Lakers even more pressured.If Artest is brought in, plus Bynum, Gasol, and Kobe, the Lakers will have four players with an annual salary of tens of millions. It is impossible for Odom to renew his contract with a low salary, and it is likely to be five thousand. Mr Wan.

At this time, something that disgusted the Lakers executives happened.Ye Feng made a high-profile announcement to renew his contract with the Clippers, 3 million in three years, 2500 million in the first two years, and 500 million in the third year.The best team in the league, the second defensive team, the scoring leader, and an annual salary of 1500 million next season?Artest's annual salary is 500 million, what is this?
Ye Feng's contract extension immediately turned everyone in the league into high-paid and low-powered people.The person with the highest salary in the Clippers is Josh Smith, the second highest is Kidd, and Kidd's salary is less than 1000 million.Now the Clippers' salary is still 1400 million short of the salary cap, and they can also introduce a big-name star.It's not easy for other teams to protest. What can you do if they don't want money?Besides, Ye Feng was only in his third year, according to the salary increase regulations, even if he got the maximum salary, he didn't have much money.

If Artest is not introduced, the Lakers will almost certainly lose against the Clippers next season.At the point guard position, they have no salary to reinforce. Barea is a strong point, not to mention Kidd.

In the end, Kupchak had no choice but to grit his teeth and introduce Artest. If he didn't do anything, Artest would go to other teams.To put it bluntly, the final contract was reduced to 5 million in 5300 years. Turkoglu did not perform as well as Artest in the finals. He joined the Raptors for 5 million in 5600 years. This is the only thing that makes the Lakers feel gratified.

After that, Odom will be renewed. If Odom leaves, Kobe will be dissatisfied.In order to introduce Artest and keep Odom, Kupchak asked Kobe if he was willing to cut his salary, but Kobe refused immediately.

There is a characteristic of the Lakers, that is, players are unwilling to cut their salaries.Although the current situation is that the Lakers have exceeded the luxury tax collection standard by 1300 million U.S. dollars, which means that if the Lakers sign a tens of millions of contracts with Odom, then according to the luxury tax regulations, they will have to pay 1000 million U.S. dollars for it. The luxury tax, the Lakers will have to pay 2300 million a year, free to the league.

After discussing with owner Bass, Kupchak spent four years and 4 million to settle Odom, and the Lakers used money to build a super lineup.

The total salary of the Lakers players this season has reached 9330 million U.S. dollars. If the team keeps the lineup unchanged before the end of the regular season, it will need to pay a luxury tax of 2340 million U.S. dollars.In order to win the championship, the Lakers fought hard.If there is no trade and no free agency, the total salary of the Lakers will reach 1 million US dollars.In contrast, the Lakers' total salary last season was only $1670 million, which also includes the luxury tax paid.

In addition, the above-mentioned total is only the salary of the players, and does not include the annual salary of 1200 million US dollars of head coach Phil Jackson.

After the transaction is completed, the Lakers have Artest and Odom teaming up. It seems that it will not be so easy for Ye Feng to get a high score.But people discuss more about the salaries of the Clippers and the Lakers. The salary of the Lakers after adding the luxury tax is double that of the Clippers.It is clear at a glance which of the two teams is operating better.

Some people began to blame Kobe, Odom and others for not cutting their salaries, which caused the team to spend a lot of money.

But in order to maintain the Lakers' competitiveness for the championship in the future, Kobe should be dealt with by the Lakers owner Bass, who lives alone in a 11000-square-foot mansion, jump out of the contract and cut his salary?No, this is definitely not the American way of doing things.
Will the Lakers sign with Artest and Odom at a reasonable market price if Kobe cuts his salary?It's like complaining on the beach that the best umbrella is too big and beautiful instead of observing the beauty of the beach.
Even Kobe's pay cut won't keep the Lakers below the luxury line, and it's not the only way to keep the economy healthy.Bryant's own salary cut will only go into the pocket of owner Bass.

Oddly, Bryant is now expected to do everything, including assessing Bass' economic report and adjusting it on his own.Employees give money to their bosses, which is very funny, but few people think about it.

No one ever considered letting Jackson jump out of the contract, he could return the money to the father-in-law Bass, and pay the salaries of Artest and Odom.The truth is, Jackson won't be marrying the sincere lady, Jeanie Buss, just to earn $1200 million from the Lakers next season.No one knew that Jackson had threatened Kobe to retire after losing to the Clippers, and no one would have trouble with money, especially when he can earn tens of millions as a coach.Jackson said Friday that he intends to continue coaching next season as long as his ill-fated health clears up during an upcoming physical.

Asked about the pay cut, Bryant said: "That's not my responsibility. It's the team's responsibility to get all the guys to the table and make sure they get what they want."

The reporter asked: "Ye Feng took the initiative to cut his salary to keep the team's salary below the salary cap."

Kobe got angry when he heard this, and growled: "Can I be the same as him? He is the owner of the Clippers. Do I look like the owner?"

Thus, the news that Ye Feng was the "owner" of the Clippers made the news again, and people brought it up and protested.But this is old news of "old wine in new bottles".Since last year, voices questioning the relationship between Ye Feng and Ariel have never stopped.David Stern has acquiesced, and it is useless for others to protest.

Garnett and Duncan can cut their salaries in order to keep their teammates. Michael Jordan can also cut his salary when the Wizards come back to bring in good players. Could it be that Ye Feng can't do it?Is it reasonable to have the Clippers pay the luxury tax?But even if Ye Feng's salary was increased by 1000 million, the Clippers would not be able to pay the luxury tax. For this reason, there is nothing to discuss.The operation of the Clippers is very reasonable. It is an indisputable fact that relying on a group of newcomers, cheap role players have become the powerful players in the Western Conference.There's nothing you can do if you don't accept it, so let's be jealous.

Ye Feng made up his wishful thinking, and only signed for three years, then he and Kidd will become free agents, with a lot of salary vacant, which can guarantee the renewal of contracts for Love, Gortat and others.Love has already hit a double-double in his rookie season. In the future, he will develop his three-point shooting ability and his strength will improve.In the future, there will be a shortage of inside players, and if you want to keep him, you must have an annual salary of tens of millions.Gortat is now trained by Mahon and Mutombo, so he has great potential and may play at the same level in the future. The same is true for McGee.

Three years later, many players' contracts expire at the same time, and it is very difficult to keep them all.Even if you can't keep the role players who demand high salaries, you must keep the core of the team, which is the foundation of the team.

On July 7th, Ye Feng, who had been playing for two months, was ready to start training.During this time, he just practiced his wrist and shooting touch every day.At this time, Love and McGee have been practicing for half a month under the supervision of Mutombo and Mahon.Of the three insiders, only Gortat did not practice more and went back to Europe for vacation.

Ye Feng has reserved the trampoline of the largest size, and has found a partner, ready to practice the unique stunt of French street player Raymond Bobile.

Jordan has the stunt of low-handed shots while staying in the air, and he is already very strong in the penalty area. If Ye Feng can control his body better and make shots from a certain distance without looking at the basket, he will be unstoppable next season.

(End of this chapter)