You should cross the mountains like a brave man

Chapter 557 "Generous" Quote
From the opening game to the end of November, the Lakers were undefeated.

15 consecutive victories, averaging 110 points per game, limiting opponents to 101 points.

Their dominance, chemistry is unparalleled.

Basically, they are currently the most powerful team, followed by the Celtics who have better chemistry than last season.At the same time, another strong team in the East has risen.

That's the Cleveland Cavaliers. After almost six years in LeBron James, they finally realized that putting four shooters around him can make the team stronger.

The rise of the Cavaliers is a big surprise, and the league has encouraged the topic of 23VS24.

In early December, Weixia and the Lakers officially started contract renewal negotiations.

On December 12, at the Toyota Center, Wesha and his agent, Dan Fagan, came to the general manager's office.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and vice president Jim Buss have already taken their seats.

Wei Xia nodded to Bass Jr. It has been almost half a year since he underwent cruciate ligament repair, and now he can walk freely without relying on tools such as crutches.

"Wish, it seems you're recovering well." Kupchak looked elated.

Even Wei Xia's family was not as happy as him when he first got rid of his wheelchair and crutches.

"This is thanks to the professional guidance of the doctor." Wei Xia said lightly.

"Can you come back this season?" Buss Jr. made a digression.In his view, this is very important.

Fagan replied instead of Wei Xia: "Mr. Bass, ACL tear is an extremely serious injury. In the past, it was known as a superstar killer. We live in an era with better medical conditions, but recovery from it is still a long process. Wish has a bright future. For him, the best choice is to give up this season. Only when he fully recovers can he make greater contributions."

Hearing this, Little Buss looked disappointed.

But Kupchak picked up the words: "Yes, Wish is our long-term investment, and we will take good care of him."

"Shall we start?" Fagan asked.

"Of course." Kupchak seated Weisha and Feigen.

Wei Xia sat on the left, Feigen sat on the right.

For Kupchak, the challenge has just begun. Wesha may be a good talker, but his agent is definitely not.

At the beginning of the year, "Forbes" magazine selected Fagan as the sixth among NBA agents, and wrote a ten-character comment: the genius of the mall, the devil who makes money.

He will do whatever it takes to help players make money.

Kupchak quickly took out a draft contract: "This is the new contract we just drafted, please read it."

"If it wasn't for the requirements of the rules, I wouldn't even show up here. Wish believes that you will give him a good contract." As soon as Feigen finished speaking, the corners of Buzz Jr.'s mouth curled up in a wry smile.

A playful wry smile.

Over the years, Kupchak has served as the mouthpiece of Old Buss and the balancer of internal conflicts. Kupchak has seen many storms. He will not be moved by Fagan's rhetoric at this moment. He just said: "Of course, Wish is our important asset. We will do whatever it takes to keep him playing in the league as a Laker player."

The premise is that he has to ensure his health.

At least like Kobe, there have been minor injuries over the years and no major injuries.

Heaven fails to fulfill one's wishes.

Fagan looked carefully at the contract offered by the Lakers, and there was nothing wrong with it. When his eyes fell on the amount, a creepy smile appeared on his face.

"It's really a 'generous' contract. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe that you 'valued' Wish so much!" Fei Gen sneered.

Fei Gen's tone was wrong, Wei Xia asked, "How generous?"

"4 million in four years, that's too 'generous'!" Feigen laughed sarcastically, "I believe that only the Lakers in the league can offer such a contract to Wish!"

Kupchak was just as concerned about Wei Xia's health as a relative, but now he puts away his tenderness, "I admit that Wish deserves the maximum salary, provided that he remains healthy. If there is no injury, we can give him a maximum salary without hesitation, but now, we must be realistic. Mr. Fagan, what do you think?"

"If this is your price, I can only express my disappointment on behalf of my employer. Sorry, we will not accept this contract." Fagan said lightly, "I believe that by the summer, other teams will offer Wish a better salary. If you want the situation to get out of hand, I have no problem."

Wei Xia looked at the contract, and to be honest, it was indeed insincere.

4 million in 5000 years, this is an astronomical sum, ordinary people will never be able to get so much money, but for him, for his performance in the past three years, this offer is a humiliation.

"Wait!" Seeing that Fei Gen was going to take Wei Xia away, Bass called them back, "I said, don't be impatient! This is just a draft contract, not our final decision. You should at least pay the price!"

Fagan stopped his momentum and said briefly: "4 years 6900 million, the last year is a player option."

Fegan will make this offer, and the Lakers have long expected it.

Still the same sentence, if Wei Xia is not injured, the meeting time will not exceed 10 minutes. They chat casually and confirm the contract to reach an agreement.

Things are much more complicated now.

The obvious problem is Wei Xia's injury.

Athlete's Devil - ACL tear.Decades ago, one had to consider retirement after such an injury. Nowadays, sports medicine is developing rapidly, and the success rate of surgery is very high. As long as you concentrate on maintenance, you will almost certainly be able to come back.But the performance after the comeback is difficult to determine.

Moreover, players who suffered a torn ACL had a 60% chance of re-injury after returning.

Among the dozens of players who suffered ACL tears in the new century, no more than 90% recovered to a competitive level above 10%.

This is the obvious risk of Wei Xia's contract, and there are more hidden risks and chain reactions.

It's not just Wei Xia who the Lakers want to renew, but also his fellow student Andrew Bynum.It is expected that Bynum's contract extension will be at the eight-figure level;

Then, during the season, they have to re-sign Pau Gasol;
Next season, they have to prepare for the contract extensions of Kobe and Kyle Lowry.

If the Lakers all renew their contracts with a standard salary, their total salary will exceed [-] million U.S. dollars next season.

The luxury tax threshold for this season is $5880 million.It is expected that next season will not exceed 6000 million. In other words, if the Lakers really keep everyone at a salary that is in line with the market price, in order to maintain this lineup, in addition to paying a salary of 5000 million U.S. dollars a year, they will also have to pay an additional luxury tax of nearly [-] million U.S. dollars.

The Lakers' consistent human touch and treatment of their star players make people forget that the Bass family's assets are the last among NBA owners.As of 2008, Old Bath's assets were $8 million.

Also, Wei Xia's prestige and popularity have plummeted since 2008.

He is a thorn in the side of the red neck, a thorn in the flesh of all democratic elites who embrace the American dream, and Los Angeles is the central city of the United States, attracting worldwide attention. His remarks last year made him a target of public criticism.After he became FMVP, the Lakers suffered tens of millions of direct or indirect economic losses. In order to clear the relationship, sponsors and advertisers did not hesitate to terminate the contract and give up Staples' great advertising space.The stars who have always been proud of owning the Lakers' front-row season tickets also gave up their season tickets one after another to show their attitude.

The most frightening thing is that none of the above factors are the core reasons for the Lakers to make this offer.

When Fagan proposed that price, the two sides reached an impasse.

Kupchak was bent on lowering the price, but Feigan refused to budge, and would not accept a penny less.

The two sides negotiated for an hour, fully exchanged views, and had an intuitive understanding of each other's demands, but they did not reach an agreement.

Weixia and the Lakers started the first day of contract renewal negotiations, which ended with a cut off midway.

After Wei Xia and Fei Gen walked out of Kupchak's office, Bass Jr. stomped and cursed: "Which bastard came up with this contract! 4 million in 5000 years, thanks to them thinking of it! It's a fucking garbage contract that went into the sewer, and the sewer stinks!"

Kupchak's hand gently picked up the draft contract on the desk.

The voice is soft.

"Jim, don't complain so loudly. Be careful that walls have ears."

"There are ears and there are ears, and this contract is the rotten shit pulled out by a fucking idiot who has been constipated!"

"Dr. Buss set the price." Kupchak said loudly, "Dr. Buss decided on the direction of this negotiation."

Jr. Buss has long heard that the Lakers have different opinions on what kind of renewal contract Wei Xia will have. What is certain is that they will not give Wei Xia the highest salary that is in line with his worth and his contribution.

He didn't expect that it would be 4 million for 5000 years.

When Fagen said it, he was stunned.

But now he is even more surprised that this decision was made by his father.

"Why?" Buzz asked, "Why did my dad do this? Doesn't he know the value of Wish? Wish helped us win a championship! He is the MVP of the finals, so we treat him like this?"

Kupchak tightened his smile.

"Dr. Buss fully understands the value of Wish, but Wish is different from Kobe, Maggie, and Wilt."

"What's different? He's only been here for three years and he helped us win the championship!"

"Bill Russell helped the Celtics win 11 championships, but the Celtics have been struggling to make ends meet for a long time. Why do you think it is?"

Little Buzz couldn't tell.

Kupchak said: "Russell is the winner, the ultimate winner, but he is destined not to bring changes to the team's market and commercial value. Wish is the same as him. In the eyes of Dr. Buss, he exudes an old-school Celtic temperament."

Little Buss is going crazy: "Is there a fucking mistake? Isn't this something we already know? Isn't this what we like about him?"

"Yes, even if he can't increase the commercial value of the Lakers like Kobe, Maggie, and Wilt, Dr. Buss still decides to give him a maximum salary until he exposes his political stance and until he is no longer healthy." Kupchak's voice echoed in Buss Jr.'s heart.

He knew that Kupchak had no reason to lie to him.

That's the old Bass mindset.

In the early 80s, regardless of the feelings of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others, he would give the magician an unprecedented 25-year salary of 2500 million (the total salary of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career was only 300 million U.S. dollars). A few years ago, in order to strengthen Kobe, he was able to kick away the sharks who also made great contributions to the Lakers dynasty. It was all for one thing: commercial value.

A champion is nice, but it's not beautiful if it doesn't make him money.

It just so happens that Magician and Kobe are the kind of superstars who can enhance the commercial value of the team and have enough strength to lead the team to the championship.

Wish, is he?

Can he be as great as Kobe and Magic in the future?

He is doomed not to improve the commercial value of the team like the lord of the Angel City in the past, but also carries the risk of ACL tear, and will also damage the image of the team. Are the Lakers really entrusting the future to him?

That's what Jerry Buss thinks. Instead of worrying about Wish's injury, it is better to say that it is Wish's injury that has triggered various effects.

"You should know that it is impossible for Wish to accept this contract." Bass Jr. still wanted to fight for it. "If we only use this contract to repay him, it will have a serious negative impact on the reputation of the Lakers!"

Kupchak smiled lightly: "Don't worry, Jim, it won't get to that point. This is just a strategy. What we have to do is to wait and see."

If there is no old Bath, Jim can turn the world upside down for Wesha's maximum salary.

Now, old Bass stepped in.

He is the only person in this world who cannot be disobedient, and he stands on the opposite side of him.

(End of this chapter)