the rest, only noise

Chapter 316 Conspiracy?Yang conspiracy?Bold?cunning?
Louie gave Baylor some standards.

Take Oakley's annual salary of $40 as an example. Except for Ewing, no one else should exceed this figure.

结果，他用4年80万签下A.C·格林、4年60万签下马努特·波尔、4年40万签下杰拉德·威尔金斯、4年30万签下斯波特·韦伯。

Baylor is very good at lowering prices, probably because of his previous work for Sterling.

Although he has bad eyesight and often short-circuits his brain, he is very stingy when signing contracts.

This is exactly what Louis wants to see, the NBA does not yet have a standard rookie contract.Phenomenon-level rookies can basically sign quasi-maximum salaries when they enter the league, and lottery picks are all starting-level contracts.

Like Ewing, it must be menacing, starting at 100 million.

Baylor did a great job of doing the dirty work that Louie gave him.

So, he became Louie's real partner.

The last time Louis wanted to expand his staff, the headquarters approved him a fund of 40 US dollars.Baylor spent 20 yuan on him, and the remaining 20 yuan will be divided into two parts, one part will be used to expand the management team, and the other part will be used by the coaching staff.

They now desperately need a fitness-savvy specialist to help players gain weight.

Louie thought Ewing was a big player at first, but it turned out that Georgetown University allowed insiders to wear undershirts and Ewing's majestic and rugged appearance made people think he was strong.

In fact, his weight is only 240 pounds (108KG).

This weight is far from enough to play a center in the NBA. He will have problems with his positioning, rebounding, and defense.

It never occurred to Louie that he would worry about the weight of a center who played four years in college.

"Don't panic, there is always a solution to things." Baylor was very optimistic. "I think Patrick has an old-fashioned temperament."

Louis jokingly said, "Are you trying to say that he grows old?"

"That's not true, I feel that he looks very much like my dead uncle." Baylor said, "I miss him a little bit."

Louis smiled and said, "Okay, with your grief and indignation, give him a serious blow later!"

Today is the end of July when Ewing and his agent, David Falk, started signing talks with the Knicks.

Before the standard rookie contract was introduced, how to decently sign their own potential rookies was one of the headaches for many teams.

At the beginning, the Celtics almost fell out with Bird because the number did not match.

For a rookie like Ewing, he has the capital to bid at will.

The two sides will go through many rounds of negotiations, going through "I will not play for a year at the worst", "Okay, you will not play for a year", "Agent: Don't make it so ugly, let's discuss it again", "One shot and two pieces!", "Okay, one shot and two pieces, I will leave tonight"-inexperienced fans will worry that the Knicks will not be able to sign Ewing, while experienced fans are already betting on Ewing's final annual salary.

It is expected that the Knicks will not be able to sign Ewing until the end of the registration deadline announced by the league.

This is why Louie needs a "blue collar" so badly.

He really can't waste his time on these things.

A few minutes later, Ewing and his agent Falk came to the Blue Palace.

"Hello, Mr. Falk, I'm Louis."

"I have known you for a long time." Falk said meaningfully, "I heard that there are some differences between you and Patrick. I hope this will not affect the new season."

Louis said lightly: "Of course not, all Patrick and I want is victory."

Ewing was wearing casual clothes and gave Louis a cautious look.

"Coach, don't you participate in the negotiation?"

Louie opened a bottle of Coke: "Although I am the general manager, this is just a name hanging on my head. The real general manager of the Knicks is Elgin. I think you must know him. Today's negotiations, as well as future negotiations, can treat me as air, and I have nothing to do in the rain."

"Then let's start." Baylor's words were like firing the first shot in a battle.

First, Baylor took out the contract proposed by the Knicks.

10 million a year

This figure dazzled Louis. Even if Falk didn't counter the offer, Ewing's contract alone would be more than the sum of the other players in the Knicks.

Falk chuckled: "This is a good start, but we want more, Elkin, you must give Patrick more respect."

When Baylor raised the number to 50 million in steps of 2400.

Falk shook his head and said, "You're still too conservative, Elgin, do you think this number will satisfy Patrick and his family?"

Baylor became angry on the spot: "Then how much do you want?"

"10 million in 3000 years."

"Don't even think about it!"

In this way, a negotiation called negotiation, which was actually a quarrel, began.

Seeing Baylor and Falke blushing, Ewing began to feel a little uncomfortable.

He knew that Falke's asking price was too high.

"Elkin, don't you think Patrick is not worth 3000 million? Do you believe that if you let him go to Los Angeles, Jerry Buss will offer him a 25-year 6000 million contract."

Baylor sneered and said, "I don't care how much other people pay, here, you can't get that number!"

"I think I can."

Louis, who claimed to be air, suddenly spoke.

Ewing was petrified, Falke thought he heard it wrong, and Baylor looked at Louis in disbelief.

"Coach Lu, what did you just say?" Falk asked in surprise.

"I said, 10 million in 3000 years, you can sign it." Louis smiled lightly. "My only question is, apart from this, you should have no other requirements? If I were Patrick, I would not have other requirements. You should know that once this contract is signed, it means that Patrick's annual income will be among the top three in the league. For a player who has not played a single NBA game, this is enough to show our respect for him, right?"

"Wait, Lu." Baylor only felt his head was confused, "Lu, are you serious?"

Louis did not reply to Baylor's words, but pressed Falk: "Any other questions?"

"This" Falk has become one of the top agents in the league since he signed with Jordan, and he has never seen any team negotiate like this.

He also knew that it was impossible for Knicks to agree to the number he reported. How could he have imagined that Louis, who just said that he was empty, would immediately settle the matter?
"Patrick, 10 million in 3000 years, is it okay?" Seeing that Falke didn't know how to respond, Louis asked Ewing instead.

Ewing didn't know how big a number 3000 million was, so he looked at Falk with pleading eyes.

"Coach Lu, are you serious?" Falk took a deep breath.

Louis laughed at himself: "What's the matter, I'm also the general manager of the Knicks anyway, and I still have this power. If you have no other requirements, I hope to reach an agreement now. I will contact the media. Today we will get things done and set an example for other teams in the league. How about it?"

"No, Coach Lu, don't worry, I still have a request."

Louis agreed to the 3000 million offer, which made Falk's next request a bit lacking in confidence: "If ... if in a certain year in the future, Patrick's annual salary does not rank among the top five in the league, he should have the right to jump out of the existing contract and sign a new contract."

"Ridiculous!" Baylor slapped the table angrily, "I've been playing professional basketball for decades, and I've never heard of such a request!"

Louie asked with a tinge of apparent anger, "Patrick, is that your opinion, or David's?"

At this moment, Ewing felt a little guilty.

"I have satisfied your numbers and given you enough respect. If you insist on proposing such unreasonable terms, then we should also have a corresponding stop loss clause." Louis said coldly, "If Patrick cannot be selected as an All-Star in the first year, only 80% of his annual salary will be guaranteed; if he cannot be selected to the best team in the next three years, only 70% of his contract will be guaranteed; if he cannot bring the Knicks to the semifinals in the first five years of his career, only 60% of his contract will be guaranteed."

Now it's Falk's turn to be unacceptable: "This is definitely not in line with the relevant terms of the alliance!"

"You only consider what is best for you, but you don't want to bear the adverse consequences. When you proposed this clause, do you think that Patrick in the first year has the strength of the top five in the league? If he is in the top five in the league, is it difficult to be selected to the All-Star, the best team, and bring the Knicks to the semifinals? If he is really the top five in the league, it is not difficult at all. If he is not, why does he get such a ridiculous clause?"

Louis asked, "You tell me, why?"

Ewing's face became extremely ugly, and he didn't know whether it was shame, anger at Louis' words, or fear of the situation in front of him.

Baylor didn't expect Louie to control the negotiations.

At the end of the negotiation, Louis said to Ewing and Falk: "We have already agreed to 10 million in 3000 years. I can tell you clearly that we can no longer make any concessions, nor can we accept other additional terms. Either sign this contract or never! Don't forget, we have the exclusive right to sign Patrick!"

It was David Falk's most frustrating day.

His goal was never 10 million in 3000 years.This number is indeed huge now. If Ewing signs it, he can immediately become one of the richest players in the league.However, next summer, the league will sign a new broadcast contract. At that time, the income will double, the salary cap will rise sharply, and 10 million in 3000 years will no longer be an astronomical figure.

His real purpose was that clause that sounded ridiculous.

However, before he started the long wrangling tactics, and finally settled the terms with the Knicks through a short-term economic loss, he was completely destroyed by Louis.

The point is, Falk doesn't know at all whether Louis has seen the future of the salary cap skyrocketing, or simply believes that Ewing is worth 10 million in 3000 years.If it's the former, it's too insidious; if it's the latter, his generosity is enough to make Ewing bow to him.

"Let's sign it, David."

When walking outside the Blue Palace, Ewing said suddenly.

"Patrick, absolutely not!"

"Louis is right." Ewing said confidently, "I have to prove that I am worth so much before asking for more. If I were the general manager, I would do the same."

(End of this chapter)