NBA backer king

Chapter 475 Jordan's deal is done

Jordan knew about the Knicks' situation from David Frank a long time ago, and said: "The contracts of Alan Houston and John Starks are over, and they can be signed and then traded. The Knicks definitely have no room for them. And trading me also requires a lot of bargaining chips."

O'Neal and Oakley nodded. With Jordan, Alan Houston must have no place, but without John Stackton, there will be a backup shooting guard.

Jordan continued: "Point guard Chris Childs is average, with an annual salary of $312 million next season. To keep him, it is better to poach Kidd from the Suns. Kidd's annual salary next season is 522 million. Although he is more expensive, he is a few levels stronger."

"The Suns will trade Kidd?" O'Neal and Oakley asked in surprise.

Jordan smiled and said: "His agent is secretly contacting some teams, and David has received the news."

"The Suns are short of a main shooting guard. Alan Houston signed first and then traded for Kidd." Oakley nodded.

"It's just a little more expensive. Kidd took up 522 million, and there is only 800 left." O'Neill said.

Oakley said: "Kidd's strength is very strong. He was suppressed by the veteran in the Suns. In fact, the annual salary is very cheap, which can be regarded as a child labor contract. The team really has no room. It is best to find a veteran with a basic salary."

He was very worried that after all the calculations, he had no chance to stay. He didn't want to leave the Knicks. He was used to living in New York.

Jordan has some regrets. Chris Mullin rejected him just now. If this veteran can use the basic salary to fool him, then the Knicks' main lineup will be neat, and he can definitely beat the old K.

He then said to Oakley: "Charles, next season is your contract year, 285 million, right?"

"Yes."

Oakley nodded nervously.

Jordan smiled and said, "You stay and help me. We still have 500 million yuan left to fill the remaining main position of a small forward and a substitute lineup. Although it is a bit difficult, after finding a few basic-salary veterans to come in, there should be no major problems."

"Great!" Oakley breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where's the head coach?" O'Neal asked suddenly.

The relationship between him and Nelson is not very good now, because Nelson plays small ball and his tactics pursue fast-paced offense and defense, which makes it very difficult for him to play.

"Already negotiated with the management, Phil Jackson will take over the Knicks." Jordan smiled.

"Great!" O'Neal said excitedly.

He likes positional warfare, especially the triangle tactic, which is dedicated to serving stars.

Jordan said: "Position five, Sharks, position four, Charles, position three, find a decent veteran, position two, me, position one, it would be best to get Kidd, if it's such a main lineup..."

When he said this, his eyes lit up, staring at a certain point in the void, as if it was Old K, and said: "At this time next year, I will blow up Old K's team."

……

"Old K?"

"Chris, it's me. I have something to do with you."

At this time, Chris Mullin's cell phone rang again, and it turned out that it was Old K who was looking for him.

"You want to recruit me?" he asked.

"Hey, are you a prophet?" Old Wang asked in surprise.

"Haha, old K, just now Jordan called me." Mullin laughed.

"Don't pay attention to him. Even if he goes to the Knicks, the Knicks' salary space will be exhausted. What contract can I give you? A basic salary?" Old Wang said disdainfully.

"It's the basic salary."

Mullin smiled wryly and explained: "I have played for 12 seasons, and now I am at the end of my career. The highest annual salary I have ever received is 333 million US dollars. The last seven seasons have been 284 million US dollars per year. Although I also want to win the championship, I hope that the next contract can not be lower than this level. You understand what I mean?"

"Understood, people die for money, and birds die for food. Although the championship is good, it can't be eaten. Making money comes first. Am I right?" Lao Wang laughed.

"Yes, old K, that's what you said." Mu Lin also laughed.

Lao Wang thought for a while and said: "We have left a lot of people here. There is enough space, but we can't give you a long-term contract, because you have to stay to prepare for future contracts with those young people. You understand this, so you can sign a short contract, such as one year. The annual salary will definitely maintain your original level. For the championship, do you want to try?"

"One year?"

Mullin thought about it, and felt that with his current state, after playing for a year, he should be able to sign a contract in the NBA, so...

"OK."

"Great, management will contact your agent and the trade window will open and you can sign."

……

After finishing Chris Mullin, Pharaoh heaved a sigh of relief, and it can be regarded as filling the gap after Horry left. Moreover, although Mullin is old, he is a veteran with more comprehensive functions than Horry and still has strength.

Now he wants to use his influence to help the management recruit veterans, save some salary space, and facilitate the management to renew Rasheed Wallace in advance.

However, Kidd is going to leave, which is a headache. I thought he would leave, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. I have only played for a year. Is it so painful to play by his side?
But thinking about Kidd's stats, if you want to score but you don't score, you need an assist but you don't have an assist. It's not as good as the Mavericks' stats, and the status is not as good as the Mavericks. He doesn't want to complain. It is true that his existence suppressed the opponent's performance.

People are not for themselves, heaven and earth are destroyed, Kidd chose to leave for his own development, and he must accept this result.

But in this way, the team still has to find a main point guard, and the Lightning really can't hold the No. [-] position.

There is still a shortage of people in the second position, and there is really no good one. This season, Kobe can be topped up. Last season, he focused on defense. Next season, it is time to strengthen his offense.

In addition, the quality of black people is stronger. With Kobe's physical fitness and endurance, this offseason should allow him to gain weight again, reaching 96 kilograms. Kobe's confrontation ability will be greatly improved.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Wang Tiejun and Hawksman flew to Los Angeles.

He will stay here for a while, carry out some commercial activities, sign some sponsorship contracts, shoot some commercials, and then attend some events, and support the premiere of some celebrity friends.

For example, Nicolas Cage's "Face Changing", he not only had to attend the premiere on the 27th, but also promised to book the show.

After Fei Ge gave birth, the house in Los Angeles was no longer needed, he had already disposed of it, and this time he was also staying in a hotel.

"Dazhi, where are you now?"

After settling down, he called Dazhi and asked about the situation.

"Brother Tiejun, in New York, is participating in the official rookie training camp." Da Zhi said.

"Oh, how is your English?" he asked in English.

It was so big that he couldn't understand it, so he said it twice, and then he stammered back: "Not yet, not yet, not too good."

There is no need to ask, the listening and speaking skills have not yet been passed, but time is short, and there is still time, he switched to Mandarin and said: "Don't worry, after the draft, you don't want to go back to China, just stay here and practice your listening and speaking skills while training. If you miss your family, please take your parents over and say it."

"Okay, Brother Tiejun." Da Zhi said.

"Da Zhi, let me tell you that communication skills are very important. If you can't pass this level, you won't be able to survive in the NBA, so you must talk more, listen and practice more, and talk to others when you have nothing to do. Didn't you hire a translator? Keep talking to him, and after a few months, your listening and speaking skills will pass the test. That's how I came here." Lao Wang said.

"I see, Brother Tie Jun." Dazhi said quickly.

After chatting for a few more minutes, the two ended the call.

When he arrived in Los Angeles, he was naturally reported by the media. At four or five o'clock in the afternoon, he received a dinner invitation from Lakers owner Jerry Buss.

Under the kindness, there is no way to refuse this.

"Old K, I really hope you can come to the Lakers." Halfway through the dinner, Buss said regretfully.

"Jerry, Tim Duncan will be very good." Old Wang smiled.

Bass shook his head and said, "He should be really good, but what I want most is you, you should be the king of Los Angeles."

……

At 22 am on the 9nd, Jordan and David Frank came to the Knicks headquarters secretly.

"Michael, I'm so glad to see you!" James Dolan greeted Jordan himself, and after the meeting, he hugged him with a very warm attitude.

"Mr. Dolan, I'm glad to meet you too." Jordan smiled.

Dolan said: "Michael, you are from Brooklyn, you should come back, the Knicks are your hometown team, I am looking forward to you putting on the Knicks jersey."

"I also hope to fight for my hometown." Jordan nodded.

Jordan came here today because the Knicks are going to negotiate a deal with the Bulls. As the subject of the deal, he must of course care about his own deal.

The Bulls are Jerry Krause and owner Reinsdorf, as well as several executives.

On the Knicks side are the new owner James Dolan, the new general manager Scott Layden, and several executives, as well as Jordan and David Frank.

However, Jordan and David Frank could not directly participate in the negotiations. They just sat in the next room and waited for the news. If the transaction was uncontrollable, for example, the price of the bulls was too high, he needed to participate in person.

The Knicks did not have a general manager before. After Dolan took over, he immediately set up this position and took part of the power from the president Dave Chuckett. In the future, the team's trading affairs will be in charge of the general manager.

Dolan is also eager to get Jordan's Jordan, afraid of long nights and dreams, he has an extra 2000 million just for Jordan, so after taking over the Knicks, he hastily started negotiations with the Bulls.

After the phone call, after a brief greeting, the negotiation began.

"First, we want three unprotected first-round picks, excluding the first-round picks of the Knicks, Pacers, Suns, Jazz, and Lakers." Jerry Krause proposed the first transaction condition.

Scott Layden looked at Dolan and said: "Boss, the conditions are not too harsh. Michael is still in his prime, and three unprotected first-round picks are worth it. It is the conditions set, which limit the scope of our trade. This is a bit troublesome. They want the top picks."

"Can it be done?" Dolan asked immediately, only wanting to get Jordan.

After a little consideration, Scott Layden said: "Alan Houston himself was the No. 93 pick in the first round in 11, and now he has played. He can get back one or even two late lottery picks. With John Starks, these two people plus some heads, should be able to get three unprotected first-round picks."

"Then promise them." Dolan said decisively.

"Second, we want Alan Houston."

After the Knicks agreed to the first condition, Jerry Krause made a second condition.

Scott Layden was a little irritated at this time, grabbed the assistant's microphone and said seriously: "It's impossible, Mr. Claus, we can't conjure up three unprotected first-round picks for you out of thin air. Alan Houston is the bargaining chip for the trade pick. You either want someone or you want to sign. He is worth two first-round picks. You can only choose one of the two."

Klaus over there also knew that his request was too much, so he immediately changed his words and said, "Then we don't need anyone, but we want four first-round picks?"

"Four?"

Scott Layden has a toothache. Where can he find four unprotected first-round picks?Moreover, the scope of transactions is also limited, which is very troublesome.

"Mr. Krause, Jordan is almost 35 years old after all, I don't think he is worth so much." He began to counter-offer.

"Mr. Layden, you can go and see his performance in the finals just past, so this is our bottom line. As No.1 in active play and No.1 in history, this is also the worth he should have, otherwise it is a kind of humiliation to him."

Jerry Krause's attitude was very tough, he did not retreat half a step, and even raised the banner of Jordan.

The Knicks can only discuss it first, and the negotiation is temporarily suspended.

Jordan and David Frank were invited over. After knowing the conditions of the Bulls, they were a little angry. He didn't care that the trade would overdraw the potential of the Knicks. What he was angry about was the attitude of the Bulls, who wanted to completely squeeze out his value!
But it's hard for him to say anything. This bargaining chip has not broken through his bottom line. After all, it is impossible for him to think that he is not worth even four first-round picks, right?

"Can you raise four unprotected first-round picks?" Dolan asked.

Leiden shook his head and said: "If the deal is completed, our first-round picks for the next few years will be worthless and cannot be traded, and can only be sold.

Alan Houston, John Starks, Chris Childs, Charlie Ward, Oakley, except for the five of them, the others have no trade value and can only be used as a leader. "

"Oakley better stay," Jordan chimed in.

Layden nodded and said, "Then there are only four left. Houston and Starks have to sign first and then trade. The four of them, together with our own first-round pick, should be able to trade for four.

However, it is a bit troublesome not to be protected, and a higher price must be paid. It is also difficult to trade with the bottom team, and the scope of the transaction is further limited. "

"Then agree to them, and then you immediately go to raise a first-round pick." Dolan said immediately.

"I'll talk to the Bulls again. They don't have any cards. Michael is determined to go. The asking price is too high. Once the negotiation fails, they can't stand the pressure from the league and Michael." Layden said.

"Let's talk about it," Dolan said.

Layden nodded and signaled the assistant to reconnect with the Bulls. After the call, he took the microphone and said, "Mr. Krauss, three unprotected first-round picks from other teams, maybe two unprotected first-round picks from other teams, plus Alan Houston, this is our bottom line. If you refuse, then we will suspend the transaction, and Michael will choose to retire, you know."

His words also put great pressure on the Bulls. Jordan went to sign the Knicks. They knew this attitude very well. If the deal really collapsed and Jordan was forced to retire, then they really got nothing.

The point is, Jordan retired and then came back, still go to the Knicks, but they will lose everything.

Of course they can not buy out the contract, pay a year's salary as usual, and restrict Jordan from coming back next season, but that is meaningless.

First of all, Stern would not allow it. At the beginning, they promised Stern face to face that they would make a concession in Jordan's deal, and that would offend Jordan and his fans to death, so this method is not advisable.

In the end, the Bulls agreed to the Knicks' counteroffer, Alan Hughton + two unprotected first-round picks. The restriction of the two picks is to exclude the first-round picks of the Suns, Knicks, Lakers, Jazz, and Pacers.

After the transaction is settled, we only need to wait for the transaction window to open, and the transaction can begin as soon as the freeze is over, and both parties are relieved.

(End of this chapter)