king of the basket

Chapter 147 Transfer?

The next morning.

Duke got on a plane to New York.

……

After a long thirteen-hour flight, Duke disembarked at New York Airport.

And this time.

It's daytime in New York.

Duke was sleepy.

But Du Qi didn't go to the hotel to rest.Instead, he called D'Antoni.

……

after an hour.

Knicks training camp.

D'Antoni, dressed in a Knicks coach uniform, met Duke.

He sat on the rest seat with Du Qi dragging the suitcase.He made Du Qi another cup of black coffee with his own hands.

Du Qi, in loose casual attire, reached out to take the coffee handed by the coach, thanked him, and took a sip.

Then he smacked his lips, and asked Coach D'Antoni straight to the point:
"Coach, what made you transfer from the Suns to the Knicks?"

"Because of disagreement."

D'Antoni said, as if he felt that his explanation was not detailed enough, and then explained: "Mr. Robert Sarver, the owner of the Suns, has only business spirit, but no sportsmanship.

And I love sports, and that's what made me leave. "

Duke nodded.

D'Antoni made himself a cup of coffee, too.

Taking a sip of coffee in an elegant manner, he asked Du Qi directly:

"What is the problem you want to confirm with me?"

"I heard that when I participated in the NBA draft, the reason why the Suns chose me was that you, the coach, acted as a push behind and recommended me to the boss. Isn't that right?"

"you can say it this way."

D'Antoni nodded, then smiled and said:
"Sometimes, I admire myself... I still have a good vision, don't I?"

Du Qi couldn't help laughing.

At the same time, I also feel grateful to coach D'Antoni in my heart.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Thank you coach for the recommendation at that time!"

"So when the Knicks invited me to serve as the head coach of the New York Knicks, I wanted to bring you along!"

D'Antoni spoke.Du Qi's talent amazed him, of course he wanted to poach Du Qi away together.

That's what the Knicks boss meant too.

"But my contract is for two years."

Du Qi said, "The time has not yet come. If I breach the contract, I will have to pay a large amount of liquidated damages."

"The owner of the Knicks is willing to pay. And after you transfer, the owner of the Knicks is willing to give you a four-year contract of 1800 million US dollars!"

"..."

What else can Duke say?
Money can really be willful.

"but……"

Dookie straightened his body, "Coach, after all, it was the Suns who signed me in the NBA draft.

My personal principle is,
Although I am willing to continue playing with you, I can't be ungrateful for profit.I want to wait until the contract expires before considering the transfer. "

"Then what if the Suns voluntarily give up on you?"

"..."

Du Qi was taken aback.

"While you and I are drinking coffee and chatting here, the Knicks manager is drinking coffee with the Suns manager and poaching you."

D'Antoni smiled,
"The Knicks will offer very attractive terms to trade you. Your club, no, it should be said that our club, the Suns, will accept it."

Du Qi grinned when he heard this:
"If that's the case, I think the Suns manager is an idiot."

"..."

D'Antoni was taken aback.

Immediately he laughed.

Agree with Duke's words:
"I also think so."

……

After chatting with Du Qi, D'Antoni also knew that it was not a small difficulty to recruit Du Qi.

It's really hard for him to understand Du Qi's so-called "personal principle".

Shouldn't one be born for the benefit of one's own interests?
……

Duke had the night off in New York City.

the next day.

To fly back to Phoenix, Arizona.

Go back to your residence and put your luggage down.It was the training camp of the Suns.

"Hey Du~ You're back!"

The bully Stoudemire was the first to come forward to greet Du Qi.

"Xiao Si, how is your recovery from injury?..."

Du Qi chatted with Xiaobawang, and soon, Boris Dior and Leandro Barbosa came up to greet Du Qi.

Nash also came over to say hello with a smile.

Since the NBA championship battle, the relationship between Nash and Duke has become more and more harmonious.

"Eh? That is..."

quickly.

Dookie discovered a new continent, that is Shaquille O'Neal, nicknamed "Big Shark".

This hunk, when Du Qi looked at him, also looked at Du Qi.

The big shark looked back indifferently.

In his opinion,

Although Du Qi is very famous, but after he entered the Suns, it was not his turn for the rookie to greet him enthusiastically.

see this scene.

Du Qi squinted his eyes, it seems that this big shark has a bad temper.

"Everyone—"

At this moment, a middle-aged man came over and spoke to all of them.

Seeing that it was a strange man, Du Qi had never seen him before, so he couldn't help but wonder who this man was.

But soon.

When Duke saw assistant coach Alvin Gentry standing next to him, he knew that this person should be the new head coach to replace D'Antoni.

really.

The middle-aged man saw that everyone was saying hello to Du Qi.

He recognized Du Qi.

Seeing that it was Du Qi, a super rookie, the middle-aged man smiled at Du Qi.Walking to Du Qi's side in two steps in three steps, he said:

"Hi Du~ I'm the new coach of the Suns - Terry Porter."

……

After Jian Jian introduced himself to Du Qi, Terry Peter said to O'Neill:
"O'Neal, after you joined the Suns, this is the first time you've seen Du like me, right? Come on, let's get to know each other."

Shaquille O'Neal came to Duke and held out his right hand:

“nice to meet you~”

“Nice to meet you too!”

Dookie said, shaking hands with the big shark.

Ok?
Du Qi obviously felt the strength of Shark's handshake.

This is a kind of warning force that is slightly harder but not painful.

Duke narrowed his eyes.

He smiled slightly and said:

"Mr. O'Neill, you like to hold my hand so tightly. Are my hands as smooth as a woman's?"

"..."

O'Neal was taken aback.

I didn't expect this guy to say such a thing.Not knowing how to answer Du Qi's question for a moment, he smiled awkwardly and quickly let go of Du Qi's right hand.

Alas~
The other players couldn't help but get goosebumps after hearing this and watching this scene...

These two dudes with gay potential!
at this time.

The team manager came over, head coach Terry Porter, assistant coach Alvin Gentry and the players stood respectfully.

"Du, you're back from vacation..."

The team manager is Steve Kerr. He first inquired about Duke's vacation situation, and then stated the purpose of coming here:
"Du, come with me to the office. I need to talk to you face to face about something."

"OK"

Du Qi followed Cole and walked away under the surprised eyes of everyone.

"What did the manager talk to Du about?"

"Is it a matter of transfer?"

"may be."

"Some other team must be poaching Du. Du is such a good player, don't be poached. I'm pointing at him to win the NBA championship ring for the new season!"

"..."

……

……

Inside the office.

"Du, the rookie contract you signed with our Suns is for two years...you performed very well last season,"

Steve Kerr, who was separated from Du Qi by a brown desk, said,

"So the team intends to renew your contract in advance.

Our offer for a contract extension is $500 million over two years. "

"500 million in two years..."

Dookie repeated Cole's offer, and couldn't help showing a ridiculous smile.

"Why, you are not satisfied with this offer?"

Seeing Du Qi showing such an expression, Cole keenly caught something, and asked directly.

"Yes, not satisfied." Du Qi replied affirmatively.

"why?"

When Cole made the offer, he had already expected that the price would dissatisfy Dutch out of ten.

But he has no choice, he wants to carry out the boss's wishes...

"Because I won the 'Best Rookie of the Year' award and the 'Best Sixth Man' award..."

Speaking of which,

Duke asked Kerr back:

"Based on your knowledge of the NBA market, how much should I be worth?"

"This one……"

Steve Kerr gave an awkward smile.

At this moment, Duke is disappointed with the Suns owner and Kerr.

But Du Qi didn't say anything more.

Anyway, after executing the two-year rookie contract, he can freely choose a new club and change his family.

Cole thought for a while, then said again:

"Nadu, what is your expected offer for the renewal of the contract?"

"If you still sign for two years, I expect the offer to be $1000 million for two years."

"..."

Cole couldn't help being taken aback, "This offer...is a bit of a big mouth, Du, you have to know, your rookie contract is 42 U.S. dollars for two years, if you ask for such a big increase all of a sudden, I'm afraid I agree, and BOSS doesn't agree." would be happy."

"That's the team's business... All I know is that some teams have offered me 1000 million yuan for two years."

This sentence is Du Qi's hypocrisy.

The New York Knicks are willing to offer a four-year contract of $1800 million, equivalent to two years of $900 million.

Du Qi deliberately falsely reported 100 million in order to raise his own social status.

of course.

Duke also believes that
With his current popularity, 1000 million in two years should be considered a small amount.

"What? Has a team contacted you?"

Cole couldn't help being surprised.

The reason why he asked Du Qi to discuss the contract renewal issue when Du Qi had just returned from China was because he was afraid that other teams would be the first.

"Yes. Just finished talking to me yesterday."

"Which team is it?"

Duke laughed:

"Manager Cole, this is a commercial secret... Do you think I will tell you?"

"...Du, what you mean is that you have negotiated a contract with another team?"

Du Qi smiled, noncommittal.

If Cole had asked this first question, he would have answered no with absolute certainty.

but.

The Suns renewed his contract in advance and only gave him a two-year offer of $500 million, which made him very disappointed with the Suns boss.

Don't be picky about being a human being.

Seeing Du Qi was noncommittal, it gave Cole a headache.

This is completely out of touch with Du Qi.

Then he said:
"Du, even if other teams offer high prices to poach you, but this year you are a restricted free agent, as long as the Suns offer other teams a matching price, they can keep you.

So don't think about it, and play in the Suns with peace of mind. "

"I'm afraid that the Suns will not offer a matching price." Du Qi made up his mind.

"..."

Sure enough, Cole showed an embarrassed expression, speechless.With the boss being stingy, he would probably do something like this.

Du Qi added:

"Manager Cole, it's a rare opportunity for us to have an in-depth discussion...I want to ask, whose idea was it when the Suns signed a two-year rookie contract with me?"

"..."

Asked by Du Qi,
Cole's expression became even more unnatural.

because.

NBA rookie contracts, the players selected in the first round are basically 3+1 or 2+2 contract models.A total of four years.

Taking 3+1 as an example, the player in the first three years is a restricted player. If the team has no intention of exchanging him, he must play in the team for three full years.The last year after three years is a restricted free agent.

But the Suns selected Du Qi with the 29th overall pick in the first round, and theoretically they should sign a four-year contract.

but.

D'Antoni was the only one who was really optimistic about Du Qi at that time.

Considering that Du Qi is Asian and has little potential, the team gave Du Qi a very special two-year contract.

That is to say, after Du Qi has played a rookie season for a full year, if he behaves very rookie, they can send the rookie away in advance to avoid being burdened by him.

But did not expect,

Duke's performance is very good.

This is also the reason why they talked with Du Qi about renewal a year in advance.

Cole clearly remembers,

When he was talking about signing a two-year contract with Du Qi, the Asian boy had no objection at all.

At that time, he thought Du Qi was out of his mind and didn't even try to fight for himself.

after all.

According to NBA regulations, if Du Qi insists, the Suns can't be too absolute...will consider giving Du Qi a four-year contract.

This two-year contract with the meaning of "bullying" Du Qi was negotiated between him and the owner of the Suns.

At that time, they thought they had taken advantage of it.

But now that I think about it,

Ha ha.

……

Du Qi didn't want to mention the rookie contract at first, because he was frustrated at the time, and the Suns chose him and gave him a chance to perform on the NBA stage. He didn't care whether the contract meant bullying him or not.

All he wants is a chance.

but now,

The Suns took the initiative to talk to me about renewing my contract in advance, and I have already proved my ability on the NBA stage, but the Suns still re-signed me at a "cabbage price"... Do I really think I am a fool?

"It seems that the idea of ​​signing a rookie contract for two years is also what you and BOSS mean..."

Seeing that Cole was left speechless by his own question, Du Qi probably understood, and said directly without concealment.

There was already fine cold sweat on Cole's forehead.

There is no regret medicine in the world.

He could only accept Du Qi's questioning and slap in the face.

Then said:
"Du, the rookie contract is a thing of the past, let's stop talking about it, okay? As for the $1000 million for two years you mentioned, I will apply to the boss."

"No!"

Du Qi shook his head, "I've changed my mind now. I believe that with my ability, after one year, my worth will be more than 1000 million in two years."

"you……"

Cole has already made concessions, but Du Qi did not expect to be a little aggressive.

Aggressive?
Duke doesn't think so.

He's just fighting for his rights.

Cole took a deep breath and asked patiently:

"Nadu, if you renew the contract, what is your expected quotation? Can you give me a specific price?"

"5000 million in two years!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)