Chapter 466 The pond is small and cannot raise big fish

  Thinking of this, he thought of the Suns again. There is basically no problem in winning the championship this time. So with three championships in five years, will the Colangelo family and team shareholders continue to invest heavily to win the championship? If not, do you want to support the old K to leave Phoenix?

  Old K’s commercial value and his contributions to the league are now limited to Phoenix’s ball market and have not been fully explored. He is well aware of this.

In his judgment, in a market like the Phoenix Suns, the willingness to invest heavily to win the championship may be greatly reduced in the future. The shareholders will not be willing to hold three championships, as long as the team maintains a comparable lineup in the future and has enough balls. The team has been lying down to eat and drink for many years.

   I’m afraid the old Colangelo thinks the same way, because even if the Suns play a dynasty behind them, it really won’t change the Phoenix market.

   The size of a football market is determined by the city’s economic scale, consumption power, population size, middle class size, international influence, etc. The team’s performance is only one aspect. (like the Spurs in real life)

  The foundation of the Suns is a third-tier market. In recent years, they have improved by their record, but the foundation of the market cannot be changed.

   Especially the Suns have too many shareholders. For these small investors, making money is the most important thing. Since there are so many honors, why not cash the championship bonus, and why continue to invest heavily?

   In the end, he decided to wait and see. If the Suns continued to invest, it would only be up to Old K to decide, otherwise he would find a way to mobilize Old K to go to a big market.

   After thinking about the old K and the Suns, he began to think about Jordan again.

“God gave Tim Duncan to the Lakers. Do the Lakers still have a big dream of getting old? The lineup will be quite strong, so we must not have Jordan anymore, otherwise it will be unfair to the Suns, and the east is weak and the west is strong, destroying the balance. , then Jordan should stay in the East.”

   Now Jordan still has a big contract of $25 million next season, which is a bird rights overcap contract.

  According to the existing Larry Bird terms, the bird rights can be continued, that is, when the bird rights player is traded, the receiving team can continue his bird rights.

   But no bird rights contract for a superstar like Jordan was traded before, so the Larry Bird clause didn’t make the relevant content.

   The so-called related content is whether the receiving team can inherit the bird rights of his virtual space when a superstar such as Jordan is traded.

   Specifically, it is whether the virtual space occupied by Jordan’s bird rights contract can be inherited by the receiving team.

This is quite critical. If the receiving team cannot inherit the virtual space, it will not be possible to trade at all. The salary cap for next season is about 27 million US dollars, and Jordan’s salary is 25 million US dollars. If any team cannot inherit the virtual space , there is no way to trade him.

But precisely because there is no such specific clause in the Larry Bird clause, there is now a loophole that can be exploited, that is, what is not prohibited by the existing clause is legal, and any team can inherit Jordan’s bird rights through trade. The virtual space this right.

   It’s just that he decides whether the transaction goes through or not.

As long as he immediately adds a rule to the Larry Bird clause, a player with a bird rights contract is traded before the bird rights contract ends, prohibiting the team from receiving the virtual space of the player’s bird rights, and the actual bird rights contract must be used. The contract calculates the salary cap, which can close this loophole.

   If he doesn’t agree, the Bulls’ idea of ​​rebuilding by trading Jordan is impossible.

   And his decision was to allow.

  The current situation is that the virtual space of Jordan’s contract is not large, only about $6 million, and he can go to any team through trade.

   “In the East, the management of the Magic team is too dull, and Hardaway is in good shape after his comeback, so there is no need to consider this team. And the Magic is only a third-tier market, not worthy of Jordan.

   Knicks, Jordan and O’Neal teaming up? Too strong, but not impossible to consider, if the Knicks can win the championship again, maybe they can grab some fans from the New York Giants of the NFL League.

   Or go to the Heat and play with Mourning? It can be considered, the second-tier market is also good, and the owner of the Heat is rich, richer than the owner of the Suns, and the Suns have too many shareholders.

  Go to Pacers and Ewing team up? No, there’s Reggie Miller there, unless the Pacers trade Reggie Miller for Jordan. And the market is too small, even the Suns are not as good as Jordan at all.

   And what about the eagle? Teaming up with Mutombo, the Eagles are fifth in the Eastern Conference this season, and their strength is good. With Jordan, there should be a sublimation, and they will definitely become a championship-level team. It’s just that the market is similar to the original Suns. The third gear, even with Jordan, is at best promoted to the second gear by the record. ”

   Thinking about it, the Knicks and the Heat are the most suitable markets for Jordan in the East, and the Eagles are barely one.

   In addition, Jordan has another advantage in going to the Hawks, allowing the East to add a championship-level team.

   Just as David Stern pondered these issues, Jordan’s agent, David Frank, was dizzy.

  He was busy thinking about where Jordan was going.

  The general manager or owner of the 29 teams in the league, in addition to the Bulls, including the Suns, are calling him, hoping to trade Jordan.

   Jr. Colangelo told him that anyone in the Suns can be a chip except old K.

   The Lakers told him that the entire team could be a bargaining chip, except for the first pick.

   Spurs told him that anyone but David Robinson could be a chip.

   Since Jordan fell out with the Bulls, his phone calls have not stopped in the past two days, and each team has called him at least ten times.

   After the G4 battle last night, he pulled out the SIM card, pulled out the phone line, and quietly considered Jordan’s whereabouts at his home in Chicago.

   His first consideration is the big market, that is, the Lakers and the Knicks.

   The Clippers are also under his consideration. He believes that if Jordan joins the Clippers and uses Jordan’s ability to attract stars, as long as the owner is willing to invest and backed by the big market of Los Angeles, the Clippers will have a lot to do.

   Of course, the Clippers also contacted him. General manager Kim Beller personally called and told him that no one from the Clippers was not for sale.

  The Nets are also under his consideration. The Nets are right next to New York, and New York is Jordan’s hometown. As long as Jordan goes, there should be no problem in the ball market.

   But the premise for him to consider the team is whether the team is willing to invest heavily. Jordan wants to compete with the old K for the championship. After Jordan joins, the team must have championship-level strength.

   The most important point is that this team must have a center with excellent offense and defense, a center who can limit the offensive efficiency of Old K.

   Including this time, the Bulls lost three times to the Suns in the finals, that is, they suffered at the center position.

  Old K can produce super-explosive data every time in the finals. In 1995, he averaged 50+ per game and 50+ in four single games. Does he really have that strength?

   He thinks it is not, but the Bulls’ center is relatively weak, which can be seen from the efficiency of the old K.

   It can be said that the Bulls single-handedly achieved the glory of Old K in the finals, and even affected Michael’s position as the first man in history.

So from the point of view of the center, the Lakers are actually the best. They have Da Meng and the No. 1 overall pick Tim Duncan. Da Meng is actually in good shape this season. Training, then as long as that Duncan is not a parallel importer, this pair of insiders is considered to be the top insider in the league, and they are both excellent in offense and defense.

   Followed by the Knicks, O’Neal and Oakley’s combination, can be considered both offense and defense.

The two teams are both old and young. If Michael joins these two teams, with complete internal and external cores, and some role players, they can sweep the entire league, even if the old K’s Suns maintain their current lineup. , is definitely not an opponent.

  Just, will David Stern allow Michael to join these two teams?

   Last time, he considered threatening to retire, forcing the Bulls to buy out Michael’s contract and then join other teams with a minimum salary. This approach is in Michael’s best interests.

   But the Bulls also know that Michael will not retire easily, so I am afraid they will not agree to buy out the contract, unless Michael does not want the last year of the contract and buys out the contract himself.

   It’s just that this is a huge loss to Michael’s interests, and he doesn’t want to take this approach. In the end, I’m afraid it still needs to go through a transaction.

But Michael will not let the Bulls trade him, he will only go to the team he wants to go to, otherwise he would rather retire, so now he has formed a tacit understanding with the management of the Bulls, Michael can choose the team he wants to go to, but try his best to Consider bulls rebuilding requirements.

  The rebuilding of the Bulls is all about the future, that is, future draft picks, and young potential players.

   Then there is another problem, that is, Michael’s contract is very large. If there is no support from the league, no team can trade Michael, and only the receiving team can get the right to the virtual space to complete the transaction.

   So he and the Bulls have to test David Stern’s attitude first. Without the consent of God in this alliance, Michael can only choose to leave the Bulls in a self-buying way.

   Anyway, when the Bulls almost sold Michael publicly, Michael had to leave the Bulls.

  …

   This afternoon, David Stern came to Chicago with the championship trophy, the Larry O’Brien Cup.

   Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause, as well as Suns owners Jerry Colangelo and Jr. Colangelo, went to the airport to greet them.

   After a brief chat at the airport, Stern chose to board a silver Rolls Royce in Reinsdorf to the hotel.

  The car of Colangelo and his son followed and went to the hotel together. Stern had made an appointment with them and wanted to communicate.

  In the car, Stern discusses Jordan with Reinsdorf and Krause.

   He didn’t ask if the Bulls were really going to trade Jordan, there was no need, the Bulls were going to trade Jordan, which already angered him.

He originally hoped that Jordan would end up with the Bulls, to fulfill Jordan’s greatness of one person and one city. Jordan made the Bulls from a small team to become the hottest team in the league, and also developed a small market into a second-tier market. The Bulls He knows how much money he makes from Jordan, and now the Bulls are doing this, which is too mean and unkind.

   With Jordan’s great contribution to the league, he never wanted to give the Bulls another No. 1 pick in his life.

   The issue he wants to discuss is actually very simple. He hopes that the Bulls will allow Jordan to choose their own team and even suffer some losses. Otherwise, he will not allow Jordan to trade. By today next year, Jordan will be able to leave freely, and the Bulls will gain nothing.

   Of course, Jordan will be a year older by next year, so he wants Jordan to leave this year.

   To this end, he will allow the receiving team to enjoy the virtual space in Jordan’s bird rights contract to help complete Jordan’s trade.

  Reinsdorf and Krause certainly wouldn’t say no, that’s exactly what they wanted, otherwise Jordan would stay on the team and they’d get nothing next year.

   After a brief conversation, the two sides reached an agreement. After arriving at the hotel, Stern got off the car and walked into the hotel without looking back.

  Reinsdorf and Klaus stood by the car and smiled bitterly. They knew that Stern loved Jordan, and now they completely offended Stern.

   Colangelo and his son walked past and followed Stern into the hotel.

   “Father, I contacted David Frank yesterday. Anyone except old K can be a bargaining chip.” Little Colangelo whispered.

“what?”

  Old Colangelo was startled, his son never told him about this.

   Colangelo Jr. explained: “If we get Jordan and we get two of the most influential guys in the league, the market should go a step further and really get to a second-tier market like Chicago.”

Sr. Colangelo frowned and said: “Now we are not sure whether Jordan’s transaction can be approved by the league, even if he agrees, we can continue the virtual space rights, and we have no ability to support Jordan’s $25 million next year. salary.”

   “Father, counting the earnings from the playoffs, aren’t we enough?” Little Colangelo was not in charge of the team’s operations.

“Then our salary next season will reach more than 70 million US dollars, which far exceeds the financial ability of the Suns. In fact, we are very reluctant to maintain the contract of the old K. Also, Brian, the shareholders are demanding dividends, and their attitude is very strong. .”

   At this time, Stern and his party had entered the elevator, and the old Colangelo said hurriedly, signaling the young Colangelo to follow quickly.

   Little Colangelo was stunned and immediately understood.

  Stern smiled and nodded to the Colangelo and his son who came in, and said, “Jerry, I want to congratulate you in advance.”

   “Thank you, Mr. Stern.” Old Colangelo smiled.

   “Call me David.” Stern laughed.

   “Okay, David.” Old Colangelo laughed.

   When his father and Stern were chatting, little Colangelo was still thinking about what his father had just said.

  Because the operation was good in the previous seasons, in order to compete for the championship, there was no dividend, but continued investment. Now shareholders urgently need dividends to enjoy the dividends of the team’s five-year triple crown. This is also normal.

   However, shareholders demanded dividends, which also indicates that the team can no longer continue to invest heavily, which also means that the team will lose the motivation to continue to compete for the championship.

   This is very important for the Suns. In order to reduce expenses, shareholders will even force the team to trade Old K, because Old K’s largest super contract in league history is the biggest expense for the Suns.

   At the same time, when the Suns lose their motivation to continue to compete for the championship, will Old K still be willing to stay with the Suns? I’m afraid he will also take the initiative to make a deal.

“Ugh!”

   As a young man, he felt very regretful. He still wanted to complete the dynasty, but as a team manager, he had to comply with the requirements of most shareholders.

   At this time, he is very envious of the Lakers and Knicks. Such a big market can withstand almost unlimited investment, and can continue to invest in the championship year after year.

   “Phoenix, it’s still too young for old K.”

   This exclamation, at this time, in this elevator, rose in the hearts of Stern and Colangelo and his son at the same time.

  …

   “The pond is small and cannot raise big fish.”

   At this time, in the fringe neighborhood of Chicago, in a low-rise hotel room, Zhang Lili said.

Just now he discussed Jordan’s issue with Su Qun and three members of the camera team, and then contacted Wang Tiejun. Videographer Lao Liu asked whether Wang Tiejun would be like Jordan, and he was traded by the Suns when he got old. Ended up with the Suns, and then he said that.

  Su Qun said in surprise: “Director Zhang, what do you mean?”

   Zhang Lili said: “I’ve actually been thinking about this issue, whether Tiejun can finish his career with the Suns.

   This question is quite complicated. If it is just an ordinary player, it would be a little simpler, but Tiejun is not. He is now pursuing a championship very strongly and hopes to surpass Jordan’s historical status.

  This requires the Suns to strongly support him. In short, the Suns are going to take real money and smash a championship-level lineup. ”

  Su Qun and others couldn’t help nodding.

Zhang Lili continued: “Look at the current Suns lineup, Horry is going to leave soon, the Suns can’t keep it, there is no room. Next year, Rasheed Wallace will also leave after playing, and there is no space behind. And Kobe and Kidd, the same problem.

   We don’t consider any luxury tax that may be introduced in the future. Taking the existing rules as an example, is there really no room? Not really.

Let’s talk about Horry first. He has played for the Suns for four years. Three years is in line with the Larry Bird Veteran Clause, that is, the Suns have his bird rights. Are the Suns willing to give him a bird? rights contract? Yes, but would the Suns want to? Obviously not willing.

Similarly, Rasheed Wallace will be the same next year. He was traded, which means that the Suns also inherited his bird rights. As long as the next season is completed, the Suns will have his bird rights for three years. You can also offer him a bird rights contract, but are the Suns willing? ”

  Suqun nodded and said, “The same goes for Kobe and Kidd. If the Suns offer bird rights contracts for all the main lineups, it’s really impossible, and they don’t have that much financial resources.”

Zhang Lili smiled and said: “Let’s not talk about the Suns, even the Knicks and the Lakers can’t offer five bird rights contracts at the same time. It is very difficult for ordinary teams to support one. , can’t bear more.

   Moreover, the bird rights contract also occupies virtual space, which is suppressed by the salary cap. Too many bird rights contracts are too large, and it is not easy to configure the lineup.

  Look at the Suns, in order to compete for the championship, this contract for the Iron Army is actually quite difficult. The operation of these seasons has been good, but the shareholders do not have any dividends, and the team continues to win championships without their benefits. Do they have any opinions? And this situation will be more serious in the following seasons, because the annual salary of the Iron Army is higher in the following seasons. ”

   From Zhang Lili’s words, Su Qun seemed to have realized something and asked in surprise, “Guide Zhang, do you think the Suns will trade Old K?”

   Zhang Lei sighed and said, “This time the Suns shareholders want to sell their shares may be an act of coercing the management.

  If the Suns reduce their investment, they will not be able to maintain the current lineup, which means that the Suns are likely to no longer regard winning the championship as a goal. ”

Su Qun was shocked and murmured: “No longer competing for the championship, then even if the Suns don’t trade Old K, he will definitely go. He said it a long time ago, and the Suns also promised him when the contract was renewed. .”

“That’s why I said that Chi Xiao can’t raise big fish, Tie Jun belongs to the super giants among the super giants, and is destined to belong to the big market, unless he has no intention of competing for the championship, or other people take a pay cut, do not take a big contract, and continue to win the championship. lineup.” Zhang Heli sighed.

He finally added: “If the Suns really continue to invest, to put it mildly, with the Suns’ financial resources, it may not be a good thing to use military force, shareholders will rebel, internal divisions and internal frictions, and various problems will occur. ”

  …