I just want to play healthy basketball

Chapter 269 Malone: ​​I don't care about money!The preseason starts!
"I don't give a shit about how much the Bucks can pay me.

My biggest hope is to get a championship ring before I officially retire.

Of course, I'm not turning down the chance to get more rings, which is why I'm here. "

On August 8, Karl Malone ran to the Hilton Hotel in downtown Milwaukee to hold a press conference. At the press conference, Karl Malone was blunt about the purpose of joining the Bucks.

Karl Malone said this in public, which means that the contact with the Bucks management has reached a critical moment.

Basically signing the Bucks as a free agent, there is no problem.

However, in the eyes of most people, Karl Malone got everything in the Jazz. Even if the contract expires and leaves the Jazz, he should sign and then trade to get something back for the Jazz.

Now that he left for the championship ring, the Jazz got nothing, which is a bit too ruthless.

In fact, it's not that Karl Malone is ungrateful.

The Bucks recruited Karl Malone on the bright side, and the Bucks also wanted to sign and trade to get Karl Malone.

In doing so, on the one hand, it is using the Jazz to support the Bucks' salary space, and on the other hand, it is also dealing with junk contracts that the team does not need.

Before the Bucks traded the two maximum-salary contracts of the Big Dog and Ray Allen, they traded many high-salary and low-energy players from other teams. These contracts are collectively referred to as junk contracts.

Although they basically expire within one or two years, these people are not needed by the Bucks. At the beginning of the season, when the 15-man roster is determined, they will still have to be cut.

These people occupy the team's salary space, but have not created value for the team. As a management, it is natural to try to get rid of them.

However, the Bucks think better, but the Jazz think that the Bucks traded the three musketeers and urgently need the veteran's immediate combat power to supplement the strength of the championship.

Therefore, the Jazz Lions opened their mouths and wanted the Bucks to trade with Kwame Brown or Boozer as the main body.

For such a trading plan, the Bucks naturally refused.

Boozer was chosen by the Bucks themselves, not to mention that Boozer has already played with the help of He Li and others!

Boozer stayed in the Bucks and played better and better. For the Bucks management, that is an achievement that everyone can see.

As for Kwame Brown, he is a good friend of He Li, the head of the team. For He Li's sake, the Bucks management is not very good at moving Kwame Brown.

Besides, Kwame Brown also played out in the Bucks.

Although from the perspective of the No. [-] pick, there is still a bit of water, but after all, progress is still progress.

The growth rate of inside players is relatively slow. Now that we can see Kwame Brown's progress, it is naturally even more impossible to trade a top pick like Kwame Brown.

In addition, the Bucks have already dealt with Joel Przbila and Mark Pope, two inside players, in the previous transaction.

The only remaining players in the team, apart from the two young insiders Kwame Brown and Boozer, are Ewing and Barkley, who are one year older.

Even if the two elders are still willing to stay in the Bucks for a year, it is uncertain whether they will still play well after they have won the championship ring.

For veterans, especially veterans who were once superstars, having a championship and not having a championship are completely different things.

Back then, Barkley was cheated by Dameng and Glider, but now it's not impossible to turn around and cheat other people.

Barkley had already retired, and he took sports commentary as his job.

Now that he has won the championship and got his wish, it is hard to say whether Barkley is still willing to train hard, and whether he can do his best for the championship on the court.

If Ewing and Barkley are too outrageous in the regular season next season, the Bucks management will even lay off the two veterans before the free market closes.

Therefore, the Bucks still want to continue to fight for the championship, and the two rookies must not move inside.

Perhaps in the playoffs, they are not very reliable. If the Bucks want to win the championship, they still have to rely on He Li, the second consecutive fmvp.

But in the regular season, their youth and their vitality are exactly what the Bucks need most.

Of course, the Bucks are not completely unable to trade Kwame Brown and Boozer.

If the two inside rookies can be exchanged for small change in exchange for O'Neal and Garnett, a superstar insider who is in his prime, the Bucks are still willing to trade.

But if it is to consume the future and trade a veteran like Karl Malone, the Bucks will naturally not suffer such a loss.

Not to mention, Karl Malone is now a free agent.

It is precisely because of this that the Bucks' attitude towards this deal has gradually become colder because the Jazz's organization is too clever.

The Bucks didn't have a good relationship with the Jazz in the first place, and now the Jazz treats them as fools, so it's naturally not happy.

The Bucks have won two consecutive championships at any rate. They are an upstart in the league, and the team is very motivated.

During this period of time, the Bucks have established a deeper relationship with other teams, and everything is going smoothly. Now that they are here with the Jazz, they have been robbed inexplicably, and naturally they have a worse impression of the Jazz.

As time went by, the negotiations between Karl Malone and the Jazz management also collapsed, and in the end the Bucks and the Jazz's deal with the Jazz was completely dead.

Originally, Karl Malone joined the Bucks for the championship ring.

The Jazz traded Karl Malone to damage the foundation of the Bucks' championship, so Karl Malone also expressed his displeasure.

In fact, Karl Malone even hesitated for a while after learning that the Bucks had traded the three musketeers.

Karl Malone considered for a long time, thinking about whether to join the Bucks.

After all, the Bucks only have He Li, the fmvp, plus the newly played All-Star backup guard Michael Reed.

Even with the addition of Glove Payton, can such a lineup really win the championship?

However, when Karl Malone was hesitating, Payton called to "persuade" Karl Malone, and then Karl Malone made up his mind to play brother basketball.

In order to increase the possibility of the Bucks winning the championship next season, Karl Malone is even willing to make sacrifices and sign a veteran's basic salary contract to give the Bucks enough salary space to sign in.

Karl Malone is willing to sacrifice, but the Bucks can't really make Karl Malone make a huge sacrifice, and let Karl Malone suffer too much.

In response to that sentence, I don't need the money, but you have to give it.

Bucks who know the rules must follow the rules.

Besides, Karl Malone is really different from Barkley and Ewing!

Although Karl Malone has also reached the end of his career, he has not entered the All-Star Game for two years.

But even Karl Malone last season was still healthy and strong, averaging 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the regular season.

The playoff data fell slightly, but it was also close to the data of 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

There is no doubt that Karl Malone has fuel in his tank, and not a lot of it.

The Bucks can come up with a contract at will, and signing Karl Malone is definitely profitable.

The Bucks have earned an All-Star-level immediate combat power for nothing, and they are also veterans with rich playoff experience.

For such a veteran, the entire league is lacking, let alone Karl Malone.

No kidding, Karl Malone's iron elbow alone is worth 500 million in the playoffs.

Instead of using the 500 million to insure He Li, it is better to give it to Karl Malone as a salary.

Therefore, the Bucks management is preparing to sign a two-year 1200 million contract with Karl Malone.

Well, it is true that it is 300 million less than Payton every year, but this is already the greatest sincerity that the Bucks can give.

Why Payton can get 300 million more is mainly because he signed first and then traded, using the Supersonic contract to expand the Bucks' salary space.

In the previous transaction, the Bucks themselves released several million in salary space.

The next season, the Bucks are not prepared to pay too much luxury tax.

Milwaukee, where the Bucks are located, is a small ball market after all. Although winning the championship in the past two years has increased the team's revenue and market value, the team owner is not prepared to sell the Bucks.

Then the team's market value is no longer within the scope of the boss's consideration, and the revenue issue is closely related to the team's operation and construction.

In order for the Bucks to continue to win the championship, the Bucks owner is willing to continue to pay the luxury tax, but how much to pay is a matter for the team owner and management to weigh the pros and cons.

It would be great if the extra revenue could be used to fill the vacancy of the luxury tax.

After the Bucks signed Karl Malone with a two-year contract of 1200 million, there was absolutely no salary space to sign someone from the free market.

Of course, after the start of the regular season, if the Bucks' record is not very good, there is still a middle-class clause in the team's signings, a special case for veterans, which can be used, and if the situation forces it, it should be used.

The Bucks did not only give Karl Malone a veteran basic salary in order to strengthen from the free market, but directly blocked all the remaining salary space, which is exactly the sincerity of the Bucks to Karl Malone.

In the following season, the Bucks will continue to fight for the defending championship, and in the case of a drastic change in the championship team, the Bucks really treat Karl Malone as the core of the team, not a veteran who simply hugged his legs to win the championship.

The Bucks management feels that perhaps this move can increase Karl Malone's sense of identity with the Bucks.

At that time, I also hope that Karl Malone can understand the general situation, and don't work hard in the Bucks, or rely on the old to sell the old.

Closer to home, after Karl Malone finished the press conference, the Bucks also quickly signed a contract with Karl Malone.

Later, Payton and Karl Malone successively bought a house in Milwaukee, went boating, fishing, and mountaineering with George Karl, and appeared on local TV and newspapers in Milwaukee many times.

During the period, Payton and Karl Malone had phone calls with He Li one after another.

Both of them lowered their stance and took the initiative to show their favor to He Li, expressing their willingness to respect He Li, the boss of the team, and willing to assist He Li to continue to win the championship.

Whether it's true or not, He Li is serious anyway.

It happened that He Li was in the training camp when he received the call, and it was not a private matter, so He Li called Wade, Kwame Brown and others over to listen together.

Mobile phones are relatively large these days, but the sound is not small. People around can hear it without turning on the speaker.

After Wade and others heard He Li's conversation with Peyton and Karl Malone, they had nothing but admiration for He Li.

And He Li, also in order to prevent Payton and Karl Malone from falling out in the future, has now prepared witnesses.

At that time, even if there is a conflict, there is no need for He Li to leave the field in person. Some people will not like the two veterans and say something like "He Li is the boss of the team. You have to find your own position."

"Before you came, we were already champions!" words.

Of course, these things have not happened now. He Li also appeared on the TV show in Milwaukee soon after he communicated with Payton and Karl Malone.

He Li expressed his views on the joining of Payton and Karl Malone to the local fans, of course they are all good words.

In this regard, Milwaukee fans all know that the Bucks next season will already be equipped with a luxurious F4 championship lineup.

In the eyes of the vast majority of fans, the arrival of Glove Payton and Karl Malone not only made up for the vacancy in firepower after the departure of the three musketeers, but also further enhanced the Bucks' unremarkable defense.

Only a few sentimental fans still miss the years of the Three Musketeers.

However, as the preseason is about to start, these few fans also have to pay attention to how the Bucks will be in the new season.

(End of this chapter)