Zhiba NBA

Chapter 4 ([-]) Deployment of the new season

Come July, the league announced that the salary cap for the new season is 7 million US dollars, and the luxury line is 3500 million US dollars (the soft salary cap is the salary policy of the NBA. Teams with the total salary of the team’s signed players exceeding the salary cap will not be able to sign free agents at will (only use Bird exception, middle class exception, etc.). A dollar above the luxury line is turned over to the alliance for a dollar).Yuan Fei and Dawson calculated together:
Players who the Rockets have under contract for the new season include:

Player/Position/Age/Salary (US$[-])

Olajuwon/Center/38/1670
Cato/Center/26/533
Williams/Small Forward/30/425
Mobley/SB/25/392
Francis/Point Guard/23/324.7
McLean (retired) 238
Rodgers/Center/29/220
Anderson/shooting guard/27/220
Brad/Power Forward/33/210
Maloney (retired) 179
Drew/PG/24/118.3
Thomas/Power Forward/23/88.5
Norris/Point Guard/27/52.4
There is still Michael Reid to be signed (usually the second-round pick is signed with a basic salary), and Turkoglu has returned to the Turkish League and does not need to sign.

Yuanfei seriously considers the value of each player: Hakeem Olajuwon is the number one superstar in team history, a meritorious veteran, and the box office is guaranteed. As long as there is no huge profit to be made, it is better to stay; Kevin Cato is of the right age and has a good defense. Shandon Anderson played well last season, but this is almost his peak. There are 2 years left on his contract, and he should be sold at high prices; Wilt Williams, a three-point shooter, has 2 years left on his contract.The remaining players are almost at the CBA (Chinese Men's Basketball Professional League) level.

But here comes the problem. For these rubbish players who are already bad enough, the total salary is already 4600 million US dollars, which is enough to pay the luxury tax.It is of course unsatisfactory to have to pay taxes in a bad year.Not to mention signing big-name free agents, there is no salary space at all.

In this case, signing first and then changing is the only way out!

(Sign first and then trade refers to allowing a free agent to renew his contract and transfer at the same time. A team without salary space, such as the Rockets, can form an equivalent transaction with the free agent's home team as long as they pay a player whose salary is close to that of the player.)

In free agency, Dawson kept busy.He once fell in love with Maurice Taylor, a free agent from the Clippers who Dawson considered very cost-effective.This proposal was rejected by Yuanfei without hesitation. "Sign him? It's better to just sign a Chinese player to open up the market. If you want a small forward, there is a Chinese named MaJian (now a basketball commentator). He has played in the NCAA."

The "money fan boss" Alexander thought about it, and felt that this proposal was good.Dawson quickly contacted the BJ Aoshen team and learned that Majian had a contract dispute with the club, so he had to give up.

Yuan Fei has a very clear idea of ​​signings, bad performance is bad performance, except for veterans like Olajuwon, they should not spend a penny on other people who do not have long-term plans.Except for young people with potential, it doesn't matter if they are all rubbish players with a basic salary. Anyway, the goal is to lose.As for which basic-salary players Dawson signed, it doesn't matter, it's just making up the numbers.

The goal of Yuanfei has been completely placed on the free agent market.The quality of the draft this summer is low, but the free market is extremely lively.Duncan, Hill, Jones, Rice, Miller, Rose and other big stars have all become free agents.Of course Yuanfei wants Duncan. "Stone Buddha" has a calm personality, solid skills, and excellent defense. In the future, he will become a top ten superstar in history.But Yuanfei knows that the Rockets are not attractive to superstars, especially Duncan who has proven his strength.So he set his first target on Toronto, where there is a rising star.Tracy McGrady, the future leader of the Rockets, a two-time scoring champion, and a tragic star who retired early due to injuries, averaged 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 blocks per game last season.The 21-year-old super rookie is the hottest young player in the free market in 00.In history, the Orlando Magic easily won McGrady from the Raptors.But now the Houstonians have no salary space. If they want to sign, they can only negotiate with the Raptors to sign first and then change.Yuan Fei did not hesitate to give a bargaining chip that made Toronto people excited.

"Francis? Are we really going to use the best young man in the team to replace a substitute for the Raptors?" Although Dawson admired Yuan Fei, he was still very surprised and questioned. "The boy from the Raptors is good, but he has played for three years without any results. Francis won the best rookie award in his first year."

"That's because McGrady was too young when he entered the league. You must know that he played in the NBA for three years is 3 years younger than Francis, who played for one year. His height, wingspan, speed, and jumping are all the best in the same position. There is a lot of room for improvement in the future."

"This matter is too important. I'm afraid I have to ask Boss Alexander for instructions."

"You have to agree first. If Mr. Alexander disagrees, I will buy his shares again until he agrees!"

"Pfft—" Dawson spewed out a mouthful of coffee.He figured it out, China's rich second generation, rich is self-willed!

***
The Raptors management quickly solicited the opinion of the new head coach Randy Wilkens. The former superstar Wilkens made them make a decision in one sentence-"I was born as a point guard, and Francis is very similar to me when I was young."But at this time the young man was dazzled.The Magic threw out a Big Three plan for him, and wanted to introduce Duncan Hill and Tracy McGrady at the same time; the Heat had great strength and were closer to the championship; and the Bulls shouted a resounding slogan - "You will be Jordan's successor!"

On July 7, the media reported that Grant Hill announced that he would join the Magic.Orlando has taken a solid first step on the road of gathering superstars, and thus leads the battle for Tracy McGrady!And McGrady is waiting for Duncan's decision at this moment. If Duncan joins the Magic, McGrady will join with a lower salary to form the Big Three of the older generation!

During the selection period, the Heat finally got tired of waiting for McGrady and signed the second choice Eddie Jones instead.

On July 7, Duncan announced that he would stay with the San Antonio Spurs.So far, McGrady is still considering joining the Bulls to become the boss, waiting for another best rookie Brand to grow into his solid deputy; or joining the Magic to become Hill's second master.A phone call from as far away as Texas changed McGrady's mind.

"Hill's old injury last season has not healed, and there are serious potential injuries. If his injury recurs, you will be the leader of a weak team with no support. If he stays healthy, you will be his second-in-command. In short, you will not become one of the greatest superstars."

"The Bulls have been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for two consecutive years. The habit of losing can't be corrected overnight. You can become the best star in the league when you are young, but you are not enough to become the spiritual pillar of the team. Rather than saying that you succeed Michael and become his shadow, it is better to accept the inheritance of Hakeem, the greatest veteran superstar in the league now."

McGrady said in an interview many years later that he almost made up his mind to go to the Magic in 00, but Jason's phone call changed his view.McGrady didn't expect the Rockets to pay for a future star like Francis. He felt the team's respect and expectations for him, and he felt the warmth outside the court.

就这样18+5+6（场均得分+篮板+助攻数据）的弗老大和15+6+3的稚嫩麦迪互换了，比历史上的互换早了4年。

However, the two sides still negotiated many times on the details.The Raptors thought they had taken advantage (the "stab" McGrady, who wanted to be the core of the team, was exchanged for the potential rising star Fernando), with a low bottom line in his heart, and he backed down steadily during the negotiations, and finally reached a deal that was very beneficial to the Houstonians on August 8.

签了7年顶薪的麦迪（起薪966万）和戴尔.库里（猛龙球员，当赛季200万）加2003年猛龙队首轮选秀权（猛龙自以为这个签的顺位会很低，所以毫无戒心地谈成了前三顺位保护），交换弗朗西斯（当年324万）加卡托（533万）再加安德森（220万）。

(Small knowledge: From the beginning of the 13-14 season, the salary of the first team that uses the sign-and-trade method to obtain players must not exceed the luxury line of 400 million US dollars. This is an effective rule for the league to suppress local tyrants. But in this era of the article, this transaction can be completed)

Boss Alexander is still satisfied. This McGrady is younger than Francis and has a bright future.Dell Curry is a good shooter, and it's not a problem to play a backup.Although it was a bit painful to lose the favorite general Xiaofu and the titan Cato and Anderson, it was worth a lot of money in exchange for a first-round pick.

Torontonians are also very happy.They believe that the combination of Francis + Vince Carter is enough to make them very competitive in the East, and Cato and Anderson can also enter the rotation and become good substitutes.

The history of the NBA has gone a different way at this moment.

　The introduction of the salary cap is a difficult point. There is too much knowledge in this part but it should not take up too much space.I don’t know if there are any book friends who are novice fans and have never learned about salary caps before. After reading this chapter, can you get a general understanding of the concept of team construction in terms of salary?Welcome this kind of friends to leave me a message
　　
　
(End of this chapter)