basketball hero

Chapter 749 Retaining the Championship Lineup
Amir Johnson got a big contract, even if it is not a long-term contract, but the annual salary of the contract even exceeds his former teammate DeRozan.Naturally, the Raptors cannot provide him with such a big contract. Their focus is to renew the main center Valanciunas.

7月4日，猛龙队官方宣布和德隆莱特签约，合同为期4年价值727万美元，其中2017-18赛季、2018-19赛季拥有球队选项。

With a 4-year contract, the annual salary is less than 200 million US dollars, which is similar to the basic salary of a veteran. He is young, and he still has the bird rights and the possibility of playing.For a championship team, these are too important.When strength is on the table, whoever has more X factors will have an advantage.

On July 7, the Raptors and Bismarck Biyombo reached a signing agreement with a two-year contract worth $5 million.

Biyombo was the No. 2011 rookie in the first round in 7. Although he is only 206cm tall, his wingspan is extremely long, his jumping is outstanding, and his movement is good. He has the potential to become a defensive gate for small lineups.It's just that his offensive skills are too rough, and his golf quotient is also very average. For a non-top team like the Hornets, his role is not very prominent.

But for the Raptors, signing a young frame protector with an annual salary of $300 million can no longer ask for more.Biyombo agreed to sign with the Raptors, not entirely for money, but partly for the opportunity to prove himself on a higher stage, and to have the opportunity to strive for a bigger contract in the future.

The signing of the Raptors has not stopped. On July 7, Luis Scola signed a one-year $9 million contract with the Raptors.

Scola is 35 years old, but he still maintains a very good game state. Last season, he averaged 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Pacers.He agreed to sign with the Raptors, and there is a big reason for the championship.With the Raptors winning consecutive championships, it has also attracted a lot of veterans in the league. Those veterans who have aspirations for the championship, many of them have the intention of joining this dynastic team that has won three consecutive championships.

The Raptors have been extremely active in the free market. The signing of Biyombo gave them an excellent frame protector, while the signing of Scola gave them an excellent offensive 4th position.

The Raptors' operation in the free market allowed them to get the players they wanted and strengthen them at a small cost; secondly, they could also take the opportunity to lower the price of Valanciunas. The NBA is a commercial league, and the management of each team is talented. They have already mastered the negotiation skills and signing routines.

Ying Xiong is conducting personal special training. He has not opened his own training camp this year, but he still plans to open it, but the time needs to be postponed.He has heard about the operations of the Raptors since the beginning of the offseason, and he is also very satisfied that the team is not complacent and has been pursuing an attitude of continuous reinforcement.

On July 7, the Raptors officially signed Norman Powell with a three-year contract worth $16 million.

The contract renewal negotiations between the Raptors and the main center Valanciunas are still going on.The two parties have been arguing over the total amount of the contract and the options for the contract.

Valanciunas naturally hopes to get a maximum salary, but they also know very well that with Valanciunas' current strength, no team in this league will offer such a contract.

For the Raptors, their advantage lies in the finals of last season. Valanciunas was of little use, and was bullied by the opponent's death five, so they have the capital to negotiate with him Lower prices.Moreover, they own each other's bird rights, and when they really have to sign, they can still sign after paying the price of luxury tax.

The disadvantage is that Valanciunas can accept offers from other teams. Once the other party offers a "poison contract" or a "premium contract", a forced match will be a kind of harm to the home team's salary structure.

The two sides are engaged in a game, depending on the situation, it is difficult to have a result in a short time.

On July 7, Ying Xiong contacted Jeremy Lin and others to start his offseason training camp.As No.25 in the league, he has great appeal, and the number of people in this training camp is more than last year.

Yingxiong's training camp didn't end until August 8th, and then it was announced that it would be disbanded.After that, he stayed in the United States for another two days, and then returned to China to participate in the training camp for the Changsha Asian Championships.

The importance of this year's Asian Championships is self-evident, and it is completely different from last year's Asian Games.Because the champion of this Asian Championship can get a ticket to the Rio Olympics next year.

For the Chinese men's basketball team, this championship is aspirational and must be won.As the basketball overlord in Asia, with a superstar like Ying Xiong, it would be embarrassing not to win the championship.

On August 8, the negotiations between the Raptors and Valanciunas finally reached an agreement. The two parties signed a 21-year contract with a total value of 4 million US dollars, with player options in the last year.

In this way, the main structure of the Raptors has basically been retained, and reinforcements have been made. The new season's lineup is more balanced and more competitive than last season.

As of August 8, the Raptors have more than 21 players with contracts on the books. The main players of the team are as follows:
Center forwards: Yonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
Power forwards: Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola
Small forwards: DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, James Johnson

Shooting guard: Ying Xiong, Norman Powell
Point guards: Jeremy Lin, Kyle Lowry, Delon Wright

The team currently has 13 players on the roster, and there are 2 places left.For them, the next step may be to see if they can sign another No. 4 player in the free market.And it seems that the two players who are free to play Xiongxiong and Powell at the 2nd position, but in fact, whether it is DeRozan or Terrence Ross, they can both play this position.Moreover, Jeremy Lin and rookie Deron Wright are also combo guards, and both can play the 2nd position in specific games.

Since the contracts of Landry Fields and Chuck Hayes have both expired, considering that their competitive status cannot obtain a rotation opportunity in a championship team, the team did not renew their contracts. .

The Raptors' lineup is very young, with 13 main players in rotation. Except for Scola, who is over 30 years old, the rest of the players are all under 30 years old.It's hard to imagine that this is a team that has won three consecutive championships.The average age of most championship teams is too old, and the core players are likely to be unable to compete for championships in the next few seasons due to aging.

(End of this chapter)