The NBA started with helping Iverson win the championship

Chapter 334 The Draft Begins

However, before the draft, the Mavericks still have something to deal with, that is, the contract issues of some players in the team.

The old driver's contract has expired.

Some teams also extended an olive branch to the old driver, and also gave a good price, but the old driver took the initiative to stay.

And his contract price is not big, only a three-year contract of 3 million U.S. dollars.

Of course, Cuban agreed directly, no matter whether it is emotional or reasonable, it is absolutely impossible to refuse this contract.

In addition to the old driver's contract, Terry's contract has also expired. Because the Mavericks have unlimited salary space, Terry was also given a two-year contract with an annual salary of 500 million.

In addition, there are no other players on the Mavericks side who need to renew their contracts.

Klay is in the final year of his rookie contract, and he will have to wait until the end of the season before renewing.

In other words, now the Mavericks only have Li Xun with a maximum salary, and then there is Nowitzki with an annual salary of more than [-] million, and the others are gone.

A player with an annual salary of 500 million like Terry ranks third in salary in the Mavericks.

The NBA's salary cap for the following season is 6300 million U.S. dollars, and what's more terrible is that this season's poor ghost line standard has also been raised upwards.

In previous years, the poor ghost line was 80% of the salary cap, which means that if the team's total salary is less than [-]% of the salary cap, it will be punished.

It is said that it is a penalty, but in fact it is to use the money below the poor ghost line as a fine and divide it equally among all the players in the team.

But this year's poor ghost line has increased to 90%, and the poor ghost line standard is about 5700 million.

The Mavericks' total salary next season will be less than 5000 million, which is a long way from 5700 million.

With Cuban's financial resources and handwriting, the current Mavericks can actually sign a free maximum-salary player in the free market to continue to grow the Mavericks' strength.

But Li Xun did not approve of Cuban doing so.

It's not that they want to save money for the boss Cuban, but that the Mavericks must reserve a maximum salary contract for Clay.

If you sign a top-salary player in the free market this year, unless they only sign for one year, how can the Mavericks sign Klay next year?

It is almost impossible for players who are eligible to sign for a maximum salary to only sign for one year. These players also have to plan for their future.

What if he suffered a serious injury during the year he signed the contract and his career was scrapped?

In that case, I will not be able to make money in the future.

But this matter is not easy to say. Maybe there are players who are extremely eager for a championship. They would rather sign for one year than win a championship.

On the other hand, the Mavericks will select a lot of rookies in the draft next, and these rookies need opportunities to exercise.

If you sign a free maximum salary player, you can't let him play as a substitute.

It means that this player will occupy a fixed starting position, which will cause many rookies to lose a lot of training opportunities.

So no matter how you calculate it, signing a free maximum salary is not cost-effective for the current Mavericks.

If it is difficult for the Mavericks to win the championship, then that's fine. Having a free maximum salary player will definitely strengthen the Mavericks' combat effectiveness.

Now it is relatively easy for the Mavericks to win the championship. The only warrior who can threaten them will not be a big problem until the Mavericks' inside line is formally formed next season.

So there is no need to sign people.

Cuban was full of joy. He didn't expect such a good thing in the world.

My own boss is desperately trying to spend more money, but the team boss won't let me say anything?

Then there is nothing else to say, no one's money is blown by the wind, since Li Xun said no, the Mavericks don't have to think about the free market at all.

In Cuban's view, this is like a dream.

Before Li Xun came, he was paid the top three salaries in the league every year, but he didn't even see a championship.

And this season, they haven't even reached the poor ghost line, and they are still the number one favorite to win the championship.

Under normal circumstances, there are three teams whose salaries are just above the poor line this season, namely the Eagles, Jazz and Bucks. Their salaries are all around 5700 million, which is just on the edge of the poor line.

The teams with less than 6000 million include the Pistons and the Magic.

Since the Pistons were acquired by the Israelis, they have become more and more reluctant to spend money.

And after the Mavericks signed a bunch of rookies this year, their total salary is almost just over the poverty line.

This is definitely the most work for the least amount of money spent.

Think about the three poor teams, the Jazz are the last in the West, and the Bucks are the last in the East.

The Eagles are actually really strong enough, with such a small salary, they also made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

However, the qualification for the Eastern Conference playoffs is really worthless. The Eagles are eighth in the Eastern Conference, and they only have 36 wins.

The Mavericks are different, the salary is the same as them, and they will directly win the championship.

This is the gap, and this is the improvement that Li Xun can bring to a team.

It's no wonder why some team owners clearly stated that the salary that Li Xun should get is definitely not that mere 2000 million when they were interviewed.

Even if Li Xun was given an annual salary of 5000 million, it would definitely not be a loss.

This is like Jordan's annual salary of 3000 million.

You must know that Jordan's salary cap at the time was 2400 million, and Jordan's salary alone exceeded the salary cap.

However, the labor agreement at that time was not the same as it is now. There was no maximum salary regulation at that time, and the maximum salary regulation only appeared in the 1998 labor negotiation.

In addition, there was no luxury tax at the time.

So in theory, as long as the owner can afford it, a player with Bird's terms can get as much salary as he wants.

Of course, the premise is that he has the strength and influence of Jordan.

Li Xun now has Jordan's strength and influence, but due to the salary agreement, he can only get the same maximum salary as other players at most.

It is said that he has the ability of 5000 million, but Li Xun can only get 2000 million in the end.

The time for the draft is getting closer and closer. At this time in previous years, the circle has already begun to turmoil, and there are various rumors of transactions or signings.

But this year has been extraordinarily peaceful, with no news of Big Fish signing a contract.

You must know that this offseason this year, there are still big fish in the free market, such as Wade's contract has expired.

There are also Anthony, Black Bear Randolph, Small Steel Cannon Lowry, Pierce, Deng Yingqiao, Captain Brand, Ray Allen, Granger and so on.

These players are not saying that everyone can get a high salary, but they are not small, and once signed, they will always attract the attention of fans.

But until now there has been no movement, which makes people wonder.

The only trade rumor that has a bit of wind is the deal from the Rockets. They will use Jeremy Lin to pack a first-round pick and a second-round pick in exchange for a 2004 second-round pick from the Lakers. .

That's right, it's 2014. The Rockets exchanged Jeremy Lin and several draft picks for the right to sign a 2004 second-round rookie.

In fact, he just wanted the Lakers to swallow Jeremy Lin's garbage contract.

This Ukrainian power forward Rishok has never landed in the NBA, but he played well in the European League. He was nicknamed Mr. Gay.

sir-GAY is Shao Ke's nickname here.

After a week, Li Xun followed Nelson to Brooklyn, New York.

This draft is said to be a once-in-a-decade draft year.

Before the draft started, countless people were paying attention to this rookie class.

However, although it is known as the big year of the draft, it is not that the big year has turned into a small year before.

So whether it is a new year or not, it is useless to rely on prediction alone, we can only look at the performance of these rookies after entering the league.

Of course, from the perspective of God, this year is indeed a once-in-a-decade draft year.

Stern, who hadn't retired yet, stepped onto the stage and began to ramble.

Li Xun still hasn't figured out why Stern hasn't retired yet. Could it be that he still has some unfulfilled wish?

Needless to say, Stern really has an unfulfilled wish now.

He was afraid that after he left, Li Xun would stay with the Mavericks all the time. In that case, no one could stand the Mavericks winning more than ten consecutive championships.

So now he is actually thinking of a way, how to let Li Xun move his nest before he retires.

"I announce that the draft for the 2014-2015 season has officially begun."

After nagging for a while, Stern announced the official start of this year's draft.

"I announce that the Cleveland Cavaliers have selected Andrew Wiggins from the University of Kansas with the No. [-] pick in the first round."

As soon as Stern finished speaking, the Cavaliers' draft representatives immediately set their sights on Li Xun.

They wanted to see if Li Xun had any strange expressions.

Maybe you can see the future potential of this player from Li Xun's expression.

It's a pity that Li Xun hardly showed any expression on his face. He just secretly thought it's a pity that Wiggins was chosen.

Players like Wiggins are actually quite likable.

His style of acting is relatively low-key, and his strength in tough battles is not bad. No matter what kind of game, he can always score 18 points.

The other is that his physical health is good enough, so he doesn't have to worry about getting hurt when he is selected.

However, the Cavaliers did not use Wiggins, but used Wiggins to trade with the Timberwolves, and replaced Love.

Now Li Xun is not sure whether the deal will go ahead.

Because James is not playing for the Cavaliers now, maybe this deal will not go through, Wiggins will stay in the Cavaliers, and then form a partner with Irving.

Looking at it this way, the Cavaliers can be regarded as a promising future.

That is to say, Bennett lost the No. [-] pick. If Bennett hadn't been selected, the Cavaliers would actually be considered a support now.

The team representatives on the Bucks side showed bitterness, maybe they also want to choose Wiggins.

It's a pity that they are now selected by the Cavaliers. They can only settle for the next best thing and choose Jabari Parker in the same position.

The current head coach of the Bucks is Kidd, the old demon who was an assistant coach for the Mavericks last season.

Whether it's now or under normal circumstances, the Bucks actually don't have decent inside players, and Li Xun doesn't know what they think.

Why not choose Embiid, but choose a Jabari Parker.

It may also be that Embiid is too similar to Olowokandi in a sense, and the teams dare not take risks.

Both are latecomers to basketball, and the other two are from the African continent.

Not long after Olowokandi won the title of the most water champion in history, the Cavaliers and Bucks certainly did not dare to take the risk of choosing Embiid.

In addition, in Embiid's draft report, there is another big problem that prevents him from being selected as the No. [-] pick.

That's durability, and according to the scouting report, he's an injury-prone big man.

This can't help but remind people of the previous champion Auden the Great.

If it has something to do with Olowokandi and Oden, then of course it is impossible for this pick to be elected as the No. [-] pick.

In fact, Embiid's early career was indeed brittle enough, and he didn't play a game in the first two seasons.

Li Xun chose Embiid here mainly because he has a durable Jokic, so he can afford to wait.

"I announce that the Philadelphia 76ers have selected Joel Embiid from the University of Kansas with the third overall pick in the first round."

Stern announced the candidates for the No. [-] pick.

Many representatives in the audience gasped, this year is the year of Kansas again.

Because the No. [-] pick Wiggins is also from the University of Kansas.

No. [-] Parker is from Duke University.

Players from these prestigious schools are indeed advantageous enough in the draft.

However, it is normal to have advantages, because at that time, these famous schools had already selected top high school students who were well-known in the United States.

These high school students are all talented, they can be called the pride of heaven, and after being trained by the coaches of top prestigious schools, whether it is talent or immediate combat ability, they are indeed better than those players from weak schools.

Of course, this is not without exception.

Those players who came out of garbage schools will also break out in the NBA in the future.

For example, Davidson College that Curry went to is a serious garbage school.

They can only get three sets of jerseys and one pair of sneakers in a season, and there are only three or two players in the team who can get scholarships.

Many players have to wear the old jerseys of those alumni to play. As for the sneakers, they have to bring their own.

And those top schools, jerseys?Sponsors are definitely enough.

sneakers?Sponsors can't wait for players to change a pair a day.

"Li, this guy won't be injured all the time after he comes, right?"

"We don't want to waste a precious No. [-] pick on a player of Oden's type."

"If you really want Oden, it happens that Oden is a free agent now, and the Cavaliers are not going to renew his contract."

Little Nelson asked in a low voice.

Li Xun shook his head, "Don't worry, it's not a big problem."

"And I also have backup players. The backup players seem to be more suitable for us, so don't worry."

After listening to Li Xun's words, little Nelson was relieved.

The draft followed one after another, and Aaron Gordon, the fourth pick, was not considered a first-line star, but he was worthy of the fourth pick.

After all, Gordon still has a lot of fans, and that explosive dunk is very aesthetic.

The fifth pick is Dante Essam, the only player in the top five who has not grown up.

The next sixth pick is Green Kay's draft pick, and they selected the killer Marcus Smart.

Smart is also the kind of player who bores opponents and makes the team a treasure. This choice is not a disadvantage.

(End of this chapter)