Detroit, Auburn Hills Palace Arena, in a luxurious VIP box.
"What? Let Pelinka tell Kobe to pass the ball to Shaq? Give the Finals MVP to Shaq?"
After hearing what old Bas just said, little Bas was stunned.
Little Bas couldn't figure out what his father's purpose was.
"Isn't it obvious that Kobe wants to win the Finals MVP?
Now I go to Pelinka and ask him to tell Kobe. How can Kobe listen?
Besides, Pelinka is not from us, he is Kobe's agent, there is no way he can listen to me! "
Bass Jr. couldn't figure out the logic, but he wondered if his father was confused or had said the wrong thing?
Ever since, little Bas asked seriously again, is there something wrong here?
After hearing this, Buss Sr. was silent for a moment, and then mentioned Buss Jr.: "Contract! After playing in the finals, Kobe will still have a one-year player option."
"Oh, that's it!" Bass suddenly realized, "Is it to clear salary space?
Doon has played out and we have a cheaper core of players.
As long as Duane and Shaq are there, and some veterans are recruited, the team will still maintain the possibility of winning the championship.
By establishing the core status of Shaq and Duane and forcing Kobe to opt out of the player option, we can clear up 15 million in salary space. "
"Idiot, how could I have a son as stupid as you?"
When Old Bass heard this, he was furious and slapped the seat angrily, startling Jenny, Kupchak and others who were chatting and laughing beside him.
Seeing Jenny and others surrounding him, Buss had no intention of hiding anything anymore and shared his plan with the Lakers management.
"The focus of the next offseason is to renew Kobe's contract, put Shaq on the shelf and find a suitable buyer!"
"Send Shaq away?" Jenny's eyes lit up when she heard this.
Kupchak was sweating on his forehead: "These two tasks sound quite troublesome! It seems that I need to work overtime for a while."
The other people present also looked a little thoughtful, but little Bass still didn't understand.
According to his father's personality, shouldn't he be thinking about competing for the championship and saving money at the same time?
It's obvious that Duen has already played well, so why should Kobe renew his contract?
Not to mention, they will have to send away O'Neal, the absolute core of their Lakers championship!
"These days, if you don't have a decent big man, you can't win the championship!"
In Buss' view, O'Neal is the key to the Lakers' championship.
Moreover, judging from the configuration of the core duo, although the OK combination has won three consecutive championships, Duan and O'Neal seem to be more suitable!
Judging from past championship experience, Duane and O'Neal are replicas of Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!
After watching this year's playoffs, especially the first three finals games, Buss felt that Kobe was a bit selfish.
Kobe's attempt to steal O'Neal's FMVP is completely on the table, which is definitely not conducive to team unity and the team's future development.
On the contrary, Duen has been playing team basketball and has strong team leadership ability. He can connect the team on the court and glue the players together off the court.
"Father, what is the reason that forces you to send Shaq away?"
"And, in the previous regular season, didn't we just negotiate a contract extension with Shaq?"
Little Bas didn't understand why his father suddenly wanted to kill the donkey.
What’s more, I can’t understand why O’Neal is going to be put on the shelf.
So, in order to please Kobe and get Kobe to agree to renew his contract, wouldn't it be more appropriate to give up the Finals MVP to Kobe?
Why, what his father ordered was for Kobe to give O'Neal the Finals MVP?
Shouldn't the honor of Finals MVP stay in Los Angeles?
Next, let O'Neal leave Los Angeles with four FMVP trophies?
Buss Jr. has already participated in the management of the Lakers and learned about the team's regular operating methods.
But little Bas really couldn't figure it out about this matter.
Hearing Little Bas's question, Old Bas could only explain in a serious tone: "Whole money is very useful, but change is also needed.
Shaq is great, but if we want to continue to win championships, we need more than one Shaq.
Because of the conflict with Phil, Gary will definitely be the first to leave the team during the offseason.
And Karl is about to get the championship he dreams of. After realizing his dream, he should also return to Salt Lake City or retire directly.
And Derrick, his contract has expired. He has won so many championships. Doesn’t he want a big contract?
But we can't give it, and he's not worth the price. As for other people, I won’t give examples one by one.
In short, in order to remain competitive in the next few seasons, we must come up with a hundred dollar bill. "
Duane's emergence made many Lakers fans seem to see the opportunity for a second three consecutive championships.
However, the situation inside the team is completely different from what outside fans see.
In fact, the Lakers this season are full of huge contradictions!
On the surface, they seem to be united and prosperous, but that's just because everything has been temporarily suppressed by the big pie of the championship.
Once everyone finishes sharing the championship, the bomb of internal strife in the Lakers will explode.
In the offseason, it is inevitable that Payton, Malone, and Fisher will leave the team.
As the head of the NBA's giant Los Angeles Lakers for decades.
Old Buss could tell at a glance that if O'Neal was not actively traded away, Kobe would definitely take the initiative to jump out of the player option and become the boss of other teams.
Now that Kobe Bryant has put his pursuit of the championship MVP on the table, he may have the idea of taking away an FMVP trophy before leaving the Lakers for so many years.
Kobe was trained by the Lakers and is currently the closest successor to Jordan.
Old Buss naturally does not want the stars he personally trained to be given to other teams for free, or even hinder the Lakers from winning the championship.
"In exchange for Shaq, we can get an All-Star player and two or three mid-level players to make up for the lack of point guards and interior players.
In addition, there are two or three first-round and second-round draft picks, and even millions in cash.
Also, Shaq was so expensive, his denomination was 100, but we paid 150!
In the next two seasons, he will become more expensive and we will need to pay more.
Shaq is already 32 years old, and he will become more and more devalued next!
Therefore, we should trade him when he is most valuable and transfer the risk to other teams. "
Business is business!
The NBA is a vanity fair. Team owners establish, acquire, and operate NBA teams in the final analysis to make money.
When a team signs players, it is an investment. Since it is an investment, there will naturally be profits and losses.
In Bass's view, O'Neal is now worth 100, but it cost him 150. Kobe was worth 80, but only spent 50.
A negative equity that is increasingly depreciating. The other is an asset and has room for appreciation.
Kobe and O'Neal had to choose one or the other, and they would undoubtedly choose to keep Kobe.
Now that such a decision has been made, it is normal to let Kobe pass the ball to O'Neal and "compensate" O'Neal with a FMVP before sending O'Neal away.
From the perspective of a team owner, O'Neal won the fourth FMVP in his career, and his personal value will undoubtedly increase again.
After trading O'Neal, we can get more things back to the Lakers.
Kobe plus Duane, plus an All-Star inside player, are two average starting players in the league.
Can we add a few more All-Star veterans who are just looking for rings to win the championship?
From a personal point of view, Old Buss gave O'Neal, who was abandoned by the Magic, the position of Lakers boss!
Let O'Neal win four championships and enter the top ten in NBA history.
Before leaving, giving O'Neal another FMVP and continuing to help O'Neal maintain his image as the boss of the Lakers and the number one man in the league can be regarded as the utmost kindness to O'Neal!
Of course, what O'Neal thinks has nothing to do with Old Bass.
(End of chapter)
