"Sir, the SuperSonics offer." Troy Weaver's assistant knocked on the door and said.
"What's all there?"
He took the quotation, looked at it, and immediately scoffed, "Whitshit is indeed a trader. Does he want to exchange construction waste for diamonds?"
"Send it back."
After thinking about it, he picked up the pen and crossed out all the names on the quotation in one stroke. Then he swiped a few times and wrote down two names before handing them back to the assistant.
The assistant took it and took a look, good guys, Gary Payton + Shawn Kemp.
Troy Weaver has some expectations. If the Sonics really agree to trade Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp for Iron Fist, it will be a very good deal for the Pistons.
Think about it, Gary Payton is the point guard and Joe Dumars is the shooting guard. This guard combination may not be as strong as Iron Fist and Joe Dumars, but with Shawn Kemp and Rodman inside, the Pistons will be so strong that they will explode. , even stronger than last season's lineup.
When he thought of this, he became very excited, hoping that Supersonic would agree quickly.
Unfortunately, within three minutes, the assistant came in and told him that the Sonics rejected the offer and did not send a new quotation.
"Pity!"
He felt very sorry.
…
At Lakers headquarters, owner Jerry Buss rushed to general manager Jerry West's office early in the morning to discuss transactions with him.
Jerry West was already prepared and handed a list of chips to Buss. Buss took it and looked at it. AC Green, No. 15 pick in the first round of 1992, Anthony Peeler, No. 27 pick in the first round of 1990. Draft Eldon Campbell, plus an unprotected first-round pick in 1994.
"enough?"
After just sizing it up, Bass raised his head and asked.
Jerry West scratched his head and said: "These three players are all good. Green is in his prime. Babel and Pillar both have potential. Let's try it first. We don't have too many chips. If we are not satisfied , we can only press for more draft picks.”
"With Iron Fist, we have a future. He is only 21 years old. After we have him, our record will not be too bad. Future draft picks will not have much meaning or value to us.
And with him, coupled with Los Angeles's attraction to stars, we can attract those stars in the free market and quickly build a championship lineup. "
Bass became more and more excited as he talked, and even stood up excitedly.
Jerry West sighed secretly in his heart. If he could trade Iron Fist, the draft pick would of course not be important, but he was afraid that the trade would not be successful because there were many opponents and every team would give everything they had to make the trade.
"Have you contacted Roger Philippe? We still need to let Iron Fist see our sincerity." Bass said.
"I've contacted you. According to your wishes, boss, security, parking spaces, home tickets, a 100 million yuan contract, and the strategic position of a big core." West said.
"Then contact the Pistons immediately." Bass said impatiently.
"OK."
"Also, Iron Fist has arrived in Los Angeles, we will go see him immediately." Old Bass said.
…
In Oakland, the Warriors headquarters, the management is having a meeting to prepare for transactions.
The main point guard Tim Hardaway's name is written on the paper and has become a major trading chip. Even the team's spiritual leader Chris Mullin's name is also on the paper. Last year's No. 24 pick in the first round, Ratt Lil Sprewell's name was also written on the paper.
The Warriors were the team that selected Zhou Quan, of course based on the requirements of the Pistons, so they have no regrets. Now they just want to trade Zhou Quan.
In the season that just ended, the team actually failed to even make the playoffs. They only reached tenth place in the Western Conference and only won 34 games.
But the Warriors' lineup is actually not bad. What they lack is defense, which is a problem with the lineup being unreasonable.
The Warriors still have some confidence in trading Weekly, because Oakland is located in the Greater Bay Area, just across the bridge from San Francisco. It has a good economy and a very large potential market. As long as the team performs well, these potentials will explode and form a real big ball market.
The reason why the league wants to bring Zhou Quan to the West is also clear. This is where the management's confidence lies.
"Send the offer over," Warriors general manager Gary St. Jean said.
…
Suddenly, the Pistons received multiple offers from Western Conference teams, and Troy Weaver was dazzled.
Roger Philippe is also very busy. He also received all the quotations, and then the next contracts promised by each team.
Zhou Quan's rookie contract has two years left, and the last year is a player option. After playing next season, he will be a veteran. Because he was traded by the team, the veteran rights can be inherited by the next team, so he will be a veteran next season. After the season, the veteran clause is also met, which is the Larry Bird clause, commonly known as Bird Rights.
In other words, after next season, Zhou Quan can sign a Bird Rights contract with the team as a free agent.
The so-called bird rights contract means that it is not restricted by the salary cap. How much the boss thinks you are worth, as long as he is willing, he can give you a contract with no cap.
And because there are currently no luxury tax rules, there will be no fines from the league.
Six of the thirteen teams in the Western Conference contacted him, among which the Lakers promised to give Zhou Quan a contract worth 100 million yuan next year.
"Last week, the Lakers promised a 10-year contract of 120 million U.S. dollars, with a starting salary of 4.5 million for the 1994/95 season. Larry Johnson's contract was 12 years and 110 million U.S. dollars, but his contract has many restrictions. Yours No, it’s a fully guaranteed contract, and it’s still negotiable. What do you mean?”
"It's too long. Ten years is already the next century. Maybe in the future, the annual salary of ordinary All-Star players can easily reach tens of millions. Roger, I will accept a five-year contract at most, and the total contract amount does not necessarily have to be higher." 100 million, the average annual salary is of course tens of millions, and a veteran’s contract is required.”
"Okay, I'll notify the Lakers."
"Roger, where are the Kings you were talking about last time?"
"Well, although Sacramento is the capital of California and its economy is not bad, it has a small population and a small city. The ball market is in the fifth level like the current Pistons. They can only trade you with players, but they can't buy you. You offer a contract worth 100 million yuan."
"It's okay to be worse."
"But the city is small, which is not good for your development. Zhou, the Lakers are the best choice, I think?"
Philip desperately hopes that Zhou Quan will go to the Lakers. Buss and West have also contacted him many times and are sincere. If Zhou Quan goes to the Lakers, it will be a strong alliance.
Zhou Quan was noncommittal, suddenly picked up the team list, looked at it, and asked doubtfully: "Roger, there are no Blazers?"
Phillip nodded and said: "The Trail Blazers did not contact me."
Zhou Quan doesn't quite understand. The Trail Blazers have a glider. They reached the finals the year before last, but today they stopped in the first round. The lineup is no longer good. Don't the Trail Blazers want to trade him?
In fact, Portland is also pretty good, the City of Roses, with a pretty good economy, a pretty good population, good spending power, a solid foundation as a soccer market, and is a third-tier soccer market, with potential for improvement.
The important thing is that the boss is rich, so he looks down on him? Also a possibility.
He looked again and saw that there were no Trail Blazers, no SuperSonics, and no Warriors. The cities where these three teams were located were considered large metropolitan areas in the West, so they all looked down on him?
The SuperSonics have Gary Payton at the first position, and the Warriors have Tim Hardaway at the first position. It seems that he is not really needed.
"Roger, except for the Lakers, the other teams are all small teams. Except for the Trail Blazers, are the SuperSonics and Warriors not interested in me?" he asked.
Roger Philippe shook his head and said: "I don't know about the SuperSonics. The Warriors originally wanted to trade you, but the Warriors are such a bad team for a thousand years. It has no team culture. I actually don't support you going to the Warriors.
Moreover, the team owner, like Mr. Bill Davidson, wants to sell the team. The Warriors cannot give you a big contract, so..."
At this point, he paused and said a little awkwardly: "Actually, the Warriors contacted me, but their contract did not satisfy me. They also want to trade you, but the team's operations are not supportive and cannot give us any ideas. required contract.
Zhou, I suggest you not to go to the Warriors. The Warriors owner is indeed selling the team, the management is not stable, and the internal situation is very chaotic. "
"How big is the contract they gave?" Zhou Quan asked.
Philip said: "90 million in 10 years."
Zhou Quan pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Too long."
Phillip opened his mouth, wanting to say that not only was it too long, but the amount was also too small, but he didn't dare to say it.
At this time, his cell phone rang, and he saw it was Jerry West. After a few words, he hung up, and then said to Zhou Quan: "Zhou, Lakers owner Jerry Buss is here to visit you."
"Roger, please contact the Warriors again." Zhou Quan said.
"OK." Phillip agreed quickly.
Soon after, Zhou Quan met Jerry Buss and Jerry West at the hotel, and the four chatted together for an hour.
After sending Buss and West away, Philip received a reply from the Warriors, offering 60 million in five years.
Zhou Quan agreed and asked the Warriors to negotiate a deal with the Pistons.
Although Philip didn't really support Zhou Quan going to the Warriors, he couldn't stop him.
Zhou Quan explained: "Although the Warriors are changing owners and there will be fluctuations in the management, the lineup is not bad, and I don't want to have only the Lakers as a choice."
Philip just supported the Lakers more between the Lakers and the Warriors, but it was actually okay to go to the Warriors. At least it was in the Greater Bay Area and there were many Chinese people. Zhou Quan's commercial value should be greatly improved, so he didn't say anything.
…
After receiving Philip's response, some small-market teams stopped submitting new contracts and couldn't keep up with the pace. Moreover, the average annual salary was tens of millions, but they only signed for five years. It was not cost-effective, no matter how good Zhou Quan was. , and he is not an American. His popularity in the United States cannot surpass Jordan, and he cannot create great value for the Bulls like Jordan.
The Lakers, when they interviewed Zhou Quan, had already offered a new contract of US$57.18 million for five years, US$5.68 million for the 1994/95 season, 8.5 million in the second year, 12.5 million in the third year, and 12.5 million in the fourth year. 1,450, the last year of the 1998/99 season, it was a team option, 16 million.
Of course, Zhou Quan has not decided to go to the Lakers, and also said that he will not put pressure on the Pistons. He only agrees and will not reject the Lakers.
…
In the next two days, Zhou Quan signed global brand endorsements with five international brands, two of which were American brands and three were European brands, all of which were first-tier brands.
Not counting the second- and third-tier brand endorsements, plus the original two first-tier brands, he now has seven first-class international brand endorsements, and then counting the endorsements of Ford and Skechers, there are nine.
Cadillac, a subsidiary of Ford, has not rushed to decide on the endorsement deal. Cadillac hopes that Zhou Quan will perform well in the next professional golf competition, so it has not signed a contract yet.
This endorsement is very important to Zhou Quan. Cadillac is a top luxury car brand, and being sponsored by it is a recognition of his commercial value and personal temperament and style.
The five newly signed endorsements have a three-year term, and the total contract value reaches US$61 million, which can generate an after-tax income of US$10 million per year.
The golf stop in San Francisco was held on the 10th. After arriving in Los Angeles, Zhou Quan focused on training.
Fortunately, this sport does not consume much physical energy. During training, he always rides a golf cart for medium and long distances to save energy.
At noon on the 5th, a Los Angeles media suddenly broke the news, exposing the second contract provided by the Lakers to Zhou Quan.
You must know that Jordan's contract in the 1992/93 season was only US$4 million. If Zhou Quan gets this contract next year, it will be the highest salary in the league.
Even if he won the championship and FMVP, his popularity is still not as good as Jordan's. The number one active player is still Jordan, with an average annual salary of 11.4 million, which scares countless people and makes many NBA stars look forward to their next contract. stand up.
After the news was exposed, the Lakers management was very angry and finally locked the typist in the general manager's office. The typist overheard the conversation between West and Buss and admitted that he had provided the information to the media. Then the management fired him. Apart from.
…
At this time, Paul Allen, the owner of the Trail Blazers, had arrived in Portland on a private plane from New York.
The purpose of his trip was to discuss with the Blazers management how to trade Zhou Quan.
He took over the team in 1988 and spent more than US$70 million. At that time, the Lakers' market value was only US$40 million. At the end of last year, he decided to invest US$200 million in the Trail Blazers to build a new arena.
In the past few days, the management has been debating whether to continue to maintain the original lineup with Glider Drexler as the core, or to rebuild and join the ranks of competing Iron Fist. The debate has been endless, but there is no result. This makes him anxious. Today Came over.
The management was waiting for him. As soon as he got off the car, he said to general manager Hans Wilt: "Hans, contact Iron Fist's agent immediately and ask him and Iron Fist to visit Portland. I will send a private plane to pick him up. them."
Hans was the one who advocated reconstruction. Hearing the boss's words, joy suddenly flashed across his face, but after thinking about it, he said: "Boss, I'm afraid it won't work. Iron Fist will participate in the San Francisco PGA Tour event on the 10th. He I am seizing the time to train in Los Angeles."
Paul Allen patted his head and said with a smile: "I forgot about it."
He thought for a moment and said, "Let's do this. You and I will go to Los Angeles and leave now."
"OK."
Hans Wilt said happily.
The management who disagreed with the reconstruction did not object again. After all, the bosses agreed. If they objected, wouldn't that make them feel uncomfortable?
"Boss, regarding the contract?" Hans Wilt asked.
Paul Allen smiled and said: "I don't care about money, I just want to see the Trail Blazers reach the finals again and win the championship."
…
(End of chapter)
