Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 874 874 539 The Wind Rises in New Jersey

?Chapter 874: Chapter 539: The Wind Rises in New Jersey Chapter 874: Chapter 539: The Wind Rises in New Jersey The general manager of the SuperSonics, Sam Presti, said in a local TV interview at the beginning of July, “Honestly, I’m glad I don’t have to get involved in this year’s ‘whirlwind’.”

He was referring to the 2011 offseason.

Because of the lockout, there was no offseason in 2010, as the lockout led to the cancellation of last season, resulting in the accumulation of two offseasons’ worth of player movement at the same time.

This year’s free agency was dominated by big men, but there was also a large group of perimeter players looking for new teams.

Topping the list of free agent perimeter players were Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Manu Ginobili.

Considering the big men as well, this year’s free agency would see an unprecedented double-digit number of All-Stars hitting the market.

Their decisions would determine the dynamics of the following season.

Logically, Yu Fei, also a free agent, should have been the biggest fish, but with three consecutive championships under his leadership and the SuperSonics staying in Seattle—where construction on a new downtown arena had already begun—there was no reason for him, a city hero, to leave the team.

Thus, no one considered him a top target for the offseason.

July 3
Yu Fei and his agent, Arne Trem, met with Presti in Seattle to negotiate.

Due to the established rules and Yu Fei’s status, there was no need for either side to haggle.

The SuperSonics just needed to offer the maximum contract theoretically possible.

Because the new collective bargaining agreement reduced the players’ share of basketball-related income from 57% to 50%, the salary cap had barely changed from last season, despite a larger television broadcast contract.

Under the existing salary cap, by fully activating the Yu Fei clause, Fei could get an annual salary of 18 million US Dollars.

Presti offered Yu Fei a 4-year max contract, but Yu Fei only accepted a 2+1 deal.

The two sides quickly agreed on a 3-year, 54 million US Dollar contract. The third year was a player option and included a no-trade clause.

However, Yu Fei didn’t sign the contract immediately; instead, he requested that the team sign Kwame Brown before he would put pen to paper.

This put Presti in a difficult position.

Brown had been replaced by DeAndre Jordan in the 2010 Western Conference Finals, and for the team, he now only had the value of deepening the bench—not worth using the mid-level exception to sign.

But if Brown knew Yu Fei was backing him, who knows what kind of contract he might demand.

“We still need to use some of our limited cap space in the free agency market,” Presti said candidly, “We can’t offer Kwame a big contract.”

“He won’t ask for a big contract,” Yu Fei said with assurance, “Just contact him, that’s all.”

Presti took Yu Fei’s words to mean that he and Brown had already discussed the matter.

Brown would accept the minimum salary.

Presti couldn’t help wondering, did Frye need Kwame Brown?

Or rather, in an era where space-oriented basketball is prevalent, a blue-collar big man without offensive skills must possess talent like DeAndre Jordan to be effective. Brown was already severely outdated.

Presti heard that last year Brown played in China and was cut before the mid-season.

This showed the extent to which his abilities as a player had declined.

It was hard to say whether Yu Fei’s “support” for Brown was ultimately good or bad for him.

Without Yu Fei, would he have a greater sense of crisis? Would that sense of crisis make him better and keep up with the times?

Presti couldn’t possibly know the answer. He only knew that Brown would be spending his twilight years in the NBA under Yu Fei’s wing.

That’s the power of a superstar.

As long as Yu Fei wished, he could provide long-term security worth one to two million US Dollars a year for two or three players.

Presti, following Yu Fei’s instructions, contacted Brown and then learned that the latter was on vacation in Miami and was not in a hurry to sign.

Moreover, he made no secret about the deal he and Yu Fei had already agreed on in private.

“Minimum salary? No problem,” Brown said, “Just send the contract over to me, right, I’ll look it over and then sign it.”

Presti did as instructed.

But he wasn’t so careless as to send the contract through the mail to Brown. Instead, he instructed his assistant to take the contract to Miami for Brown’s signature.

Within two days, Brown had signed a 2-year, 3 million US Dollar minimum salary contract with the SuperSonics.

On the same day, the news that Yu Fei had reached a 3-year, 54 million US Dollar verbal agreement with the SuperSonics entered the public eye.

This was the most important matter for the SuperSonics during the offseason.

Once this was settled, Presti could then focus on the free agency market.

However, considering the fierce dispute over the previous labor agreement, some media outlets started releasing the SuperSonics’ current total payroll.

Following Yu Fei’s signing of his contract, and with Kevin Durant’s max contract kicking in next season, the team would have four max contracts on the books.

Just the four max contracts alone amounted to 70 million US Dollars, which surpassed the luxury tax threshold by 22 million.

Considering their rookie contracts and the need for reinforcements to maintain competitiveness, as well as the mid-level exception waiting to be used, it was highly probable that the SuperSonics’ total payroll for the new season would exceed 90 million US Dollars. This season’s luxury tax threshold was 70 million US Dollars. Because it exceeded the threshold by 20 million, the SuperSonics were directly hit with the luxury tax.

According to the terms of the luxury tax, teams that are over the tax line by 20 million US Dollars or more have to pay a fine in a 1:5 ratio for every dollar over the tax. In the end, apart from the over 90 million US Dollars in salaries, they would also have to pay over 100 million US Dollars in luxury tax.