The Godfather of Basketball

As time continued to ferment, Xiao Hua made a public statement after being silent for a long time, apologizing to the public for his previous remarks during the finals and at the same time for the referee's gambling incident, bluntly saying that the league will strengthen review and management in the later stage.

This apology statement was sincere in content and language, but fans and the media did not buy it.

Xiao Hua encountered an unprecedented turmoil of trust. His contract with the league expired in 2019, and his prospects for contract renewal also became dim.

The turmoil is not over, but because the free agent market for the new season is about to start, the attention of the outside world has also temporarily shifted to the free agent market.

This year's free agent market can be said to be quite lively.

James has opted out of the player option and has a high probability of leaving the team. In addition, George's contract has expired, and Leonard, who is in trouble with the Spurs due to injuries, may have to change teams this summer for all three small forwards. .

In addition, Durant, who has a high probability of renewing his contract with the Warriors, Paul, who has a high probability of renewing his contract with the Rockets, and Cousins, who was reimbursed last season due to injury but whose contract expires, are all super big fish in the free market.

Before the final decision is made, the high probability time will also change.

In addition, Oden, Capela, Zach LaVine, Pope, Hood, Ariza, Randle, Aaron Gordon, etc. are all quite competitive players in the free agent market .

Before the door to the free market opened, all kinds of true and false rumors were flying everywhere.

According to Woj, Leonard's economic team said he would only play for teams in Los Angeles.

According to reporters, James has a very strong tendency to join the Lakers.

According to reporters, George and James met to discuss the possibility of going to Los Angeles to play together.

According to someone who revealed inside information, James and Durant met and discussed the possibility of playing together on the Lakers.

According to unknown sources, James does not rule out the possibility of joining the Warriors.

According to professional reports, the Rockets are very interested in James and intend to form the Big Three to compete with the Warriors and the Nets.

...

Among these rumors, the Lakers are mentioned the most.

After the new general manager "Magic" Johnson took office and said that he would resign if he could not recruit superstars within two years, Lakers fans seemed very excited.

As one of the traditional powerhouses in the league, the Lakers have been ups and downs for too long after Kobe retired, and they need superstars to save them now.

The information gathered from these rumors is that the Lakers are likely to form a super lineup of James, George and Leonard this summer.

George was traded last summer because he wanted to go to the Lakers. James is now strongly inclined to join the Lakers. Coupled with Leonard who just said that he will only go to Los Angeles, this is completely feasible.

Matching is not a problem. Leonard and James are both good players. George is also a swingman who can play the second position. The offensive and defensive ability of this lineup is simply historical. Ball, renew Randall's contract, and finally sign Rondo if possible, it is simply a space carrier.

Coupled with the fact that Wharton was like a duck to water as an agent coaching a giant team during the Warriors period, the Warriors and the Nets are completely worthless in front of this!

Faced with this lineup, fans of other teams had no idea at all except to express a sigh of "Lakers championship".

Even if Durant is willing to come, what the Lakers can create is an ancient Celtics-style dynasty!

That possibility grows stronger as free agency draws nearer and gets more coverage.

Not only the Lakers fans, but all the fans of other teams stayed up all night waiting. If there is such a Lakers, then the Western Rockets, Warriors, and Lakers will really stage the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, July 1st, after midnight, the free market will officially open.

The news that there had been private contacts before and the signing of the contract also broke out immediately.

This year Woj had an absolute upper hand in the contest with his disciple shams, and he also broke out the first signing after the free market opened.

Paul George and the Nets reached a starting salary of 30.56 million, an annual increase of 7.5%, and a five-year 170 million maximum salary renewal contract. The last year of this contract is a player option.

That means Paul George will play for the Nets through at least 2022.

Shams followed up and reported that George did not meet with any other team before renewing his contract, including the Lakers.

When the first signing broke out, the alliance was immediately bombarded.

The dream lineup of the Lakers fans has not started yet, and the dream is shattered.

Immediately after James announced that he would jump out of the contract, he announced that he would make a decision on July 10, after the free market dust settled.

The Spurs also issued a statement that they would not trade Leonard to the Lakers.

The news one after another is like a knife stabbed in the chest of Lakers fans.

This is falling from the clouds to the bottom of the valley in an instant, and the dream ends in vain.

In addition to the Lakers, other signings have also been revealed one after another, but compared with previous years, the big money is much less.

Devin Booker and the Pacers reached a five-year 158 million maximum salary extension contract.

Jordan and the Mavericks agreed to a one-year, $24.1 million contract.

Ariza joined the Suns for 15 million a year.

Green and the Rockets reached a one-year, one-year 2.4 million basic salary extension contract.

Paul and the Rockets are infinitely close to renewing their contracts, but the two sides have not yet reached a definitive verbal agreement.

Durant is considering various possibilities. Although he is strongly inclined to stay with the team, he has not yet reached an agreement with the Warriors.

Anthony implemented his player option contract worth 27.9 million in the last year of the Knicks, and the two sides still have not reached a buyout agreement.

...

These are just a microcosm of this year's free agency market.

With various big contracts flying all over the sky in the past two years, and the premium contracts have not been digested, the teams have maintained a very cautious attitude in signing in the free market.

Capela of the Rockets, Hood of the Jazz, Zach LaVine and Randall of the Lakers, and Oden of the Nets have not yet reached a contract extension with the home team, and they are likely to become new labor agreements. victim of.

After the Nets successfully re-signed George, the team now has players under contract:

Point guards: Irving (20.1 million), Collin Sexton (3.82 million), Dejounte Murray (1.54 million)

Shooting guard: Butler (20.45 million), Mitchell (3.11 million)

Small forwards: George (30.56 million), Tucker (11.5 million), Michael Porter (2.96 million)

Power Forward: Yi Jianlian (13.5 million), Kuzma (1.73 million)

Center: Jokic (26.6 million), Mitchell Robinson (1.66 million)

A 12-man lineup with a total salary of 137 million.

This year, the league announced that the salary cap is 101.8 million, and the luxury tax threshold is 123 million.

Even if Oden's contract is not renewed and the remaining 3 places are filled with the basic salary, the Nets will pay a super luxury tax close to 50 million.

(Note: According to the league rules, the luxury tax is proportional to the excess amount, 0~4.99 million: 1:1.5; 500~999 is 1:1.75; 1000~1499 is 1:2.5; 1500~1999 is 1:3.25 , after which the levy ratio increases by 0.5 for every additional 5 million US dollars.)