Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

"Holy shit, is it true or false?!"

Seeing the lead score displayed on the screen, almost all the spectators shouted out.

The Raptors called a timeout and replaced Valanciunas with Calderon, preparing for a final push.

But Bargnani's shot missed. George stayed under the basket to get the basketball, and threw the basketball away before his opponent could react.

"Dudududu!"

The whistle and red light symbolizing the end of the game light up almost simultaneously, and the game is over!

“ohhhh!!”

The Pacers players on the bench immediately joined the starting players and rushed in front of Qi Tian.

They jumped and screamed, cheering for Qitian's accurate kill.

“So sweet and stable!”

"You killed the game!"

"You bitch committed murder because you are so awesome!"

Qi Tian was surrounded by his teammates, and he forcefully pursed his lips to accept the compliments from his teammates, but in the end he still held back, smiled, and kept focusing on the camera for a long time, recording every moment.

Contributing a buzzer beater in the opening game of the new season, this is the first time for the Pacers!

The Pacers fans who came to the scene were very satisfied, and Granger sitting on the sidelines was even more satisfied:

He can rest in peace and recuperate.

The Pacers fans watching the game in front of the TV were very satisfied, and Larry Bird was extremely satisfied!

"...Never give up, stick to the last ball."

As the hero of this game, Qi Tian accepted an interview with the host on the spot. Finally, he summarized the performance of the team and himself today in one sentence. Then he walked to the locker room, prepared to take a shower and change clothes, and continued to be interviewed.

Bird did not turn off the TV, but continued to play the scene of the host summarizing his speech live, feeling full of satisfaction in his heart.

This summer, the Pacers have focused all their energy on maintaining a complete lineup, and their trading operations can only be considered small and small. They use the overflowing backcourt resources to strengthen the inside, and then use the basic salary to fill the vacancies in the backcourt.

After his plan to acquire Howard failed, Bird could comfort himself by saying that even if he acquired Howard, it might damage the team's chemistry.

After all, there are some things that are more likely to be wrong if done more than others, but good if not done.

But soon, news came that Granger's knee injury had worsened due to extra practice. Granger was likely to be unable to make it to the opening game, and might even miss the first half of the game. Bird wanted to slap himself on the ear.

Even a child knows which option is better: take some risks and trade for a top player in the league or let an injured player take up the team's salary space and not play, and also bear the risk of unknown status when he returns from injury.

"If I had known earlier, I would have chosen to trade!"

This was what he thought in his heart, but Bird still wanted to comfort the management with fluctuating confidence by believing in Granger, and quickly agreed to the plan provided by Vogel:

To tap the potential internally, replace Granger's tactical position with a similar type of George, and wait for Granger's return.

If you can't keep up with the heat, there's no need for hindsight. The team must look forward.

It didn't matter, Bird discovered the team's turning point!

Although George's offense can't keep up with Granger, his defense is better;

Qi Tian, ​​a second-year rookie who appears at shooting guard, has a decent offense and even has a big heart that makes Bird very satisfied!

The defense line's offense, which had become a stubborn problem for the team after George's rise, has also improved.

Qi Tian scored a game-high 27 points, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, and a near-win. In Bird's view, this game is likely to become a typical game for the Pacers this season.

"What a happy event from heaven!"

As soon as Bird's smile appeared, he was stunned.

He thought of one thing that would become a thorny issue for the team to consider in 2013, that is, next summer, because of Qi Tian's performance, and that was the issue of Qi Tian's contract renewal.

"Seven is a second-round pick..."

Bird scratched his head in a rare move and pressed the button on the phone.

"Bernadette, bring in the team's contract records."

"Okay boss."

A pleasant female voice came from the phone, and soon a young girl came in holding a folder.

"Boss, these are the contracts signed by the team and all players, including Roy Hibbert, George Hill, and DJ Augustin signed this summer. The order has been arranged according to time."

Bird didn't say anything. After waving the secretary out, he lowered his head to read the contract and put it down after a long time.

"Two years of guarantee and team options for the next two years, it's really difficult..."

Bird looked up at the sky, feeling helpless.

This means that the Pacers will have to discuss contract renewal with Qitian in the summer.

Yes, in theory, the Pacers can exercise the team option for the next two years in a row, tying up Qi Tian for two years.

But this kind of forced binding will only cause Qi Tian to leave immediately after the contract expires, leaving the Pacers in a hurry.

What professional managers will choose is the second path, which is to show good will and not implement the team option and renew the contract with Qi Tian in advance.

Qi Tian's scoring average in his rookie season has reached double figures. After a summer of hard training, Qi Tian's performance as a second-year player will become an important bargaining chip when it comes to renewing his contract.

If Qi Tian can continue to improve, then renewing the contract in advance will be of great benefit to the team. You can even buy the strength of a first-class star for two or three years at a middle-class price. Why not?

As soon as he thought of it, Bird immediately picked up the phone and dialed Qitian's agent Jack.

"Du~du~du~"

The other party didn't answer the call until the phone got busy.

Bird laughed and put the phone down again.

It seemed that no one was an idiot. Bird was not the only one who saw Qitian's performance.

"Hey, it's better to call Toss and others to discuss the amount of the contract extension in advance."

Bird turned to the internal phone and called in the subordinates who were busy outside.

"Darrell should have died a long time ago!"

While Bird was waiting, he remembered what happened in the summer and suddenly cursed.

In the summer of 2012, apart from the contract extensions of superstars such as Howard Deron, there was another signing that became a hot topic in the league, and that was Jeremy Lin.

The Arenas clause, which was introduced when Arenas was poached, gave the Knicks the confidence to encourage Jeremy Lin to listen to offers from other teams.

After all, Arenas' terms strictly stipulate that for a restricted free agent who has played for the team for two years, the increases in the first two years of the contract offered to him by other teams are limited, eliminating the disadvantages of the parent team renewing the player.

This is indeed the case. The Rockets initially offered Jeremy Lin a four-year, $28.8 million contract, and the Knicks immediately chose to match it.

For a player who averages 14.6 points and 6.2 assists per game as a starter, it is not a loss to renew a contract with an average salary of 7.2 million, which is slightly more than the middle-class salary of more than 1 million.

But the Knicks underestimated the Rockets, and they quickly offered a second contract offer of 25 million over three years.

This contract strictly complies with the restrictions of Arenas' terms. The amounts in the first two years are 5 million and 5.225 million, and the third year rises sharply to 14.8 million US dollars.

The evil of this contract lies in the amount in the third year, 14.8 million, which is a price close to that of a top star!

The Knicks' Chandler is only worth $13.6 million this year.

Coupled with the nearly 20 million of Stoudemire and Anthony, the Knicks' salary will automatically explode in just two years. They cannot bear it and have no choice but to let Jeremy Lin leave.

With the lessons learned here, Bird decided that the team must be fully prepared.