The rest is just noise

The negotiations between the Celtics and Bird are a protracted battle.

They have enough time to stalemate before the draft begins.

Bird's agent Wolf wanted to get him the largest lucrative contract in league history. Auerbach wanted to sign him but didn't want to pay such a large sum of money. At the same time, he couldn't insult Bird.

He said in the media that Bird has not yet scored a point in the NBA and he cannot give this price before he has proven himself.

Does this mean that the future can be expected?

Having said that, Bird's request for a million-dollar annual salary still damaged his personal image.

The "Boston Globe" included a news article with a cartoon illustration of a cartoon character "Big Bird" holding Bird's head with two bags of money at his feet. The headline was "He didn't even play a game."

Whether it is the exclusive information Louis continues to reveal to reporters or Auerbach's use of media power to exert pressure, it has brought tremendous pressure to Wolff and his camp.

Soon after, Wolf held a press conference in which he claimed that he and his family had been harassed on the streets and in the workplace because of Auerbach, whom he called a "dictator." He accused the latter of targeting him.

He and his family exerted additional psychological pressure and warned that if this intimidation continued, he would file a grievance with the league and the players union.

In May, owner Harry Mandrian acted as a peacemaker and eased relations between the two sides. He had previously promised to sign Bird even if he had to raise money to do so.

Soon the two sides began to adopt a middle ground and eventually reached an agreement in principle.

It was impossible for Bird to accept an annual salary of 300,000, and it was impossible for Auerbach to meet his dream of a million-year salary. The two sides took a middle value.

With an annual salary of 650,000, this is not the largest contract in NBA history, but it is the largest contract ever signed by any rookie entering the league.

On the day when the two parties were to complete the signing, Louis was present, and Auerbach intended to involve him in these internal matters.

This is far more than what a senior scout would receive.

And Louis is very interested in this. Although he was one of the helmsmen behind the scenes before time travel, he only did the work of scouting, negotiating, and coaching. These things were far away from him, and no one would ask him to do these things.

Suddenly, he had the opportunity to step into territory he had never touched before.

There are many people in the office, except for people from Bird's camp. From the Celtics side, there are Auerbach, deputy general manager Jan Walker, and owner Mandrian. In comparison, Louis is a small figure.

The annual salary of 650,000 has reached the borderline acceptable to Bird, and both parties have no problem with numbers.

Next, Bird's agent Wolff came up with a list and declared: "These additional terms must also be added to the contract."

Auerbach was very impatient. He didn't know what kind of devil the other party was trying to do.

"Tell me about it," Auerbach said angrily.

It seemed that this was the first time Wolfe had seen this list. He looked at it carefully and only after confirming that there were no obvious illegal clauses, he dared to read it out.

Louis noticed this detail, which shows that the additional terms were requested by Bird himself.

Moreover, it was probably a temporary move.

What legitimate advice could this redneck from French Lick have?

As far as Louis is concerned, the magical light that Bird put on him in his previous life is fading. 99% of Chinese fans have never watched Bird's games and do not know his past, but they basically know the story of him pretending to be 13 on the court. This

Added some divine light to him.

That thing is called force.

He has a high reputation in the eyes of fans. During the two-month negotiation, he basically kept silent, maintaining a sense of mystery in front of Louis, a time traveler.

If this list doesn't exist...

Wolff read aloud: "Whenever, if Larry's family wants to come to watch his game, the Celtics must be responsible for their air tickets, accommodation, and three meals a day."

Louis could feel that after this guy said the first point, the atmosphere in the office changed.

It's not the solemn feeling of "good guy, you really fucking dare to speak", but the helplessness of "you've been making trouble for a long time just to take advantage of this little advantage? That's it?"

A smile appeared on Mandrian's lips.

Even Wolf found these suggestions ridiculous, and his aura became much weaker.

To be precise, in the two months since Louis observed this middle-aged white man, it was the first time he noticed that his voice was so weak.

"If Larry decides to return to Indiana State to complete his studies, the Celtics must be responsible for his tuition." Wolfe couldn't believe the words he saw, "This is very important."

Louis felt his stomach twitch.

Someone was tickling him, and he had to control himself.

"Celtic will provide him with a car for his travels."

"If he has no money to buy a house in the future, Celtic will provide him with an interest-free loan."

Every time Wolf read a paragraph, the corners of Auerbach's mouth twitched, his eyes wandered, and he didn't know what he was doing.

The last request basically destroyed Louis' endurance.

"If he is eventually selected to the All-Rookie Team, the Celtics will provide him with 10% of his annual salary as a bonus."

"Hahahahaha~~~~~~"

Such a solemn and solemn matter could have such an unexpected development.

Louis' laughter and Auerbach's anger happened almost at the same moment.

"What's so funny?" Bird glared at Louis dissatisfied.

Louis held his stomach and tried to control himself.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it..." Louis struggled to control his smile, "You actually think that the person who asked Reid to pay the highest rookie salary in history can't be on the All-Rookie Team?"

Auerbach was very happy to see Bird blushing.

Louis spoke his mind, what he had just wanted to say.

What a fucking nonsense!

Wolfe was also ashamed. He felt this was wrong, but this was Bird's request and he had to comply.

Although Auerbach hated Wolfe, he knew that this man was still a decent person and would never do such a thing.

He locked his eyes on Bird and said loudly: "Listen, Larry, this is how I do business. I will give you as much money as I think you are worth! I don't play tricks, and I won't try to cut it.

I'll give you half the price, and then I'll haggle with you. But I don't sell cars, I don't open a bank, and I won't pay for your tuition, and I won't sit here and talk to you about the $300 plane ticket for your family to watch the game.

!If you sign this fucking contract now, you can get whatever you want! If you play well enough, you can earn more! Now I ask you if you sign this contract, this bullshit list

I won’t agree to that!”

This was even more interesting than imagined. Watching a superstar with a tall image in his memory make an own goal just to take advantage of it was completely beyond Louis' imagination.

At the same time, this reminded Louis of the process when he recruited Zhou Qi from Liaoning for Xinjiang.

It's almost the same as today. Originally, they didn't have any chance. Zhou Qi is from Henan, but he grew up in Liaoning, where he has his friends and mentors. His talent is blind and he is destined to go to the NBA.

.But the elders of the Liaoning Sports Bureau were not even willing to give his family an apartment, and Zhou Qi signed a training contract with the sports school, and when it expires, he will be a free agent, which gave them the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

When Zhou Qi went to the United States for special training, Louis also rushed to the United States and opened a contract that he could not refuse, successfully stealing the best post-90s generation in Chinese basketball to Xinjiang. And the reason for all this was just because Liaoning refused to give him

A suite for the family.

Compared to the NBA, there are too many things about the CBA that are unprofessional.

And now it's 1979, and there are also many unprofessional things about the NBA.

After Auerbach finished speaking, Bird looked at Wolfe and nodded in agreement.

Louis' harsh laughter seemed to still be echoing in his mind. After signing the contract, he glared at Louis fiercely, then walked outside with a faint smile and announced the completion of the signing with the team.

A new era is coming.

Please vote for me~~~~