The rest is just noise

Chapter 597 You should pay the damn price

In the short term, there are three things facing Louis.

One is tomorrow's championship parade celebration. He will definitely have to speak and prepare a speech for this.

The other thing is his contract extension.

In the summer of 1984, he signed a five-year contract with the Knicks.

In the summer of 1985, after Dave DeBusschere resigned due to physical discomfort, the Knicks gave Louis another general manager contract. This was a three-year contract, which Louis requested at the time.

This was done so that he could renew and sign a new contract in the summer of 1988.

He led the team to win the championship last season and turned the quagmire Knicks into a super team with unlimited potential in four years. The existing contract can no longer match his worth.

At present, the average salary of NBA coaches is US$300,000, and the maximum salary can be 500,000-600,000 US dollars.

The average salary of a general manager is US$100,000-300,000, and there is only one highest salary, and that is Auerbach.

Legend has it that he has an annual salary of 400,000-500,000 yuan.

Exactly how much, no one knows.

Louis proved one thing in New York, that is, his success in Boston may be related to Auerbach, but he himself has the real qualities.

At the age of 28, he had two championships in hand, led two championship teams with completely different styles of play, and spent three years to build a team into a championship team (Louis has only been general manager for three years).

At only 28 years old, all parties are eyeing him.

During the NBA annual meeting, Jerry West's recruitment of him was no joke.

As long as Louis becomes a free man, he will cause a lot of looting.

Therefore, some people joke that 1988 is the first year of NBA free agency and the first year of the free market, but the biggest fish in the first year of free agency is not Tom Chambers, but Louis.

Before Louis even started to ask about the next family's affairs, someone extended an olive branch.

The person who did this was the new Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, who had direct contact with Louis.

According to reliable sources, Allen has completed the acquisition of the Trail Blazers.

He spent $110 million to buy ownership of the Trail Blazers from Larry Weinberg.

In the timeline without Michael Jordan, Allen purchased the Trail Blazers for "only" $70 million.

One Jordan increased the value of the team by 40 million.

This is only the current value and will continue to appreciate in the future.

Allen loves basketball, but he knows that he must find the most professional people to turn the Blazers into a championship.

Louis, whose contract has expired, is the best candidate.

"Louis, I don't want to be polite. I will give you a check. Just fill in the number on it for whatever salary you want. I will give you whatever you want. All I want is for you to come to Portland."

This is the message Allen left on the answering machine for Louis.

Giving a check to fill in any number shows Allen's financial strength.

But there was no way Louis could actually fill in an outrageous number.

He could have left a maximum salary that was well above the league average, and he believed Allen would agree to it.

But for several reasons, he didn't want to leave.

Now he is no longer a wage earner whose main motivation is money.

He can find a job in any city if he wants to.

To him, salary is more symbolic than practical.

A contract is a kind of recognition. A large enough contract can prove how successful he is in this industry. Therefore, Allen's money offensive cannot impress Louis.

Secondly, the Blazers already have someone in the general manager position. Of course, Louis can ask for the title of team president, so that he will still be the top leader of the operations department. But in this way, he and Bucky, who is currently sitting in the general manager position,

Buckwalter's relationship may have broken down. A management that is not united is not easy to do things.

The most important thing is, Michael Jordan, in the Trail Blazers.

Although Louis is New York's little KD, he doesn't want to choose the coach's version of "the hardest road." He knows how strong Jordan is, how easy it is to coach him, and how much easier it is to lead him to win the championship than to lead Ewing to win the championship.

.Now, he has led Ewing to win the championship, and not surprisingly, he will win more championships in the future.

Rather than coaching Jordan, Louis would rather lead his team to defeat Jordan again and again.

This is what he has always done.

If you want to fight, just fight the strongest. If you can't beat them, just choose to join. If you can beat them, why not join?

In any case, the Celtics have now passed. So, how to torture Jordan in the remaining ten years is what Louis is most concerned about.

Signing with the Trail Blazers was the opposite of torturing Jordan, and he also had the secret to winning. No, it would be too easy, and he didn't want it.

Therefore, he politely replied to Allen, saying that if he encounters problems in professional basketball, he will provide professional help and transfer to Portland.

Like a regional black man with a prejudice against Oregon, Louis elaborated on why he refused to move to Oregon: "Mr. Allen, thank you for your kind invitation. For the following reasons, I must seriously refuse you.

First, I hate being a solitary person, and solitary addicts are everywhere in Oregon;

Second, I hate cloudy days, I am an optimistic person;

Third, I am afraid of earthquakes. Geologists have said that Oregon will be destroyed by a terrible earthquake sooner or later;

Fourth, Oregon discriminates against outsiders to a much greater extent than Boston does;

Fifth, it often hails there;

Sixth, the Oregon government is actively promoting the legalization of professional basketball betting, which will bring a stain to the entire region. I don’t think I will be happy in such a place⑴;

Seventh, there are fucking hippies everywhere. The 60's never went away in Oregon and one day I bought a $2 milkshake for lunch in Portland. It turned out to be green like slime and looked like dirt

Made of shit, luckily I didn’t have diarrhea after eating it;

Eighth, Oregonians also like rock climbing and camping without tents. Who in their right mind would want to sleep on dirt and uneven ground? Oregonians have lost their minds. They all like to do something "fun."

"In outdoor activities, they may not die from the earthquake, but they will definitely be bitten to death by a mountain lion that suddenly rushes out of the jungle;

Ninth, and this is the most important point, there may be many beauties in Oregon, but it doesn't matter at all, because they have unique skills. There was news that an Oregon woman killed a bear with her bare hands. They don't like cream like me.

He is a young man, but a rough guy with a sloppy appearance and a wild look.

To sum up, Portland is definitely not my promised land. Thank you again for your kind invitation."

It is said that after Paul Allen received Louis' reply, he directly determined that he was a regional black man, but fortunately, he was born in Seattle.

Allen was furious at Louis' comments that might offend Oregon: "I will never ask him to be our coach again. This person is too dangerous. He is a bastard."

On the last day of June, Louis got on the team's sightseeing bus.

When it was his turn to speak, the cheers lasted for several minutes.

Even though he kept thanking him, the New Yorkers present did not shut up.

He could only wait for them to stop on their own.

After a few minutes, Louis had a chance to speak.

He took his speech and avoided the issue of contract renewal that fans were concerned about. He said firmly: "I don't want to talk nonsense, and I don't want to spend more than ten minutes thanking everyone. It's not time yet. When I have the opportunity in the future, I will be like you."

If Germany retires his jersey at MSG, I will definitely be grateful. Now, I just want to say, cheer louder, we will win again next year!"

A very short, but inspiring speech.

Louis used such a speech to indirectly hint to the fans that he would stay.

It's July and Louis has a lot to deal with.

The school selection issues of Hu Weidong and Yu Tiancan, the issue of returning to China to determine the college for the third phase of the road to the United States, the establishment of the NBA China Basketball Academy, and the national basketball team’s warm-up training for the United States in preparation for the 1988 Los Angeles Olympics. These things are all

His personal participation is required.

Therefore, the contract renewal must be completed as soon as possible.

Just when he was preparing to start contract extension negotiations with Madison Square Garden president Jack Kruger with his agent, Jerry West and Jerry Buss came to New York at the same time.

According to Louis' preferences, they found a Chinese restaurant that was rarely awarded two stars by Michelin.

Bass reserved the restaurant, and before the negotiations began, he gave Louis a blank check: "Lu, as long as you are willing to come to LA, you can leave any number on it that I can do."

West, who was accompanying him, expressed his position: "I can be your deputy like Elgin."

Now Louis feels like Zhuge Liang in Gao Wolong, and the rich and powerful bosses are ending one after another.

The meeting was a blank check, which made him very annoyed.

He wanted to refuse, but the other party gave him too much face. He didn't say anything about coming in person, not asking for a private dinner, his posture was very low, and his authority was fully given. Sincerity, ostentation, everything was taken into consideration, and all he needed was to nod in agreement.

.

If Louis was a soft-hearted person, he might have been defeated by the combined skills of Buzz and LOGO Man, the golden pair.

He held on to his will, stuck to his heart, and did not agree on the spot.

He regarded Los Angeles as a backup. If New York couldn't reach an agreement, he could consider going to Los Angeles.

Therefore, Louis promised Bass that if he could not stay in New York, he would definitely choose Los Angeles. Hearing Louis' reply, Bass knew that they had failed to convince Louis. Although it was regrettable, he still behaved politely, and both parties were happy throughout the process.

Get along very harmoniously.

In New York, where there are no secrets, the private meeting between Louis and Bass was quickly exposed by the paparazzi.

There was such an uproar that when Louis and his agent Marcel Thielen formally negotiated with Jack Kruger, the president of the Madison Square Garden Company, the other party actually hurriedly took out a blank check: "Lou,

I don’t want to bargain with you, just write down how much you want here, and we’ll get it done right away, okay?”

Louis was speechless at the time.

Damn it, another blank check, what do these people think of negotiation? What is the purpose of negotiation? To strive for the best interests! He hasn't even spoken yet, and he hasn't enjoyed the fun of negotiation, and these people have dumped him.

A blank check requires him to fill in the numbers. Is this how you negotiate?

Louis now feels the same way Lewis Shafir did then.

You should pay the damn price!

⑴Sports betting is legal in Oregon.