When pride still matters

Chapter 462 The Biggest Free Agent Market Ever
Chapter 462: The largest free agent market in history
With Adidas and Nike as the foreshadowing, the negotiations between Yu Fei's camp and Reebok went much smoother.

Reebok knew that the contract they gave Yu Fei depended on the contracts of the other two companies. Therefore, they did not make much preparation themselves, just waiting for Arne Trim to tell them the contents of the contracts between the two companies.

When Reebok's current CEO, Paul Arrington, heard Trime's asking price: $5 million over five years and a 2% annual profit dividend, they were truly shocked.

This is a much higher than expected offer, but if the other two companies offer such a price, they must follow up unless they want to risk losing Yu Fei.

"Give us some time," Arrington said. "I believe we will eventually offer the best contract."

"It doesn't matter, we have plenty of time," Trem said.

The night passed.

The next day, the Sonics returned to Seattle with the championship trophy.

Back in the Emerald City, another celebration awaits them.

However, for the SuperSonics management, the season is not over yet, they are about to usher in the 2009 draft.

According to the judgment of each team's scouts, this draft will be the worst since 2000.

Although Blake Griffin, the recognized candidate for the No. 1 pick, has excellent physical fitness, he has a short wingspan as the fourth position. He also suffered a season-ending injury last year.

Among the remaining lottery favorites, except for Thabeet Hashim, all of them cannot stand up to serious scrutiny and do not look like the talents of normal lottery picks.

Stephen Curry, who became popular after being selected for the Dream Team last year, is hovering in the top three positions of the mock draft because his technical style is in line with contemporary basketball trends.

However, scouts have always been skeptical about Curry's NBA prospects.

This suspicion stems from Curry's physical fitness, which is far from reaching the NBA level, and the possibility of transitioning to the No. 1 position in the NBA.

The rest is not worth mentioning.

This draft is known as the year for point guards, but Brandon Jennings, the top-ranked guard before the start of the college season, had to give up the NCAA due to academic problems and go overseas to start his career early. As a result, not only did he fail to consolidate his position as the number one point guard in his class, but he also completely exposed his shortcomings.

Sam Presti loves this underdog draft class.

Generally speaking, GMs always like to draft big years.

A big year means that the overall quality of the draft class is significantly higher than that of the draft class under normal circumstances. A standard draft year can allow NBA teams to select talented players in the second round.

But Presti has never been a fan of big-draft gimmicks.

Dazzling outside talent clouds one's judgment, and he loves this underappreciated draft class.

GMs who pursue talent will not only be deceived by the potential that is impossible to realize, but also feel contempt for a draft class that has skills but lacks talent.

This gives GMs with low draft picks a chance to make waves.

But this year, Presti is a tough guy.

Since the SuperSonics' 2009 first-round draft pick Yu Fei was transferred from the Bucks to the SuperSonics in a sign-and-swap deal, their only draft pick this year is the 30th pick in the second round.

That is the last pick in the draft.

When it falls into this position, no matter whether it is good food or bad food, people have already picked it up, and the remaining parts that no one wants are most likely real garbage.

Although Presti believes that his draft vision is as good as anyone's, he is not a dungeon collector.

Theoretically, any 30th pick in the second round is considered successful as long as he can play in the NBA for three or four years.

There are countless second-round picks who were eliminated without even playing in the NBA, let alone the last pick in the second round. This is not much different from being undrafted.

Just when Presti was wondering if this was a deal, Yu Fei came.

This God's representative, who has never known peace or felt there were any boundaries within the Sonics, walked into his office openly and asked about the progress of the draft.

"Our draft pick this year is not high," Presti said euphemistically. "It's not easy to find a suitable candidate."

"Tylen (Lue) is retiring, and I think what we need most is a backup point guard."

Yu Fei is clear about the team's draft needs.

Presti had already guessed his purpose here.

"Do you have any recommendations?"

Presti doesn't like having his work dictated by others. Players play, coaches coach, and the GM is the architect of everything. This is his ideal team shape.

But a god came to the SuperSonics.

This man has quintupled the team's season revenue in two years. With such great achievements, it is destined that no one within the team can say no to him.

Presti won’t forget how Yu Fei put DeAndre Jordan on his radar before last year’s draft.

This shows that Yu Fei is indeed unique in drafting.

Now that Presti has no direction, there is nothing wrong with listening to Yu Fei's advice.

Yu Fei said: "I think the Australian from St. Mary's College is good."

Yu Fei deliberately didn't mention Patty Mills' name because he didn't want to appear too professional. "I have watched several of his games and I think his technical style is very suitable for us." Yu Fei said, "If he participates in this year's draft, we can pay attention to it."

"Any other recommendations?"

"No, I don't do this specifically." Yu Fei said, "This is your job."

It's hard for him to still know this.

"Okay, Fry, thank you for supporting our work." Presti tried his best to face Fei with an easy-going and casual attitude.

He neither wanted to appear too submissive nor went out of his way to distance himself from the other party.

It would be dangerous for him to lean in either direction, the former costing him his self-esteem, the latter costing him his job.

"Sam, what do you think about free agency this year?"

Yu Fei changed the topic.

"Definitely the biggest free agency ever, a lot of stars," Presti said.

"So many big fish entered the pond, we can't leave empty-handed, right?"

Listening to Yu Fei's words, Presti suddenly remembered Shawn Marion's statement after the season ended.

Marion discovered that once he left the Sonics, he would lose what he wanted most: the spotlight.

Moreover, he will also lose the opportunity to create three consecutive championships.

Suddenly, the maximum salary pension contract was no longer what he wanted most, and he expressed his desire to reduce his salary and stay with the team.

Obviously Yu Fei didn't know Marion's attitude, so Presti didn't intend to share this information. He asked: "Who is most likely to come to Seattle?"

"Jermaine O'Neal." Yu Fei said, "And Chris Bosh."

Okay, it's over.

Is this news reliable?
Presti ignored Xiao Ao and directly asked the important point: "Have you talked to Chris?"

"No, but we played for the national team together, went to nightclubs together, and received massage services in Hong Kong together. If he wants to leave Toronto, I can be sure that his first choice is to play with me."

As far as Presti knows, Bosh has rejected the Raptors' contract extension and decided to test the free market.

Now, the last chance of Marion staying on the team is gone.

Marion is very suitable for the SuperSonics. His value on the defensive end is greater than Bosh. However, Bosh is an All-Star power forward who averages 22 points and 10 rebounds per game. He is at his peak, and his technical style is very suitable for Yu Fei and Luo Luo. Yi's side.

If Bosh can be here, the crux of the fourth position that has plagued the Sonics for a long time will be solved.

"I know, we'll be ready."

Presti's so-called preparation is to allow Marion to test the free market with peace of mind. Seattle will always be his home, but there is no room for him anymore.

That evening, Yu Fei returned home and called Bosh.

"Chris, which team are you going to join?"

"I haven't made a decision yet."

"Oh? What are you waiting for?"

"Waiting for your call, Da Fei."

"You seem to know that I will call you?"

"I don't know, but Da Fei, your call means a lot."

Yu Fei did not recruit Bosh on the phone, but they made an appointment to meet in a few days.

At the same time, Presti informed Marion's agent that the Sonics thanked Marion for his contribution over the past two years and the team decided to move forward.

Then, Presti also called the agent of Channing Frye, whose rookie contract was expiring. While Frye is a good fit for the team, Seattle only has one Frye and they won't keep another one - well Presti certainly wouldn't say that, but Channing Frye's career with the Sonics is over.

It's not a question of level or style.

Simply out of a need to save money, clear cap space, and maintain future salary flexibility.

Now the Sonics only have one big contract, and that is Yu Fei's super maximum salary.

However, Brandon Roy can renew his contract in advance this summer. Since he has been selected to the third team in the past two years, he can trigger part of the free clause and sign a contract that is 3%-5% higher than the normal maximum salary. Maximum salary.

Durant's rookie bonus is still two years away, but Presti is thinking about it even further.

A few days later, ESPN revealed that Fei and Bosh were playing golf in Los Angeles.

Then, Yu Fei's direct mouthpiece Mark Stein broke the news: "Chris Bosh will join the Seattle SuperSonics."

Just like that, the most exciting summer in NBA history began.

(End of this chapter)