NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 180 Maximum salary contract extension? (3k)

"Hi, Lin, is it convenient for you? Let's go to my place and talk?"

Lin Chuan entered the stadium and met an unexpected person in the player tunnel.

The man wearing glasses and a well-tailored suit, Sam Presti.

Thunder general manager.

Looking at Presti who suddenly appeared in the player tunnel and greeted him, Lin Chuan suddenly felt a little strange.

But he still nodded and accepted Presti's invitation.

He followed Presti out and came to the familiar office area again, all the way to the familiar door.

The sign had the general manager's name and Presti's name on it.

"Congratulations, Lin Chuan. You have been reaping honors this year! You have grown a lot! In all my time in the NBA, this is the first time I have seen a player improve as fast as you."

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Presti sat back in his big armchair, clapped his hands gently and celebrated to Lin Chuan in front of him.

Looking at the young Chinese guy in front of him, Presti showed a satisfied expression on his face.

He really didn't expect it.

After trading Harden away during the offseason last year, Lin Chuan was able to put up such an exaggerated performance this year in a team that already has two All-Star players.

He even suppressed Russell Westbrook, who had the most shots and the most ball possession, and made him willingly give up his duties as a point guard and hand the ball to Lin Chuan when the two of them were on the court together.

Even the team boss Durant had no objection, and often let Lin Chuan make the decision at critical moments.

I really feel like I have found a treasure!

Looking at Lin Chuan, Presti was happy.

"Thank you manager."

Out of politeness, Lin Chuan sat across from Presti's desk and expressed his gratitude.

Presti looked Lin Chuan up and down, and suddenly said,

"Lin, you've won so many honors. You're almost catching up with Durant in the team."

Lin Chuan didn't understand why he said that, but he still felt uncomfortable after hearing the hidden meaning in his words. He suppressed his emotions and smiled.
"That's not the case. Kevin is the MVP of this season, the pillar of our team, and the best player in the league. It's not easy to surpass him."

Presti smiled, stared into Lin Chuan's eyes, and said slowly,
"Yes, it's MVP, but I believe you know that you have also played at the MVP level this season, right?"

Hearing him say this, Lin Chuan was even more confused about what he wanted to say, but he still answered honestly,
"Maybe, manager, but the MVP is ultimately voted for by the media. I'm just a player. My only goal is to play well on the court."

Presti waved his hand to interrupt Lin Chuan's speech and said impatiently,
"Lin, I don't like to hear these words. I'm in the general manager's office here. This is a private conversation with you, not a post-game media conference. What you say will not be spread on the Internet."

He rubbed his brows and said helplessly,

"You Chinese are too modest. I just don't like that. There's nothing wrong with directly stating your strengths and performance. It will please Americans even more."

"Well, you're right manager."

Lin Chuan did not refute Presti, but agreed with his words.

Presti stared at Lin Chuan in front of him and said in a deep voice,
"We all know that if Durant hadn't accumulated enough momentum for a long time and defeated the Heat, who had a complete lineup and the Big Three led by James, head-on last year, and had a sky-high record this season, he would not have won the MVP at all."

Isn't this nonsense?

Hearing Presti say this, Lin Chuan couldn't help but roll his eyes in his heart.

The last person who wanted to win the MVP based solely on personal performance without looking at the record was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was elected by players through self-voting several decades ago.

He was still with the Bucks at the time and won the MVP before even making the playoffs.

But what about today's alliance?

These media outlets will never vote for a player who only has statistics but no record.

After all, aren't these people pure brushes?

He didn't understand why Presti was telling him this.

I thought the main point was to brag about myself.

The result was off track.

Presti looked at Lin Chuan, who was confused, pushed his glasses and continued,

"I mean, compared to you, does Durant have any advantage over you other than being the best scorer in the league?"

Lin Chuan frowned and was about to speak when Presti stopped him.
"Not to mention Anthony who is in second place. He is far behind you."

"This season, you are ranked third in MVP. One reason is that you are still considered the second-in-command of the team by many media, so of course you will not be given the first vote when voting."

"And secondly, it's because of your nationality. If you were American, you would have won the MVP this season based on these statistics. I can only say that you have caught up with them."

Lin Chuan stood up and frowned.

"Kevin, who won the MVP, is also on our team. I don't understand. Are you, the manager, unhappy?"

"Unhappy? Not really."

Presti was a little surprised that Lin Chuan would think this way, and smiled.

"How can I be unhappy? I'm just glad that there are two MVP-level players in the team." "I just want to know if you have any opinions about this season's performance and still missing out on the MVP. But from the conversation just now, you don't, I'm worrying too much."

Lin Chuan shrugged.

It's not that he doesn't care, it's just that he's not that urgent.

Lin Chuan knows his own strength, and with the system, he will only become stronger and stronger.

This season is only the second year of my rookie season and my first year as a starter. It is already very good to be able to get the double first team, All-Star and DPOY.

In the Thunder team, with Durant, they will naturally be overshadowed in terms of visual perception.

He knew the current situation very well, so why would he be dissatisfied?

Anyway, he has already made plans and has plenty of options during the offseason.

Now in the Thunder, winning consecutive championships is the most important thing.

If a conflict over personal honors in the regular season leads to the loss of the championship.

As a result, he lost the system reward and also lost Antetokounmpo who was almost at his fingertips. That would be the most loss-making thing.

Presti sat up, picked up the mug beside him, drank some water and cleared his throat. Lin Chuan knew that the focus of this conversation was about to come.

"Cough cough."

He stared at Lin Chuan in front of him and said,

"Lin, your contract is about to expire during this offseason. I wonder what you think."

really!

Presti talked to him for so long, from celebrating his honor to speaking up for him, and it took so long, but it finally came to this point.

Next contract!

Lin Chuan looked at the shrewd Presti in front of him and couldn't help laughing in his heart, but he still maintained a calm expression on the surface.
"I haven't thought about what's next for now, manager. I want to know what the team has decided."

"Of course it's the maximum salary, Lin."

Presti said quickly,
"For a player of your caliber, not giving him a maximum salary is just waiting for other teams to snatch you away."

Lin Chuan scratched his head,

"But as far as I know, the team doesn't have that much space."

"Don't worry, clearing space is what our management has to do, and the most important thing for the team is to keep you, and everything else comes second."

Top salary?

Lin Chuan fell into deep thought.

Seeing Lin Chuan's reaction, Presti sighed inwardly.

He knew that even though Lin Chuan didn't say it, judging from his reaction, it would be difficult to keep this big Buddha with just the maximum salary.

"Lin, I don't know if you are clear about the special terms of the Rose Clause and the Bird Clause in these two contracts."

"I understand, manager, but I can't trigger either of these two clauses. The only one that can be triggered is the early bird clause, but according to this clause, I'm afraid my new contract won't have much money."

Lin Chuan wanted to laugh. He was not stupid. This was such a big matter related to his making money, how could he not know the relevant terms and conditions?

"Yes, but we can add a player option in the second year of the new contract, so that you can opt out and re-sign in the second year of the contract, and sign you a contract with a Bird clause. In this way, you can sign a big maximum salary contract next year."

Presti immediately added.

Lin Chuan was also a little surprised. He didn't expect that the manager would be so thoughtful.

Even the option of opting out and signing a bigger contract has been considered for him.

Don't say anything else.

The Bird Clause can increase his annual salary from 8% to 10.5%. Considering his starting salary of more than million, this gap is terrifyingly large.

Worried that Lin Chuan was still dissatisfied, Presti continued to add,
"Don't worry, we will also let you have a higher percentage of ball possession in the team, so that the media can see your status and vote for you for the MVP."

Lin Chuan didn't expect Presti to make such a promise.

But the team clearly still has Westbrook and Durant, who just won the MVP. How does Presti plan to coordinate so that they can continue to reduce the ball rights to himself?

Lin Chuan thought about it and didn't know what he was going to do. After thinking about it, he decided to put it aside for the time being and said to Presti,

"Manager, let's wait until the offseason to discuss these matters. After all, we are still in the playoffs. I don't want to be distracted by these matters. If we lose the games by then, it will be a waste of time."

"Yes, yes, yes. Look at my temper. I'm too impatient. I just want to sign you as soon as possible."

Presti patted his forehead, smiled and stood up.
"Okay, then you go to training first. I hope we can win big in the second game as well, Lin."

Presti saw Lin Chuan off and watched him disappear into the corridor. The smile on his face suddenly disappeared.

He quickly walked back to his desk and sat back in his seat, then picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number.

"Yes, come on, let's discuss the subsequent team situation."

(End of this chapter)