In fact, normally speaking, during the offseason that ended last season, the Grizzlies should have negotiated an early contract extension with O'Brien, but at that time, McCaw Jr. may have had the idea of ​​selling the Grizzlies, and may have even started to contact the seller.

Already.

In order to reduce the team's cost, McCaw Jr. did not mention this matter, and Xiao Ou also did not ask the team to renew his contract in advance.

It may seem silly for Xiao Ao to do this, but this is also because he is extremely confident in his own strength.

His data last season was not particularly good, but his data will definitely improve next season. Instead of signing a small extension contract with the Grizzlies, it is better to wait until his rookie contract officially ends and become a victim.

After restricting free agents, see if the free market can surprise you.

The so-called restricted free agent generally means that other teams are eligible to provide offers to O'Brien, but the Grizzlies have priority to match. As long as the Grizzlies can offer the same price as other teams, they can give priority to renew Ou's contract.

profound.

Judging from the situation this season, O'Brien made the right bet. After this season, as a member of the Grizzlies' core lineup, he will definitely get a super maximum salary.

Even if the Grizzlies don't give him a maximum salary, other teams will definitely not miss this opportunity to sign O'Brien and will definitely give him a maximum salary contract. If the Grizzlies don't match it, O'Brien will undoubtedly leave the Grizzlies.

What the Grizzlies management wants now is to quickly discuss with O'Brien and set the contract amount to prevent O'Brien from being poached.

In the conference room, all the senior executives of the Grizzlies were here, but Jiang Dongbing did not see the figure of his boss Heisley. In fact, since Heisley acquired the Grizzlies, Jiang Dongbing had only met once and never again.

Pass.

Stewart presided over the meeting, "Guys, let's talk about your opinions now. Let's try our best to sign Jermaine."

Jiang Dongbing did not express his opinion. Of course he wants the team to sign Xiao Ou next year, but after Xiao Ou is signed, it means that the team will be locked up in a lot of salary space. By then, Jackson and David will continue to work.

Dating will definitely go wrong.

Judging from the current salary cap situation, it is difficult for a team to provide maximum salaries to three players at the same time, and this does not include Billups and others.

After Billups finishes playing this year, he will soon face the issue of contract renewal next year. With Billups' strength, will he be given a maximum salary?

If you don't give a maximum salary, Billups will definitely be poached, and his temptation is even greater than that of Xiao Ou!

So Jiang Dongbing simply stopped talking. It would be better for others to decide on the team's contract renewal.

"Mr. Jackson, now in 1996, Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe, Raheem, and Marbury have all signed maximum salary contracts? I think Jermaine's contract will definitely not be less than theirs."

"Really? Jermaine must be stronger than Rahim? Now that Rahim has signed a maximum salary, there is no way to justify not giving Jermaine a maximum salary."

"If we don't give him a maximum salary, Jermaine may think that we don't value him enough. Will he be poached by other teams that are willing to pay him a maximum salary? This kind of thing is still very possible." Several executives gave their opinions one after another.

My own opinion, generally speaking, is to give O'Neal a maximum salary.

There is nothing we can do about this? The draft in 1996 was full of talents, and there were quite a few players who received maximum salaries. During O's time with the Trail Blazers, he naturally did not deserve the maximum salary? But now that the Grizzlies have come, no matter what

Whether it's offense or defense, both are definitely worthy of a maximum salary.

And the most important thing is, is Xiao Ou a pure traditional inside player? The value itself should be higher? At least compared to Rahim, who is also a power forward, the value is much higher.

Now if O'Brien and Raheem appear on the free market at the same time, I'm afraid Ou's appeal will definitely be much higher than that of Raheem.

In this case? It’s unjustifiable not to give Ou a maximum salary.

In addition, many times a player's salary is equal to his league status. How can a player who can't even get a maximum salary be called a superstar?

Marbury, Raheem and Ray Allen have not yet made it to the All-Stars, and they all receive maximum salaries. If O'Brien, who has made the All-Stars, does not receive a maximum salary, he probably won't be able to accept it.

Stewart's balls ached. Everyone said they should give O'Neal a maximum salary. This is easy to say but difficult to do.

The situation between the Grizzlies and other teams is very different, because Ou is definitely not the most important player for the Grizzlies...

Billups will be signed next year, and Jackson and David will be signed the year after that. Which one is not more important than Ou? Once Ou is given a maximum salary, how can the next three not be given a maximum salary?

It is completely impossible for a team to afford four maximum salaries. It is impossible.

Signing O'Neill also means giving up one or even two of Billups, Jackson and David. This kind of torturous decision makes Stewart crazy.

But if they don't sign Ou, the Grizzlies will lose Ou next year, which also makes Stewart extremely reluctant to part with him.

"Jiang, tell me your opinion. After all, Jermaine is the player you brought in. I think you have the right to decide whether to give Jermaine the maximum salary." Stewart simply threw the problem to Jiang Dongbing.

Jiang Dongbing shook his head like a rattle, "General Manager Jackson, don't ask me about this kind of thing, it's not within my scope of responsibilities."

"I brought in the players and trained them so that they can help the Grizzlies win the championship. As for whether you want to renew their contract or whether you want to give them a maximum salary, that's your question. Don't ask me."

Jiang Dongbing is definitely not willing to get involved in this kind of thing. In fact, when he entered the NBA, he had already made up his mind to pay less attention to players' contract renewals.

Because he has too many stars, he may often have to face the issue of contract renewal for two stars in a year. This is an extremely painful decision for any team. In order not to ask for trouble, Jiang Dongbing

Of course I don't want to care about these things.

Stewart was completely helpless and sighed. He never expected that having too many stars in the team would become a problem.

"How about this? Let's put this matter aside for now. After we win the championship this season, we will look at the trends of other teams and then decide on Jermaine's contract." Stewart finally made the decision.

According to Stewart, after the Grizzlies win the championship this season, we will see if other teams will invite Ou and then decide how to deal with Ou's contract.

Jiang Dongbing spread his hands, saying that there was nothing wrong with such an arrangement. Originally, he thought that such a matter would be covered up by soldiers, so it would not make much sense to discuss it now.

"Coach, I heard that you had a meeting today to discuss Jermaine's contract?" During the afternoon training, Jackson mysteriously ran to Jiang Dongbing and asked.

Jiang Dongbing nodded and said, "Yes, you are really well-informed. You know all this."

"Hey, of course you have to inquire about such an important thing." Jackson scratched his head and said with a smile.

Of course, Jackson is very concerned about Jermaine's contract issue, because once O'Brien signs a maximum salary, it will be difficult for him and David to join forces again.

For example, last season's Iverson's contract was US$9 million, and the NBA salary cap was only US$34 million.

As for the maximum salary contract next season, the starting salary will be more than 9 million US dollars, and it will have to reach at least 9.6 million US dollars. By the time Jackson and David sign the maximum salary, it will reach more than 10 million US dollars.

If O'Neill signs a maximum salary, and if Jackson and David sign another maximum salary, it will be close to 30 million US dollars in salary space. How can the Grizzlies afford it, unless Billups, Artis

Special, Ginobili, Kirilenko, and Peja are willing to share the remaining 4 to 5 million US dollars in salary...

It's obviously impossible. If others don't say it, at least Billups is definitely worth a maximum salary now.

Therefore, the Grizzlies will face extremely heavy salary pressure in the next two years, and it is completely unsolvable pressure. It does not mean that Jiang Dongbing is a time traveler who can solve it.

Unless Jiang Dongbing has infinite charisma and can make everyone under him willing to cut their salary in half, even cutting their salary in half is not enough. The salary must be reduced to one-third of the normal salary to ensure that the Grizzlies' lineup does not change.

"Stephen, have you ever thought about what you and David will do if the Grizzlies can't provide you with a maximum salary by the time you sign the contract?" Jiang Dongbing asked a very realistic question.

This matter is related to Jackson's salary, which is of course extremely realistic.

This question also stumped Jackson. After a moment of silence, he said, "Let's take a pay cut. I think David is definitely willing to take a pay cut and stay with the Grizzlies."

"We would rather take less salary, and David and I would like to continue to play under the coach."

"But if the coach is not with the Grizzlies by then, then we will definitely run away..."

Jiang Dongbing became happy. Jackson is a guy who can say nice things. He may not realize the situation of the Grizzlies yet. After the Grizzlies sign Ou and Billups, even if Jackson and David are willing to reduce their salaries,

Can't stay.

"Stephen, don't ever think like this."

"Players are in this business to live off their youth. Don't think about cutting your salary for me. You have to know that it's not me who gets the advantage, but the team owner."

"Unless you are paranoid about the championship, don't do such stupid things. Why are you struggling with the US dollar?" Jiang Dongbing said slowly.

Jackson has only had two seasons and is about to win two championships. He is so young and has countless opportunities in the future. There is no need to cut his salary now.

And Jiang Dongbing is even more unwilling to have Jackson and David cut their salaries for his own sake.

"Okay, let's talk about the future later." Jiang Dongbing sighed and said.

…

In the blink of an eye, the competition has entered April, and there is only the last half month left before the end of the regular season.

The Grizzlies have won all four games against the Lakers this season, and have won all three against the Spurs. The next game will be the last against the Spurs.

To this day, the Grizzlies still only lose one game, maintaining an unprecedentedly high winning rate in the NBA.

The loss of this game was naturally a feat performed by the Miracle Bucks, but since Jiang Dongbing led his team to a bloodbath against the Warriors, no team is willing to use a three-point tactic to beat the Grizzlies' head.

Those powerful teams themselves disdain to use such methods. To be precise, it is not cost-effective.

Take the Spurs, for example. They don't have any decent three-point shooters on their team. If they really give up their inside advantage to shoot three-pointers against the Grizzlies, they will definitely not end up better than the Warriors.

As for the Lakers, Jackson has his own pride, and he is not willing to use such despicable gambling methods to face the Grizzlies.

In any case, Jackson Jackson still has the highest qualifications and reputation in the league today. Facing the rising star Grizzlies, Jackson must still have to worry about some influence.

Some people say that Master Jackson is the richest and most handsome coach in the NBA. Thinking about it, this evaluation makes sense. The teams led by Master Jackson are all one of the best lineups in the league. Even after coaching for so many years, Master Jackson has never used them.

What kind of coaching methods are not on the table?

Zen Master would definitely not be able to accept having Gao Fushuai become a gambler, and he must still have a glimmer of hope in his heart, thinking that the Lakers still have a chance to win against the Grizzlies.

It's just that after four regular season games, the Lakers were beaten by the Grizzlies. Although there were more losses and less losses in these four games, there is no doubt that the Lakers are no match for the Grizzlies.

If they really encounter the Grizzlies in the playoffs, even if the Lakers can win one game, it will be regarded as a legacy.

Now the only team in the league that is expected to defeat the Grizzlies is the Spurs. They are the only remaining hope.

Now the Spurs and Grizzlies are about to face off, which has directly attracted the attention of all fans. If the Spurs cannot defeat the Grizzlies in this game, then the remaining opponents of the Grizzlies will definitely not be able to stop the Grizzlies' offensive, and will definitely let the Grizzlies

Won 81 wins in the season!
To be continued...