The older superstars of the NBA

"Kristaps, where are you going after the season? Are you going on vacation? I'm going to Europe...I won't touch basketball again for at least a month... "

"Oh! That's great! I probably won't go anywhere else. My contract will expire at the end of the season! Let's settle the new contract first!"

"Man, this matter really needs to be considered early! Your annual salary is only 570 million US dollars now. With the data you are producing now, you can definitely get several times the income..."

In the New York Knicks training facility, a group of players are finishing their daily afternoon training routine. Porzingis was sitting in the locker room changing clothes while chatting with Noah Vonleh, another big man on the team.

The two have a good personal relationship. Although one is the main player and the other is a substitute, this does not affect their relationship in private.

After changing clothes, the two of them also walked outside.

After leaving the training hall, a middle-aged white man wearing a suit and glasses stopped Porzingis.

This is his agent Alvaro, and they have known each other since they were still in Spain.

Porzingis was playing for Sevilla in Spain at the time, and Alvaro was the uncle of his friend and teammate. In several years of getting along, this middle-aged man gave Porzingis a lot of help and gave him a lot of care, which moved Porzingis in a foreign country.

Later, Porzingis entered the NBA, participated in the draft and became a player for the Knicks. Alvaro, who was familiar with the basketball business, was officially invited by him to become his agent and come to the United States together.

"Hey Noah, I gotta go! See you in the morning, buddy."

"Bye! Kristaps."

After Porzingis said hello to Vonleh, he got into his agent Alvaro's car.

On the way back, the street lights on both sides of the New York suburbs turned on, and the dim yellow light occasionally fell on the passenger side of the car. Porzingis, who was lying on the seat with a tired look on his face, stretched his hands out the window and felt the whistling wind passing by him.

"Kristaps, the Knicks management came to talk to me today...General Manager Scott wanted to discuss your contract issue! You know, your rookie contract ends at the end of the season. ! Looks like the Knicks can’t wait for you to renew your contract..."

Hearing this, Porzingis turned his head and looked at Alvaro, "Really? It's not bad to continue to stay in the Knicks! But this time the money must be increased! Although the current annual salary is quite a lot, it counts every year I can’t save much money either…”

"I hope to earn more money and bring my family back from Latvia... I have inquired about it, and it will cost a lot of money to buy a mansion with more than ten people in the suburbs... .....”

Alvaro chuckled a few times.

"Your idea will come true, don't worry!"

After saying this, Alvaro's face gradually cooled down. He glanced at Porzingis from time to time, and then asked him, "Guess how much annual salary they gave you?"

"I guess... no matter how you calculate it, it should be more than 2800 million! With my current data, it won't be a problem for me to get 2900 million or million... Today's beauty Knives are not as valuable as they were a few years ago..."

"not that much!"

"what?"

Porzingis sat up straight and asked, "How much is that? Not even 25 million dollars? There is always 22 million, right?"

"Zach's annual salary is more than 22 million. I don't think I will be lower than this number! After all, the data I produced are here! And I have only been in the league for four seasons. As long as I can maintain With good health, my future will be bright..."

Alvaro shook his head.

"The number you guessed is not accurate enough..."

"what?"

Porzingis's face changed at this time, "Are you kidding? I am the team's number one center! Put anywhere else, I would be able to get an annual salary of at least 27 million or 8 million. ...The Knicks are the most valuable team in the league, why are they not even willing to give me this little money?"

Alvaro sighed.

"Manager Scott really wanted to offer you a higher price, but he said that the team's budget was limited! So he only offered a price of 21 million... The new contract lasts for four years. It was like this for two years, and then it was increased to 25 million in the next two years, and the total in four years was 92 million..."

Porzingis was dumbfounded.

"Alvaro, you won't agree for me, will you?"

"How can it be!"

Alvaro also looked angry, "Such a price is simply insulting! The Knicks are just testing us. I will never do such a stupid thing... If they want to renew the contract, they will You must show enough sincerity!”

"I know that the guys in the management originally planned to spend a few seasons to win the championship. Who knew that you guys performed so well this season, and now you have a great chance of winning... Once you win the championship , the team’s goals in recent years have been achieved!”

"After achieving this goal, what the Knicks management wants to do is not to continue to increase their efforts to maintain their championship strength, but to take the opportunity to reduce expenses and avoid paying luxury tax..."

"Now I understand! Why the Knicks haven't had any good results over the years... The management problem is really huge! These guys have no intention of building a championship team. In other words, to build a championship dynasty, they just want to gain more commercial benefits by winning the championship..."

Porzingis was silent for a long time.

"I thought I could keep playing for the Knicks... The current atmosphere is actually pretty good. At least, it is a promising team now..."

Alvaro beside him also sighed.

"Kristaps, don't worry! Leave this matter to me... If the Knicks management doesn't give a reasonable price, we will go somewhere else... With you With the current talent and data, you can go to any team in the league..."

At the same time as this incident happened, another Knicks player DeMarcus Cousins ​​also encountered the same situation.

The Knicks management is not in a hurry to talk to him about the contract, but others have already taken the initiative to express their goodwill and say hello to him.

Although it is not a formal contact, as long as he is willing, Cousins ​​​​can immediately enter the arms of the free market as soon as the finals are over.

"DeMarcus, how are you doing? I'm LeBron. Do you have any ideas about coming to Los Angeles to play? Man, I know your contract expires at the end of this season. Come on! Come to Los Angeles and follow us. Play together and enjoy the feeling of being a superstar together..."

"Don't hesitate! Brother! With your current ability and data, it's not a problem to get a contract of more than 20 million yuan... As long as you are willing to come, Los Angeles has plenty of money... We just lack people ......."

LeBron's text surprised Cousins.

He thought that he might attract some teams, but he didn't expect that LeBron would personally send a text message to recruit him to the Lakers!

Judging from the current state, the Lakers certainly can't compare with the Knicks. After all, they haven't even made the playoffs.

But this is not because the Lakers are not strong enough. The main reason is that LeBron suffered an injury and the team has just started to adjust. In this case, it is not surprising that the record is not good!

Compared to the Knicks, the Lakers seem to have less good prospects, but one thing is undeniable, that is, playing next to LeBron can attract enough exposure.

As the league's signature star, he has his own aura, and he can attract enough fans even when he plays in a small market like Cleveland.

Of course, it's not bad to be in the Knicks, and New York is also a big city, but if you can stay with the best player in the league like LeBron, then the commercial value will definitely be greatly improved.

Cousins ​​is convinced of this.

"LeBron, thank you for the invitation! I can't make a decision right now, but when the season is over, I think we can find a chance to chat together, or find a place to relax together..."

Cousins ​​quickly responded to LeBron's text message.

Not only him, but Dwight Howard, another core veteran of the team, also received an invitation from his hometown team.

The person who sent the text message was Jones, the general manager of the Hawks. He had some personal relations with Howard and had always had the idea of ​​inviting him back to Atlanta.

"Dwight, you performed very well in the Finals! You look no worse than you did back then... Man, are you interested in talking about the contract? The Hawks are lacking a capable veteran like you right now. Coaching those young guys in the locker room and if you have the idea of ​​coming back, I think we can sit down together and have a good chat..."

"By the way! You don't have to worry about money. Remember I made an offer to you before, saying that if you come back we can sign a salary of 2000 million a year... This time we can give more... .... As long as you are willing to come back, a salary of 2500 million yuan a year will be provided at any time..."

Manager Jones' text message made Howard dumbfounded.

Although he was shocked by this, he calmed down after thinking about it.

Leaving New York is not a good idea. He has developed a deep relationship with Zhao Feiyang and others while playing together in the past few years. Not only can he make money here, but he can also win a championship, which makes him feel needed!

Although you don’t make as much money as other places, you can get a lot of commercial endorsements in New York, so it won’t be too different after all.

Of course, Howard didn't say anything, he just responded to the opponent on the excuse that the game was not over yet.

Game day arrives again.

The crucial fifth game of the Finals begins at the Madison Square Garden Arena in New York.

This time it was the home court of the Knicks. Countless New York fans were waiting inside and outside the arena. They all expected the team to defeat the Warriors and win the championship in one fell swoop!

The Knicks have also been well prepared and have even arranged a grand championship celebration ceremony backstage.