"Coach Li, congratulations on becoming the candidate for the best coach of the season!" Sun Chenggong greeted him with a smile on his face, and then continued: "There are only three finalists in total. This is an affirmation of your coaching ability. I have predicted it in advance." Wish you get this best coach!”
"I definitely have nothing to do with being the best coach this season. Maybe I can fight for it next season. After all, the Rockets and Raptors have very good records this season. Compared with them, our Clippers have not even made the playoffs. None of them got in. It is impossible for NBA officials to give me such an award." Dai Li replied with a smile.
"Try hard and strive for it. Since you are all shortlisted, maybe you can win the prize!" Sun Chenggong advised.
Dai Li showed a mysterious smile. He lowered his voice and said, "Actually, I spent a lot of money on public relations for this candidate nomination. So being shortlisted is considered the end."
"Oh, the United States is also interested in spending money on public relations! I thought it was only available in China." Sun Chenggong nodded as if he was stunned.
Dai Li spent a lot of money to be nominated as the best coach.
The NBA annual awards ceremony will announce the candidates for various awards in the regular season probably in mid-to-late May every year. Awards such as scoring, rebounding, and assists are supported by clear data. Whoever has the best data will win this award. There will be no suspense.
However, such as regular season MVP, Best Sixth Man, Best Defensive Player, Most Improved Award, Best Coach, etc., the judging criteria are not very clear, so voting is needed to determine the final candidate. .
In the past, in the NBA, the head coaches of each team had the right to vote for awards, but this was later abolished for the sake of fairness. In today's voting rules, those with voting rights are well-known sports reporters and sports commentators. In recent years, the NBA has also tried to allow fans to participate in voting.
There is always some inertia factor when people vote. For example, if a player won the "Best Defensive Player" last season, then in the second year, as long as the player's data is passable, many people will still vote for him, and at the worst, they will top him. Among the best defensive teams. Therefore, it is the most difficult for players to win an award for the first time. As long as they win an award once, it will be much easier to win another award in the future.
If Dai Li wants to get a candidate spot for the best coach, the best way is to conduct public relations with sports reporters who have the right to vote. Any reporter who has the right to vote must be backed by a well-known media. So Li Dai used the name of his physical training center to buy several pages of advertisements in various sports media, and at the same time gave a hint to the media. Those sports media are not fools. They know that there are conditions attached to Li Dai’s purchase of advertisements, but how can they not make money if they have money? Considering the advertising fees, they will naturally let their reporters cast a vote for Li Dai. ticket.
In fact, this is equivalent to spending money to buy a spot as a candidate for the best coach. If it were another coach, he would not be as generous as Dai Li, and the salary of an NBA head coach is only a few million dollars a year. , they don’t have that much money to buy advertising in the media.
However, Dai Li's physical training center has a certain amount of funds used for advertising and public relations every year, so Dai Li will have to spend this advertising fee sooner or later. Since it costs money, it is better to seek more for himself. Some benefits, by the way, buy a candidate for the best coach.
Dai Li also needs this spot as a candidate for the best coach. His status as a "basketball outsider" has been criticized for most of the season. Since the day he came to the NBA, people have been criticizing him for being a "layman". , so he needs such an award to support himself. Even if it is impossible to win, a candidate for the best coach is enough to stop those "trolls".
Just like some actors, some audiences will say that his acting skills are exaggerated, that his acting is not good, or that he acts like he is acting like everyone else. Others will also be affected by negative comments and think that this actor is a "scumbag". However, when this actor After winning a certain award, all kinds of negative comments will disappear. If he wins a few heavyweight awards and becomes the Best Actor or Best Actress in people's eyes, then his performance will be very exaggerated and it will become a "textbook exaggerated performance" "; Playing anyone is like playing yourself, and it becomes "integrating yourself into the role." Naturally, people will find excuses to excuse all negative comments.
The same is true in the coaching industry. After winning a few awards, you will naturally be looked down upon.
In fact, the reporters' votes were also very one-sided.
The annual NBA award is a season-long evaluation of the winner. The team has to play 82 games a season, and those players who can win awards will have to play at least more than 70 games, even if they don't attend every game. As reporters with voting rights, they cannot, nor do they have that much energy, to pay attention to too many players, nor can they watch all 82 games of each team, so their votes are often based on Choose from among the players you follow, or pick a few players with good personal data from the data list.
It is precisely for this reason that every year when the candidates for the NBA's annual awards are announced, there will always be various controversies, and there will always be fans who feel that the candidates are not worthy of a certain award.
Dai Li and Sun Chenggong chatted for a few words, and then began to discuss the next training plan. At this moment, the phone rang.
Dai Li answered the call, and then his face became serious.
"Coach Li, if you have anything to do, go ahead and get busy. I'll keep an eye on you here." Sun Chenggong said understandingly.
"Okay, I'll come as soon as I go." After Li Dai said that, he called assistant coach Cassel and walked towards the conference room.
…
"Coach, what happened?" Cassel followed behind Dai Li and asked.
"Ronnie's contract renewal negotiations have collapsed. He does not accept the contract we offered him." Li Dai said.
"He rejected 90 million U.S. dollars in five years?" Cassell had a slightly surprised expression on his face.
"Before the season was over, the team wanted to renew Ronnie's contract in advance. At that time, he was offered five years and US$85 million, but he did not agree. After the season, the team offered him another five years. A contract worth 90 million U.S. dollars, the last year of which is a player option. This is equivalent to an average of 18 million U.S. dollars a year, but he still refused. He wanted more!" Dai Li answered.
Cassell nodded and asked: "How much does Ronnie want? Does he want a big contract of 20 million? That's 100 million in five years!"
"His appetite is more than that. He wants 150 million in five years!" Dai Li said, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
"What? 150 million in five years? That's almost the maximum salary. Is Ronnie crazy?" Cassel exclaimed.
"Fortunately, he is now a restricted free agent. We have priority to renew the contract. We can match any team's offer. And according to the rules, other teams can only offer him a four-year contract at most, and We can give him a five-year contract, which is our advantage." Dai Li said coldly.
"But if Ronnie insists on 150 million for five years and refuses to compromise, what are you going to do? Do you really give up on him?" Cassel asked subconsciously.
"I don't know either." Li Dai shook his head: "But I don't think he is worth a five-year maximum salary.! The worst-case scenario is to give him a qualifying offer, use him for another year, and then let him go. !”
…
When the Clippers were willing to take over Wood's junk contract, one of the prices was Ronnie. At that time, Ronnie was a player on a rookie contract. Even as a substitute with limited playing time, he averaged 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
The Clippers took a fancy to Ronny's potential and planned to train him as a core, so they gave him many opportunities. Not only did they make him the starting forward, they also developed many tactics around Ronny. Ronny's data also In the season that just ended, he averaged 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
As a striker, 19+5+3 is a very good statistic. Last season was also the last year of Ronny's rookie contract, so this summer, renewing Ronny's contract became the Clippers' top priority.
In fact, before the season was over, the Clippers planned to renew Ronnie's contract in advance and offered him a five-year contract worth 85 million. Although this contract is not the maximum salary, it is definitely high among rookie contract renewals. Yes, after all, Ronnie is not the kind of player who was picked in the first few picks, and he has never been an All-Star.
This offer was rejected by Ronnie, who told the media at the time that he wanted to strive for a maximum salary.
After Dai Li came to the Clippers, he played a lot of overtime games, which improved the average data of the Clippers players. After all, he played more minutes in a game than others and collected more data. It is also normal, so Ronnie's scoring average exceeds 19 points per game.
The Clippers obviously don't want to let Ronnie go. They quoted Ronnie a five-year offer of 90 million US dollars, which is 5 million US dollars more than before, and the average annual salary is more than 18 million US dollars. However, Ronnie was obviously not satisfied with this offer, he wanted a maximum salary!
According to NBA regulations, Ronnie has played in the NBA for four full seasons and is eligible for the "Bird Clause." Although he has been traded, the rookie contract has the right to inherit the Bird clause, which means that the team after the trade can still fulfill the Bird clause, so Ronnie can use the Bird clause to get a maximum salary when renewing his contract.
The Bird Clause stipulates that if a free agent has played for the team for more than three years (including three years), the parent team can renew the player's maximum salary contract for up to five years without being affected by the salary cap. The starting salary is 25% of the current salary cap, and will increase by 12.5% every year thereafter; conversely, if the player switches to another team after the season, his annual increase will be only 10.5%, and he can only sign for a maximum of 4 years.
For players who have just finished their rookie contracts, the 12.5% annual increase in the Bird clause only applies to first-round rookies. Ronnie is a first-round pick. Based on this increase calculation, he can command a salary of close to $25 million in the first year, and with an annual increase of 12.5% thereafter, the total salary in five years will exceed $150 million.
The difference between 150 million and 90 million is a full 60 million. On average, he earns 12 million less per year. Naturally, Ronnie is reluctant to give up this big piece of fat.
…
In the Clippers conference room, everyone was discussing Ronnie's contract extension.
"Five years and 150 million is definitely not enough. Ronnie is not worth that much money. Although his data last season has risen to 19+5+3, he is not an All-Star after all and is not worthy of a maximum-salary contract."
"Ronnie's data is based on having sufficient power to fire. In fact, his shooting percentage has not improved much compared to when he was with the Chicago Bulls. If he is not the team's tactical core, if he There's no way he could have those numbers without having that much ball possession."
"I think Ronnie may become an All-Star player in the future, but it will be difficult for him to become the kind of leader who can change the destiny of the team. A five-year maximum salary of 150 million is really too much."
Everyone in the conference room began to express their opinions.
If a player in the NBA is an All-Star player or has All-Star-level statistics, then the team will definitely not lose money if they give him a maximum salary contract. Of course, this is just that the team "doesn't lose money", but it doesn't necessarily make money.
If it is a superstar, then the team offers a maximum salary contract, which is 100% profitable. If you can get a superstar, a maximum salary is a must-have option.
Certain players with strategic value, although occupying a maximum salary, can help the team go further in the playoffs and even win the championship. For the team, this kind of investment and return are also very important. worth it.
In addition, they are the kind of super new stars who will definitely grow into superstars in the future and have the opportunity to bring championships to the team or even create a dynasty. The team will naturally offer such players to them without hesitation. Maximum salary is equivalent to spending money now to buy the future.
Now Ronnie dares to ask for a five-year maximum salary of 150 million, obviously because he feels that he is the kind of player who can grow into a superstar.
Unfortunately, he is not.
In the conference room, the Clippers management discussed for a long time, and finally reached a consensus that they would not meet Ronnie's five-year maximum salary requirement of 150 million.
"At present, it seems that we still have the initiative in renewing Ronnie's contract, but I am worried that after the playoffs, other teams will have trouble. If other teams offer him a big contract, it will It's our turn to choose whether to match or not, otherwise we will become a passive party. So if possible, I would like to renew the contract with Ronnie as soon as possible." Xiao Yunan said, looking at Dai Li.
"People are so weak that snakes swallow elephants!" Dai Li sighed softly, and then said: "I will find a way to put some pressure on Ronnie. In the rookie training camp in a few days, I will deliberately pay more attention to the forward players. In addition, I will also pay attention to free agents. I hope this way can tell Ronnie that we have begun to look for his replacement. In this case, maybe he will be anxious to renew his contract with us!"