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Chapter 554 - 240. Boss, can you not go to the negotiations next time?

Chapter 554: 240. Boss, can you not go to the negotiations next time?

Zhang Yang was shocked by the Lakers’ trio, spent a whole day practicing hard at the training field, and in the evening, after a shower and changing into formal wear, he headed to a downtown restaurant to meet Jordan for dinner as planned.

Jordan’s invitations to dine alone were always very formal, and Kobe’s were much the same. Zhang Yang didn’t know whether the latter was imitating the former or if it was just a common preference among wealthy African Americans.

But, to tell the truth, while that bunch of pretentious and seemingly useless etiquette felt like a burden, Zhang Yang found his mind becoming calmer and his thoughts clearer when he actually observed them... Perhaps this was the real purpose of such etiquette?

After eating a bit to tide themselves over, the two started to chat casually.

Jordan, "What do you think of our trade?"

Zhang Yang, "Better than I expected. When I discussed it with Neal, both of us thought getting a starter and a first-round pick would be pretty good, but I didn’t expect we’d also get a stable substitute shooter. It’s just a pity the first round isn’t for ’08 but ’09."

At 10 am, the league approved the trade between the Bobcats and the Grizzlies. The Bobcats traded Gerald Wallace, receiving Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and a 2009 first-round draft pick from the Grizzlies. Gerald Wallace, in a sign-and-trade deal with the Grizzlies, signed a starting salary of 13.61 million US dollars, a six-year contract totaling 93 million, just below the maximum salary.

Jordan laughed, "We discussed with them for two days, mainly focusing on Cardinal, that tough substitute shooter. The Grizzlies got rid of a lot of players last summer to tank, but they didn’t expect they would end up with the worst record and not even get the second pick. They also didn’t expect to have the chance to trade for Parker and Gerald, and they really value their remaining quality substitutes, not wanting to let go of any of them."

"We also wanted their ’08 draft right. They signed Milicic, and still haven’t put together five starters. Their bench is practically empty. Parker, Gasol, and Gerald putting together their first year might at most get 45 wins, which might not even be enough to make the playoffs in the West. Getting the ’08 draft right could have given them a lottery pick, and free agents might wait to join them until after those three made a good showing. They might have needed to produce results in the second year, and the ’09 draft right wouldn’t be too high."

"It’s a pity they refused right from the start, only willing to give a ’09 first round. However, we managed to get Cardinal back because of this."

After his rookie contract with the Magic expired without an agreement for renewal, Milicic received a 3-year, 21 million contract offer from the Grizzlies, gaining a starting center with not bad abilities.

Zhang Yang heard in the afternoon that the Grizzlies signed Milicic with a 7 million annually contract and thought this Serbian center was really too bad an outcome for him.

In his first two and a half years of his career, Milicic only got a total of 555 minutes of playing time with the Pistons—what does that mean? Perkins played 576 minutes just in November and December last season.

In such circumstances, Milicic managed to grow into a starter-level interior player after escaping from the Detroit magic pit.

After winning the championship, Jumaine Jones didn’t stay with the team, nor did he stay in the NBA. The Barcelona team snatched this top-tier open shooter with a bid of 8 million euros over four years.

This was an after-tax salary, more than he would get in hand from a full mid-level NBA contract. In the NBA, he couldn’t get a full mid-level anyway.

Zhang Yang, "A 45-win projection, huh? The Grizzlies definitely won’t make the playoffs then. It’s indeed a shame not to get the ’08 first-round pick, but we are much better off than the SuperSonics. They lost Lewis without getting anything in return."

Zhang Yang laughed as he spoke, and Jordan chuckled as well.

The Lakers sent peak Odom, the super potential stock Bynum, plus two first-round picks that might not be low in the coming years, to form a trio that shocked the basketball world and stole all the headlines.

The trade between the Bobcats and the Grizzlies didn’t receive much discussion, the Grizzlies signing Milicic made no splash, and even the Bulls hijacking Yao Ming lost heat because of it.

But there was one signing that forcibly made its way through the crowd becoming a hot topic among media and fans.

Lewis signing with the Magic for six years at 110 million!

Jordan, "The Magic didn’t give O’Neal a hundred million eleven years ago, and now they are giving Lewis 110 million. Their fans are nearly going insane. The contract has just been signed and Magic fans are already calling it a ’trash contract.’"

Zhang Yang, "The SuperSonics are probably laughing at the Magic’s joke. It seems they deliberately avoided discussing a sign-and-trade with the Magic. If it were a sign-and-trade, Lewis’ maximum starting salary would have been up to 126 million over six years. The SuperSonics might have been worried the Magic would regret the deal and not sign, then they’d have no drama to watch. Before, I saw the SuperSonics’ offer to Lewis was 60 million over five years."

Jordan, "Even 60 million over five years isn’t worth it. Stojakovic is getting just 60 million over five years, and Lewis isn’t even close to Peja."

Zhang Yang stopped short, wanting to say: Who in the future is going to offer Batum, averaging 9 points a game, 120 million over five years?

But since it hadn’t happened yet, he couldn’t just brazenly bring it up. It was a pity.

As they got to this point, Jordan said, "I’ve already talked with Emeka about an early renewal, and Nazr and Patrick have also completed their extensions. Paul’s rookie contract still has two years on it, so for the next few years, we don’t have to worry about our frontline core."

As he spoke, Jordan passed a file his companion was holding to Zhang Yang, which contained copies of several contract renewals.

Zhang Yang took a look and felt his back itch, saying, "Renewing early for 99 million over six years? Why not make it a round 100 million? It’s a compulsive nightmare, Michael."