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Chapter 926 - 389. Bad Kids Rule_3

Chapter 926: 389. Bad Kids Rule_3

The media from both Rabbit and Eagle countries unanimously named the ’Newcomer Contract Amendment’ as the Bad Boy Rule.

A 20-year-old big shot, hitting hard for a reason!

Court TV commentator Su Qun posted an article on his blog in no time, catching Zhang Yang’s attention.

Su Qun, not yet an ’official,’ spends most of his time in the US doing live interviews each year and probably knew about it when the proposal just came out. However, the decision was not finalized yet, and details of execution were unknown, so he couldn’t announce it in advance.

In his article, Su Qun analyzes that the NBA’s annual routine meeting presents many proposals, but few get passed.

Any team proposing a plan will surely aim to benefit themselves, even at the cost of others. Only when it benefits over two-thirds of the teams can it pass, and for proposals that amend existing clauses, the voting requirement is even higher.

Like the proposal this year by the Knicks Team and Lakers to renew the 2006 collective agreement with the Players’ Union, which got voted down by most owners.

These two teams top the league most years in terms of profitability. An unchanged agreement and stable rules favor them but not most other teams.

The Knicks Team’s parent company has a TV station, and reportedly, the Lakers are set to sign a hefty broadcast deal with Time Warner.

The Knicks Team’s situation is unique. Even if the league demands a broadcast fee payment, Dolan would promptly sign a low-cost contract, not significant.

Yet, with the Lakers Team, all teams see an opportunity to maneuver.

The broadcasting agreement the Lakers are about to sign is rumored to surpass the total value of the NBA’s deal with major TV stations for 30 teams. Not just team owners, but even league officials covet it.

Proposals that pass at such meetings usually impact league dynamics.

Take the amnesty clause proposed and passed by the Knicks Team, benefiting the most---the Lakers.

The Lakers cleared Brian Grant’s waste contract during the summer of ’06, then used the savings to supplement role players and draft picks, changing existing mid-level long-term contracts to expiring high contracts. By summer of ’07, they freed up space to snatch Kidd and Garnett.

Su Qun regards the ’Bad Boy Rule’ as a proposal with an even deeper impact on league dynamics.

The amnesty clause could only be used on old contracts signed before the rule was released, hence a one-time clause.

But the ’Bad Boy Rule’ is a long-term contract. Currently targeting Zhang Yang, it will cause more teams to suffer in the future, restricting superteams to a certain extent.

Zhang Yang finished reading Su Qun’s article and found the analysis quite reasonable... but still restricted to the ’newcomer’ status. Fundamentally, it’s being accustomed to capitalists exploiting young employees.

Just like he told his mother—why not treat those who outperform most veteran stars during the newcomer contract period directly as 7-year veterans...

By noon, Zhang Yang took Yao Ming with him to have lunch at a restaurant he had planned.

Yao Ming also heard about the issuance of the ’Bad Boy Rule’ and was even more sour.

"Little Giant: I’ve played in the NBA for 6 years and haven’t even gotten a contract starting at 25% of the salary cap, just a secondary max salary. Yet Zhang San is about to get a 7-year veteran contract starting at 30% of the salary cap! It’s downright absurd!"

Another day passed, reaching July 3rd, after enduring for two days, the discomfort from jet lag mainly faded for Yao Ming, as he’s an active athlete in his prime.

After breakfast, Zhang Yang and Yao Ming settled the plan and excitedly went to the Olympic Committee ahead of schedule. Both were eager to experience being each other’s teammates.

The reporting formalities were completed smoothly. The official in charge of basketball, who they’ve met numerous times since March, and after the season ended, the coaching group of 11 people flew to Charlotte three times.

He highly suspected these people used communication with him as a pretext for official travel, otherwise, why would they dine at Michelin and stay at five-star hotels?

After finishing the formalities, they packed their luggage, got on the Olympic Committee arranged transport, headed for the airport, and flew to Qingdao, proceeding to the men’s basketball training spot at Laoshan Stadium.

Qingdao rebuilt this stadium for next year’s 11th National Games, equipped with over ten thousand seats, a large comprehensive sports arena. Construction started at the beginning of ’07, completed by year’s end, used for over half a year now. Facilities are well-equipped, utilizing the most advanced training equipment, requisitioned by the Olympic Committee for men’s and women’s basketball preparation and will move to the Olympic Village in two days.

At dusk, Zhang Yang met his national team teammates for the first time... not all of them. In March, the Basketball Management Center summoned nearly 80 players for training, cut half by May, and now with Zhang San, Little Giant, Lotus Sister, there’s less than 40.

Yi Jianlian returned in May when the second batch of the training list was announced. Zhang Yang and Yao Ming returned, and in two days, when the final training camp list is announced, only 24 will go to the Olympic Village, with the final list having only 12.

The training team members cheered loudly upon seeing Yao Ming and Zhang Yang, warmly pulling Zhang Yang to ask questions and request photos.

This left Zhang Yang a bit bewildered—I was prepared to be targeted by seasoned veterans, especially the Guangdong group, famous for sticking together. I was prepared to activate my invincible mode at any time.