Chapter 1025
Some people go all in, while others pick up the scraps and strengthen their positions!
Bogut is a typical player who is neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally bad; he has the ability, but not much; he's not the best, but he's not the worst either.
However, whether something is excellent or not depends on who you compare it to.
Compared to star players, Bogut is just so-so, but compared to ordinary starting players below star level, such as Dampier, Haywood, and Thomas, he is still considered excellent.
Especially on the defensive end, Bogut is definitely one of the league's best, with excellent rim protection and shot-blocking abilities. The Mavericks replacing Haywood with him is definitely a significant improvement to their roster.
If there's anything Bogut lacks compared to Haywood, it's probably his physical endurance.
Haywood is a well-known ironman, playing over 75 games for many consecutive years, while Bogut's playing time has hovered around 60 games for the last four years. Apart from health considerations, the Mavericks' center position is definitely a significant upgrade.
Ray Allen has gone through many twists and turns, finally returning to Milwaukee, where his dream began. However, his form is clearly no longer what it used to be. He has failed to be selected for the All-Star team or the All-NBA team for several years now, and his stats have declined to 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
From all perspectives, Ray Allen's ability and form have begun to decline noticeably.
But his strengths are equally unparalleled: shooting and off-ball movement!
He remains one of the league's top shooters, still boasting a 43% three-point shooting percentage this season and making more than three three-pointers per game.
Compared to his peak, Allen has shed his former glory. He's now willing to do the dirty work he used to avoid, such as defense, positioning, and off-ball movement. This guy may no longer be a top scorer or a first-class star.
But if you judge him by the standards of a 3-and-D shooter and the team's third-leading scorer, then Allen is still one of the best players in the league.
Ray Allen's addition to the Mavericks is his versatility.
He can now defend, move around, and shoot. When needed, he can also attack with the ball and organize the offense, directing the whole team.
After all, physical fitness and stamina may decline, but skills, experience, and a strategic perspective tend to improve with age.
With Allen on the team, the Mavericks' tactical system and court space have become much larger. In this respect, Allen's ball-handling ability and ability to force his way through the defense are indeed not as good as Butler's, but his all-around ability can help the team more.
The last player to join the team was Mo Williams. This guy's attributes are quite similar to Terry's. Both of them are point guards who are good at scoring but not good at organizing, and both are skilled backcourt players who are good at shooting but have average physical attributes.
This exchange, at least in terms of player statistics and playing style, can be considered a replacement.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two lies in Terry's clutch performance and his ability to perform under pressure. Terry is the kind of player who can truly save the team by throwing things around in desperate situations.
And Williams...
It's not that he can't do it, but he has played for bad teams for years, teams that are always hovering around the lottery zone. He has never experienced big games or played any key playoff games. He has no experience, so naturally he lacks opportunities to prove himself.
On the bright side, Williams has the opportunity to make a name for himself and prove that he truly has a big heart in this year's playoffs.
But realistically speaking, if he can hold his own in the playoffs and occasionally contribute some firepower, then the Mavericks won't lose out!
Overall, the Mavericks clearly lost out in this trade.
The abilities and form of the three players on both sides are roughly equal. Although the Bucks' players are slightly better, they can be compensated with one or two draft picks.
But the Mavericks traded two first-round picks for two second-round picks, which was definitely taking advantage of their predicament. They took advantage of the Mavericks' eagerness to win the championship and get rid of Terry, so they made an exorbitant demand.
But the Mavericks had no other choice.
The entire league is waiting to squeeze money out of them, what can they do?
They had no choice at all.
They could only grit their teeth and swallow this loss.
After all, they want to win the championship, and they can't afford to delay.
Although such a large amount of assets has been given away, and the Mavericks' inventory has been completely depleted, as long as the Mavericks can win the championship this year, then it will not be a loss!
As long as they win in the end, a few draft picks are not a problem. The assets that were extorted will only serve as evidence of their decisiveness and determination. In the end, these will all be plus points.
But of course, if the Mavericks fail to win the championship again this year, then they'll be in real trouble.
They will face more than just the prospect of running out of available assets in the future.
This transaction can still be considered a win-win situation for both parties.
The Mavericks strengthened their roster regardless of the consequences, and although they were clearly taken advantage of, most people still approve of their moves.
Meanwhile, the Bucks acquired a large number of draft picks, which gives them many more opportunities to try their luck in the future. Sending away three of their starters at once also means that they have to completely rebuild from scratch.
The players they acquired in the trade also have the opportunity to be resold. At the very least, Terry and Butler are both quite marketable, and some teams are willing to give up draft picks or similar incentives to acquire them.
Then the Bucks will be able to completely rebuild and wait for their next savior.
Therefore, the Bucks can be considered to have won a great victory in this opportunistic act!
The Bucks have plenty of time to wait, since the furthest first-round draft pick the Mavericks offered them is in 2017, which is five years from now.
If the Mavericks fall apart and need rebuilding, then the Bucks will have made an even better deal!
Therefore, the Bucks are definitely in the clear to profit from this trade.
As for the Mavericks, we'll have to see if they can win the championship.
If they get it, they'll make a killing; if they don't, they'll become a laughing stock.
After these two shocking trades, the rest of the teams remained quiet and stable. There were minor adjustments and swaps of players on minimum contracts or at the end of the rotation, but none of the trades that were truly shocking and generated heated discussions in the league came to fruition.
The league remained quiet until the trade deadline passed, at which point everyone's tense emotions finally relaxed completely.
If there's anything worth mentioning or important during this period, it's Terry.
Terry refused to report to the Bucks and demanded that they continue to trade for him.
This guy has completely turned into a troublemaker.
The Bucks went from initially trying to persuade and patiently guide Terry to becoming impatient, and finally resorted to threats and fines to warn him.
But Terry was unyielding, he only said one thing: he wouldn't play for a bottom-tier team, he wanted to go to a strong team, either he would be traded, or he wouldn't report to the team.
As for fines, bring them on, pay what you owe. Salary? Fine, don't pay me, I don't want it, but I'm not going to report to your Bucks team.
Terry's actions undoubtedly put the Bucks in a very passive position, and his own trade value plummeted after this incident.
The Bucks were looking around for potential buyers, hoping to trade Terry to cut their losses.
The problem is, if you can blackmail the Mavericks, other teams can blackmail the Bucks too.
Furthermore, with Terry explicitly stating he wouldn't go to any team other than a championship contender, even fewer teams would be willing to trade with the Bucks.
What about other teams? They spend a fortune to bring Terry to their teams, and then this guy says he won't report on me, so trade me?
What's the point? Is it to get fined by Terry, and then receive that small amount of money in the end?
As for those championship contenders, a player of Terry's caliber, not to mention anything else, just his salary of around 1000 million is enough to give several championship teams a headache.
If they want to acquire Terry, they'll have to disrupt the team's rotation and use a significant amount of salary cap space to trade for him.
If it were during the offseason, doing this would be fine, but doing it mid-season, what if the team doesn't gel well? What if this guy continues to be a troublemaker?
Those teams vying for the championship obviously don't want to let such a troublesome player affect their overall team rotation and chemistry.
Ultimately, the very few teams willing to negotiate with the Bucks were all looking to squeeze money out of them.
Either the Bucks offer to pay draft picks to acquire Terry, or the Bucks accept their bad contract.
But the Bucks aren't stupid. What's the point of keeping Terry? They can just pretend he doesn't exist. Asking me to pay out of pocket is clearly bullying.
Thus, Terry became the biggest mystery before the trade deadline.
In the end, he was not traded and remained with the Bucks until the trade deadline.
But many people are also speculating that Terry's situation will definitely not end here, especially those championship contenders, who are all secretly waiting for it!
They believe that Terry is likely to be waived by the Bucks, as each team has one waiver slot, and the Bucks haven't used theirs yet!
If Terry is willing to sacrifice some salary and make concessions, accepting less money, the Bucks would definitely be happy to buy him out and send him to free agency. Considering Terry's previous attitude and performance, it's clear he's willing to sacrifice his salary for a buyout.
After all, being fined and dragged out by the team is better than sacrificing some money and then finding a new team to compete for the championship.
And the day arrived quickly, not long after the Bucks and Terry made the championship teams waiting to snatch it up.
On March 1, the Bucks announced that they had reached an agreement with Terry, in which Terry would give up $3 million of his $10 million annual salary and take the remaining amount as a waiver from the Bucks, entering the waiver market.
The so-called amnesty market is different from the buyout market and the free market.
With the buyout market and free agency, players are free to negotiate with any team that is interested in them, from the amount and duration of the contract to the terms of the contract. Once the agreement is reached, they can join the team they want to join.
But the amnesty market is different. It's a separate system where a player who has been bought out stays for 48 hours, during which all interested teams can make offers for that player.
The offer was kept secret; apart from the team itself, no one else, including Terry himself, knew what price he would be offered.
Ultimately, when the 48 hours were up, the team that offered the highest price for the pardoned player got Terry, leaving Terry no choice but to accept.
If no one makes an offer, the player will enter the free agent market.
It can be said that players who are granted amnesty can guarantee the team's salary cap space, but they themselves lose their freedom.
But the Bucks aren't stupid. If they buy out Terry, it will take up our salary cap space. Why would they buy out you?
It's a matter of whether you agree to the amnesty or not.
In his eagerness to leave the Bucks, Terry ultimately had no choice but to give up part of his salary and some of his freedom. Now he can only pray that those lousy teams don't make any reckless offers, otherwise he'll have to go through another round of not reporting for duty.
But Terry wasn't crazy; he knew perfectly well the negative impact that repeated such behavior would have on him. If possible, he would prefer to go all the way from the start.
"Should we give Terry a quote?" In Kupchak's office in Los Angeles, Kupchak looked at Lin Tian and sincerely asked for advice again.
"Report it! Why don't you report it?" Lin Tian looked at Kupchak, not understanding why he asked that.
"But we only have a base salary."
"Then just report the base salary."
"But what if other teams are bidding higher?"
"So we just won't get him, what's the loss?" Lin Tian frowned, puzzled. "If we don't get him, what kind of fines or anything like that can the alliance impose on us?"
"Fuck!" Kupchak cursed, slamming his fist on the table. "I was really stupid! I completely forgot about this. Why not report it? Wait for my news!"
“Actually, you don’t need to underestimate yourself too much,” Lin Tian said with a smile. “I think we have a high probability of getting Terry.”
"Why?" Kupchak asked, puzzled.
"Because Terry has already blocked his own path. Apart from teams that truly have championship potential, no other team will even try to make an offer for him. Otherwise, if they spend millions and Terry doesn't go, wouldn't that just be making things difficult for themselves? Only an idiot with money to burn would do that."
"So our opponents are the real championship contenders."
"The Mavericks and Warriors in the West, and the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Bobcats in the East."
"We don't need to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these teams or the possibility of Terry going or not. Do any of them have salary cap space? They're all luxury tax players, they all have to pay money."
"At most, they'll only offer a basic salary."
"So in the end, it's the process where we guys offer him a minimum salary and talk to him, trying to persuade him, and then he makes the reverse selection, right?"
“Our advantage is still significant!” Kupchak understood completely upon hearing this: “We’re in Los Angeles!”
"What kind of advantage is that?" Lin Tian said with a smile. "Our biggest advantage is me." Lin Tian said confidently, "With me here, we have the biggest advantage. What I'm best at is persuading those guys to join our team!"
"You've got it in the bag!" Kupchak exclaimed with a smile upon hearing this. "I don't think anyone can beat you!"
“I think so too.” Lin Tian accepted Kupchak’s praise without any hesitation.
Dude, that's the kind of confidence I have!
Of course, Lin Tian also needed to make some preparations.
For example, after he came up with the Kupchak semi-formula, he made a phone call to Donnie Walsh in New York.
"Donnie, are you making an offer for Jason Terry?" Lin Tian asked his old friend directly.
His reason for calling the Knicks was simple: in Lin Tian's view, the biggest obstacle to acquiring Terry was not the lobbyists from championship-level teams, as Lin Tian did not believe they were more persuasive than himself.
Lin Tian's biggest obstacle is those foolish, rich, and easily taken advantage of.
After all, the amnesty market isn't about sincerity or player willingness, but about who offers the highest bid.
These championship contenders are all poorer than the last, with nothing to offer except minimum salaries. But if there's a team with money to burn who has nothing better to do than take a gamble, then there's nothing anyone can do about it.
The Knicks are the league's biggest sucker and notorious for wasting money.
"Huh? An offer? Why wouldn't we take Terry, who's practically free? We'll sign him, and even if he doesn't play, we can sell him for a good price in the offseason," Walsh replied matter-of-factly.
He really is a total sucker.
Lin Tian shook his head and said helplessly, "No, don't you guys read the rules? Players in the amnesty market can only be offered a one-year contract. He'll be a free agent in the offseason. What are you going to offer him?"
"Only one year?" Walsh was astonished.
"Just one year!" Lin Tian emphasized, "But even if it's only one year, you can sign it and use it. What if Jason likes New York?"
"So you mean we shouldn't make an offer and should leave Jason Terry to you?" Walsh wasn't stupid after all; he immediately understood what Lin Tian meant.
As for the question of how many years a pardoned player can sign, Walsh didn't care whether it was true or just Lin Tian trying to trick him. He was too lazy to look up the rules again. In his original mind, the price had to be reported to the league anyway. If the league wouldn't allow him to report two years, then he wouldn't bother with it.
He didn't care at all.
After all, this is Lin Tian!
He's an absolute friend, and you could even say he's Walsh's benefactor in this life. Lin Tian helped him win the Best General Manager award, made him a well-known general manager in the league, and gave him multiple raises. Now his job is still as stable as Mount Tai. Walsh is a grateful person and someone who knows his place.
He knew that with his own abilities, he was only at the level of an ordinary, mediocre team's general manager. But thanks to Lin Tian, he became the highest-paid general manager in the league. He didn't care what others said about him, whether they called him a puppet or something.
Have you ever seen a puppet with such a high salary?
I'm happy to do it. You want to be puppets? You can't even be!
“No problem, it’s just Terry, it won’t affect our plans. If you want it, you can have it!” Walsh said straightforwardly, “We’re family, this little thing is easy to discuss! But do you need my help? What if someone else interferes?”
"I can help you spread some word."
Walsh wasn't stupid; he just wasn't a top-tier general manager. Now that Lin Tian had brought this up, he was naturally willing to offer more help.
“Okay, thank you then, Donnie.” Lin Tian didn’t refuse, thanked Walsh, and hung up the phone.
"How so?" Kupchak knew he had it all sorted out, but he was still curious about how the two of them communicated.
“New York was indeed prepared to make an offer to test the waters, but they won’t be making an offer now, and Donnie can help spread some word.”
"Like the news that they're planning to offer Terry 500 million to deter other teams?" Kupchak reacted quickly, immediately guessing Lin Tian's plan and idea.
"That's how it is," Lin Tian nodded. "Now, let's just wait." (End of Chapter)