Chapter 985
The Vanished Lockdown Season, Different Collective Bargaining Agreements!
Lin Tian posted the tweet at 4 a.m., when there were very few people still surfing the internet, so his message did not immediately go viral.
But it's only temporary.
As more and more people woke up, as more and more people turned on their computers and phones to read the news, and as more and more people got into the zone, everyone who follows basketball went crazy!
Lin Tian is back?
Is he coming back?
The fans went crazy, the reporters went crazy, and countless players went crazy too!
Instead, Lin Tian's phone was bombarded with calls, and his social media was completely overwhelmed by countless private messages and comments.
Too lazy to explain, Lin Tian simply turned off his phone, refusing to answer any calls or reply to any messages. As for his social media accounts, he didn't log in at all.
Go ahead and make a fuss yourselves. Master Lin has never liked after-sales service.
From the moment Lin Tian posted this update, for a whole week afterward, he practically monopolized the headlines of sports sections around the world!
The news that a world-class figure, the undisputed number one in the sports world, or even the greatest in history, has returned is absolutely worthy of this treatment.
Whether they liked basketball or not, whether they knew anything about basketball or not, everyone couldn't help but pay attention to this matter, and then, incidentally, to Lin Tian, wanting to know what exactly happened.
Those who already loved basketball and Lin Tian were completely swept up in the frenzy.
For the past week, ESPN and TNT have been airing three shows every day, morning, noon and evening, to analyze and discuss this matter, while also taking the opportunity to talk about the labor negotiations and whether this matter will affect Lin Tian's comeback.
Meanwhile, reporters and writers went on a frenzy, publishing all sorts of analyses, predictions, reviews, blessings, and other topics and articles related to Lin Tian.
For the past week, whenever you go online, turn on the TV, or walk on the street, you've heard or seen things related to Lin Tian.
The house that Lin Tian and Theron lived in outside Beverly Hills was filled with reporters, paparazzi, and fans who wanted to get close to Lin Tian.
Logically speaking, in a wealthy area like Beverly Hills, ordinary paparazzi and ordinary people really can't get in, let alone stand guard outside a villa.
Unfortunately, there were just too many people.
The Los Angeles Police Department has declared a manpower shortage.
They can't stop them, they can't catch them all, they're simply too busy to keep up.
Many people who engage in zero-yuan purchases are taking advantage of this period to try their luck in places far from the area, hoping to escape legal punishment.
This time, it was truly a comprehensive and all-encompassing information bombardment!
Lin Tian's status and influence are just that exaggerated.
As for Lin Tian himself?
He had already evacuated with his whole family on the morning he posted that tweet.
They're not even in Los Angeles right now!
He knew all along that it would have such a dramatic effect, so how could he dare to stay in Los Angeles any longer?
He didn't even dare to go back to China; the fans there would probably be even more frenzied.
So he went directly to Segovia, Spain with Theron.
Charlize Theron is going to be the bad queen here.
Snow White and the Queen!
This is Charlize Theron's transformative role; she's going to try out a charming and sassy villain, the Queen.
As for why Lin Tian followed her to Spain, part of the reason was that he thought Segovia was particularly beautiful and he could relax there. This small Spanish city has a strong football atmosphere, but obviously there aren't that many people who like basketball.
Lin Tian no longer needs to worry about labor negotiations or being surrounded by crazy reporters and fans.
I had already left before you surrounded me!
As for another reason for coming to Spain...
Lin Tian saw the official photos of Theron.
Tell me, who in this world could refuse Theron's queen?
Anyway, Lin Tian thought that the Magic Mirror was blind.
How could someone say, "You are not the most beautiful woman in the world"?
If you had chosen Lily Collins to play Snow White, it would have been barely acceptable.
A vampire woman...
It can only be said that both the Queen and the Magic Mirror were blind.
Of course, the most frequent line spoken by the Magic Mirror in this movie is, "Snow White is the fairest of them all."
Lin Tian's most frequently spoken line in Spain was: "Don't remove your makeup, don't change your clothes, Queen! I want the Queen."
Fortunately, Charlize Theron knew who Lin Tian was, and ordered several extra outfits before filming began.
She even brought two of many dresses that weren't in the movie.
Then, he also managed to snag a lot of men's clothing from the film crew.
Including but not limited to knights, princes, hunters, servants, ministers...
Furthermore, because Lin Tian had a lot of influence, Theron was also a big star, and the director of the crew was a newbie, Lin Tian and Theron borrowed some rooms in the castle several times when the crew wasn't filming.
Including but not limited to stables, master bedroom, living room, bathroom...
That was awesome!
Lin Tian could only say that he had a great time.
The process of acting alongside Charlize Theron thoroughly satisfied his passion for acting.
Lin Tian felt that if he were given a camera, he could immediately film something like a ten-part palace secret drama.
Reborn as a Servant: Three Nights the Queen and I Had to Tell!
"I am willing to lead the army to attack the neighboring country for the Queen, but tonight the Queen insists that I attack first!"
Want me to spare your people? Then kneel down and open your mouth first!
Want to kill Snow White? I, the hunter, will test your resolve tonight!
Your Majesty, you wouldn't want your ministers to know what you're like at night, would you?
Knights Charge! Target: The Queen's Palace!
The Empress made me scrub her back, and I trembled with fear!
……
Lin Tian didn't actually hide the news of his arrival in Spain, nor did he intend to. In the two days since he arrived, he updated his Twitter to tell everyone that he wasn't home and that they shouldn't be waiting for him.
Then Lin Tian also helped promote the movie by posting some photos that the production team allowed him to post, which confirmed that he was not in Los Angeles and also made those guys who had been waiting outside his house gradually disperse.
Even so, the happy times were quite short-lived.
The labor agreement negotiations proceeded at an astonishing speed.
The reason, of course, is Lin Tian's trump card.
After reaching an agreement with Lin Tian, Stern did not rush to start negotiations.
Instead, we wait.
He leisurely watched "The Big Bang Theory" in his office, studied today's news, speculated on whether Obama could win the election again next year, thought about what birthday present to buy for his grandson to make him happy, and considered whether to have steak or pasta for dinner tonight.
Anyway, he just didn't care about the league.
After about 10 days, both labor and management couldn't take it anymore!
They couldn't wait any longer; they lost their patience.
They took the initiative to contact him and schedule a time, then went to Stern and asked to renegotiate.
At this point, Stern certainly wouldn't keep up the act; he wasn't there to show off.
If he could force both sides to their breaking point, then his plan had succeeded. Now, it was time to close the net!
During this round of negotiations, Stern put aside his previous irritability and impatience, and stopped trying to please both sides. He sat down comfortably in his seat and said with a smile, "Before we begin, I think I'll have my assistant read out some data to everyone."
"Since Lin announced his comeback, ESPN has produced and aired a total of 16 shows to analyze and discuss the matter. The show with the fewest viewers had 690 million viewers, while the show with the most viewers had 3300 million viewers. The average viewership across the 16 shows was 1700 million."
"Higher than the average viewership of the finals over the past three years."
"TNT launched 14 related programs at the same time, with the highest and lowest viewership being 3600 million and 730 million respectively, and the average viewership reaching 1850 million."
"In addition, Google Search has recently seen over 10 billion searches related to 'Lin Tian,' the highest number in the same period. The second highest number of searches is related to 'NBA,' totaling over 6 million."
"Lin's tweet received over 7500 million likes, the highest number in Twitter's history, and 5500 million retweets and 7400 million comments, also record highs in Twitter history."
"In addition, among the local search engines, social media or other similar websites and forums around the world with available data, the amount of information and various index rankings related to forests reached the first place in 78 countries or regions and ranked in the top three in 43 countries or regions."
"An ESPN poll showed that 95% of participants said they did not want to see a lockout and hoped Lin could come back; they wanted to see Lin play."
"In the other polls across North America with more than 5 participants, none of them had fewer than 90% of the participants who chose the option of wanting Lin to return and not wanting the shutdown to continue."
"Alright, that's about it." Stern smiled at everyone and said, "Now that I've finished speaking, you can begin negotiations."
negotiation?
What's the point of even talking?
The investors saw huge profits and were willing to back down. They knew what it meant to secure their gains and how to maximize profits, especially since they had already studied various data and public feedback before the meeting.
Fans are willing to pay for tickets to watch Lin Tian play! So whether Lin Tian joins their team or not, these owners will still profit; it's just a matter of how much they profit.
As for the labor side, some players were willing to give Lin Tian face, some wanted to face off against Lin Tian, and of course, most knew when to quit while they were ahead, knowing that dragging it out would have a greater impact on them.
Their careers are limited; they can't afford to drag this out.
The owners have plenty of money, so they might earn less, while the players might not earn anything at all.
Ultimately, everyone knows that a shutdown is a lose-lose situation.
It's just that neither side is willing to give up more or back down.
Now that there's a ladder to climb and more benefits to be had, the negotiation process between the two sides has naturally accelerated significantly!
Both sides proactively removed clauses that they knew were nonsense and impossible to achieve or pass, saving a lot of time on pointless wrangling. The entire negotiation process was greatly streamlined, and both sides demonstrated sufficient sincerity.
The negotiations progressed rapidly, and Stern was so happy he could hardly keep his eyes open.
I'm a fucking genius!
This is the sentence that Stern is thinking about most right now.
Of course, even if both sides are willing to compromise and hope to resume the competition as soon as possible, such a big matter with so many contract details cannot be decided in just a few words.
The necessary disputes and the interests that need to be fought for must not be missed.
But at least now both sides have a common goal: to end the suspension as soon as possible and not delay the start of the new season!
Finally, after a week of friendly consultations, the two sides held four meetings within a week and finally reached an agreement on August 20!
Stern, beaming, told the sports media across the United States: "The two sides have reached a new agreement. The process was pleasant and the result is gratifying. The NBA lockout is officially over. All team activities will resume immediately, including the signing of all free agents, team trades, and all other activities!"
nailed it!
There was no shutdown. Although it was delayed for more than a month, the new season will not be affected!
Training camp proceeded as normal, and there were no changes to the preseason and regular season. The only difference was that the free agency period was shortened by a month or two.
But clearly, such a small impact is insignificant!
The new agreement reached between labor and management this time has the following changes compared to the previous one:
1. Players' total salaries will fluctuate between 49% and 51% of the league's total revenue. Meanwhile, 1% of players' total revenue will be held by the league as retirement funds for retired players to ensure their livelihood. Of course, only players who have played in the league for a full three years are eligible to receive retirement funds.
2. Each team has only one amnesty slot, which can be used to amnesty any player under contract on the team. The team must pay the full amount of the player's contract, but it will not be included in the total salary cap, nor will it be subject to the luxury tax.
However, players who are granted amnesty cannot return to their original team for one year, and after being granted amnesty, they enter the bidding stage. The remaining 29 teams in the league are eligible to make secret offers for the player within 48 hours, and the highest bidder wins.
In other words, players who are granted amnesty cannot decide where they go or how much money they will receive in their next contract.
3. Raise the salary cap threshold: instead of requiring each team's total salary to be higher than 75% of the salary cap, it will now require them to reach 85% of the salary cap.
4. A super luxury tax will be introduced, with the tax increasing in tiers. If a team pays the luxury tax more than four times within five years, their luxury tax amount will double. This super luxury tax rule will be implemented two seasons from now, starting in the 13-14 season.
The league gives high-salary teams two seasons and a waiver to work out their salary cap.
5. Reduce the amount of the mid-level exception for tax-paying teams, also known as the 'small mid-level exception'; cancel the biennial exception for tax-paying teams; and prohibit sign-and-trade deals.
6. If a player is over 38 years old, he can retain the Special Early Bird Right, or 'Special Early Bird Right', even if he only stays with the new team for one year.
The so-called 'special early bird right' means that even if a player only signs a one-year contract with a new team, the team can re-sign the player after the contract expires, but the annual salary of the re-signing cannot exceed 110% of the previous contract!
In other words, if a player signs a $1000 million contract with a team the previous year, he can sign a new contract worth up to $1100 million with the team when the contract expires, even if the team has no cap space.
Under the original rules, if a team does not have salary cap space, it cannot extend the contract of a player who has only signed a one-year contract.
The most significant changes in the new labor agreement that will affect both parties are basically the six points mentioned above. The remaining ones will not have a particularly large impact or shock on the alliance structure or the income of both parties; they are all details within the scope of professional expertise.
Of the six points mentioned above, the most noteworthy is the so-called "special early bird right." This early bird right, also known as the "early Bird right," has existed for a long time, but there was no age limit before. It was intended for players who had only been with the team for two years.
This allows teams to cap and re-sign players who only signed two-year contracts and do not have Bird rights.
But now this 'special early bird right' allows teams to re-sign players who have only played for the team for one year, with the restriction that the player must be over 38 years old.
Looking at the current league, there are a few players who meet this criterion. Kidd and Nash are 38 and 37 respectively, Fisher is also about to turn 38, and there is Rasheed Wallace who is semi-retired. Basically, there are only a few of them.
Of course, everyone knows perfectly well that this clause is not intended for any of the above individuals; its target group, or rather, its only target, is one.
Lin Tian!
Lin Tian, born in 1973, turned 38 this summer, which meets the age limit. This clause was practically tailor-made for him.
So people quickly came up with another name for this clause.
Lin Tian Clause No. 2 or the Old God Clause.
Yes, back when Lin Tian was about to transfer to the Knicks, Stern created a "God Clause" specifically for him, allowing him to sign with the Knicks for an extremely high salary. And this year, the league has done it again, creating this "Old Man God Clause" for Lin Tian.
Lin Tian's status is truly unique.
And once again, no one objected to it.
Rather than getting bogged down in such a small matter, the teams would much rather welcome Lin Tian's arrival.
Anyway, this clause restricts it to those over 38 years old. In the last 30 years of this league, how many people over 38 years old have been able to change the situation of the league?
Besides Lin Tian, the only other one is Jordan from 99.
There will never be a third person.
The rest of the people who reach this age are already on the verge of retirement or have settled into a new career.
To reiterate: compared to the benefits Lin Tian brings, no one cares about sacrificing such a small thing.
Another thing only Lin Tian knew was that there was originally going to be another clause in this labor agreement.
The Ross Clause!
If a rookie player earns two All-NBA Team selections, two All-Star selections, or wins at least one MVP award during his rookie contract, he can sign a maximum contract with the team with a starting salary that accounts for 30% of the team's salary cap.
This clause was originally designed specifically for top rookies like Rose, but perhaps because Rose didn't win the MVP, this clause was never created. Players whose rookie contracts expire can still only sign a contract with a starting salary of 25% of the salary cap.
This can be considered another butterfly effect brought about by Lin Tian's arrival. It's just a pity for top rookies like Rose and Durant; they'll have to earn a lot less money. (End of Chapter)