No one expected that George would be so decisive and sign a contract extension with the Thunder within just a few hours of the free market opening.
After all, according to the league's predictions, there is a high probability that George, whose contract expires, will choose to leave the Thunder.
Last season, the performance of the Thunder, which consisted of Westbrook, George and Anthony, was a huge disappointment. Not to mention their regular season record was mediocre, and they couldn't even beat the Lakers led by Wang Feng in the playoffs.
Therefore, after the Thunder were eliminated, many people predicted that George was likely to leave the Thunder. Among them, Brook Lopez was regarded as the most likely next buyer. His 20 million contract had expired and there was sufficient salary space.
The Los Angeles Lakers have unlimited potential.
Unexpectedly, George actually chose to renew his contract with the Thunder. It is said that the reason why George renewed his contract was because of Westbrook. He wanted to continue playing with him, so he chose to stay with the Thunder, a small ball market, and refused including
Los Angeles, New York and other big city teams are pursuing him, but these teams are not even given a chance to sit down and discuss terms.
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George's early contract extension directly disrupted the Lakers' plans.
"What will happen if George chooses to sign with the Thunder?"
Even the mature and steady Magic Johnson was a little panicked.
George is their most important signing target this summer, and it is also the strategic direction that the entire team, including the team owner, agrees with.
But the negotiation ended before it even started! How to continue?
"Don't worry, we still have secondary targets. The top priority is to sign the players I mentioned before. Even if no top stars join, we must at least ensure the minimum minimum for the Lakers."
George's contract extension with the Thunder was within Wang Feng's expectation. During the playoffs, he saw that George had no intention of coming to the Lakers to team up with him.
The reason why Wang Fengfeng included George in his wish list is to appease the team's management. After all, although he is the absolute core of the Lakers, he is far from being able to influence the team's management.
degree of thought.
Including Johnson, it was only to show respect for Wang Feng that he was allowed to participate in team meetings and express his opinions.
In this process, Wang Feng's request was not excessive, reasonable, and even unexpectedly excellent, so it was adopted by the Lakers management.
This is not surprising. Among the list proposed by Wang Feng, the only top star is George. Butler serves as George's backup and is not considered a target by the Lakers at all.
The other players on his list, including Rose, are only basic-salary players, which is not a big problem for the Lakers. The only one who is more expensive is Rondo, who performed well with the Pelicans last season.
The value of the free market is rising, and I am afraid it will cost about 8 to 10 million to get it.
But even without Wang Feng, the Lakers in another time and space chose to sign Rondo for 9 million a year, so Johnson even felt that the hero saw the same thing.
This is the main reason why the Lakers will adopt Wang Feng's opinion.
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Under Wang Feng's reminder, the Lakers, who missed George, did not waste time and quickly implemented several signings.
First of all, Brook Lopez, whose contract of US$22 million expired, was renewed by the Lakers for four years and US$24 million, with an average annual salary of US$6 million. This renewal price is definitely not expensive.
In another time and space, Lopez signed a one-year contract with the Bucks for US$3.38 million after his contract expired, and quickly established his worth with the Bucks. In the second year, he reached a four-year, US$52 million contract extension with the Bucks.
His net worth has returned to the tens of millions level.
Regardless of Lopez's lack of rim-protecting ability, and he only averaged about 12 points and 5 rebounds per game in several seasons with the Bucks, he has developed the ability to shoot three-pointers and is the league's most popular long-range shooter.
A tall inside player, his superb low-post offensive skills allow him to move inside and outside, and he has rich tactical applications. He is one of the important puzzle pieces for the Bucks to win the championship in the future.
After renewing Lopez's contract, the Lakers signed four players non-stop, including point guard Rajon Rondo for 9 million for one year, point guard Derrick Rose for 3 million for one year, and point guard Derrick Rose for 1 year.
Wan signed center JaVale McGee and Curry's younger brother Seth Curry for $2.75 million in one year.
Except for Rondo, none of these four signings caused any waves in the league because these players are really not heavyweights.
Although Derrick Rose was once the regular season MVP and the hottest star player in the league, he has long since lost his former glory after suffering a serious injury that could ruin his career.
Last season with the Cavaliers, he was also injured. He played 16 games before being traded to the Timberwolves. Then he only played 9 games with the Timberwolves, averaging only 5.8 points and 1.2 assists per game.
The league has almost forgotten the youngest regular season MVP in the league, and most people believe that Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau will consider the relationship between mentor and apprentice and use a minimum salary contract to keep Rose in the team.
Unexpectedly, the Lakers jumped out of the way and signed Rose first.
A one-year contract of 3 million yuan is only slightly more than the basic salary. The reason why Rose chose to sign with the Lakers was mainly because of the promise made by the Lakers or Wang Feng in person.
"Next season with the Lakers, you will get at least more than 24 minutes of playing time. You will be an important role player in the Lakers' rotation. We have great confidence in you and think you can play at the same level as you were at your peak. We hope you can consider joining the team.
Let’s sign a contract.”
There was absolutely no hope for Rose in the Timberwolves, and Thibodeau only gave him a minimum-salary contract out of old friendship and never gave him any commitment in terms of tactical status within the team.
Therefore, Rose only hesitated slightly before deciding to sign with the Lakers.
Rose doesn't get much attention, especially McGee and Seth Curry.
One is a blue-collar player, and the other was undrafted in 2013. He has bounced around many teams in recent years, and was even reimbursed for the season last season.
These are standard bench players, and in the eyes of others, the signings are just to fill out the team's lineup.
But no one knows that Rose will really briefly return to the top next season, averaging 18 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27 minutes per game!
After McGee came to the Lakers in another time and space, he also became a pillar player in the Lakers' interior frame protection, averaging 12 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
As for Seth Curry, after signing with the Trail Blazers in the 18-19 season, as a substitute player, he averaged 7.9 points in 18.9 minutes per game, and his three-point shooting percentage reached 45%. He signed with the basic salary first.
The existence of a fixed-point turret role player is definitely not a loss.
That's right, the players signed in these deals are all the players mentioned in Wang Feng's list.