Chapter 7 [One-year contract key training]
The next day, when Jane Yang returned to the hotel after training in the afternoon, her agent, Steve Oldman, brought good news.
"Yang, I knew you were better than the first-round pick! The SuperSonics are going to sign with you, and we succeeded!" Oldman was so happy that he unconsciously learned the skill of lightness.
The secret of Qinggong is that a person as heavy as a fat pig can easily fly into the air, and he can cry like a pig.
Seeing that the agent was so happy, Yang Jian thought that she was going to get a high salary. However, it did not. After Oldman and the SuperSonics management "negotiated", the other party was willing to provide Yang Jian with a one-year basic salary contract of $200,000.
According to the regulations of the alliance, the broker can only take a maximum of 4% of the total contract value, which is generally between 2% and 4%. The specific drawing ratio needs to be negotiated by both parties. Oldman is about to lose his business. Of course, he can only rely on low prices to attract customers. With such a small contract for Yang Jian, the agent earns less.
Even so, Oldman was very fulfilled, and he saw the hope of success in this circle for the first time.
"You can only sign this kind of minimum salary contract if you are undrafted. I discussed with management that as long as you perform well in your rookie season, the Sonics will provide you with a higher two-year contract, so that by 1998 you will be With Bird Rights..."
Oldman gave Yang Jian some NBA signing rules. Only by following these rules can the interests of players be maximized. The contract is not to sign as long as possible, and you will fall into the pit if you are not careful.
A player's Bird Rights refers to an exception to the "Bird Clause" that exceeds the maximum amount of the salary cap for re-signing. The team can renew the contract with the team's free agent without the salary limit, provided that the renewed free agent must play for the team for more than three years. Such free agents can increase their salary by 12.5% per season, while signing other teams can only increase by 10%.
It's called the Bird Clause because the Celtics were the first team allowed by the league to keep a free agent over the salary cap, and this free agent was "Big Bird" Larry Bird.
"Of course, this does not mean that you are tied to the Sonics. If a team is willing to offer you a premium and high salary next year, and you want to change the environment, you can choose to leave. The SuperSonics cannot match the cap if the contract is too large. I Not sure if the Sonics can give you a high-paying long-term contract in three years, because Kemp will be a free agent in '97."
"Understood, thank you." Yang Jian smiled: "Anyway, I can only sign the basic salary now, there is nothing to be depressed about."
There is no reason for the Sonics to pay high salaries to undrafted picks, not because of the level of their agents. Yang Jian believes that Oldman's idea is correct, and as a traveler, he sees farther.
He has a good time in the league. Now players generally get salary increases. As long as the team feels that a player deserves a high salary, the contract can be opened at will. Because the NBA in this period has no maximum salary limit and luxury tax, only the salary cap, many teams are willing to over-cap to renew their stars.
One important thing he also knew was that the Sonics wouldn't re-sign Sean Kemp and traded him on a sign-and-trade basis. This means that the team will not have three players with an annual salary of more than 10 million. If he acquires Bird rights in the Sonics, he is likely to get a high-paying long-term contract.
The Sonics' unwillingness to renew Kemp is not because the boss is stingy, but because Kemp's private life is too chaotic and training is not hard. Everyone in management thought giving Kemp a long-term contract was a bad deal, and it was.
Kemp was almost traded in the 1994 offseason, when the Bulls wanted to trade Scottie Pippen for Kemp. After the news leaked, Seattle fans were furious, forcing the Sonics to reject the trade.
Yang Jian had a hunch that it would be cool to be a partner with Payton, but the only thing that was unpleasant was that the Supersonics were in Seattle, and their location was average. The most promising big city team is the Lakers, but the other side doesn't look down on him.
In fact, Seattle is not bad. It is very comfortable to live here. The difference is that the exposure rate is not as good as that of New York and Los Angeles. The whole city is surrounded by lush and lush forests. When Yang Jian came by plane, he looked down from the air, like a huge green emerald.
There is hardly a second city in the United States like Seattle, with green mountains, lakes, harbours, rivers, and ancient glaciers. The climate here is mild, not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter.
The two chatted for a while before Yang Jian realized that the annual salary of rookies outside the first round of the NBA lottery in 1995 was about 500,000, and the high point was 700,000.
No matter how good Yang Jian's rookie season is, it is difficult to get high-paying offers from other teams in one step, unless he is selected as an All-Star. In this day and age, most of the stars are not well paid.
The Jazz star power forward Karl Malone will earn 3.68 million annually next season, and the assist king Stockton will earn 2.8 million annually. Airman Michael Jordan earned an annual salary of 3.85 million after his comeback, and it will be the same number next season, so outrageous.
Yang Jian asked, "Am I the only one who won the contract now?"
"Only you. Obviously next season you will get the focus of the team. Sherrell Ford is likely to be traded. George Karl will not give too many rookies to perform. What the team needs is immediate combat power."
"This guy is trying so hard to prove that he is better than me. He even asked me for a heads-up during training." Yang Jian was ready to compete with newcomers, but there was no need to fight at all.
"Which one of you won?"
"I won. I didn't even think that I could attack well with the ball." Yang Jian was a little proud.
This is a bit funny. Sherrell looks like he wants to teach Yang Jian one-on-one, but in the end, he has no advantage at all. Not only was he ineffective against Yang Jian, but he was also uncomfortable against Snow. As soon as the opponent is close, Sherrell can't get rid of it and can't squeeze into the basket. He can only use his height advantage to make jumpers, and his shooting is not accurate.
Yang Jian is not good at breaking through, but she can rely on her body to protect the ball and hard arch to a position close to the basket to turn around and shoot, which is much more accurate than Sherrell. Assistant coach Bob Weiss was surprised that Yang Jian's strength was stronger than he thought, better than Sherrell, who was 201cm tall and weighed 95kg.
"My status in the coach's mind was higher than him. He was in a hurry and the confrontation became more and more fierce. It was obviously a grudge. Later, Weiss stopped and said a few words to him, and he stopped." Yang Jian felt that Xie Lei Er is a fool.
Sherrell asked Yang Jian to pick, with a bad attitude and a street gang going to fight, and thought he was cool. This guy is 23 years old with such a low IQ, and he won't be able to stay in the NBA for long after leaving the Sonics.
Oldman smiled and said: "Maybe in the summer league, the coach will let Sherrell take more shots. This is an unspoken rule of the NBA. Only good data can be traded. You don't play around and make sure your hit rate is guaranteed. Just fine."
As a senior fan, Yang Jian understands these truths. "I understand that he is my teammate, not a competitor. It is useless for me to do too much on the court in summer league. After the regular season starts, the ball will definitely be in the hands of the stars."
"Yes, as long as you understand." Oldman sighed: "You are a smart person, much smarter than the players I have worked with before. I talk to them a lot for nothing, and many people don't know how to be in the limelight. on occasion."
Yang Jian asked, "Is there anything else I should pay attention to?"
"How to inquire about the coach's arrangement on the field and have a good relationship with Eric Snow. I think it's fine for other people to go through on the surface, and I don't need to make friends with them." Oldman urged.
"why?"
Oldman smiled and said: "Because I think only Snow will become teammates with you. He was traded from the Bucks by the SuperSonics, and the coaching staff must see his advantages. Don't underestimate him, although Snow is The only one of the four who came to try out without an agent, but he will definitely get a contract."
Yang Jian found that Oldman really understands the NBA and can see which player has a better future.
In a parallel world, Eric Snow became a famous role player through his acquired efforts and left his name in the NBA. He made the playoffs nine times in his 13-year career and the Finals three times. He was selected to the second team of the All-Defensive Team, and his defensive ability has been unanimously recognized.
A reporter asked which point guard Yao Ming would like to partner with the most. Yao Ming expressed his appreciation for Snow. Snow is an unpretentious point guard who will help his team win.
He was selected by the Bucks with the 43rd overall pick in the second round of this year, and was traded to the Sonics on the day of the draft. If Snow hadn't been intercepted, the Sonics would have drafted him with their second-round pick instead of Lithuanian center Julius.
Yang Jian only knew that Snow could play well when he was a traveler, but Oldman depended on analysis. He felt more and more that Oldman was very reliable and a good agent.
Before crossing the border, he had no experience living abroad, and he needed Oldman's help, otherwise it would be too difficult in the United States.