The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 205: The Jordan Trade

"The host has achieved two consecutive championships and won the FMVP award again. The reward is two treasures: 1. Dongwang Buxin Pill will be automatically replenished (limited to one pill per day); 2. 500 Qianggu Pills."

During the celebration, Tang Bei took a moment to check the reward information on the treasure chest panel, and his smile widened even more.

Two consecutive championships and a second FMVP award both come with rewards, so it seems that winning these most important honors again also has its rewards.

If you automatically take one Dongwang Buxin Pill every day, you can share this medicine with your family.

There are also kidney-tonifying pills, blood-clearing pills, and bone-strengthening pills. Maybe if I win a few more championships in the future, they can automatically replenish themselves.

The next day, the Heat returned to Miami and began a three-day celebration.

Kevin Longley participated in the celebration as usual, but in a media interview, he publicly stated his decision to leave the Heat.

Three days later, the team officially disbanded, and while the players planned their vacations, the Heat's management began their busy offseason work.

"Kevin Longley has decided to leave, and we need a new head coach."

"Phil Jackson and Pat Riley are both qualified to be the next head coach of the Miami Heat."

"That's right, these two head coaches aren't having an easy time with the Bulls and Knicks right now."

"The Bulls may terminate Phil Jackson's contract, but the Knicks have no intention of terminating Pat Riley's contract."

“That’s alright, we can acquire Pat Riley through a trade,” said General Manager Lewis Shaffer.

"what?"

"Can the head coach also be traded?"

Shaffer said, "What's impossible about that? There's no rule in the league that forbids head coaches from being trade assets."

"Ha ha!"

“Kendall Gill and Kevin Willis, we can’t offer them the contracts they want.”

"Then we need a starting shooting guard and a starting power forward."

"Let's sign and trade. The free market can't meet our requirements for the main roster. Our goal next season is to defend our title, so we have to make trades."

"They won the championship with the Heat, so they should be willing to accept a sign-and-trade."

"We've already had preliminary talks, and their agents have all indicated they're willing to sign first and then switch, but the contract needs to be discussed further."

“We need to clear out a huge pile of contracts first, otherwise we won’t be able to meet their contract requirements. We don’t have enough room to sign them right now.”

“Yes, this will be done immediately,” President Billy Cunningham nodded.

"Brian Shaw doesn't plan to sign another minimum-salary contract. His agent is demanding a three-year, $1200 million contract. Should you renew?"

"Does he think he's the one who won the championship? Let him go."

"Let go of those fringe players and role players on short-term contracts first. There are plenty of guys like that in the free agent market. Once we have freed up cap space, we can sign Kendall Gill and Kevin Willis."

"Yes, they are in good form right now, having just won the championship, and they have great trade value. It is indeed possible to sign and trade them."

"We need to talk to their agents and finalize their contracts before we can make the deal."

"Should we proceed with Tang's early contract renewal immediately?"

"Let's schedule a meeting with Mr. Eric Fleischer first. We definitely need to talk right away. Which team isn't eyeing Tang right now? We need to hurry."

At this point, COO Billy Cunningham said, "The salary cap will increase significantly next season. Let me talk to the owner first and see how much of a contract he's willing to offer Tang Bei."

At this time, the New York Knicks' management had already held talks with Ewing's agent, David Falk, who is also Jordan's agent, regarding Ewing's contract extension.

David Falk demanded that the Knicks offer Ewing a multi-million dollar annual salary and a contract of at least three years, but this was firmly rejected by the management.

Next season, the highest-paid player will be Admiral David Robinson, with $770 million, up to $995 million in the 96/97 season and $1240 million in the 97/98 season.

As fellow superstar centers, David Robinson can command such a contract, and with the salary cap increasing next season, Ewing can also earn a multi-million dollar annual salary. This is the basis for David Falk's demand for a multi-million dollar annual salary.

However, the management believed that the Knicks' record in the past three seasons was not good, and they had not made it to the Eastern Conference Finals even once, so Ewing was not worth his multi-million dollar salary.

When negotiations failed, the Knicks' management began to probe David Falk.

"David, what has Michael been up to lately?"

After the negotiations, Knicks general manager Ernie Gruenfeld invited David Falk for afternoon tea and tentatively asked him...

David Falk smiled and said, "He's in New York."

"what?"

General Manager Ernie Gruenfeld and Knicks President Dave Checkers exchanged a glance, both becoming excited.

In the Knicks, it was President Dave Chestertz who made all the decisions. He said, "David, I'm thinking of inviting Michael to play a round of golf with you tomorrow. What do you think?"

“OK, I’ll pass on the message,” David Falk said with a smile.

He then tentatively asked, "Dave, Ernie, what are the Knicks' goals for next season?"

"Championship".

President Dave Checkerts said without hesitation, and Ernie Gruenfeld nodded in agreement.

David Falk also got excited, saying that if they wanted to contend for the championship, the current Knicks roster was definitely not good enough, and a trade was a must.

"David, I wonder what Michael thinks of the Knicks?" Ernie Gruenfeld asked.

“Michael has always loved the Big Apple and Madison Square Garden,” David Falk said.

"awesome!"

Ernie Gruenfeld and Dave Checkertz both laughed.

David Falk said, "But Michael has one year left on his contract."

Dave Checker immediately said, "My idea is that David, Patrick, and Michael should team up."

Ernie Grunfeld continued, "But we Knicks can't afford to make a huge trade, otherwise if Michael comes to the Knicks, we won't be able to build a strong roster."

"Then we'll just have to wait until next year."

David Falk nodded, but then said thoughtfully, "But Michael doesn't want to see Severe Fear win a three-peat."

Ernie Gruenfeld and Dave Ceckcs exchanged a glance and both frowned.

Does this mean Jordan wants to be traded away from the team?
The Knicks would have to pay a heavy price, and the Bulls wouldn't trade Jordan easily.

However, they were still very happy. After all, he was the strongest person in the NBA after Tang Bei, and also the strongest shooting guard in the NBA. It was worth paying any price.

David Falk added, "Actually, making a trade this year would have been the best option. The Knicks could have acquired Michael through a trade and obtained his Bird rights. Only then could you put him and Patrick on the same team."

Ernie Gruenfeld and Dave Checkertz both nodded.

Next year, Jordan will join the Knicks as a free agent. Although this saves on the cost of a trade, it will prevent them from acquiring his Bird rights.

That would mean the Knicks' salary cap couldn't accommodate two superstars at the same time, so a trade this year is indeed the best solution, and perhaps the only chance to acquire Jordan.

At this point, David Falk said, "Michael has one more request: he wants to continue working with Phil Jackson."

Ernie Gruenfeld and Dave Checkerts exchanged a glance and nodded thoughtfully.

Pat Riley had several conversations with management, hoping to gain more power, such as the position of general manager or head of basketball operations, and demanding the authority to draft and build teams.

This is an attempt to seize power from them, or even directly take Ernie Gruenfeld's position. How could the two of them possibly agree to that?

Pat Riley was capable, but he didn't lead the Knicks to a championship and was completely unqualified to have any power beyond that of a head coach with the Knicks.

If Phil Jackson were to come, that would be a good thing.

Of course, they also have another good option, namely Kevin Longley, who just announced his departure from the Heat.

After a detailed discussion with the Knicks, David Falk left and returned to the hotel to talk to Jordan about his day's achievements.

"Michael, the Knicks really want you. The current obstacle is the Bulls' attitude. I'm going back to Chicago immediately to discuss an early contract extension with the Bulls and get a feel for their attitude."

OK.

After further discussions, the two sides reached some consensus. The Knicks agreed to offer Jordan a multi-million dollar annual salary contract and a multi-million dollar endorsement deal after his contract expires next year.

Patrick Ewing's contract extension will be put on hold for the time being, to allow time and salary cap space for a potential trade involving Jordan.

In this process, Ewing was clearly the victim, as the Knicks and David Falk's operations were entirely centered around Michael Jordan.

Miami, Heat headquarters, Billy Cunningham sat in owner Mickey Arison's office.

Mickey Arison didn't come to the Heat's headquarters every day. He became president of Carnival Cruise Line in 1979, managing up to 30,000 employees and dozens of cruise ships, focusing his main efforts on the cruise company.

“Boss, I’ve spoken with Mr. Eric Fleischer once, and he said that Don is willing to extend his contract early, but he needs a contract that matches Don’s value.”

Are there any specific requirements?

Mickey Arison is a very successful businessman with standard business thinking. Controlling costs is in a businessman's nature, but next season is the final step in building a three-peat dynasty, so he won't be stingy with more investment.

Billy Cunningham shook his head and said, "No, we just briefly discussed our intention to extend the contract early, and we didn't exchange any specific information."

Mickey Arison nodded, took a sip of his coffee, and casually asked, "Dang seems to have gone to New York this morning?"

“Yes, he has several commercial endorsement contracts to sign in New York, as well as some business activities,” Billy Cunningham said.

Mickey Allison said with a smile, "The appliance brand he and Miss Nemur started is selling well. I heard that the Nettle family has also partnered with Walmart to invest in a chain supermarket in China. The Nemur family removed Miss Nemur from their inheritance rights. They might regret it later."

Elena Garbo Nemoir was born into a noble French ducal family. There were few aristocratic families in the entire United States that were more noble than the Nemoir family. Even though she gave up her inheritance rights, she was still a direct descendant of the Nemoir family and a pampered daughter of the upper class in Europe and America, only her status was not as high as before.

This kind of topic involving the aristocracy is one of the most popular topics among ordinary people, and Billy Cunningham was also very interested in it.

After chatting about trivial things for a while, the two finally got down to business.

"Billy, I really hope the Heat can become the first team in the modern NBA era to achieve a three-peat dynasty, and I'm willing to invest heavily in that."

"But at the same time, I also hope that the management can control operating costs. I will not invest in the Heat without limit."

"Management should seek a balance between pursuing championships and controlling costs."

Billy Cunningham's heart sank. The boss's meaning was simple: control costs while pursuing the championship. He couldn't invest without limit for the sake of the championship, nor could he lose his fighting spirit in order to control costs.

However, the proposal for a three-peat has been put forward, which means that the management must ensure the team's strength next season, which is the most important issue.

Therefore, renewing Tang Bei's contract ahead of schedule is no longer a necessity for the current management, since Tang Bei still has one year left on his contract.

However, this raises a problem: if the team doesn't extend Tang Bei's contract in advance, he will become a free agent next summer.

Moreover, he is an unrestricted free agent, because under the current collective bargaining agreement, a rookie becomes a free agent after completing his rookie contract, and the Heat do not have the right to match him.

In other words, Tang Bei can leave the Heat freely next summer, which is extremely disadvantageous for the Miami Heat.

After weighing the options, he decided that he should renew the contract ahead of schedule.

Of course, a more sincere approach would be for the Heat to waive their team option for the final year and directly sign Tang Bei to a second professional contract, allowing Tang Bei to receive a maximum salary next season.

However, this does not align with what the boss just said, so he does not intend to give up the option of the team's final year and chooses to exercise the fourth year of the contract. Tang Bei will still receive an annual salary of $475 million next season.

He advised, "Boss, we can choose to exercise the contract for next season, but an early extension is still necessary. Tang deserves a big contract."

Mickey Arison said, "The salary cap for next season should be between $2200 million and $2400 million, and it will most likely increase by $7 million to $800 million."

Then he asked, "Billy, what kind of contract do you think Don deserves?"

After doing some mental calculations, Billy Cunningham said, "David Robinson will earn $770 million next season, and Don needs at least a contract with an average annual salary of over ten million dollars."

After considering it, Mickey Arison said, "Don has brought a lot of benefits to the Heat, and we can't lose him. Even if we win three consecutive championships, we have to make sure we can keep him. Don't earn more than $1000 million a year on average. That's my bottom line."

“What if he’s not satisfied?” Billy Cunningham asked.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Mickey Arison's eyes as he said, "You talk to him first."

Billy Cunningham said, "OK, I'm going to take care of other things first, and we'll talk about it after the draft when the salary cap comes out."

After Cunningham left, Allison picked up the phone and dialed Pat Riley's number.

In Chicago, Bulls management, including owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause, are discussing a rebuild, with Michael Jordan as the central figure.

There are two rebuilding options, one of which is to keep Jordan.

Keep Michael Jordan because he can bring massive attention and profits. Although Jordan is 32 years old, his strength is still at its peak, and his jersey sales are still the highest in the league. Rebuilding around Jordan will guarantee the Bulls' economic interests.

The second option is to trade for Jordan and use the acquired assets to rebuild the team.

Although Jordan is still at his peak, he is 32 years old and has only one year left on his contract. If he is not traded this year, and he leaves next year, the Bulls will be doomed.

The two concluded that making money was the priority, and they decided to keep Jordan.

However, he needs to renew his contract in advance because Jordan wants to win a championship. If he renews his contract again next year, the team may not be able to guarantee a championship-winning roster, and Jordan may just walk away.

The two have already met with David Falk to discuss the possibility of an early contract extension, and Falk will be there soon.

Soon, half an hour later, David Falk, who had returned from New York the day before, arrived.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jack Krause politely asked, "Mr. Falk, what has Michael been up to lately? Is he still training?"

David Falk was determined to bring Jordan to New York, as only by going to New York could Jordan's economic interests be maximized.

So he didn't intend to reveal Jordan's news in New York, and smiled as he said, "Yes, he's training. I just came from his house."

Jerry Krause said, "Mr. Falk, the management wants to extend Michael's contract early. Do you have anything to say about that?"

David Falk smiled and said, "That's a good thing. I wonder what kind of contract you're planning to offer Michael?"

Jerry Krause, who had just discussed it with Reinsdorf, immediately said, "A super contract, $24 million over three years, with an average annual salary of $8 million."

David Falk's lips twitched. That's it?

The Knicks offered Michael a contract and endorsements worth up to $2000 million per year, while the Bulls wanted to keep him for only $800 million?

With a disdainful smile, he said, "Gentlemen, this contract doesn't show any sincerity from the Bulls. I mean, a three-year, $75 million veteran contract is more in line with Michael's worth."

"what?"

Jerry Krause was stunned.

"That's impossible."

Jerry Reinsdorf jumped up from his boss's chair in surprise.

David Falk remained seated and said casually, "Michael brought tremendous value to the city of Chicago and the Bulls team, you all know that very well. Three years and $75 million is a perfect deal, you made a killing."

“A $25 million annual salary, David, that’s too high,” Jerry Krause said angrily.

David Falk counted on his fingers: "First, the direct profits. Michael brought in huge profits from ticket sales, jerseys and other merchandise, and broadcasting revenue."

"Second, indirect benefits. Michael made significant contributions to the economic development of Chicago, which indirectly helped the Bulls."

"Third, long-term value. Because of Michael, the Bulls' market value increased from tens of millions to hundreds of millions. His presence has accumulated countless loyal Bulls fans, and these are all long-term values."

At this point, he asked, "Gentlemen, do you still think Michael isn't worth a $2500 million annual salary?"

Reinsdorf and Klaus exchanged a glance and fell silent.

From an operational perspective, the Bulls do indeed earn tens of millions of dollars every year, making them the most profitable team in the league. Even though they haven't made it to the Finals in the last two seasons, they are still one of the most profitable teams in the league.

Although the Heat have won two consecutive championships, Miami is not as big as Chicago and is a team that has only been established for a few years. Its history is not as rich as that of the Bulls, and its team management is several levels below that of the Bulls.

Comparing the star players of both sides, Tang Bei's strength is terrifying and his personal commercial value is very high, but he is not American and his contribution to team management is not as great as Jordan's.

However, the $75 million over three years also startled the two.

At this point, David Falk offered another contract extension, saying, "Gentlemen, Michael wants to win back the championship, so I hope the Bulls can trade for a top-class All-Star center in his prime during the offseason."

"what?"

Reinsdorf and Klaus's hearts sank when they heard the terms.

The negotiations ended without reaching a consensus, and both sides agreed to meet again at a later date.

(End of this chapter)