Build a Dream Dynasty

In the 2011-12 season finals, the Heat won the championship and the Thunder won the future. This is a prospect recognized by the vast majority of fans. Two All-Star players, a sixth man of the best, and a block king, with an average age of less than 25 years old, it can be said that the Thunder team has amazing potential, accumulated experience, and filled the gaps in the lineup. , No, don't fill in the gaps, as long as the young people in the team continue to improve, they will definitely win the championship.

However, the size of the city at the bottom of the Oklahoma City League and the stable management style of owner Bennett are a constraint for general manager Presti, who created the draft myth. Durant has begun to enjoy the 1900 brought by the Ross clause this season. Wan's high salary, Westbrook gave up the readily available 17 million, but next season his 5-year 80 million contract also needs to be fulfilled, coupled with Perkins' 4-year 35 million contract, the Thunder's economic pressure is slowly rising. Now, in this case, renewing Harden and Ibaka will face certain difficulties.

To put it simply, Presti must reach a contract renewal agreement with Harden and Ibaka before the trade deadline for next season. If the renewal does not go well, he must trade out in time to stop the loss, otherwise, wait until the two people are restricted free. The identity of the player entered the free market, and the maximum salary offers came one after another, and the Thunder could not afford to renew the contract anyway.

The same situation happened to the outspoken Lakers, Knicks, and Mavericks. That's how much you want to give. It happened to the Rockets. It was also the last year of cool, and then matched the offer, and finally made a deal. It happened to the Spurs who took a pay cut for all members. Maybe the two of them could really be fooled by Popovich. It happened to the Magic. They will mobilize fans to vote to see who the fans support their contract renewal. On Jiang Mingliang, he dared to exchange Westbrook for Curry, save his salary to renew Harden Ibaka, and at the same time make up Dooku's king bomb. . . . . .

But it happened to the Thunder, which could not afford the luxury tax and didn't want to lose the two in vain. On the one hand, they were lowering the price, and on the other hand, the team's management was also studying the possibility of a trade. There is no doubt that Ibaka's priority is slightly higher than Harden's in terms of position, possession, and role in the team.

And Ibaka is also more aware that the Thunder is more beneficial to his development. He does not need to bear too much offensive pressure and has many opportunities for mid-range shots. Following Durant, at least Westbrook does not need to Worrying about the playoffs, if you enter the free market yourself, you may not be able to get a maximum salary. All kinds of factors added together, and Ibaka soon reached a satisfactory contract extension with the Thunder for 4 years and 48 million.

"Ibaka only has so much money, and Lopez wants 64 million from me!" Jiang Mingliang, who closely followed the Thunder team's movements, couldn't help but complained after getting first-hand gossip.

"More importantly, how much money can the Thunder spend to renew Harden after renewing Ibaka!" West pointed out the crux of the problem.

Don't consider other contracts, just the contracts of several important officials of the Thunder team, Durant 19 million, Westbrook 16 million, Ibaka 12 million, Perkins 9 million. Only these four people have occupied the space of 56 million, and the luxury tax threshold set by the league is in the early 70s. In other words, even if Harden agrees to a contract of 14 million, the Thunder's total salary is destined to exceed 77 million ( There are seven other places, all counted as base salary), but how can a team operate like this?

The Rockets, the Nets, and the 76th almost immediately heard the news, and successively offered trading chips to the Thunder general manager Presti.

Jiang Mingliang pulled on the Warriors and opened a three-way trade offer contract. The Nets sent Bledsoe, Baynes, the team's first-round pick in 2014, the second-round pick in 2013, and a special exception worth 9 million trade terms to Curry and Perkins. Warriors send Curry, the team's 2013 first-round pick, get Harden, Nets 2014 first-round pick, Thunder send Harden, Perkins, get Bledsoe, Bane Sterling, a 2013 first-round pick by the Warriors and a 2013 second-round pick by the Nets.

The Rockets' trade plan is to use Kevin Martin, the 14th overall pick this season, the Raptors' first-round pick next season, the Mavericks' protected first-round pick, and the Bobcats' 2013 pick. Second-round pick to trade Harden, Cole Aldridge, Lazar Haywood and Daquin Cook.

Both trading plans have their pros and cons. First of all, let’s talk about the plan proposed by Jiang Mingliang. The key point of this offer is not that Bledsoe can replace Harden’s role, not the general position of the Warriors’ draft picks, but the Nets’ raw Perkins' premium contract, which is equivalent to drawing salary from the bottom of the pot, greatly alleviated the financial crisis of the Thunder team, and sent Baines, who was slightly weaker but barely qualified as a meat shield, with a salary of only 1.3 million as a substitute. Getting rid of Perkins' premium contract, the Thunder have the ability to make a suitable offer for Bledsoe or other Harden replacements in the next two years. If Baines is useful, they can give a more reasonable salary. . The reservation of a trade exception allows the Thunder to make trades in the middle of the season with ease. This transaction definitely weakens the Thunder's strength, but it can improve the current situation of this team's operation and make their future operation space more broad.

The Rockets' trading plan is somewhat of a gamble. Martin, as a much weakened Harden, continues to take on Harden's role in the Thunder~www.wuxiamtl.com~ Of the three draft picks, the Mavericks' lottery protection is very dangerous to get, and the Rockets own tenth this season. The fourth overall pick and the Raptors' high-probability lottery next season are somewhat attractive, but they also test Presti's vision and Brooks' training. The Thunder are now a championship contender, and it's hard to say whether there is so much room to cultivate rookies.

Both plans have their own advantages and disadvantages, but one of the core issues is that, with these two deals, Harden will still stay in the West and pose a threat to the Thunder. Whether it's Harden Gardron or Harden Gard Whiteside, they all look threatening.

Without giving a definite answer, Presti is also secretly trying to approach the Wizards and Bobcats, the two Eastern Conference teams, trying to use Harden to trade the second overall pick in the Bobcats' hands, or the third overall pick in the Wizards' hands. The target is obvious, the hot rookie, Beal.

However, the two teams simply and neatly rejected the Thunder's trade application. Jordan seems to have a player he values ​​after Brother Nongmei, and he belongs to him. The Wizards, taking into account the conflict between Harden and Wall's play, gave up this opportunity.

No wonder the alliance has always been in a situation where the west is strong and the east is weak. This vision. . . . . .

As a result, Presti had to reconsider the offers of the Nets and the Rockets and negotiate.