roccoschili Chapter 121 The Spurs' wishful thinking
Chapter 121 The Spurs' wishful thinking
Chapter 121 The Spurs' wishful thinking
In the locker room of the visiting team, everyone was very depressed. After taking a shower, everyone silently packed their things and refused to speak.
Li Chongxiao felt very uncomfortable. This was not the first time he lost, but it was definitely the most uncomfortable loss since he played.
Unlike previous losses in the regular season or playoffs, in this game, the entire season was lost.
His starting point for entering the league was too high, and he won the championship with the team in the first season.
From a big perspective, this round of the series is the first time he has lost, and it may take him a long time to recover.
After Duncan and Popovich attended the press conference, they returned to the locker room without saying anything. They packed their bags with everyone and returned to San Antonio overnight.
……
Early the next morning, Li Chongxiao got up for daily training as usual. Although he was still a little depressed, daily training had become a habit.
When the training was over, he began to summarize some gains and losses in this season's playoffs.
Compared with last season, his improvement is very obvious. In 11 games, his scoring average has come to the team's second 21.2 points, second only to Duncan's 25 points.
Compared with the regular season, other statistics have also improved, and it can be said that they are better than before.
But at the same time of progress, many problems have been exposed.Although what Cuban said is very extreme, there is also a little truth. Li Chongxiao still needs a superstar to attract firepower in order to maximize his value.
As a pink rookie last season, everyone's attention was mostly on GDP, so he took advantage of many loopholes.
And this season, as a member of the defending champion, various performances have been fully magnified, and many teams have begun to study his abilities and habits.
Fortunately, the hard training in the last offseason allowed Li Chongxiao to make great progress, so he did not have a flash in the pan in the second season. Instead, with the help of the increased exposure, he entered the All-Star selection and various awards.
In the playoffs, relying on the offensive skills developed during the offseason and the regular season, he became the team's best in the series that swept the Grizzlies.
But facing a strong defensive team like the Mavericks, he is not good at dealing with double-teams, has a weak sense of shooting timing, and has almost no back-up ability.
In the two away games at the beginning of the series, when the critical moment came, they were watched dead by the opponent, causing the team to collapse in the final quarter.
Li Chongxiao summed up many of his own shortcomings, to the point that he was a bit picky.
There are 30 teams in the league, with a total of 450 players, including almost 100 shooting guards or small forwards like him, and his performance can definitely be ranked in the top ten.
What's more, he is only in his second season, and he has already surpassed many people.
But in a sense, the idea makes sense.Because his performance can't compare with those historical beasts.
Not to mention Chamberlain, Magician, Bird, Jordan and other god-level figures, even the Spurs' first season with David Robinson and Duncan, they can't compare.
It's not that he is so ambitious, because his physical condition and talent are here. If he is not aiming for a superstar and the highest honor, he might as well go home and help his father manage the company, and be a rich second generation with peace of mind.
After thinking about it for a while, he dialed the phone number at home, discussed the itinerary for this summer with his parents, and then recruited the training team to start making a training plan for this offseason.
……
The player's playoffs are over, but the team's work isn't over.
On May 5, the day after the Spurs-Mavericks series, the 24 draft lottery was set.
The Raptors, Bulls and Bobcats are the top three. The Spurs' first-round pick went to the Knicks in last season's Muhammad transfer.
According to this season's regular season record, they ranked third and have the No. 58 pick.
In the past few years, they used the third-to-last pick to select Ginobili and Li Chongxiao. It can be said that Shali took out two real gold.
This year is recognized as a small draft year. Even if it is a lottery pick, it may not be able to select a good player.
They still mostly expect to rely on trades and signing free agents.
过去三年，先是邓肯2003年生效的7年1.22亿美元的合同，然后是吉诺比利2004年生效的6年5200万的合同，接着是帕克2005年生效的6年6600万的合同。
For three years, the Spurs have kept their core players with big contracts.Followed by, there is pressure on salary.
As far as the wages of these three people add up to 3510 million.
Including Bowen, Horry, Barry, Udri and Oberto who are under contract, the total is 1570 million.
The sum of the two is 5080 million, and the salary cap for next season is about 5300 million, and the luxury tax threshold is almost 6550 million.
The Spurs have only 8 players under contract, and the other players have all become restricted or free agents this season.
According to the regulations of the NBA, a team must have at least 14 signed players, and the Spurs also need to fill in at least 6 players.
The operating space within the salary cap is only about 220 million, and it is basically certain that the Spurs will exceed the salary cap.
The space within the luxury tax threshold is 1470 million, which is the part that the Spurs have to measure.
As for the operation of paying the luxury tax, there is basically no need to consider it.As early as before the start of the playoffs, Holt made it clear that he would never pay the luxury tax.
The space of 1470 million is averaged to the remaining quota, each of which is almost 250 million.It is reasonable to say that it is enough, but the Spurs are facing the problem of renewal of important players this year.
Li Chongxiao's two-year contract has expired, and at the end of this season, he will become a restricted free agent.
According to the "Arenas Clause", the starting salary of his next contract cannot exceed the full middle class, which is about 520 million US dollars.The starting salary for the second year of the contract does not exceed 8% of the previous year, which is 560 million.
In the third year of the contract (2008), Li Chongxiao can get the maximum salary that players can get in the first year (2006).
2006~2007赛季，0~6年球龄可以拿到的顶薪是工资帽的25%，也就是1300万左右。
According to the 2005 labor agreement, Li Chongxiao can only sign with one team for 5 years at most, including the Spurs.According to regulations, the salary after the fourth and fifth years can be increased by 6.9% based on the previous year's amount.
那么马刺能给李冲霄的下一份合同最大为520万-560万-1300万-1390万-1490万，共5年5260万。
This price, according to Li Chongxiao's level, is actually a good deal, but the problem is that the Spurs don't have enough space and they don't want to pay the luxury tax.
If this contract is signed, the space left for the Spurs this summer is 950 million, and at least 5 players will be signed.
This money is enough for the guards, but the Spurs lack inside players. There are only two pure inside players, Duncan and Oberto, and Horry can barely play.
To keep either Muhammad or Nesterovic, there is no long-term contract with a starting salary of 5 to 600 million, so there is basically no need to consider it.
And the other slightly better insiders are almost 300 million or more. If the luxury tax is not paid, the Spurs can only sign one.
In this era, if you don't strengthen the inside line, competing for the championship is a joke.
What's more, with this salary, you can make do with it for two years. By the 2008-2009 season, the Spurs' GDP + Li Chongxiao's salary alone exceeded 5500 million US dollars.
The salary cap for that year is expected to be within 5900 million, and the luxury tax threshold is almost 7100 million.
If the Spurs want to maintain their competitiveness in the championship, then signing 1600 people for 10 million will not work at all.
Regardless of the latter, even next season, Popovich is not reconciled to the team's strength still standing still or even regressing.
This season fell into the sand and failed to defend the title. Popovich, who has always been high-spirited, is very uncomfortable. He expects to stage a return of the king next season.
Coupled with Duncan's potential injury, it is even more difficult for Popovich to accept that the team only has a 300 million-level inside substitute.
There is not enough money and not enough people. The only way Popovich can think of is to let players accept contracts that are less than their worth.
Now in front of the Spurs, only Nesterovic, Muhammad and Li Chongxiao are three players to be renewed.
The first two players are already veterans, and many players have shown interest. The Spurs' offer for that little money has been clearly rejected.
Now there is only Li Chongxiao who is young and not short of money. Popovich feels that he should be able to accept a contract with a small salary for the sake of the team.
(End of this chapter)