The next day.

Manhattan, New York.

Office of the NBA Conference Commissioner.

President David Stern and Adam Silva sit across desks.

The two had just finished attending an NBA executive meeting together.

Stern was the first to ask, "Adam, who is Ohlahoma's opponent in the next round?" ”

Hearing the question, Silva felt a little dissatisfied.

The playoff format has just been discussed at the meeting, and although this year's format is complicated, it shouldn't be remembered, this old man is afraid that he will have Alzheimer's.

Although Adam Silva was a little dissatisfied, he didn't show it, and replied: "The next round of opponents for the Thunder will be between the Mavericks and the Spurs, and now they have a 2-2 score in the series, and the situation is not easy to judge." ”

Stern heard this, nodded, and he deliberately tested Adam Silva, and continued to ask: "Then which two teams do you think will be in the Western Conference Finals this season?" ”

Adam Silva replied: "LA and OKC have the best hope, no matter who makes the Mavericks or Spurs, they will have a hard time passing OKC, and those three young players at OKC this year are not ordinary players, they all have the potential to become supergiants, and their talent is far superior to these two teams." ”

Hearing Adam Silva's brief description, Stern smiled, although he didn't know much about the Thunder's real strength, but the team that could sweep the Suns 4-0 was by no means an ordinary playoff team.

David Stern further asked, "So which of the two teams do you think will make the ratings go up higher in the Finals, or what will make the fans expect more?" If you were the president of the alliance, what would you do now? ”

Hearing Stern's question, Adam Silva raised an eyebrow, he knew the old man was about to start working.

Adam Silva, who knows Stern very well, naturally will not be unprepared, and replied: "The first person collision of 23VS24, or the revenge battle between Los Angeles and Boston, the matchup between these two groups will increase the ratings, and OKC still has a future, they are still very young now, the fan base is not enough, and the influence in the world is insufficient, as for me to operate, I will choose to wait!" Wait and see what happens, wait for the opportunity, it's not the right time to make a move, it's only the first round just over. ”

Hearing Adam Silva's answer, Stern smiled again.

Waiting for the opportunity is a word he thinks Adam Silva uses very well, and he deserves to be his chosen successor.

David Stern is getting more and more happy with Adam Silva.

David Stern said, "Well, then it's up to you to enforce this year's ratings guarantee, don't let me down, Adam!" ”

Adam Silva heard Stern's order, and without any expression, said, "OK." ”

There are many tasks and tests assigned to him by Stern, and he has solved them one by one, and this task can be regarded as a test for him.

Finals ratings are important to the development of the NBA league, which is related to advertising sponsorship fees, TV broadcast fees, and global influence, and team owners are very concerned.

As an affiliate manager, I try to increase the ratings as much as possible to satisfy advertisers and bosses.

As for who the championship winner is, what does it matter?

Over time.

Stern is getting older, and his archaic way of managing the league has caused some team owners to resent.

Adam Silva is currently the most likely candidate to become the next president.

Silva is not in a hurry, he waits for Old Man Stern to work for another two or three years anyway, and the president position will be his.

Adam Silva gave Stern a deep look, then turned and walked towards the office door.

........................

Thunder Management Meeting.

Sam Plesty is in a high-level meeting with the deputy general manager, team advisors, data analysts and scouts, and the main content of the meeting is the main work of the team this summer.

Among the general manager's staff, the most mysterious is the salary space analyst.

A salary space analyst is a professional who refers to NBA teams analyzing team salary space.

General managers are often well-connected, but they don't necessarily have the ability to handle the NBA's complicated collective bargaining agreements.

The collective bargaining agreement stipulates everything from the salary cap, the maximum salary to the base, transfer rules, player contracts and the draft.

The details are complex and difficult for a single person to figure out thoroughly, and at this time, salary space analysts are the biggest reliance of the general manager, who play a lawyer-like role, familiarize themselves with the rules and past cases, and provide feasibility analysis for trade proposals and player signings.

Sometimes, certain deals that are focused on adjusting the team's salary space are drawn up by the salary space analyst, and the general manager only needs to call and act as the executor.

In short, the analyst is the military advisor next to the general manager.

Each team has a team of analysts of varying size, scouring the teams and free agent markets for players to match the roster, identifying potential stocks that may be undervalued, and guiding the team to sign or trade.

Scouts also play an important role, acting as intelligence agents and listening to other teams' intentions.

This is valuable information in the trade market, after all, every team doesn't want to leak their movements easily.

Halfway through the meeting.

Plesty: "How's our salary space going this summer? ”

Analyst: "$69 million, just $920,000 short of $69.92 million in luxury tax." ”

Plesty: "Is summer enough to complete two contract extensions with a maximum salary?" ”

Analyst: "Yes, but with some trades, maybe we can send some draft picks to free up our salary space, or lay off employees!" ”

Plesty: "Forget about layoffs, the owner can't spend money for nothing, the trade is also a little difficult, it's not that simple, there are too many big fish in the free market this summer, all teams want to make room to net fish, before these big fish are determined, other teams will not easily accept the burden, even the Knicks have become smart this year. ”

Today's meeting is a headache for Presty.

Last year, Li Linlin's high-salary contract extension and the addition of Chandler made the Thunder's salary space tight all of a sudden.

Don't look at the Thunder's total salary this year is only $69 million, ranking thirteenth in the league, but as long as this summer passes, their total salary will definitely be at the top of the league, paying the luxury tax.

Because both Durant and Li Forest are about to face contract extensions this summer, but Durant's rookie contract expires next year, and he can be renewed early this year, and it will be included in the total salary next season, and Li Forest alone is enough for him to have a headache.

Lee could jump out of his contract in the summer, and his new contract salary will take effect next season.

There is no doubt that both will ask for a maximum salary in the summer.

Which team would be better off signing two top-paid players? What's more, Plesty wants to chase an inside big fish this summer.

But the current situation is that don't count on the big fish first, let's get rid of the two big guys in the team first.

And then next year, Westbrook will face the same contract extension problem.

Ohlahoma City is still a small city with limited market potential and a very picky owner.

What does this do with Presti?

It's hard to do.

With the Thunder's playoff record, other team management and fans are very envious of the Thunder's talent, believing that Presti is a competent general manager.

But every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, and Presty's suffering will not be understood.

If he can't keep these few people, then he will be scolded by the fans as a fool, a big fool, who will pay so much attention to him.

Presty wants to figure out the top salary, but the boss won't let him pay the luxury tax, and then the boss wants to stay, so what's next?

"What do you all recommend?"

Presty is not fighting alone, so he has to throw the problem down to the entire management to find a solution.

Deputy General Manager Jem: "Do you want to communicate with KD and Li to reduce salary?" ”

Plesty took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes: "Difficult, KD at the beginning of the season, his intention to renew his contract was very clear, but the recent intention has been blurred, Lee's rise has affected his status, he is probably also observing our attitude towards Lee, and Lee's personality You know, he is not very willing to be subservient, remember when KD was injured in January?" 8 games of 40+, he definitely wants to be the boss of the team. ”

Analyst: "Why don't you talk to NIKE, let them communicate with KD and Lee, and see if they are willing to take a salary cut and stay in the Thunder at the same time, and hit the championship together, after all, their combination plus Russell, in less than three years, there is no big problem in winning the championship, which can maximize their business value." ”

Presti knocked on the table, shook it and smiled, "NIKE? Don't count on them, the city of Ohlahoma is too small, they wish that one of these two would go to New York, and the other would go to Los Angeles to compete in the east and west, the commercial value of the championship is not comparable to the exposure of big cities, if Li is not Chinese, they are unlikely to sign two high-value endorsement players in the same small city, in this regard, they already have internal opinions, and want them to help? It would be nice if they didn't mess with us. ”

Jem smiled wryly: "The boss refuses to pay the luxury tax, and if KD renews his contract, his contract will not take effect until next year, so in fact, our total salary for next season can accommodate Li first." ”

Analyst: "Well, then the problem will pile up until next summer, and then it will be even harder, Russell has to renew his contract, 3 maximum salary ....."

Plesty frowned: "It's okay, then let's have another headache next summer." This year, Lee and KD will be offered the top salary, and the key now is whether Lee will renew his contract with the Thunder, in case Lee renews his contract, D now has a very delicate relationship with Lee, they are teammates and opponents, remember last year's All-Star Rookie Game? I was almost taken aback, I thought they were going to turn around. ”

Jem: "Well, it's true that KD has a weak personality and seems to be obedient, but he really doesn't like Lee, and Lee doesn't like KD very much, Russell is very close to Lee, but if they can reach the finals this year, I believe Lee will choose to stay, after all, the championship is the highest goal they are pursuing." ”

Scout: "It's hard to say, KD and Lee both want to pursue MVP and championship, the two are on the same team, and it will be easier to win the championship than to win the MVP." ”

Analyst:.....

The discussion among the management became more and more intense, and Plesti watched the scene quietly.

..................

After listening to the opinions of everyone in the discussion, Presti made a summary decision: "Okay, as soon as the season is over, immediately start the contract renewal negotiations for the two, the focus is on KD, his intention to stay in the team is greater, Lee is second, and let Brooks and Russell persuade him to try to let him stay, Jem, you take the lead in preparing all the information, and pay attention to NIKE's movements, report to me at any time when the time comes, I will go to get the boss first, a few scouts keep an eye on other teams and media trends, Don't let them poach. ”

Jem: "OK! ”

Analyst and scout: "OK"

.....................

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