On July 3, the weather in New York City was beautiful, and the Knicks players, coaching staff, and staff all came to Times Square to prepare for the championship parade.

The parade starts from Times Square and circles around Manhattan before ending at Battery Park. The New York Municipal Council held a championship ceremony for the team at Battery Park.

It took a lot of effort for Li Wei to get Luo Wei out of the flying saucer.

San Antonio was too far away, she didn't want to go, and Li Wei couldn't bear to see her running around while pregnant. However, this time the champion You Shixing, as the owner of the team and Li Wei's official girlfriend, she always has to show her face.

The rest of Li Wei's family also came, and no one in their family got motion sickness, so even if she was pregnant, it was no problem to take the bus. However, there are a lot of children in the family, and everyone can't be busy if they hold one, so they only bring Gigi Tse.

Gigi Tse is 3 and a half years old this year, she knows a little about things, but she doesn't know very much, seeing that there is a festive atmosphere everywhere, she said loudly: "Dad, a lot of colored paper is flying!" ”

"Well, Gigi is good!" Li Wei kissed her cheek, "Our team won the championship this year, and we are celebrating." ”

"That's a lot of people!" Gigi Tse pointed to the crowd around her.

"Yes, there are a lot of people, is it hot?" Li Wei asked.

"Hmm!" Gigi Tse nodded happily.

"David!" Bo Outelo walked over and greeted Li Wei, "Your daughter?" It's beautiful! ”

"Thank you!" Li Wei hugged Gigi Tse and said, "Gigi, this is Uncle Otero, say hello to Uncle Otero." ”

Gigi Tse immediately waved her little hand and said in a milky voice in English: "Hello uncle!" ”

"Okay, that's good!" Da Bo nodded, and then said to Li Wei: "David, there is something I think I should tell you, I may have to go to magic." ”

With the season shrinking and seven more Finals games, the Knicks' championship parade can only be scheduled for July, which is not a good time. July is the start of the new season, the free agency market will also open, and many players whose contracts are out of contract are looking for a home.

The Knicks have four free agents whose contracts expire this year, Charlie Ward, Big Bo, Stephen Jackson, and Bruce Bowen, all but Bowen are all sought-after in the free agency.

Dabo was signed to him in the summer of '97 with what little salary space he had left, on a two-year, two-million-a-year contract. Because he didn't play for the team for three years, he didn't meet the Bird clause, and the Knicks had to use the early bird clause if they wanted to renew their contract.

Early Bird Clause: A player who has played all or part of the same team in the past two years (including those who have moved as a result of a team trade) may renew his contract after he becomes a free agent at the higher of 175% of the player's final year's salary and the league-wide average player salary.

In other words, because the Knicks are overpaid and Dabo doesn't meet the Bird clause, the team can't offer him a big contract.

Although Dabo's data is not outstanding, those who only look at how many points others score and how many rebounds they grab, feel that this guy is insignificant. But anyone who actually watched the game understood how important this guy was to the Knicks.

Even in the selection of the best defensive team, Dabo won a lot of votes.

So the Magic team waved a big hand and smashed over a five-year contract of $32 million, with an average annual salary of more than $6 million.

In the season of his previous life, Dabo also got a contract extension contract with an average annual salary of about 6 million from the Magic, and from this point of view, helping the Knicks win the championship did not increase his value.

However, this summer's middle-class exception is only $2 million, and a contract with an average salary of $6 million is definitely fat, so Dabo decided to go to the Magic team after thinking about it!

Li Wei recruited Dabo back then, just to make him a transitional figure, to improve the atmosphere of the locker room, and to bring Nowitzki with his rookie year.

Now, Dabo has successfully completed this task, and as Nowitzki grows up, it doesn't mean much for the Knicks to keep him, so Li Wei only has deep blessings.

"Dabo, no matter where you go, the Knicks are your eternal home, and we will always welcome you, come to New York to play in the future, just come to me!"

"I will!" Bo Outlaw nodded, a little reluctant in his eyes.

He had only been in New York for two years, but he fell in love with the team, which has some of the best memories of his career, and won the championship together!

However, as a professional player, he has to support his family, and the Magic team gave him a big contract, so there is no reason not to sign it!

You must know that he has never had such a high salary in his life!

Stephen Jackson came over and said, "David, I'm probably going to go to the Raptors, go find Charles, he's been recruiting me!" ”

"Haha!" Li Wei smiled lightly.

The class of '97 is the lucky one who will become a full free agent after the end of his last rookie contract.

Stephen Jackson signed a two-year base salary contract with the team that year, and now that his contract has expired, he can go wherever he wants.

The rookies after the class of 98 are not treated so well. If the parent team is willing to match, that is, willing to give a contract like the other team, then the rookie will not be able to go anywhere but stay with the parent team.

However, even if the second-round pick after the class of '98 can only become a restricted player, there is a loophole.

We all know that the contract for the first-round pick is a guaranteed four-year contract, with the final two years being a team option. In other words, all first-round picks who fulfill their rookie contracts meet the Bird clause and can renew their contracts without restriction above the salary cap.

However, second-round picks generally sign a two-year non-guaranteed contract, and after the contract expires, they do not play for the parent team for three years, which does not meet the Bird clause. At this time, if the team's salary exceeds the cap, the contract can only be renewed with an early bird clause, and a big contract cannot be opened.

At this time, if other teams come up with a big contract to poach people, limited by the salary cap, even if the parent team wants to match, it can't match at all!

Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a second-round show to hit the price, so no one pays attention to this loophole. In his previous life, Arenas, a second-round pick in '01, played a star-level performance with the Warriors, and then the Wizards offered a big contract to poach people. The Warriors couldn't match because of the salary cap, so they could only watch Arenas be poached.

The digging incident caused a lot of sensation, and people praised the Wizards while also sympathizing with the Warriors. In order to avoid the rookies cultivated by the parent team being poached, the league later introduced the Arenas clause.

The Arenas clause states that other teams can only offer a lower than mid-level contract for a second-round rookie after a two-year rookie contract. That is, other teams cannot offer such players a higher contract than the parent team's contract.

Now the league has not introduced the Arenas clause, even if Stephen Jackson signs a rookie contract in the class of 98, and other teams come to dig it at a high price, the Knicks can't keep people!

However, Li Wei has no regrets. There is a lot of talent on the Knicks' front line, and Rashad Lewis in his rookie year can't even get playing time, and Stephen Jackson is leaving just to make room for Lewis.

The head coach of New York reached out and hugged Stephen Jackson and said: "Stephen, it doesn't matter where you go, the key is to play hard, players can only show value on the court!" ”

Stephen Jackson suddenly had a sour nose and cried: "Coach, I don't want to leave the Knicks!" ”

Stephen Jackson's heart is complicated, he doesn't want to leave this championship team, but he also knows that if he stays in this team, he may not even be able to compete with Maddie as a substitute. In addition, the Knicks couldn't give him a high-priced contract!

I don't want to go, but I have to go, only by leaving the Knicks, he can have a broader world!

Li Wei chuckled and said, "Stephen, when you grow up, you have to make a lot of money to support your family, but you can't cry like a child." I remember when you first came to report to the team, you said that you wanted to play at a high price, which made me regret it. Now that you've made it, I regret it, you're our MVP! ”

Stephen Jackson cried even more sadly when he heard this, he hugged Li Wei tightly and said: "David, you are the best coach, I will never forget you anywhere!" ”