The Knicks aren't bad for money, and the league has even more for them.

Li Wei's Knicks' total salary is only the second, and the Trail Blazers pay a whopping 54 million this season, ranking first in the league.

Unlike New York, Portland is not a big ball city, and Paul Allen may not earn it back by paying $50 million, he is playing at a loss on his own.

However, Paul Allen doesn't care about losing money, he is the sixth richest person in the world last year, with a net worth of more than 20 billion, even if he loses 20 million a year, it will take a thousand years to lose it all.

In the United States, if you have money, you can be willful!

Of course, most owners will not be as willful as Paul Allen, losing money and making money, they think about whether the team can win and whether they can make money.

The team has good results, has superstars, and is easy to attract fans, and the income from advertising, sponsorship, box office, etc. will also be higher. However, to retain a strong team and keep stars, you need to pay more wages. Which is more cost-effective will test the IQ of the management.

The Knicks have a full roster and don't need to sign free agents, but there are plenty of players who can sign early contract extensions. For example, Steve Nash of the '96 Golden Generation, and Charlie Ward, another playmaking guard.

Ward was a first-round pick in '94, when there was no standard for a rookie contract in the NBA, and he signed a five-year contract with the team, which expires at the end of the season.

Nash's agent, Bill Duffy, proposed a five-year contract extension of 28 million to the Knicks, with a total salary less than half of the maximum salary contracts of Kobe, Iverson and others, and only 2 million more than a fraction of Garnett.

After discussing with Li Wei, Xia Cuirong agreed to the contract. The Knicks, despite their over-the-top salary, have Nash's bird rights (i.e., the right to sign under the Larry Bird clause) and can re-sign Nash to the Cap.

Nash was overjoyed. Compared with Iverson, Kobe Bryant and others, he is still a substitute, and he has not played his real value, and his average salary of more than 5 million can be regarded as fat.

On the other hand, Charlie Ward was unhappy when he heard about Nash's contract extension price. In fact, the contract he originally wanted was not high, but now that Nash has 28 million for 5 years, he feels that he should be higher than Nash.

"I'm the team's starting playback, I'm better defensively than Nash, and I really don't see him contributing more to the team than I am!"

Xia Cuirong insisted on not giving Ward a better contract than Nash, so the two sides broke down.

Bo Outlaw, Bowen, Stephen Jackson and others also signed two-year contracts last year, and Xia Cuirong notified their agent that they could negotiate if they wanted to renew their contracts early.

None of these guys were traded, and even if their contracts expire next year, the Knicks don't have bird rights. The team's salary cap is full, and at most one early-bird contract can be given. They knew that the price of the early bird contract would not be high, and they all decided to play for another year.

"Only Nash has renewed his contract ahead of schedule, and Charlie Ward's side may not be able to keep it next year." Xia Cuirong said.

Li Wei said: "If you can't keep it, you can't keep it, Nash is playing better and better now, and Nash can just take the position when Ward leaves." ”

The old players have to renew their contracts, and the new players have to sign them.

In the new collective bargaining agreement, the first-round rookie contract will be changed from three years to four years, with the team option for the next two years. This means that if the team is unhappy with the performance of the rookie, it can choose not to execute the contract for the next two years and let them go.

If the rookie fills his rookie contract, the home team will also have the right of first refusal.

This year, McDyce signed with the Nuggets, and the Suns could only do it in a hurry, because the previous rookie contract stipulated that the players whose contracts expired were full free agents.

However, starting from Nowitzki's term, the players whose rookie contracts expire are restricted players, and as long as the home team is willing to offer a contract like other teams, the restricted players must renew their contracts with the home team and cannot change jobs.

The Knicks selected four first-round picks in this draft, among whom Rasso Nesterovic stayed in Europe and did not report to the team. Xia Cuirong happily signed a new rookie contract with Nowitzki, Da Yao, and Rashad Lewis.

In this era, the team's regular season roster is up to 15 players, and the Knicks' 15-man roster for the new season is as follows:

Centre-forwards: Da Yao, Ben Wallace, Herb Williams (c).

Power forwards: Bo Outlaw, Dirk Nowitzki, Buck Williams.

Small forwards: Kevin Garnett, Bruce Bowen, Stephen Jackson, Rashard Lewis.

Shooting guards: Alan Houston, Jeff Hornacek, Tracy McGrady.

Playmaking defenders: Steve Nash, Charlie Ward.

Li Wei, who signed with the team with a base salary last season and is both a coach and a player, could not be squeezed into the squad this season, so he could only symbolically sign a head coach contract at an annual salary of $100,000. In terms of salary alone, he is the cheapest head coach in the entire NBA.

However, it doesn't matter, the Knicks can sit on the assistant bench with the most expensive assistant coach in the entire NBA, which is more expensive than the head coach of other teams.

This is the most chaotic season, with all kinds of signings, trades, and training only being completed in just a dozen days. The regular season has been shortened from 82 games to 50 games, and the season schedule is dense and chaotic.

Li Wei glanced at the Knicks' schedule and found that the team only needed to play three games in the West, yes, a total of three games throughout the season. The Western Conference has only played two away games in New York. Weak teams such as the Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Nuggets will not play against the Knicks all season, and the Knicks will not meet the Jazz, Spurs, SuperSonics, Trail Blazers, Rockets and other teams.

Almost all opponents are concentrated in the East, with the Heat 4, the 76ers 4, the Hornets 4, and the Pacers 3......

"Devil's Race!"

Rubbing his forehead, Li Wei smiled lightly again.

This season's results are secondary, and cultivating Da Yao, Nowitzki and Maddie is the main thing!

The new season is coming!

Feb. 5 is the first day of the new season, and the Knicks have arrived in Orlando ahead of schedule to take on the Magic on the road.

Chip Carrey, the Magic's commentator last season, was supposed to be a full-time commentator on baseball and basketball at the same time. The new top commentator is David Steele from Jacksonville, Florida's largest city.

David Steele's partner is Chip Carrey's old partner - Jack Givens. This person graduated from the University of Kentucky, played for the Atlanta Hawks in the late 70s and early 80s, is 1.96 meters tall, and is a swingman at the front.

"Jack, it's exciting to start the new season, and we're seeing Penny Hardaway again!" David Steele.

"yes, the last game he played last season was against the Knicks, which was embarrassing. Thankfully, he's back this year! Jack Givens said.

The two Magic commentators are thrilled with the return of their team's hero, Penny Hardaway, but they don't know that Penny is no longer the penny people are familiar with.

The continuous lap made him fall from the sky to the mortal dust, and a fairy tale was about to be shattered.