Chuck Hayes has doubled in popularity.

You don't know who the mayor of Houston is, but if you don't know who Hayes is, you're sure to be ridiculed by the people of Houston.

Fame is great, and with it comes a lot of money-making opportunities.

Hayes often receives phone calls, collaborations, endorsements, banquet invitations, and so on...... He's annoyed to death, the NBA schedule is too tight, how can he have time to do these things? Hayes is very indifferent to money, and if he has money, as long as he has enough to spend. He prefers to play music with Taylor Swift than to participate in events and various endorsements.

Today, Hayes received a call from Rockets general manager Carol Dawson, who asked him to meet at the Toyota Center in the afternoon to talk about the new contract.

"I hope the Rockets don't let me down, Uncle Dawson, you don't let me down." Hayes prayed and drove to the Toyota Center.

Affectionately known as "CD" by fans, Dawson has spent nine seasons as the Rockets' general manager, having previously served as the Rockets' assistant coach for 16 years, arguably the most years in the NBA for a club. Dawson is a true Texan, born in Alba, a small town about 120 kilometers east of Dallas.

Dawson's left eye was diagnosed as completely blind in the early 90s, and his right eye was also determined to have limited vision. When it comes to the reason for Dawson's blindness, it is even a bit legendary. During a golf tournament in 1989, Dawson was struck by lightning. The force of lightning caused his swinging hand to burn and ache for months, and the retinas in both of his eyes were severely damaged in the accident. Over a six-year period, Dawson underwent six surgeries on his left eye and four on his right.

"The luckiest unlucky bastard" has been known to Dawson's friends for years, and even when he almost never sees it, Dawson still enjoys that fear to himself, leaving his friends with only that happy smile.

From a pure basketball perspective, Dawson also has two hits, otherwise he would not have been inducted into the Texas Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Many people don't know that Olajuwon's dreamy footsteps are not their own originality, but Dawson's hand-taught back then. That's what Dawson can boast about in basketball in his life: "I used to use this trick to shake people in college, and it was my most important weapon. ”

Throughout the decade, there weren't many trades or signings for Dawson to boast about: the four-man swap for Barkley in 1996 still failed to bring the Rockets back a championship; Bringing Pippen in 1999 ended up being just a farce; In 2000, he gave Taylor, who couldn't defend, a six-year, $48.75 million oversized contract; Replacing Olajuwon in 2001 was seen as a betrayal......

In September 2003, the Rockets recruited a high-value player like Jim Jackson at a low price, and Dawson was deeply "inspired" and always wanted to use Yao and Mai as a signboard to attract other players who were about to retire to dream of a championship ring and join the Rockets on the premise of sacrificing income. The results were in the middle of the season, like Mark Jackson, Strickland, Wesley...... There are also episodes of players like Uncle Mu who are in their forties taking up their posts on the rockets. With the addition of Witspoon, Vin-Baker, Wharton, Anderson, Swift, the Rockets became a retirement home, and the blind man picked up a pile of stones.

Dawson's most failed trade was to give three first-round picks — Jefferson, Collins and Armstrong — to the Nets in exchange for a troubled teenager, Eddie Griffin, and then discard him. Since then, the rocket has been mired in a deep quagmire. The best deal for which the American media commented was that on June 29, 2004, he traded Francis, Mobley and Cato to the Magic in exchange for Maddie, Tyrone Lue, Bogans and Howard. It's hard to say whether this deal will be a profit or a loss.

And last season, he replaced Swift, a super physical dunker, which gave fans a little expectation. But fans soon found out that the guy had a problem with his IQ and would only dunk.

In terms of drafting, he has selected a total of 18 people in the past nine years, but now only Yao Ming and Hyde remain with the Rockets. Yao Ming is the champion show and fools will choose, and Hyde is embarrassed and useful. For a team that is always aiming for a championship, this seems a bit too banal. A low pick does not mean that there are no good players, poor draft vision, narrow vision, and no work, which may be Dawson's best evaluation, and in recent years, he has occasionally cultivated better players such as Posey, but Dawson didn't take him seriously and let him go.

And the coach, after Tomjanovic rested due to illness, Dawson did not give him the opportunity to return to the team he loved, but signed Van Gundy, which was also a decision to be criticized.

In terms of personality, Dawson is admirable, but in terms of management, he is controversial, to put it bluntly, he is useless.

Hayes was curious to see what the very failed manager would talk to him. Shouldn't it be like Hayes in the past, taking 8 million in four years to fool people? If so, then Dawson should really retire tomorrow.

Soon, Hayes, led by Miss Secretary, meets Carol Dawson, a kind-looking man, in the manager's office.

Miss Secretary brought coffee to Hayes, who sat down in a chair across from Dawson and smiled, "Hello, General Manager." ”

"Hello, Chuck. First of all, I want to thank you for your contributions to Houston in recent times. You've done a great job. Dawson narrowed his eyes and smiled gently.

"You're welcome. Players play to win, so naturally I have to do my best. It's a pleasure to meet you, General Manager, and I think we can get straight to the point. Hayes laughed. He is not good at greeting people, and he likes to get straight to the point.

Dawson coughed lightly and smiled, "Then I'll be straight to the point." I called you here to talk to you about the renewal of your contract. This year's salary is the third lowest on the team, which is not at all the level you played. And next year you will be a free man. I wonder what you think, would you be willing to stay with the Rockets if we offered you a full mid-range contract? ”

"As long as the Rockets can give me a contract worthy of my performance, I'll definitely stay with the Rockets. But if the Rockets give me too little, and other teams can give me a maximum salary, and it just so happens that the team that is willing to give me the maximum salary is another team that has the strength to compete for the championship, wouldn't it be too stupid for me not to leave? I love Houston and I really don't want to see the day come. Hayes smiled without thinking.

He had thought about his own stay countless times. If he leaves, he can definitely get more money, but it is likely that he will never be away from the championship.

Of course, even if you stay in the Rockets, you may not be able to win the championship, Yao Ming and Maddie are too easy to get injured, even the strangers in the café think so, once those two are injured and become high-paid cheerleaders, he will be a lot tired when he plays.

However, Hayes doesn't want to leave the Rockets for the time being, at least not for nearly two years.

"So what price do you think is worthy of your performance?" Dawson asked gently.

Hayes smiled and said: "General manager, you know, I don't even have a broker, if you want to negotiate with me by negotiation with an economist, I think it's avoidable." Because I'm not good at bargaining, and I find it troublesome. At the moment, I just want to focus on playing well this season and playing every game. It's too early to talk about contract renewal. I hope to wait until the end of the season to get a contract tied to my strength based on the Rockets' results. ”

Jeff van Gundy has already warned Hayes that now that the season has just begun, the club can use his ups and downs in form and uncertainty about his future qualities as an excuse to bargain for a long-term contract with him at a lower price. And delay until the end of the season to negotiate signings, as long as he plays good data by then, the Rockets can achieve good results, and the advantage of negotiation is all on his side. It is the best outcome for the Rockets to renew him with the same high salary as other teams. If the funds are really difficult, he can accept it a little lower, and then he can leave a great image of "NBA loyalty" in the hearts of fans.

Dawson sighed lightly and asked, "You said that it is linked to the grades, how to implement it, can you talk about it specifically?" ”

Hayes took a sip of his coffee, pondered for a moment, and smiled, "It's easy. The Rockets didn't even make the playoffs last year because of injuries. With Yao Ming and Maddie, the Rockets have the strength to at least make the playoffs. Unfortunately, because of the lack of a strong third scoring point, relying only on the play of Yao Ming and Maddy, it is difficult for the Rockets to break through the first round of the playoffs. This has changed since I showed up. I can vouch for the Rockets to make it through the first round of the playoffs this year, and with all three of us injury-free, we could make it to the Western Conference Finals, the Finals, and even win the championship. My request is that if the Rockets make it to the Western Conference Finals and I'm playing consistently. Then, the team should at least give me a contract with an annual salary of 10 million. If you make it to the finals, it's a little higher. If the Rockets win a championship and I happen to win a Finals MVP or something, then renew my contract with a maximum salary, and I will build a dynasty for Houston. I wonder if the club's management is willing to make this bet with me? ”

Dawson smiled bitterly: "Chuck, in a few months, you have changed too much, not only your skills, but also your surname, it is like another person." In the past, you were very honest and lacked confidence in yourself, so you signed a contract with a basic salary of 660,000. I thought I had earned it for the rockets, but I didn't expect that signing a short contract with you was my biggest mistake. You're the most confident player I've ever met, and you're talking like you're already an MVP. ”

"Forgive my arrogance, but I'm exactly what the Houston Rockets need right now. My request is also very simple, wait until the end of the season to renew the contract, and I promise to give preference to the Rockets. Hayes laughed.

"Okay, let's wait until then. Unfortunately, I won't be able to retire until the end of the season. When the time comes, you'll be signed by a new team manager...... And not me. I really wish I could make the right decision for the Houston Rockets, and that would be to renew your contract. I thought I could convince you. Dawson let out a long sigh and said.

It seems that Dawson also knows that he has made failed transactions before.

"Your contributions to Houston will always be remembered. In the future, no matter who comes to talk to me about renewing the contract, they will not forget your credit. Wasn't you the first to sign me? You're the most discerning person in the NBA. Hayes laughed.

Dawson pondered for a moment and smiled, "You're right, bringing you to Houston is indeed the most correct choice I made. One thing I have to warn you about is that it's time for you to find a homo economicus, Chuck. Recently, many businesses want to ask you to be a spokesperson, and some people want to invite you to attend events or something. They can't reach you, they just have the phone number to play the team. You have to find someone to make the decision for you. ”

"Thank you for the suggestion, I'll find it as soon as possible." Hayes laughed. He is now famous and really needs a regular economist.

Do NBA players have to rely on agents to negotiate their contracts? The answer is no, because they can also hire a private lawyer on their own. 4% is the maximum commission charged by the NBA, for example, if he helps you negotiate a contract of 10 million, the maximum benefit that the broker can obtain is 10 million×4% = 400,000.

But if you hire a lawyer to negotiate for you, you will only need to spend a few hundred dollars per hour. For example, if the lawyer is $400 per hour and the negotiation time is 48 hours, the player only needs to pay: 24,000, and the most representative of them is Duncan.

So why hire a broker? Because NBA players want to reap greater benefits, agents can do things that lawyers can't do, such as pulling sponsors for players, such as maintaining the player's image.

The job of an NBA player is to train and play, and other business is done by his agent, who will give his own professional advice and data for the reference of the players he serves. If a football star receives calls from some messy companies looking for him to be an endorsement all day long, then isn't he annoyed? Once you have an agent, you can just say, "Find me an agent." ”

Hayes chatted with Dawson for a while about team building. He suggested that Dawson try out a few players who failed in the draft when the team's conditions allow, so as to strengthen the competition within the team. Because the draft isn't necessarily accurate, there are a lot of young players like him who are buried, and Azubuuk is the clearest example. And if he finds some potential players in the game that are worth trading, hopefully Dawson can allow him to make suggestions.

Dawson was intrigued. He is also well aware that Hayes and Jeff Van Gundy have a good relationship, agreeing that Hayes can recommend it to the Rockets leadership and coaching staff whenever he meets a player he thinks is good.

The two chatted for an hour, and Hayes left the Toyota Center satisfied.

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