Bishop of the Devil

After negotiating the contract with Robinson, Richard felt like he was officially working.

However, the official signing will only happen in July when the door to the trading market opens.

After Robinson's contract is settled, the next step is Ben's contract.

Because Ben has been following Richard, he hasn't found an agent yet. He came to negotiate a contract with Olshey on his own...

When he saw Ben walking into his office with a smile on his face, Orsi felt as uncomfortable as a dead fly.

He might have been out of his mind at the time. Richard said he would give Ben a three-year, $3 million contract, similar to O'Neal's rookie contract...

It was over at that time, I had to cause so much trouble!

It's over now. Although Ben didn't get an All-Star-level contract this season, he wants to spend it with an annual salary of 1 million? Don’t even think about it…

"Hey, Mr. Orsi, nice to meet you..." Ben laughed.

Olshey rolled his eyes, not happy to see you yourself.

Last season, Ben averaged 11 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1 steal per game, and was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team. Although he cannot be said to be the league's top blue-collar insider...

But the first-line blue-collar insiders can still be counted!

With such strength, if it were not restricted by the labor agreement, he would probably be able to get a contract with an annual salary of about 4 million...

You must know that Dudley, who is also a blue-collar insider, is far inferior to Big Ben in terms of strength, but he already has an annual salary of 3.5 million.

Even with the restrictions of the labor agreement, Daben's salary will increase significantly.

According to the provisions of the labor agreement, the second contract of the second-round pick must be signed for at least two years with a guarantee of at least two years, and the annual salary limit is the middle-class salary or 125% of last season's salary, whichever is higher.

125% of Ben's salary of US$7.8 million last season is definitely not much, but if it is higher and calculated according to the middle class, it is amazing.

Next season’s mid-level income will be approximately US$2.33 million, and next season’s mid-level income will be approximately US$2.6 million!

If he signed the contract for two consecutive years, he would have received a salary of US$4.93 million in the next two years...

Think about it when Richard asked for a three-year, three-year contract for 3 million, and Olshey argued with Richard.

Well now, there is no need to sign 3 million for three years. Counting Ben's salary for the season that just ended, Olshey will have to pay Ben about 5.7 million in salary in three years!

It’s almost double the price quoted by Richard!

What a big loss, blood loss!

Now Orsi is in deep regret and self-blame. What on earth was he thinking at the time? It would be great to directly agree to Richard.

…

Now that the contract is being negotiated, what can Olshey do?

I can only hold my nose and admit it...

The only thing that is gratifying for Olshey is that this middle-class salary is actually quite good value for Big Ben's strength. If he doesn't give it to him, some teams are willing to give it!

Now Ben can only get a mid-level contract at best. Even if he is now a completely free agent, if other teams want to sign him, they can only get a mid-level contract at best.

Therefore, the current big budget will not happen like Arenas in the future. The home team will not be able to match the contracts given by other teams and miss out on good players...

But after Ben's contract ends in the next two years, Arenas's case may happen...

By then, who knows if there will be a Ben-Wallace clause.

…

At present, the Trail Blazers only need to renew the contracts of Robinson and Ben, so Richard has basically completed the work of renewing the players' contracts.

The next step is naturally to start focusing on trading...

Trading of players, trading of draft picks, etc.

The lottery has ended long ago, and the picks in the hands of each team have also been fixed. The Trail Blazers who have entered the playoffs are naturally not eligible to participate in the lottery. Their own first-round pick is the tenth in the first round. Eighth pick!

And the draft pick obtained from the Hornets was even more miserable. It was only the 23rd pick in the first round...

With two first-round picks like this, it is basically impossible to select the player you want in this draft with very low star production.

So Richard directly started contacting all parties to conduct transactions...

…

Several newcomers to the team have not gone home at all since the last yacht party, and have been staying at the team's training ground to train.

Ben deeply felt his own lack of strength. If his strength could be stronger, his opponent O'Neal would not be defeated.

If you fight with Ma Long, you won't be at a disadvantage.

So Ben began to work hard to improve his strength, and with the help of the team's nutritionist, he began to gain muscle!

According to this kind of training intensity, after training for half a year, only one knows what a terrifying devil muscleman Ben will become in the future.

Big Ben has now fully understood his position. He doesn't have to score, or even score zero points in a game, but he must have rebounds, defense, and fights to win!

He had a hunch that he would definitely have a battle with Ma Long in the future!

In this battle, he must regain his place...

At this point, Xiao Ou is also crazy about gaining muscle and polishing his strength. Strength is basically the key to whether an inside player can stay in the inside. Without strength and tonnage, how can he take advantage of the inside and what can he use to fight against others at the basket? steel.

Xiao Ao is not the kind of basket player with exquisite skills, so the only thing in front of him now is to train hard!

While building muscle and polishing his strength, O'Brien is also training his mid-range shooting ability as much as possible.

Unlike Ben, Ou also has to take on some offensive responsibilities and develop a good mid-range shooting ability, which will definitely increase Ou's threat on the offensive end!

There is no need for a terrifying mid-range shooting ability like Rashid, it is enough to open up the opponent's defensive space under the basket.

…

As for Kobe, he is a little lonely now because Zhang Weiping has returned to China to reunite with his wife. He appears in the arena every early morning and trains alone. Every three days there are team staff to adjust the basket.

…

Richard was naturally very happy to see the crazy training of his players. The growth of new players depends on conscious training!

Don't underestimate offseason training, it may determine the player's performance in the new season.

Those who train hard may be able to perform at a level far higher than the previous season in the new season. For example, Oladipo, who was later traded to the Pacers by the Thunder, was originally criticized as a useless second-in-command of the Thunder after an offseason training. After arriving with the Pacers, he directly transformed into Ola Jordan, with all kinds of power!

There are countless examples of players who have transformed themselves in the new season because of hard training in the offseason.

Richard is also looking forward to whether these newcomers he selected can make any amazing improvements in the new season!

In the season that just ended, the newcomers selected by Richard actually performed extremely well, but they cannot be called amazing!

In fact, Richard has no idea how well these newcomers will perform in the new season...

But seeing how hard they trained, I expected they wouldn't be any worse.

Especially with Kobe, Richard felt that he needed to continue to let go of his shackles before the start of the new season.