stadium ambition

Chapter 274

Chapter 274

The trip to New York lasted for two days. At noon on the 28th, Su Yang returned to Los Angeles.

After a short rest, he drove to Malibu Beach, preparing to meet Matt Barnes, who had made an appointment in advance, in the NOBU restaurant where the Clippers often had meals. The theme of this meeting was that Barnes would try to Freelance work.

When they arrived at the place, Barnes was already waiting there. The two chatted a few words and got straight to the point.

"I am very happy to win the championship, and I am very happy to be able to fight this season with you and Zach. After a few days of consideration, I think my life should enter the next stage. I want to be in the free market. , looking for a long-term contract with a larger guarantee, you know what I mean?" Barnes said.

Su Yang nodded to express his understanding.

In 02, Barnes was selected by the Grizzlies as a second-round pick, and then traded to the Cavaliers. However, before the new season, he was laid off by the Cavaliers. It was not until September 03 that Barnes became a free agent. Signed with the Sonics.

But that contract only lasted for half a month, and Barnes was fired again, which can be described as repeated defeats.

As an ordinary player, most of them would seek overseas leagues or other opportunities, but Barnes did not give up. He persisted until January 04, and finally signed a contract with the Clippers, and that contract allowed him to play 1 games .

Afterwards, Barnes embarked on a journey of wage earners in the league, playing for the Kings, 76ers, Knicks and other teams.

Barnes made a name for himself in the Warriors, but was not retained, and could only accept the basic salary of a one-year veteran of the Suns.

Last season, the Clippers offered Barnes another one-year contract.

From the statistical results, in the past eight years, Barnes has only played in the Warriors for two consecutive years.

That feeling of wandering around is something a 30-year-old player desperately needs to get rid of.

As it happens to win the championship this year, Barnes's performance is notable. As a substitute or starting engineer role, he is very suitable for those teams who want to go further in the playoffs. ESPN and other media will list them as the top ten most popular roles in the free market. players.

Therefore, Su Yang understood Barnes' decision very well.

"I support your decision. Hinkie has talked to me. We will find a way to bring you back. You did a great job defending Durant, Kobe, and even Pierce. The team won the championship. You deserve a lot of credit. big."

Su Yang did not dare to pat his chest to make a promise, because there was news before that the Cavaliers intend to provide Barnes with a guaranteed contract of 2 million US dollars for 700 years, and the Raptors are even willing to offer 2 million US dollars for 900 years for Barnes. dollar contract.

"According to my agent, I am currently in a very good market..." Barnes smiled, "But if I don't get a satisfactory contract in the end, I will come back to you with the cheek, hahaha."

"Very welcome..."

What Su Yang said is true, but the Clippers need to solve the problem of the backup power forward first, because Gooden has notified in advance that he will not renew his contract. Tucker, who has already promised to sign even with a basic salary, and Paul George who has just been traded in the draft, there is no need to rush to add.

"I heard that LeBron and Wade are going to join forces in the Bulls, have you heard?"

After talking about the topic, Barnes entered the rhythm of chatting again, Su Yang responded casually, and the two began to eat dinner.

The dinner didn't end until nine o'clock in the evening. The two put their arms around each other's shoulders and posted a group photo on Twitter.

Early the next morning, Su Yang rushed to the Clippers training base to attend Paul George's welcome ceremony.

General manager Sam Hinkie and head coach Van Gundy attended together, and the staff prepared a grand media meeting. Compared with the desertedness of the Clippers media meeting in previous years, this time there were hundreds of media present.

At the press conference, a reporter asked about George taking the initiative to challenge Su Yang.

George smiled and said that at that time he was very jealous of Su Yang being praised by Kobe, and since then, he realized how powerful Su Yang is, but he never expected that Su Yang could make history and go straight to President Hill Location.

The reporter asked why Su Yang praised George as the strongest rookie in the draft, and whether he wanted to motivate George.

Su Yang replied that he didn't want to motivate, because George is the strongest player, and everyone will see it soon.

After the press conference, Su Yang took George to visit the training base, and arranged George's wardrobe in the locker room next to him.Tucker and Jordan Jr. also attended the welcome ceremony, joking to get George ready to carry his bag.

In the afternoon, Su Yang received a call from Wesley Matthews, inviting him to meet at the NOBU restaurant.

Su Yang guessed that Matthews wanted to talk about the free market, so he drove there immediately.

After the two met, Matthews seemed a little awkward and reserved compared to Barnes's free and easy manner.

After rambling a few words, but never getting to the point, Su Yang thought for a while, and simply opened his mouth.

"You want to say goodbye to me, don't worry, I'm happy to see you have a better option, you just lost luck, even if I didn't recommend you to the management, you will be signed by other teams value."

After the draft ended last year, Su Yang immediately asked the management to contact Matthews, who was unsuccessful in signing the contract.

The reason why Matthews was not selected is that he has poor shooting and athletic ability in the eyes of most scouts and managers.

Later, in the summer league, preseason, regular season, playoffs, and even the finals, Su Yang supported Matthews very much. Even if Matthews made consecutive mistakes, he always gave encouragement, which is regarded as unconditional trust.

Matthews expressed his thanks to Su Yang many times, but the key is to hold up that expectation, and his various performances are quite good.

"Yes..." Matthews breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had finally made up his mind.

"A team contacted my agent and offered me a huge deal. I couldn't believe the number, but it was true, so I wanted to go to that team, but it would be like that. Waste of your support and nurturing..."

Su Yang nodded silently.

The team that offered Matthews a super-big contract, if there is no accident, should still be the Blazers, and the specific contract should still be 5 million US dollars for 3253 years, and the average annual salary is higher than that of the No. [-] pick in the same year.

Obviously, no undrafted pick can refuse such a contract because it directly changes his life.

Not only did he become a multi-millionaire, but he also got guaranteed playing time and shooting rights, which is perfect.

"Don't think that way, you have also contributed to the team, and my support has not been wasted, because I have you as a success story, and I will pay more attention to this aspect in the future. This is a win-win for us. " Su Yang said.

Matthews was full of excitement: "If you can think like this, I can rest assured that I must pay the bill tonight!"

"OK, congratulations in advance for the good results in the new team, we are still good friends."

...

At noon on NO.30, there are less than 12 hours left before the NBA is free to start.Su Yang drove to the Clippers training base as usual, preparing for the final preparations for the upcoming free agent recruitment.

Van Gundy also rushed over, and everyone went to Sam Hinkie's office to check all kinds of information.

After a while, Hinkie got a call, hung up in a few words, and said: "Steve Blake decided to try the free market. Outlaw's agent also notified me before. Now, we have 9 players left on the roster. player..."

(End of this chapter)