The Godfather of Basketball

The draft is over, and what awaits the Thunder is the next free agent market.

This year's free agency market has not been quiet at all.

The "Warcraft" Howard of the Lakers and the Chris Paul of the Cavaliers both have their contracts expired one after another. They are undoubtedly the two biggest stars in the free agent market.

In addition, Millsap of the Bucks, Al Jefferson of the Jazz, Iguodala of the Nuggets, Manu Ginobili of the Spurs, David West of the Pacers , JR Smith of the Knicks, Jack of the Warriors, etc., are all quite marketable players.

These Thunder teams are unable to get involved, and their goals are those players who don't have much market, but still have certain market competitiveness.

Tang Tian and Jones listed some possible signings before the free market door opened.

Korver, who played for the Hawks last season, Belinelli of the Bulls, OJ Mayo and Anthony Morrow of the Mavericks, Corey Brewer of the Nuggets, Nick Young of the 76ers, Randy Foye and Mo Williams of the Jazz.

After completing the draft, the Thunder are now relatively short on swingmen at the front.

After dismissing Jones, Tang Tian picked up the team roster and looked at it.

The team signed two big contracts last summer, and the salary space for this season is a bit explosive.

Point guard: Westbrook, Barea, Ish Smith

Shooting guards: Harden, Bazemore

Small forwards: Durant, Middleton

Power Forward: Tucker, Collison

Center: Ibaka, Brown, O'Quinn

In this list, the combined salary of the four juniors alone is 56 million, and the contract of the role players exceeds 71 ​​million.

The salary cap estimate for the new season is 56.8 million, and the luxury tax is 71.7 million.

Tang Tian's lineup for the team basically spent every penny wisely, but because of this, it will be very difficult for them to reinforce in the summer. Although the goals are outlined, those are not a Everyone is willing to accept low wages.

The time came to July 1 unknowingly, and the free agent market of the new season officially opened the door at zero o'clock.

Just the moment after the door opened, many deals were concluded immediately.

Paul and the Cavaliers reached a five-year $107 million maximum salary extension contract, which is also the largest extension contract he can get.

David West and the Pacers reached a three-year, $36 million contract extension.

Kevin Martin and the Rockets reached a three-year contract extension of 30 million, of which the third year is a team option.

Ginobili and the Spurs reached a 2-year contract extension of 10 million yuan. The total amount of this contract is outrageously low. In order to give the team more room for reinforcement in the summer, Ginobili has done a lot. Great sacrifice.

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The signing news that broke out at the first time is basically the news that they are confirmed to stay in the team.

Those who really test the free agent market will continue to negotiate with the teams in the days to come.

For example, Howard, after Paul chose to renew his contract, as the biggest player in the free market, he made a meeting list, and he had to negotiate with all teams before deciding on his final move.

The Thunder also contacted the targets on the list one after another after the free market opened.

The Thunder's reinforcements shouldn't be too big, but Tang Tian is still quite curious about the free agent market.

In the previous life, Harden went to the Rockets to attract Howard to join. Now that Harden is still in the Thunder, the possibility of Howard joining should not be great.

Free agency continues.

At this time, the alliance introduced two new policies.

One is related to the FMVP selection. In the new rules, the FMVP will no longer be voted by only 11 media outlets. Their voting results will account for 50% of the total. Exchange of votes.

In addition, after further discussions between the labor and management, a clause similar to the "Ross Clause" will be added to the new agreement to add players who performed well in their rookie season.

The timing of this move is also dubbed the "Thunder Clause" by many fans, in order to prevent the emergence of a super team like the Thunder.

There can be stable salary space, the core players are still very young, and it is really difficult for other teams to play.

Tang Tian didn't care. Anyway, it's not a problem for Thunderbolt to maintain this lineup for four or five years. As for what happens after four or five years, it's still early.

Korver, Belinelli, Mayo, and Nick Young rejected the Thunder's invitation successively. They were at their peak, and the Thunder's quotation details could not meet their requirements.

Randy Foye and Mo Williams are both still under consideration.

However, there is one person who has already negotiated very deeply with the Thunder.

The Hawks used Anthony Morrow to trade with the Thunder last season, but it was unsuccessful. Then they traded Morrow to the Mavericks. After half a season in the Mavericks, the data was dismal. The market in the free market was very poor. Now there is a chance Back under the command of the former coach, it is normal to get close to the Thunder.

According to this momentum, there is a high probability that the Thunder can sign Morrow in the free market.

Whether it's Morrow or not, the Thunder's current lineup is a big threat, and what they need is someone who can shoot three-pointers. That's what Middleton did last season.

The negotiations between the two parties continued to deepen, and Tang Tian soon met the former disciple in the office.

The two parties reached a 2-year 4 million contract with team options for the second year.

Although Morrow was very good in the Rockets team under Tang Tian's transformation, but he has been wandering outside for the past few years, and he doesn't know how much strength he still has. It is obviously more powerful for the Thunder, and for Morrow, the Thunder He is already very satisfied that the team can offer a contract with a super-basic salary.

After completing the signing, the Thunder officially announced the news.

Coincidentally, shortly after the Thunder released the signing news, Howard also announced his final decision.

He will sign a 4-year extension contract with the Rockets close to 88 million, with player options in the fourth year. This contract also includes a 15% transaction guarantee.

Tang Tian was taken aback by this decision, but soon, he seemed to be relieved.

Houston has one advantage over Los Angeles in that it has less taxes. Although the Lakers can get an extra year of maximum salary, the salary they can get in four years is much less.

Moreover, the Lakers had a poor record last season, and there were constant conflicts within the team. Howard was dissatisfied with Kobe's shot rights. He returned to Houston, which is also a big city and the leader of the team, so he was naturally happy.

And one more thing, the Rockets have always had a big man tradition, from Hayes to Sampson, and then from Olajuwon to Yao Ming, Howard is expected to continue this tradition.

And then Howard's words on Twitter also confirmed this.

"The Rockets have great big man genes. They will really help me improve my court strength. This is an important reason that attracted me to join Houston. I am the kind of person who needs to be pushed to maximize my potential, so I chose Join the Rockets."