The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 431 - 206: The Accomplished Young Su Wan Has a Gratitude List_2

Chapter 431: Chapter 206: The Accomplished Young Su Wan Has a Gratitude List_2

"Has Su Wan’s contract renewal not been signed yet?" Melvin Simon asked his brother, and seeing his brother nod, he spoke with some urgency, "Get this settled quickly, we must keep Su Wan, whatever the cost!"

Herbert Simon really wanted to tell his brother that the League was no longer as it used to be, the home team has the right to match any offer, and there’s also the Bird Clause, which allows Su Wan to sign an even larger contract. Their relationship with Su Wan was good, and Su Wan was having such a fruitful time in Indiana, all these were naturally falling into place. But seeing his brother so anxious, he didn’t argue but nodded, indicating he would immediately handle it.

That was his mindset then, but the next day, after seeing the news in the media, he immediately lost his confidence.

Numerous newspapers reported that the Pacers had become the 4th team in NBA history to create a Dynasty. And a vast majority of the coverage was about Su Wan, who at 22 years old, became the youngest in NBA history to be named "three-time Finals MVP"!

Many papers were already calling him the "Future God"—the future God of Basketball.

Su Wan’s exposure had reached a new level.

Naturally, all these were good things.

But the following reports made Herbert feel a sense of crisis:

"Dan Fegan: Su Wan’s commercial value is absolutely hindered in Indiana, he needs a bigger platform!"

"Reports reveal that senior Nike officials are contacting Su Wan, trying to persuade him to leave Bolis!"

"Is David Stern willing to see a player of Michael Jordan’s caliber always stay with the Pacers!"

...

Various media outlets believed that with Su Wan’s current influence and achievements on the court, he shouldn’t continue staying in Indiana.

Behind these reports, naturally, various forces were pushing. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

With Herbert’s intellect, after considering for a bit, he could understand which aspects were driving these voices.

However, what he needed to focus on were just two things.

The first was Su Wan’s own thoughts.

He originally didn’t need to worry.

After winning the first championship, Su Wan had said he would bring the Pacers to reach the heights they had during the ABA era.

Though they hadn’t spent much time together, Herbert knew he was a man of his word!

Once a goal was spoken, he would definitely see it through before considering other matters.

But now, he had already helped Indiana win "three consecutive championships," not just three championships but a "Dynasty," the influence formed was evident by the current exposure of the Pacers team.

The ABA era Pacers were long left behind.

Su Wan’s promise had been fulfilled.

Worse still, those media outlets weren’t wrong—with Su Wan’s media influence, if he went to a bigger city, he could definitely have more commercial endorsements.

This was something the "cornfield" couldn’t offer him.

So what Su Wan thought was very important.

Next was what David Stern thought...

As long as the League commissioner didn’t intend for Su Wan to leave Indiana and Su Wan himself didn’t want to leave, then regardless of how hard other forces tried, it would be useless.

The most crucial thing now was to find out Su Wan’s thoughts.

He quickly made a call to Donnie Walsh.

Donnie Walsh, upon receiving the call, immediately contacted Larry Bird.

Bird said, "I spoke with Su Wan last night..."

"What did he say?" Walsh asked.

"He said that this season the Pacers can first execute his fourth-year option, and as for everything else, we can discuss it after the new season," Bird relayed what Su Wan had said to Walsh.

Walsh quickly realized, "Does he want to see what the Pacers’ plans are next?"

"Um..." Bird also thought of this underlying message from Su Wan.

Winning the "three consecutive championships," the Dynasty had been built.

This was a cause for celebration.

But after the "three consecutive championships," there were a number of players whose contracts had ended, or would be entering contract years the next season. At this moment, how the Pacers’ management approached them would somewhat show whether the Pacers were willing to pay a high luxury tax to build the team and continue to compete for the O’Brien Cup.

Bear in mind, for the past three years, not only had the Pacers won the championship, but they also hadn’t had to pay luxury tax.

All this thanks to Su Wan’s "rookie contract."

But rookie contracts last only four years. It would soon expire, and with his ability, he definitely needed to sign a "Super Max Salary" contract which maxes out the "Bird Clause."

But the moment Su Wan signed a max contract, the Pacers’ salary space would absolutely exceed the luxury tax threshold.

But that would only be to re-sign Su Wan.

Other players like Calderon, Artest... their values were not covered by their original contracts anymore.

If they were all signed, with the Pacers’ payroll, it was equivalent to taking money from recent years to strive for the Championship Trophy.

No matter how good the owner was, he wouldn’t want to do such a thing.

Especially since the Pacers had just won "three consecutive championships," the owner’s craving for the Championship Trophy wouldn’t be so strong.

Looking at Mark Cuban, you would know. After winning the championship in 2011, he immediately dismantled the original Mavericks roster.

He couldn’t help it, if he didn’t dismantle it, the luxury tax alone would have forced him to bleed heavily.

Even looking at the Celtics in ’24 after winning the championship, the owner was even more eager to sell the team and run away.

Those billion-dollar contracts were truly too frightening!

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