One Thousand and Nine: A Transfer Period with More Outgoings and Less Incomings

On June 30, Link and Rachel, who had just celebrated their 27th birthdays a few days ago, left Memphis and officially started their long-planned European tour.

Of course, the world doesn't stop just because Link leaves Memphis.

The day they left happened to be a day when the NBA free agent market was restless. All teams have piles of cash ready to spend in the coming days.

As the new television broadcast agreement is about to take effect, the league's salary cap will increase by at least 30% next year. Each team has more room for maneuver, and the bosses will naturally not let go of this opportunity to spend money on the championship.

At noon on June 30, not long after Link got on the plane, Kevin Durant suddenly announced that he would jump out of the last year of his contract with the Thunder and enter the free agent market.

At first, no one took it seriously. Because jumping out of the contract does not necessarily mean that you will definitely leave.

James also jumped out of his contract this summer, but as we all know, he just wanted to sign a new, more expensive contract with the Cavaliers.

Now that the league's salary cap has skyrocketed, it is not difficult to understand why Durant jumped out of his contract to seek a higher salary.

However, in the afternoon, Durant said in an interview with reporters, "I jumped out of the contract hoping to find a new home. I love Oklahoma, I love the fans and teammates there. But I feel that my career is It’s time to make some changes.”

When Durant said these words, the entire league seemed to be shocked.

Kevin Durant, considered a superstar on the same level as Link and James in the league, suddenly announced that he wanted to leave the Thunder!

In an instant, the entire public opinion and free agent market exploded.

Now, there are definitely a lot of teams re-planning their summer signing order. Among the 29 teams except the Thunder, at least half of them have made Durant their number one target!

In an instant, the news that Jimmy Butler decided to leave the Grizzlies dropped.

People are naturally more concerned about Durant's ownership than Butler.

"There's no question that Kevin is disappointed that the Thunder didn't make the playoffs this year."

"This is the tragedy of a small ball market. They managed to cultivate a superstar, but there is no way for him to stay here forever."

"It's nothing sad. The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't seize the opportunity to win the championship, and their management didn't work hard for the championship. I'm not surprised at all that Durant wants to leave."

Experts from all walks of life have different opinions, and everyone is trying to analyze Durant's mental journey. On the Internet, posts or updates predicting Durant's next career have incredibly high numbers of reads and reposts.

Bill Simmons did not participate in this farce. Fans are looking forward to him writing an analysis article analyzing Durant's future ownership and the future direction of his career.

As a person who has a thorough understanding of the NBA league, Bill Simmons' "hit rate" in predictions and analysis is often very high.

But Simmons took no action and just posted a message on his social media.

"Finally, Kevin Durant's popularity overtook Link. He finally experienced the feeling of being the league's hegemon and made headlines. It's a pity that it happened in this way. I have nothing to say at the moment. , anyway, the answer will be revealed in a few days."

Simmons is obviously indifferent to such things. Durant's incident can only illustrate one problem - Link's existence has accelerated the growth of the "team-building" trend.

Because it turns out that

You can't defeat Link alone. Even if you join a team, you may not be able to outdo Link.

If other stars want to occupy a place in this era, they must unite and defend against enemies together.

Simmons shook his head. It seems that this situation has never happened in NBA history.

Because a certain player is too strong, several other strong players have to stick together for warmth...

Durant's decision, in fact, reflected Link's greatness from the side.

With this kind of thinking, it is actually not difficult to predict Durant's ownership. How many teams are there in the league that are so powerful that they have a chance to defeat Link after Durant joins?

The news that Durant is planning to find another player has become a topic of conversation among fans in the past two days, and it has also made the fans' wait for these two days less painful.

Time entered July, and on the first day after the free agent market officially opened, fans witnessed what it means to spend money like water.

Just 24 hours after the free agent market opened, the league spent a total of 1.5 billion US dollars!

The amount of consumption is staggering.

Link's old rival Draymond Green became the first of the nouveau riche after the free agent market opened. His salary last season was only US$910,000. This year he immediately signed a five-year, US$85 million long-term contract with the Warriors. ! In the new season, he will receive a salary of US$17 million!

There is no doubt that Green's performance last season allowed him to turn around. In the future, Draymond Green's name will be added to the story of NBA second-round picks' counterattacks.

After that, "Big Eyebrow Brother" Anthony Davis signed the largest single contract in NBA history of US$145 million with the Pelicans.

Although in the past season, the Pelicans had no power to fight back against the Grizzlies. But Davis still chose to continue to settle in the Pelicans. He is still young, and both he and this team still have a lot of room for growth. They don't have to worry.

And the one who spent the most on trading on the first day was the Cavaliers. If you want to stabilize the championship lineup, you must pay a price.

They first offered Loew a five-year contract worth $110 million, ensuring the structure of the Big Three. Subsequently, Tristan Thompson was offered a five-year, $80 million contract. This means that the Cavaliers have invested a full $190 million in the power forward position alone!

Next, they made another move and reached a four-year, $40 million contract with Shumpert. In one day, the Cavaliers spent a staggering $230 million.

Of course, this is not over yet, this is just the first day of the Cavaliers' operations. Then the Cavaliers will have to renew important players such as James and J.R. Smith. A new lineup with the highest salary in NBA history may appear at any time.

Cleveland needs a championship. This belief has penetrated into the Cavaliers' bones. In order to achieve the goal, I am willing to spend any amount of money.

In addition, even role players such as Jeff Green and Asik have received tens of millions of contracts. The increase in the league's salary cap has made this year's free agent market full of dollar bills.

The first day of the transfer market was so exciting, and in the following days, explosive transfers emerged one after another.

Wade stayed in Miami for 20 million a year, the Pistons stayed with Reggie Jackson for 80 million in 5 years, and Aldridge joined the Spurs for 80 million in 4 years! As soon as San Antonio's "Double-Germany Combination" was formed, it was considered the Grizzlies' biggest rival in the West.

Of course, there was also a lot of news about the Grizzlies during this period. But what makes Grizzlies fans sad is that most of the Grizzlies' transfers are related to departures.

The passionate Australian guard Dellavedova was poached by the Cavaliers for $5 million in one year. Whiteside, who made his fortune with the Grizzlies, directly signed an exaggerated four-year contract worth $88 million with the Heat!

Pat Riley didn't want to waste any potential stocks, and he saw full potential in Whiteside. So, he directly took it at a price close to the maximum salary. There is no doubt that he regards Whiteside as the core of the Heat's team building in the post-Big Three era.

As the originator of the theory of "greed for excess", Pat Riley knows the Grizzlies' current situation all too well.

After winning the championship, the value of the Grizzlies players will skyrocket, and the Grizzlies players will also want more performance opportunities.

This is destined to make it difficult for the Grizzlies to keep everyone. For Whiteside's contract worth $88 million, judging from the Grizzlies' current lineup structure, they simply cannot afford such a price. You know, Aldridge joined the Spurs for only 80 million in 4 years!

And in the Heat, Pat Riley can also ensure Whiteside's core position, but in the Grizzlies he can only play as a substitute.

Although Whiteside also has feelings for the Grizzlies, he also likes Link as a leader. But as a person who couldn't even make it to the CBA, and now suddenly has an exaggerated $88 million and core status in front of him, Whiteside has no choice at all.

So he packed his bags and said goodbye to the place of his rebirth. The grizzly bear once again damaged the general!

After Whiteside, Jimmy Butler officially signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. Although fans have already been mentally prepared for Butler's departure. But when he actually signed his name on a contract with another team, fans couldn't help but feel a little sad.

95 million in 5 years. Like Whiteside, Butler received core-like treatment. And this is the second player who left the Grizzlies to be trained as a core by other teams.

People can't help but sigh, how strong the Grizzlies were last season! The two core players in the team can only help Link in the Grizzlies!

After that, Ezeli, whose playing time dropped sharply last season, also chose to leave. He joined the Trail Blazers hoping to prove himself again in Portland.

At this point, the backbone of the Grizzlies, who were in their prime year, was gone. Most of the remaining players are either too young or too old.

Fortunately, Marc Gasol readily signed his name on the contract extension at a price of 90 million for five years, stayed in Memphis, and continued to guard the Grizzlies inside. The news of Gasol's contract extension is the only good news for the Grizzlies since the free agent market began.

At this time, the time has come to mid-July. While the NBA league is undergoing annual changes, Link and Rachel have already arrived at the most important stop of their European tour-Italy.

Link also follows the news about the Grizzlies every day, but he can do nothing about the transfer.

And he had already expected that more people would leave after Butler.

So, when it actually happens, it's not that uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Gasol's decision to stay in Memphis gave Link some comfort.

It also allowed him to start the climax of his sunny vacation wholeheartedly and with a good mood.