One Thousand and Seventeen: Money Is No Longer Regarded as Money

When Link returned from Canada, it was already approaching July.

He didn't know whether Nash would accept the Grizzlies' invitation. Until Link and Pera left, Nash didn't give a clear answer.

But Nash is still hesitating, which shows that the Grizzlies have already won half the battle.

At least, this proves that he is really considering this issue seriously.

Is Nash a good teacher? Will his arrival really help the Grizzlies?

For Link, this is simply an unquestionable question. Because Nash has played such a role a long time ago and achieved success.

Since 2009, Nash has actually been serving as a mentor.

Just like Billups did in Denver, he teaches by words and deeds and guides the young people around him.

He taught Dudley how to eat and stay healthy, and taught Dragic some tricks like a master. Whether on or off the field, he is both a teacher and a friend, imparting his experience to his teammates without reservation.

Nash never touched sugar, highly processed foods and fried foods. He and Grant Hill once encouraged each other not to eat chocolate.

Hill once admitted in an interview, "I still get caught occasionally breaking the rules, but Steve, I really never saw him break the rules."

When a team has a leader who is so meticulous in everything from diet to training, the positive effect he brings is immeasurable.

As a result, Nash made the Suns' young bench the strongest in history!

So in the 2009-10 season, the Suns once unexpectedly occupied the top spot in the Western Conference. After the All-Star Game, they even went to 23 wins and 6 losses. In the end, they entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. And compared with the Lakers, who were first in the Western Conference at the time, they were only 3 games behind!

In the playoffs, the Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals, and fought with the then-champion Lakers in Game 6 in a dignified manner.

This is the impact that Steve Nash, as an excellent mentor, brings to a team.

If such a positive influence is grafted onto a grizzly bear... Link believes that this grizzly bear can burst out with more powerful power than the sun back then!

Back in Memphis, Link continued planning his wedding. At the same time, the annual summer transfer market has opened again.

In this summer's transfer market, there are actually not many big-name free agents.

Compared with James' free transfer to the Cavaliers and Durant joining the Warriors as a free agent in the past two years, the influence of stars such as Horford, Rondo, Rose, and Howard who entered the free agent market is not that huge.

But even so, it hasn’t stopped the madness of this summer.

Although there are no blockbuster players, this year, the degree of squandering of money by the teams has once again risen to a new level!

With the sharp increase in the salary cap, the amount of NBA free agent signings this year has also exceeded everyone's knowledge in the past.

A veteran like Pau Gasol can earn 31.5 million in two years if he joins the Spurs!

The Mavericks took Harrison Barnes away from the Warriors with a four-year contract worth up to 94 million in one breath.

Nicolas Batum, who averaged less than 10 points per game last season, signed a five-year, 120 million-dollar contract with the Hornets!

120 million in five years. In the past, this kind of price could only be enjoyed by the league's top superstars. But now, it appears on a player who is not even an All-Star.

Of course, these are not the most exaggerated.

In the days since the free agency market opened, more and more jaw-dropping transfers have emerged.

For a big man like Ryan Anderson who is almost useless except for three-point shooting, the Rockets gave him a salary of 80 million for 4 years, with an average annual salary of 20 million a year!

What is the concept of an annual salary of 20 million? The fourth position is also famous for his shooting. A top star like Dirk Nowitzki's annual salary at his peak was less than 20 million!

Of course, some people will say that Anderson averaged 17 points per game with the Pelicans last season. Even if he brushed it, this data is still pretty good.

Since they have the data, the Canadian contract can be considered excusable.

The Lakers signed Mozgov and Luol Deng for 4 years and 64 million respectively, which is really unreasonable.

Although Mozgov has reached the finals with the Cavaliers for two consecutive years, his statistics and actual role on the field are actually quite inconspicuous. To put it bluntly, even without Mozgov, the Cavaliers should still enter the finals.

The Russian center's salary for the previous six seasons combined was only 24.05 million. And now, the Lakers gave him 64 million in one breath!

Luol Deng is ostensibly a former All-Star, and he averaged 12+6 per game with the Heat last season. But Luol Deng is already 31 years old, and his condition has declined significantly.

Offering him a big contract worth 72 million at this time is obviously unreasonable.

If Ryan Anderson averages 17 points per game and earns 20 million, it makes sense. The signing of Mozgov and Luol Deng is really confusing.

However, these two magical signings actually happened in reality.

This is the state of this year's free agent market. Everyone's worth has gone up, and every team is no longer taking money as money.

Since then, many similar signings have appeared.

Evan Turner joined the Celtics for 70 million in four years, and a pure blue-collar player like Biyombo could also join the Magic for 72 million in four years. Dellavedova, a former Grizzlies player who no one would even take a look at, was also favored by the Bucks for 4 years and 38.5 million.

Last season, the Cavaliers shocked everyone by offering Dellavedova 5 million a year. And now, Dellavedova's worth has almost doubled again!

Of course, in such an environment, the value of star players is even more exaggerated.

DeRozan renewed his contract with the Raptors for 139 million, Al Horford joined the Celtics for 113 million, Bradley Beal stayed with the Wizards for 128 million, and the Pistons also retained Drummond for 130 million.

Billion-dollar contracts are everywhere now, and there is nothing surprising at all.

Among them, the Grizzlies' contract extension price for Conley is the highest.

A few days after the transfer market opened, the Grizzlies announced a five-year, $140 million contract extension for Conley.

This time, Pera and the others did not lose the championship piece. They acted very decisively, and Conley also firmly stated that he only wanted to renew his contract with the Grizzlies.

Conley didn't even pay attention to offers from other teams.

Keeping Conley is the first good news for the Grizzlies this summer.

Although Gasol was only renewed last season, Conley was offered a 100 million yuan contract this season. But with the salary cap soaring, the Grizzlies still have room to operate.

As for the five-year maximum salary of 93 million that Link signed with the Grizzlies in 2014, it is completely unremarkable from today's perspective.

With money in hand, the Grizzlies began scouring the free agent market in hopes of finding the type of pick they crave at the No. 2 spot.

Originally, Pera was very interested in Eric Gordon, the No. 7 pick in 2008 who had a frustrating season with the Pelicans last season. Gordon can shoot three-pointers, has experience, and has good scoring ability. Although he has poor height and wingspan on defense, Gordon A little bit off, but very capable. It can be said that it perfectly meets the needs of the Grizzlies.

But in the end, Gordon chose to join the Rockets. He believes he can play better under D'Antoni.

Later, Perla came into contact with Courtney Lee, an experienced "top player". But Li chose New York without hesitation, where the exposure is greater. Most importantly, New York is forming a multi-giant team, and the prospects of winning the championship seem to be better.

As a result, Pera almost got excited and prepared to scratch Chandler Parsons' "lottery ticket".

Fortunately, in the end he was persuaded by Link and Chris Wallace, so he did not repeat the historical tragedy...

In the free agent market, the Grizzlies were hit hard again. The disadvantages of a small city and the end of last season's golden era have begun to affect the Grizzlies' operations.

At this moment, a big news broke in the free agent market.

On July 5, an ESPN reporter broke the news, “Dwyane Wade’s fate with the Miami Heat is over!”