The draft is over, and various media outlets have reported and commented on the draft as soon as possible.
It can be said that no matter how you review and introduce this draft, you can't bypass the Orlando Magic. After all, the Magic overwhelmingly selected 6 rookies in this draft, including No. 1 pick Howard.
However, various media generally do not have high evaluations of the Magic's draft.
The tnt commentary team directly commented on the Magic's draft process in an all-round way.
"Anyway, there will be more than 30 new faces in the NBA next season. We would like to congratulate these people first, but we also remind them that this is just the beginning. Entering the league does not mean that they can stand in the league. You have to do a good job.
Psychological preparation. The management of the Orlando Magic has become the biggest protagonist in this draft, even surpassing Dwight Howard, who became the No. 1 pick. But unfortunately, the Magic are also the biggest loser in this draft.
First of all, why choose Howard instead of Okafor? Maybe the Magic are really scared of injuries, so they pay extra attention to Okafor's injury history, but Howard is really better than Okafor. He is just a high school student.
As a student, he has yet to prove himself on the national stage. Although he is making all the difference in the high school league, it is only high school after all, and this is professional basketball, this is the NBA, where the best players in the world gather. Look at the previous top picks in high school,
Howard is not James. James was the focus of the public in high school, but Howard did not have this experience. The pressure of public opinion will crush him, just like Kwame Brown.
Although choosing Howard is a big risk, it is still acceptable. What is really unacceptable is that the Magic went crazy and selected 6 rookies, winning 6 rookies in one draft, and in order to get these
As a rookie, the Magic traded away Tracy McGrady, Stevenson, Tyronn Lue and other key players from last season.
It is common in the league to give up the team's present and gamble on the future, but it is really stupid to make such a gamble in the same draft.
In short, the Magic's scouts are very busy, and they need to quickly prepare for next year's draft."
Everyone looks down on the Magic's draft and the Magic's future, but Edison "chooses his own people, leads his own team, and lets others take care of it."
Someone comes and someone leaves. With 6 young faces joining the Orlando camp, the Magic are now overstretched, and Edison's next task is to lay off employees and determine the team for next season.
First of all, Edison didn’t even think about Britton Johnson and Dial’s contracts expiring. I’m sorry, but I wish you success in the future.
Then Pachulia was chosen by the expansion Bobcats before, which can be regarded as doing Edison a favor.
The rest are all under contract.
Edison calculated that the Magic now had 16 players, exceeding the contract limit that could be signed. Edison and Thibodeau combined their efforts and first paid attention to veteran Kevin Willis.
Kevin Willis is a veteran of the NBA. He is a center and has 19 years of playing experience. You read it correctly, 19 years. He was born in 1962, the same year as Ewing and others. He still has one year left.
Veteran minimum salary contract.
Edison invited Willis to his office and said frankly: "Don't fight anymore and enjoy your life. You can't be a staff member of the team."
And Willis was convinced that he couldn't play anymore, so the two sides hit it off, the veteran was laid off, and then re-entered the Amway Center as a staff member.
Those who need to be selected have been selected, and those who should be cut have been cut. Edison’s next problem is to sign a contract. This year’s league’s salary cap and luxury tax line have not been announced yet. It is impossible for Edison to remember this kind of information, but he
I know it is similar to what the media predicted. The salary cap predicted by the media is US$43.9 million...
Before the salary cap was announced, it was difficult to carry out any transactions and signings of NBA players, because you have no basis. If you don’t meet the standards, your work will be in vain. This is why in the league, except for Nash and Boozer, there are no
What a big reason for free signing, and the Rockets' trade was also because Alexander's stinginess caused the Rockets to be significantly below the salary cap.
But as mentioned before, history has changed. Edison is not sure and has to wait for the results to be officially announced by the alliance.
Half a month later, on July 13, the league officially announced that the salary cap for the 2004-05 season was US$43.87 million, the luxury tax line was US$54.6 million, and the mid-level exception was US$4.9 million.
The salary cap is easy to understand. It is based on the total revenue of the NBA in the previous year, and then takes 48% of this total revenue as the capital for the NBA team to spend money. Then take this 48% revenue and divide it by 29 (NBA last season’s players
The total number of teams (will become 30 in the future), and the average is the salary cap for that year. The total salary spent by each team on players must not exceed this number. Teams whose total salary is below the salary cap can compete with free agents
When you sign a contract, you can give it as much as you want. But if your current salary exceeds the salary cap, sorry, you can't just sign with a free agent. After a series of big gifts from Edison, the Magic finally paid off what they had already signed.
The contract is within the salary cap, reaching US$42.6 million (there will be a list of players' salaries later), so there is no problem signing Nash.
But with the signing of Nash, problems also emerged.
The Magic's current salary is 42.6 million US dollars, and the contract Edison intends to give Nash is 66 million for 6 years, and it will decrease with each year. According to the league's standards, Nash can get a maximum of 13.16 million next year. In other words, in
Without signing six rookies, the Magic's total salary for next season has reached an astonishing $5,576, exceeding the luxury tax by nearly $1.2 million.
The luxury tax means that if the team's total salary exceeds the luxury tax line stipulated by the league, then the team must pay an additional 100% luxury tax. That is, if the salary paid by the team to the players exceeds the luxury tax, the team will pay the extra part
It will also be paid to the league. Simply put, after exceeding the luxury tax line, the salary you pay to the players is 2 yuan equal to 1 yuan.
The special case of the mid-level is that teams that exceed the salary cap cannot theoretically sign free agents. The mid-level means that you can use so much money to sign people, but the wages generated are also included in the luxury tax.
The total salary of the six rookies is still 10 million, which means that the Magic will pay more than 11 million in luxury tax next season.
If the Magic were a strong team competing for the championship level, then it would be enough to pay more than 10 million. However, the Magic are now a bad team at the bottom of the league. If they still have to pay such a high luxury tax, it is outrageous.
.
So the stingy three-person team including Old Pat, Dev and Otis called Edison to the office again and explained the problem to him. They clearly told Edison that this would definitely not work and demanded that the team's salary be controlled below the luxury line.
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But Edison argued that it was impossible because the team had Hill, who had an annual salary of 13.5 million, but no one was sure whether he could play again. With him, it was impossible to control his salary below the luxury tax line.
What Edison said was a fact. Hill's big contract was there, Old Pat and others knew about it, and there was really nothing they could do about it.
The final result is that the team's salary is initially required to be controlled to less than 60 million, but if the team's performance is poor, it will be further reduced to 58 million. This is already the biggest concession for the team management, and Edison
He also knows that if he does not perform well leading the team, he will definitely be fired, and it will be easy for the team to further reduce wages.
So Edison first said hello to Otis, the manager of the player development department. He would definitely find a way to reduce his salary, but Nash must sign immediately, and the six newly selected rookies must also sign immediately, all of which are 4 years and 3 years.
+1 contract. Otis also agreed to this, and soon signed with Nash first, and then signed contracts with rookies...
Why emphasize the order of signing? Because if the rookie is signed first, the Magic's current salary will exceed the salary cap, and then Nash cannot be signed. As for the mid-level player, it seems that the Magic will not be able to use it this year.
So Edison and Thibodeau began to study the team's existing lineup again to see who could solve the burden and who was an indispensable member for the new season.
The current Magic lineup is:
Center: 4 people
No. 1 overall pick DeWalt Howard, a rookie, had a four-year, $19.54 million contract. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expired in the summer of 2008, with a contract of $4.17 million that year.
Varejao's rookie contract was 4 years and 4 million US dollars. It was signed with 716 in 2004 and expired in the summer of 2008. It was 820,000 US dollars that year.
De Klerk has nine years of playing experience, one year left on his contract worth 2.5 million, and a team option this summer.
Steven Hunter's 3-year contract was worth 6.4 million over four years, signed in 2001, expiring in 2005, with a team option in the summer of 2004, worth 2.3 million that year.
Power forward: 3 people
Josh Smith is a rookie with a 4-year contract worth $6.34 million. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expires in the summer of 2008. He has a team option in the summer of 2007 for $1.2 million that year.
Juwan Howard's 10-year contract is worth 28 million over five years, signed in 2003-716, expiring in 2008, with a team option in the summer of 2007, worth 5.6 million that year.
Drew Gooden's 2-year contract was worth 14 million over four years, signed in 2002-711, expiring in 2006, with a team option in the summer of 2005, worth 4.1 million that year.
Small forward: 3 people
Marion's 5-year contract is worth 79 million in 6 years, signed in 2002-715, expiring in 2008, with a team option in the summer of 2007, worth 13 million that year.
Grant Hill's 9-year contract was worth 93 million for 7 years, signed in 200078, expiring in 2007, and worth 13.5 million that year.
Boris Diaw's 1-year contract was worth 5.5 million over four years, signed in 2003712, expiring in 2007, with a team option in the summer of 2007, worth 1 million that year.
Shooting guards: 3
Iguodala was a rookie with a 4-year contract worth $11 million. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expired in 2008. He had a team option in the summer of 2007 for $2.4 million that year.
Tony Allen was a rookie with a four-year contract worth $5.8 million. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expired in the summer of 2008. He had a team option in the summer of 2007 for $1.05 million that year.
Kevin Martin is a rookie, with a 4-year contract worth 4.6 million. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expires in the summer of 2008. He has a team option in the summer of 2007, worth 840,000 that year.
Point guard: 2
Nash has 8 years of playing experience and a 6-year contract worth 66 million. He signed with 716 in 2004 and expired in 2010. He had a team option in the summer of 2009 and the price was 13.16 million that year.
Bogans has 1 year of playing experience, a 4-year contract worth 2.7 million, signed in 2003, 710, expiring in 2006, and a team option in the summer of 2005, worth 600,000 that year.
Added together, the total value of the current contract for next season has reached an astonishing US$66.24 million. Edison must find a way to reduce his salary by more than US$6.2 million in order to meet the requirements of the stingy trio.
Edison is very clear that the six rookies cannot be moved because they have talent and potential, and more importantly, their contracts are very cost-effective. If they are traded, the overall salary will not change much.
Nash cannot be let go, he is the foundation of all Edison's plans.
Marion can't leave. First of all, Marion has the strength. His salary of 13 million is guaranteed in quality and quantity, and he is the starting player in Edison's future plan. Besides, the Magic have too many young players, and Nash, a veteran, will definitely not be enough. They still need
Several veterans helped control the situation.
Grant Hill was the main culprit for the Magic's high salary. Edison wanted to get rid of him, but unfortunately, there was no way. It was impossible to trade him. He was not old enough to buy him out. What did you mean by the amnesty clause?
Sorry, that didn't appear until after 2005. It's still more than a year away from now. Water from afar can't quench the thirst of the nearer.
What, you said you made a suggestion to the league to let the amnesty clause come out in advance. That's very embarrassing, the people in Orlando really don't have the qualifications. The NBA is a business organization, which is composed of countless capitals. If you want to leverage the top management, you must
Have enough status, or enough money.
The original amnesty clause appeared in New York and was proposed after "CIC King" Alan Houston was seriously injured again.
Of course, there are two reasons for this. First, Houston's contract is indeed too big, close to 20 million. However, in the league, there are more people like Grant Hill with a salary of 10 to 15 million who cannot play because of injuries.
The sum of their contracts is much more exaggerated than that of Houston. Although their boss has been proposing an amnesty to the league, it has never been successful. But why did New York succeed all of a sudden? Why is this?…
This involves another very important reason, which is actually very simple, that is - New Yorkers have money, strength, and influence. As I said before, no matter how famous the NBA is in the world and how influential it is, it is still a commercial organization in essence.
New York is the commercial and financial center of the world. The shareholders of the Knicks can be said to be complex and powerful. When these Wall Street tycoons become dissatisfied, everyone has to give face, and Stern is no exception.
And do the Magic have such powerful shareholders? Does Orlando have such a strong backend?
Therefore, Magic's offer of amnesty can only bring humiliation to himself, and Edison's only thought is to use what may happen in the future to gain the greatest benefit.
So it is possible that Edison does not intend to trade Hill and must prepare for future amnesty clauses. Of course, history has changed now, and no one can guarantee whether Houston will be injured again, but even if Hill is not injured, he will still have
This kind of contract is not too bad, because Edison knows that Hill has gradually started to get rid of injuries since this season, and now that Carter and Nelson are there, he is far away from injuries.
Of course, what is different from history is that Dr. Carter feels that Hill's previous surgery was not perfect, and plans to perform a repair surgery on Hill's knee in the summer to allow him to recover better. Hill has suffered from surgeries in recent years.
Shi, he himself is completely immune to surgery.
Regarding the surgery, Hill's current state is like "you slap him wildly, but he doesn't care, but instead yells: so what, what do you want, what else can you do", which is completely unfair. Of course, the cost of the surgery
It’s just that Hill’s comeback time will be delayed again. And now the Magic’s trainer Nelson is a staunch supporter of thorough training, so Hill will have to wait until December at the earliest, one month after the start of the new season.
Comeback. If the recovery goes badly, it will really be goodbye in 2005.
Of course, regarding Hill's delay in his comeback, the Magic's management also took the attitude of "so what, you can do whatever you want", which is not surprising.
One more thing, historically, Hill was not pardoned in the end because Hill's injuries were resolved this season and he averaged 20 points per game. In the end, it was Doug Christie who was waived by the Magic.
Boris Diaw, the French magician, is not a fat man yet. He is a standard chocolate handsome man - with chocolate-like eight-pack abs, a tall and straight figure, and handsome appearance. One of the best passing and supporting insiders in the NBA.
, is the offensive organizer of Edison's backup lineup in the new season plan, and his annual salary is only 1 million. It is also a cost-effective contract, so he can just pass it on.
The remaining five are De Klerk, Hunter, Uncle Huo, Gooden and Bogans. Among them, except Bogans, whose contract is relatively small, the other four are relatively promising.
De Klerk and Hunter are easy to handle. They both have team options now. As long as the Magic wants to, they can not fulfill the last year of their contracts. Their two contracts with a total value of 4.8 million will be cleared directly. But the problem is
Even if both people's assets are cleared, there is still a shortfall of 4.8 million yuan, and there is still a gap of 1.4 million yuan.
So the final solution fell on Uncle Huo and Gu Deng. As long as these two people solve one of them, they basically solve the magic problem. As long as they can send out one of them, they can then lay off anyone at will.
, the Magic's salary has steadily reached below 60 million.
But the problem is how to deal with one of them? Is there any way to send one of them away?
Not to mention, there really is a living Lei Feng in this world. He will rush to give you a pillow when he sees you dozing off. Of course, this is also the function of Edison's halo as the protagonist.
A team has come to apply for a trade.
Many people disdain Ha Shengzhen's strength, but I want to emphasize that he was once selected into the NBA's top ten and "the NBA's top ten ugly men".
