Danny Ferry left with disappointment. Then on the third day after Lin Yu accepted the offer, he and Danny Ferry made an appointment to complete the contract extension, but Danny Ferry did not show up.
Lin Yu was not in a hurry. He knew very well that it was not him who was anxious, but Danny Ferry.
The problem now is that Danny Ferry must renew Lin Yu with a four-year, $64.28 million contract. If he cannot do this, public opinion and hidden dangers within the team will always exist.
Therefore, Danny Ferry has not chosen to match the Magic's offer for the time being.
But the news about his meeting with Lin Yu the evening before came out from nowhere, and ESPN made a follow-up report. A report by Zach Lowe said: "Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry
When I arrived in Los Angeles, I wanted to give Lin Yu a salary increase, but Lin Yu rejected the proposal and the negotiations between the two parties have broken down!"
As soon as this report came out, public opinion was even more one-sided in attacking the Cavaliers.
Stephen A. Smith expressed his opinion in ESPN's special program on the transfer period: "If the Cavaliers cannot take good care of their championship achievements, it will be difficult for them to sign the free agents they want in the next free market."
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith also wrote in their ESPN column: "Young LeBron and young China Lin have unlimited possibilities. I once hoped that they would not disintegrate because of certain problems like the OK combination, but
Look now, they just won the championship and are already facing the problem of falling apart."
"What are the Cavaliers thinking? It's only 2.28 million more than 4 years? Why not just give it to them? Is there any use in trying to remedy it now? Even if the remedy is successful, the scars will not fade away."
Danny Ferry felt increasingly anxious. He soon received a call from team owner Dan Gilbert, who was met with a scolding.
"What on earth are you doing? He wants a maximum salary, so just give him a maximum salary. I'm not asking you to come here to create this or that contradiction for the team. Hurry up and end this farce.
Otherwise...you understand!"
In Dan Gilbert's mind, Lin Yu's importance is already higher than that of LeBron James, because he made a lot of dollars from Lin Yu.
Before the Cavaliers won the championship, they received several sponsorship contracts from China, worth approximately tens of millions of dollars.
After winning the championship, Lin Yu won the FMVP trophy. In just two weeks, the Cavaliers had already received five or six sponsorship agreements worth a total of 20 to 30 million US dollars.
If all of them are signed, the Cavaliers will make as much as 30 to 40 million US dollars every year from China, or to be more precise, from Lin Yu.
In 2007, this was a huge sum of money for any NBA team, not to mention that the Cavaliers were still a team in a small market and did not have as high a revenue as the Lakers and Knicks.
Then, Danny Ferry received another call from LeBron James. Although Cleveland's first championship, FMVP, was not his own, James was still able to recognize the reality. He knew that the Cavaliers could not do without Lin Yu, or to be more precise.
, James’ own breakthrough system is inseparable from Lin Yu.
James also strongly demanded that Danny Ferry solve the current problem and must keep Lin Yu.
Danny Ferry can only guarantee that he will be able to keep Lin Yu, but it is difficult to guarantee whether Lin Yu will be happy.
#
Like Danny Ferry, Lin Yu also received some calls, from Mike Brown, from Anderson Varejao, from Zarunas Ilgauskas...
And LeBron James’ phone number.
James called, and the first sentence he started with was: "Hey, brother, I know you have been wronged, but think about the prospects of our partnership and stop causing trouble."
Listening to James' words, Lin Yu struggled to hold back a smile. He wanted to tell James that even if he left the Cavaliers, he could still have a bright future.
But all James has is a quote from Duncan like "The future is yours."
Considering that he was talking to James, Lin Yu's style also changed. He told James: "LeBron, you know, I am an outsider. In Cleveland, all I want is respect. You also know,
We just won the championship, and my performance deserved a maximum salary, but I didn't get a maximum salary."
"What is the Cavaliers' management doing? What is Danny Ferry doing? They are trying to lower the price! They are not giving me the respect I deserve, so I have to tell everyone that I don't get the respect I deserve in Cleveland.
I'm not happy in Cleveland, and as for the extra $2.28 million, it's nothing to me."
Finally, Lin Yu also told James: "Also, LeBron, if Danny Ferry calls you, tell him that I would rather see the Cavaliers not match the Magic's offer."
In Los Angeles, Danny Ferry has stopped his other actions and devoted all his energy to keeping Lin Yu.
But the progress is very disappointing.
Time dragged on until the fourth day after Lin Yu accepted the Magic's offer, and the league's three-day deadline for matching the offer came.
Danny Ferry called LeBron James.
"LeBron, what did Lin say?"
"Danny, please take matters into your own hands. Lin told me that he hopes you won't match the Magic's offer."
Hearing James' reply, Danny Ferry immediately shook his head: "No, LeBron, you know, this is absolutely impossible."
"Of course I know, Danny, so now you have only one choice, match the offer and keep Lin for now. We have plenty of time to resolve the rest."
So, just before the deadline for the Cavaliers to match the Magic's offer, Danny Ferry announced that the Cavaliers had matched the Magic's offer and officially kept Lin Yu.
Later, he also rushed to Lin Yu's home in Los Angeles, continued to apologize, and then completed the contract renewal face-to-face.
Everything just settled.
#
"Is the contract renewal just completed?"
After sending Danny Ferry away, Amanda Gray stared: "Okay, Lin, I admit that you are right. One reason is not enough for you to leave the Cavaliers, so what are your plans next?"
?"
Plan? Lin Yu spread his hands. He didn't have any plan. He couldn't tell Amanda Gray that the plan would be released when he stole the "Healthy Mamba" or "Goji Mamba" memes.
But at present, it seems that he will stay with the Cavaliers for at least one season.
"Plans always fail to keep up with changes..."
Lin Yu sighed. At first, he planned to stay with the Cavaliers for two or three years, but he won the championship in the first year after joining the Cavaliers, which broke his original plan.
LeBron James already has some competition with him, and these competitions will soon turn into a battle for the team's status, a rift, and an open conflict.
That's why Lin Yu wanted to leave the Knights.
But now the knight is unwilling to let him go. Even if he is already unhappy, the knight will force him to stay.
There was no other way, so Lin Yu could only passively accept it.