On February 4th, Eastern Time, the Celtics faced the Orlando Magic away from home.
Lin Yu did not use the "Lin Madness" characteristic. He wanted to extract a superstar-level attribute, but this thing was too random.
If he is a little bit unlucky, he will draw a player who lags behind him in all attributes, and then stage a tragedy, just like the last game against the Clippers.
Lin Yu would rather play it safe than stage a tragedy.
This feature of "Linsanity" was really a bit confusing. He thought about it carefully and felt that this feature was only suitable for gambling when he was desperate. It was better not to use it indiscriminately at other times.
Relying solely on his own attributes, Lin Yu actually produced a fairly outstanding personal performance.
In this game, he restrained his desire to take action and devoted most of his energy to the defensive end. Throughout the game, Lin Yu made 7 of 15 shots and scored 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. He was extremely defensive.
Steve Francis.
In addition to the 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from Wally Szczerbiak, who was gradually integrating into the team, the Celtics relied on the outside shooting of Lin Yu and Szczerbiak to directly defeat the Magic.
This victory can be regarded as ending the losing streak since the end of "Linsanity".
Before Lin Crazy, the Celtics had a record of 17 wins and 23 losses. After Lin Crazy, the Celtics had a record of 5 wins and 3 losses.
Adding the two together, the Celtics' current record is 22 wins and 26 losses, still falling in the lottery zone in the Eastern Conference.
After playing against the Magic, the Celtics returned to Boston.
On the training day, Lin Yu, who started training at four in the morning, still remained unchanged.
Braving the lingering sleepiness, he walked through the streets of Boston and opened the door to the Celtics training facility.
"Paul?"
The sound of basketball being slapped from the other side of the court made Lin Yu feel very strange. At first, he guessed that it might be Brian Du who couldn't sleep again.
Then, he thought it might be Tony Allen, who was working harder and harder, but when he walked to the tunnel wearing his jersey and took a look, he made a sound of surprise.
"Why are you here? Is your injury okay?"
The person training on the court was Paul Pierce. No matter how Lin Yu guessed, he would never have guessed that it would be Pierce who showed up at the training facility in the early morning.
"There are still some problems, but we can resume training."
Pierce smiled and replied. Without stopping, he stood on tiptoe and threw a mid-range shot. With a swish sound, he hit the ball accurately.
"So, you're coming back soon?"
Lin Yu also picked up a basketball from the sidelines and shot a three-pointer from a distance, with the same swish sound, and he hit it accurately.
Pierce's eyes showed a bit of excitement. Lin Yu's progress was the most surprising thing for him. Since Anthony Walker left, his teammates have become a bunch of young players who need to experience games and ball possessions.
Among these young players, Lin Yu quietly appeared, which directly helped him relieve the pressure.
Lin's madness some time ago was what surprised Pierce the most. Relying on Lin Yu's madness, the Celtics did not suffer a plummeting record without losing Pierce, but instead withstood the pressure.
With a record of 22 wins and 26 losses, it is only 4 games short of a 50% winning rate. The Celtics still have hope of returning to the playoffs.
"At least one week, at most two weeks, I can officially make a comeback. Everything depends on Doug's arrangements."
Pierce made another mid-range shot. His whole body was soaked with sweat. Obviously, Pierce had been training in the training hall for a long time.
After shooting the ball, he threw the basketball aside, sat down to rest, and then raised his head to watch Lin Yu start training.
Jeremy Lin's ball handling and passing attributes rewarded by "Linsanity" are directly obtained attributes and do not require training.
Durant's three-point attribute has also reached its full potential, so now, Lin Yu is practicing more on his breakthroughs. He controls the ball and constantly makes various fancy dribbling movements into the air.
Pierce watched with interest for a while, and then struck up a conversation with Lin Yu: "I still have to thank you for Lin Crazy. Without Lin Crazy, even if I come back now, we will lose hope of the playoffs."
Lin Yu smiled and waved his hand, meaning you're welcome, and then continued to practice breakthroughs.
What Pierce said is right. Without Lin Madness, the Celtics would only have won one of the eight games after Lin Madness, which was the last victory against the Magic.
Then, the Celtics will win 4 fewer games, which means that the record of 22 wins and 26 losses will become 18 wins and 30 losses, which is 6 wins away from the 50% winning rate. That will be a huge gap.
.
Pierce continued: "Speaking of which, your contract is about to expire?"
"It has not expired, but there will be a team option at the end of this season. You should be clear about the provisions of the second-round rookie contract. If the team executes the option, I will continue to receive the basic salary and play for the team next season. After the contract ends, I
Will become an unrestricted free agent."
"But if the team chooses not to exercise the option, I will become a restricted free agent."
Pierce nodded thoughtfully: "Then how big a contract are you going to seek?"
This involves privacy, but Lin Yu feels that there is nothing that cannot be said. He is not a secret card and does not need to keep secrets from his teammates.
"The maximum salary for a second-round pick is 5 million as a starting salary, 5.4 million US dollars in the second year, and 14 million US dollars in the third year. However, I am willing to get a little less in the third year. 10 million US dollars is enough."
Lin Yu clearly knows that without the bonus of Lin Crazy buff, he will only be a quasi-star player at best. The US$10 million in the third year has already reached the maximum. If he wants US$14 million, no team should be willing to give him.
You know, in the 2005/06 season, Paul Pierce's salary was only US$14 million.
"What do you think, Paul, would Danny Ainge give me this contract?"
Pierce shook his head with a grimace: "I'm afraid not."
If Lin Yu insists on seeking a maximum salary of over 10 million in the third year, I'm afraid he will lose this capable teammate next season.
"If you can make more money, no one will want to make less money. I think Danny Ainge is not willing to give it, but there will always be someone who is willing to give it. You should seek a maximum salary."
Pierce added one more thing. He felt that Ainge or the Celtics would not give this contract if they were neither stupid nor rich in money, but other teams with stupid people and rich money, such as New York, would always be willing.
He took a gamble on Lin Yu.
"A young player who is not yet 24 years old has performed a miracle like Lin Crazy. In the past month, he has averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals per game. There is a huge Chinese market behind him. There will always be bad teams.
I’m willing to give it a try.”
In the early morning, when there were only two people in the training hall, Lin Yu and Pierce discussed their contract issues.
Unexpectedly, Danny Ainge came to the door just as the morning training started.
"Lin, Danny is looking for you. He is waiting for you in the conference room upstairs."
The person who came to call for help was Anji's assistant. Lin Yu put down the basketball and followed the assistant upstairs.
Pushing open the door of the conference room, Anji was sitting behind the door. She was a slightly fat middle-aged white man. His appearance was quite kind, and he didn't look shrewd at all.
Lin Yu knew that when dealing with this guy, he had to be careful.
"Sit down, Lin." Anji pointed to the seat in front of him, and Lin Yu sat down.
"You should be able to guess why I'm looking for you, right?"
"About contract renewal?" Lin Yu guessed with doubt.
Anji nodded affirmatively: "Yes, according to the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, you now have the right to complete the contract with the team in advance, so I would like to ask you about your willingness to renew the contract in advance."
"If the team is willing to renew my contract in advance, of course I have no objection."
Of course, Lin Yu has no objection to the early renewal of the contract. Early renewal means that the basic salary contract for the next year will not be implemented.
According to Arenas' terms, in simple conversion, he will earn at least $4 million more per year.
"What are your expectations for the price of the contract?"
When An Ji asked this, Lin Yu immediately became vigilant. He frowned: "Danny, this seems to be against the regulations. If it is about renewing the contract in advance, you should negotiate with my agent."
Anji immediately realized that the Chinese in front of him were not so easy to fool. He originally wanted to get past Jeff Schwartz and defraud an expected price from Lin Yu, but now it seems that Lin Yu is very shrewd.
He raised his hands: "Okay, okay, let Jeff talk to me."
Jeff Schwartz is one of the top agents in the league. If he can do this, he is naturally very capable and can help players maximize their benefits.
Because Schwartz is also Pierce's agent, Ainge has dealt with him a lot.
Anji only felt a headache, and the protracted negotiations were about to begin again.
