“‘Shelter for the old and weak?’ The new season hasn’t even begun and we already have another nickname!” Dai Li pointed to the magazine in his hand.

“You seem happy. They are not praising us. Wait, what do you mean by ‘another’?” Johnson asked.

“We were called ‘Los Angeles’ Overtime Team’ last season. You heard about that right?” Dai Li replied.

“I’m not in a joking mood. I am the general manager, so I am responsible for the choices we made. If the players we signed this summer perform badly, it’s on me,” Johnson said.

“I understand. If the players do not perform well, you will have to take the blame for me. Have you not seen, with your own eyes, how good these players are now?” Dai Li smiled. He then asked, “How is the situation with Ronny going?”

“I inquired about it. there are teams that are interested in him, but they are worried about the price. There are no teams that can offer a 20-million salary right now. Those who give a price can only offer 10 to 15 million, at most. Those teams are worried that we will match their offer,” Johnson said.

“What about Ronny? Is he still insisting on a $100 million contract?” Dai Li asked.

“Ronny’s agent has expressed his willingness to agree to a $90 million offer for five years and asked for the player option for the last two years,” Johnson replied.

Dai Li thought about it and asked, “Do you think we can use Ronny to get a first-round draft pick next year?”

…

A few days ago, when the Clippers had just announced that they signed a contract with Osef, Ronny’s agent contacted him immediately.

“Ronny, have you seen the news? The recent rumors are true. The Clippers really signed Osef,” the agent said.

“I just heard. What’s wrong? You think that addict can replace me?” Ronny said disdainfully.

“Osef certainly can’t take over your position but, if he gets into the rotation, he will definitely steal your playing time. Imagine getting less time per game. Will you be able to maintain your statistics?” the agent asked.

“What should I do?” Ronny asked.

“I think we should agree to 90 million over five years!” the agent replied.

“Damn it. You were the one who convinced me to demand a high salary. Now, you’re telling me to agree to a lower price. You swore that the Clippers would agree to our demands and I would get a higher salary. Now, we have to accept their offer of 90 million over five years. We are back to square one! You good-for-nothing agent!” Ronny screamed angrily. He felt deceived.

“I admit, I was blindly optimistic about this year’s situation. The past two years, many players received top contracts, but this year’s market is not as good as the last two. I am also a victim. If you don’t get a high salary, I lose a lot in commissions, right? I didn’t expect the Clippers to be so sly, either. They deliberately made it seem like they would match any offer so that other teams didn’t make you an offer. They were actually just stalling,” the agent explained.

“I don’t care about any of that. What I want now is a contract as soon as possible!” Ronny took a deep breath and calmed down. Then he said, “Five years at 90 million is fine, but the last two should be a player option. I’m want to be able to get out of it early. I need a high salary!”

…

Two days later, the agent heard that Hall signed with the Clippers. The agent contacted Ronny again.

“I’ve been in talks with team management. They think that 90 million over five years is too high.” The agent said this feeling somewhat guilty.

“What? They were the ones who offered me a five-year contract for $90 million. They went back on their words?” Ronny became very angry.

“The Clippers just signed Hall. Although Hall is a shooting guard, he is six feet and six inches tall. He has a good overall technique and he is strong. He can be a substitute cornerman. The Clippers believe that they have enough substitutes for the frontline…” The agent trailed off helplessly.

“They said that and you just believed them? Hall has no menisci in either knee. He is crippled on the court! He’s just replacing me by himself? Ridiculous!” Ronny said.

“Of course I know everything that you just said. The Clippers just want to use this as an excuse to force us to lower our price,” the agent said.

“I will not lower the price! 90 million over five years. I have already given a lot, I will not give one more inch,” Ronny said with contempt.

“Just in case, and I’m saying just in case, Hall really is able to play, he would take up the playing time of other players. The important thing here is that the Clippers will have more choices in who they choose to play!” said the agent.

Ronny understood what the agent was saying. “You want me to lower my price again?”

The agent advised him sincerely. “Ronny, you have to understand that the NBA is a business. Business is a process of mutual concessions. I think we should lower the price again! My bottom line is 85 million over five years.”

“85 million over five years?” Ronny became angry. “They offered me that at the end of last season. I held out for months, but the price is still the same. Are you playing me?”

“You have to know the NBA market is not doing well this summer; there weren’t many high priced contracts. We can’t do anything about it…” His agent tried to persuade him by speaking as sincerely as possible.

…

All of the sports world was talking about Raymond’s comeback.

Raymond and Hall were different. Hall was the shooting guard. Raymond was the swingman. He could play as a small forward. When the news broke that the Clippers promised Raymond a spot on the starting lineup, it became clear why he chose to join the Clippers.

“They gave Raymond a spot in the starting lineup. Which position will I play? Do they want me to sit the bench?” Ronny asked angrily.

“Raymond can also play as the shooting guard. Maybe he will play one of the backcourt positions in the starting lineup…” His agent comforted him and waited until Ronny calmed down. “I have more bad news. The Clippers rejected the $85 million offer!”

“What?” Ronny had just calmed down, but he was once again ignited. He was angry. He asked, “What are they offering?”

The agent hesitated. “Four years at $45 million. The last two years are a team option!”

“Damn, they are doing this deliberately. This is an insult. Fine. Tell them I will not sign this contract! Even if they offered $85 million or $90 million, I won’t sign with them!” Ronny ranted.

“Ronnie, you need to calm down. You have to understand that you are now a restricted free agent. If you do not accept the Clippers qualifying offer, after October 1st the contract will still take effect. You have to continue to play for the Clippers. Unless they withdraw their qualifying offer, which would be giving up their signing rights and making you a completely free agent. They will never do that.”

“Damn! This is outrageous! I won’t stay with them. Help me contact other teams to what they are willing to offer me. I have to leave the Clippers!” Ronny said fiercely.

“I think there should be teams that are interested in you, but they won’t offer a very high salary,” the agent said.

“I don’t care if I lose some money, I have to leave. I don’t want to stay on the Clippers!” Ronny said decisively.

…

According to the rules of the NBA, players who had just completed a four-year rookie contract could become a restricted free agent. The team needed to give a qualifying offer before June 30 in order to have priority in choosing the player. If the qualifying offer was not given, the player would become a completely free agent. If the team withdrew their qualifying offer, the player would also become a completely free agent. The offer amount had to be 125% of the previous contract or the minimum salary plus $200,000, whichever was higher.

After a team gave their offer, the player became a restricted free agent. At this point, he could communicate with the team to renew the contract. Other teams could also give their offers and the original team could match any of them.

If no team issued an offer to the player and the team did not reach an agreement for a new contract with the player, the previous qualification offer would take effect on October 1. The qualification offer was a one-year contract. When the player signed the contract for this qualification offer, he would still be a restricted free agent. Before March 1 of the following year, other teams could still give him offers. The team had the right to match their offer.

After March 1, the player would become a completely free agent. By the end of the season, after the player had fulfilled his contract, he could sign with any team without restrictions.

If the player did not accept any offer, including the qualifying offer from his own team, after one year the team could give him the same qualifying offer. The player would still be a restricted free agent. In other words, if the player did not get a high valued contract and he did not want to accept the team’s qualifying offer, then he would always be a restricted free agent. The team could always match the offers of other teams.

…

The Clippers’ management was in the the middle of a meeting.

“The Nuggets general manager contacted me. They want Ronny. They want to offer Ronny a contract, but they are worried we will match their offer. He contacted me to find out our position,” Johnson said.

“How much are the Nuggets willing to spend?” Dai Li asked.

“Four years, $60 million. That’s an average of 15 million a year. We can match this number with our current finances. We are still a ways off from the luxury tax threshold,” Johnson replied.

Dai Li frowned and thought about it. He asked, “If we match the offer of the other teams, can we still trade Ronny?”

“Yes, but you need to get Ronny’s consent,” Johnson replied.

“I think the Nuggets’ Blocked Shot Leader Karaby is very good. He is tall, has a good arm, and is good at blocking shots. He is one of the best defenders in the league. Although he is not too strong, his feet are very flexible, and he is able to switch to defense quickly. His technical skills are very suitable to the small ball style,” Dai Li said.

“Are you describing the Karaby who was famous five years ago?” Johnson shook his head. “He is 35 years old. His only assets now are his long arms. He can’t jump anymore and his feet don’t move as quickly as they did. He has been injured a lot recently. He hasn’t completed a full season in three years. Now, he’s just trying to get by in the NBA until his ‘retirement’ contract ends.”

“You mean to say that signing a contract with Karaby would be a waste? In that case, we should add that we get the Nuggets next year’s draft pick! If we have a draft pick, we can fix the bad contract and we still get an instant boost to our team’s strength. I’m guessing the Nuggets will agree to this proposal,” Dai Li said.

“I know what you are thinking. You want to match the Nugget’s offer, and then trade Ronny to the Nuggets for a draft pick right?” Johnson asked.

Dai Li nodded. Johnson shook his head. “That’s not allowed by the league. According to the rules of the NBA on the veto of trade deals, the restricted free agent who stayed due to the team giving a matching offer can’t be traded during the season unless the player gives his consent. The team the player goes to must not be the team that the home team matched their offer with. That means if the Nuggets give Ronny an offer and we match it, Ronny will have a veto on the trade deals next season. even if Ronny agrees to the trade, we can’t trade him to the Nuggets. So your idea won’t work.”

“So that’s how it works.” Dai Li thought for a few seconds. He smiled. “Since we can’t directly trade with the Nuggets, we can get help from a third party!

…

“Ronny, I just received an offer from the Kings for $60 million over four years,” the agent said with enthusiasm.

“Only 60 million in four years!” Ronny was very dissatisfied.

That was an average of $15 million a year. It was much lower than his desired salary.

“They only guarantee 52 million,” the agent went on.

“What? We lose a further 8 million?” Ronny became more dissatisfied. He shook his head and said, “I will not sign the contract!”

“Ronnie, we need to consider this offer. It might be the highest offer we can get,” Ronny’s agent advised. “If you don’t accept it, then we can wait until October 1 for the qualifying offer to take effect.”

“Then I will wait until the qualification offer takes effect. Anyway, other teams can still give me offers before March 1!” Ronny said.

“Do you think other teams will still have the finances to do so?” the agent asked.

“I can endure another year on the Clippers. By next year, I will be a completely free agent, so I can get a high salary!” Ronny vowed.

“That would require the Clippers to give you opportunities to perform.” His agent sighed and said, “Last season, you were the key player on the Clippers and your stats improved. Next season, the Clippers will know that you want to leave. Do you think they will still let you be their key player? Will they continue to give you opportunities to handle the ball and shoot?”

“This…” Ronnie knew that the agent was telling the truth. If he didn’t get enough opportunities to handle the ball or shoot, it would be impossible to get good stats. In that case, he could say goodbye to the chances of getting a high salary.

“Ronny, you are still young. You will have many opportunities. We might as well agree to the King’s offer. Wait for your next contract and I can definitely get you the best salary!”

…

After a restricted free agent received offers from other teams, the team had three days to consider whether they wanted to match it.

However, the Clippers matched the offer on the second day.

“Ronny, the Clippers matched the King’s offer,” the agent said.

“That means that I stay on the Clippers for the next four years? No, I want to be traded. I don’t want to play for the Clippers! They are scammers, a group of untrustworthy bastards! Even if they gave me $60 million, I don’t want to stay in the Clippers!” Ronny said.

“Not $60 million, but $52 million.” The agent sighed and said, “According to the rules of the NBA, the Clippers only need to match the guaranteed part of the contract!”

“Bastard, those bastards! They took another 8 million. I won’t sign this contract!” Ronny yelled.

“Ronny, there is only one person in the history of the NBA that rejected a team’s matching offer. In the end, he lost his foothold in the NBA. Fortunately, he was a Rocket player so he went to the Chinese basketball league. The league doesn’t allow such things to happen. There are no flaws in the process of offering and signing contracts. If the players don’t follow the rules of the NBA, it makes a mess of the restricted player market. You don’t want to be an enemy of the NBA, do you?”

“But I don’t want to stay on the Clippers! How about this? Go tell the Clippers to trade me!”

…

The next day, the agent came to Ronny’s home again.

“The Clippers have promised to trade you to another team. However, as you have the right to veto any trade next season, the Clippers want to take your right to trade. They told me that there are not many people who they can choose to trade with,” the agent said.

“I don’t care where I go. I just don’t want to stay on the Clippers!” Ronny did not hesitate to sign away his right to trade.

…

That day, there were two new stories in the media. Both were about Ronny.

The first news was that the Clippers matched the King’s offer for Ronny. The other was that Ronny was traded to the Nuggets for the veteran Karaby, the first round of their draft picks, and four million dollars in cash.

…

“Coach Li, I didn’t expect you to complete the transaction this way. Let the Kings offer a contract to Ronny, set the guaranteed amount at 52 million, and then match the offer. You were sure that Ronny did not want to stay on the Clippers. You then made use of the opportunity and traded him to the Nuggets. Through this trade, we gained a first-round draft pick. This also benefits the Nuggets. They originally planned to sign Ronny at 60 million over four years. Now, they only need to spend 52 million,” Johnson said.

“The Nuggets were willing to pay us an additional four million in cash, as our reward for helping them save money,” Dai Li said.

“And the Kings. We need to thank them for offering a contract to Ronny,” Johnson said.

“The Kings owed us a favor. Last draft, we helped them in the second round,” Dai Li replied.

Johnson remembered that, in the recent draft, the Kings wanted a rookie from the second round. They exchanged a second-round draft pick with the Clippers for the rookie. Because of this, the Kings had owed the Clippers a favor. The Kings had just returned it.