Chapter 110 Restricted Free Agency

A restricted free agent's offer isn't just a matter between teams; the player is involved too.

In other words, Tang Tian had to pick one of those teams to sign a contract with first, then see if the Spurs chose to match it.

If the Spurs matched, he would still be a member of the Spurs. If the Spurs declined to match, he would go to the team he chose.

So this wasn't just a simple matter of choosing a team; it was something to be carefully considered.

"Dan, contact these teams and tell them my conditions. I want to be the core of their team, or at least one of the core players."

Tang Tian said directly to Fagan.

"Are you sure? A lot of teams will back out if you do that."

Tang Tian hadn't mentioned this idea to Fagan before, and Fagan immediately reminded him when he heard it.

"I know. If I can't be a team's core player, I'd rather sign a one-year qualifying offer contract with the Spurs, then stay for two more years until Duncan retires."

Tang Tian didn't need to hide anything from Fagan, and he directly stated his thoughts.

Fagan nodded after listening. That was indeed the case.

If he couldn't be a team's core player, there was no need for him to even accept a contract offer.

If he was just going to be a role player anyway, the Spurs were the most suitable team for him.

But staying with the Spurs meant waiting two years, not just because Duncan hadn't retired, but also because Ginobili could still play, and Parker was in his prime.

Popovich could give Tang Tian the most shot opportunities as a role player, but it was hard to say that he would immediately replace Ginobili, or even Parker, as the team's first or second option.

Like Leonard at the time, the transition between old and new players takes time.

Tang Tian's meaning to Fagan was also very clear: he would go to a team where he could be the core, and if he couldn't, he would stay with the Spurs and wait two years.

Over the next day, Fagan contacted those teams one after another, and soon had answers.

Not a single team backed out…

Although Kobe was still in good shape with the Lakers, his age was there, and he would retire in at most three or four years.

Moreover, maybe they didn't even want to listen to what Tang Tian said; they just wanted to get Tang Tian to strengthen their wing and continue to compete for the championship.

Not to mention the Rockets, with Yao Ming's example, they had been willing to spend a lot of money on Jeremy Lin before. As long as Tang Tian was willing to go, the contract wouldn't be a problem.

The remaining five teams.

The Bobcats were aiming to use Tang Tian and Walker as a dual-core.

The Hawks were in a rebuilding period and would take anyone they could get.

The Mavericks' Nowitzki was getting older and needed a successor.

The Cavaliers were in chaos after James left, and they were completely casting a wide net.

This result was somewhat beyond Tang Tian's expectations. It seemed he had underestimated his market value a bit.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

San Antonio was a military stronghold, and with a general population, the basketball market was very limited.

Take Duncan, for example. He would probably be much more famous in Los Angeles.

The Rockets were able to develop the Chinese market in Houston, and this was closely related to these external conditions.

Now that Tang Tian was moving to a different place, he might become the next Alexander, so they naturally flocked to him.

"Have them offer a four-year poison pill contract."

Tang Tian couldn't possibly meet with all seven teams, so before the meetings, he had to use all his conditions.

After winning a bunch of honors last season, the teams would probably grit their teeth and accept a three-year contract.

A one-year max contract, they could still get through it with gritted teeth.

But four years was different. Four years meant they basically had to establish him as the core.

Tang Tian was doing this to force the teams' hands.

The free market is very realistic.

If he ended up like the Rockets did with Jeremy Lin, being sent away after two years on a cheap contract and left to fend for himself, that would be a real rip-off.

After all, a player's ability is one thing, and whether the team gives them the opportunity to perform is another.

And the annual salary is the biggest determining factor.

Moreover, he was a time-traveler and knew that the league would introduce a clause called the "Designated Veteran Player Extension" four years later, in 2017.

The NBA's max contract is related to the number of years a player has played. Generally, only players who have played for 10 years can get a super max contract with a starting salary of 35% of the salary cap.

But in that clause, a team could designate a player to get that contract without waiting to play 10 years in the NBA.

That was also the biggest contract he could get.

So the timing was just right.

Fagan immediately did what Tang Tian said after hearing it. He really admired Tang Tian's courage now.

With these conditions, he wasn't afraid that those teams wouldn't want him.

This time, after asking around, sure enough, some teams withdrew.

The first to withdraw was the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers were taking things one step at a time. They had a bunch of young players waiting to be fed.

Not to mention Irving, Thompson and Bennett were all young talents. They didn't want to lock up their future space because of Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was quite pleased to see the Cavaliers withdraw.

He still respected James, after all, he was the league's number one player.

He had already won two championships with him in San Antonio. If he blocked James' path in the end, that would be too cruel.

The Hawks withdrew right after.

Their thinking was similar to the Cavaliers'.

The last to withdraw was the Bobcats.

The Bobcats' withdrawal was a bit strange.

But according to internal sources, in the end, Jordan felt that Tang Tian was not worth cultivating as a core player.

In this way, Tang Tian only had five teams left to meet with.

The Lakers, Rockets, Pelicans, Mavericks, and his parent team, the Spurs.

Tang Tian ranked them in order from least to most desirable.

Lakers, Mavericks, Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs.

Tang Tian didn't want to go to the Lakers unless he had to.

On the one hand, Kobe wasn't injured yet and might play for who knows how long.

He didn't think that Kobe would be willing to give up his position as the team leader just because he passed him a few balls in the All-Star game.

Kobe and Jordan were both people of the same personality.

Not to mention that Howard was there, and Los Angeles had the highest state tax in the United States.

The Mavericks had always been good to Chinese players, but after playing in the league for two years, he was really disgusted by the racism there.

Then there were the Rockets and Pelicans, which were his preferred choices.

As for the Pelicans, although Davis was a bit dull, they really lacked a swingman, and Gordon and Holiday weren't superstars either.

As for the Rockets, there were already many Chinese fans, and it would be easier for him to develop the market there. As for Harden, it wouldn't be bad to be his second-in-command in the future.

The Spurs were his parent team, so he put them last.

After setting his plan, Tang Tian had Fagan arrange the meeting schedule.

The location was chosen to be in New York.

But just as he was about to meet with the Lakers, Fagan told him that there was an accident.

The Lakers had temporarily withdrawn.

ps: Thanks to XiaoXiaoZhaoZiLongv5 for the 60,000 Qidian coins reward! Congratulations to the old brother for becoming the 6th leader of this book!!