Four years of maximum salary of 281 million yuan, refused to renew the contract! The first person in the league was dismissed, and the general manager was fired correctly

Editor|Old Kankanqiu

After the NBA free market gate opened, many stars received their dream salary. For example, the Rockets, the biggest winner in this offseason, used five years and $122 million to lock in the core Jabbarri Smith in advance, won the top 3D Finney Smith in four years and 53 million yuan, and won the top 3D head coach Uduka in four years and over 40 million yuan, etc. Although the contract renewal with new aid Durant is still being discussed, overall it is worth it; the defending champion Thunder also gave the new MVP Alexander a super maximum salary renewal of 285 million US dollars in four years, setting a new record in NBA history; the Lakers are also interested in giving superstar Doncic a four-year contract renewal of up to $223 million. Although the latter still has to make a renewal choice based on the future, the maximum salary is a foregone conclusion.

Just as the trading market signing is booming, according to the Denver Post's Bennett Duranto, Nikola Jokic officially notified the Nuggets management that he would refuse an early contract renewal of $212.2 million in three years this summer. The choice of the three-time MVP is also reasonable - if he waits until the 2026 offseason renewal, he will be eligible to sign a four-year super maximum salary contract of up to $292 million, and he will directly make about $80 million more.

In response to this, Nuggets President Josh Kroenke seemed to have expected: "We have always said that we would provide Jokic with a renewal request, but we are not sure whether he will accept it. We explained all the relevant terms, and then he and the team made a (rejection) decision."

However, just a few weeks ago, the president's remarks were even more shocking. When facing reporters asking about Jokic's renewal and the pressure on the team to the second rich line, Kroenke said: "We are not afraid of this (rich line), but there are certain rules around this. Given our injury history, we must be very careful. If the wrong person is injured, we may soon fall into a situation that we will never want to consider, which is trading No. 15 (Jokic). "

The first person in the league was publicly labeled as "tradable". The cruel business nature of the NBA is indeed so naked.

When the final whistle of the Western Conference semi-final tiebreaker and the Nuggets lost to the Thunder with a huge 32-point defeat to the Thunder, everyone felt worthless for Jokic. Throughout the series, Jokic averaged 26.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 8 assists per game, almost carrying the team forward with his own strength, but it is difficult to hide the fatal flaws of weak scoring on the bench and weak lineup depth.

The culprit for such a weird lineup of the Nuggets is former general manager Calvin Booth. Renewing the contract with a maximum salary of over 179 million in five years, releasing Jeff Green and Bruce Brown after winning the championship, renewing Murray with a maximum salary of 208 million in four years last season, resulting in no room to retain Pope, etc. A series of foolish operations are simply unspeakable.

So, at the end of last season's regular season, the Nuggets management took a huge risk and suddenly fired the champion coach Mike Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, shocking the league. Now, at least the decision to fire general manager Booth is really right - the new management team quickly started the reinforcement project this summer:

1. Send Porter Jr., who is often troubled by back injury, to the Nets, and replace the top 3D Cameron Johnson with a 42% three-point shooting percentage;

2. Salic, who was signed by the middle class, uses the tough center Yonas Valanciunas from the Kings;

3. Signed sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. on a one-year minimum salary contract (three-point shooting percentage is as high as 38% last season);

4. Welcome back the champion former player Bruce Brown to strengthen the defense.

In this regard, ESPN famous reporter Brain Windhorst revealed that Jokic is satisfied with the Nuggets management's operations this summer.

However, Nuggets President Kroenke Jr.'s speech at a press conference in June (the trade of Jokic is not ruled out) is still lingering in his ears. While promising to renew his contract with a maximum salary of 212 million, he downplayed the possibility of a deal with Jokic to the public. The confession of "two-hand preparation" completely tear the veil of warmth - even if you are two consecutive MVPs and team totems, you may also become a bargaining chip in the face of business logic.

You should know that the previous deal between the Mavericks and the Lakers about Doncic was already very telling. The league's trend is changing drastically, and the "cornerstone of the super giant team building" may also be traded. In fact, different teams have won championships in the NBA for seven consecutive years, and it has become the norm for teams to break up after winning the championship in small-scale markets. The Nuggets' operations to let go of key puzzles such as Pope and Brown after winning the championship in 2023 have shown signs, and Kroenke's remarks are just to put the calculations under the table on the surface.

Jokic's team chose to wait for both economic benefits and silent countermeasures - when the boss openly talks about the possibility of a transaction, why can't the player take the initiative? In the NBA empire with money piled up, loyalty has always been an expensive luxury. Even the first person in the NBA can be disliked. When Kroenke said "may trade Jokic", it means that there is no warm scene in this league.