The Trail Blazers have three players with salary of over 10 million US dollars. In addition to Pippen and Flying Squirrel, there is also the Roaring Heavenly Lord Rashid Wallace.

Of course, Jiang Dongbing doesn't want to sell Wallace. This player is the top four position that Jiang Dongbing is extremely useful in his mind. His style is not much the same as Duncan or Xiao Ao, but it is somewhat similar to Garnett.

Garnett has many steals and blocks in defensive data, and Rashid is the same. His defense is more flexible and his defense is not inferior to Garnett.

It sounds incredible. Although Rashid's defense is very strong in the fans' impression, it seems that there is no comparison with Garnett. However, in the previous two seasons, Rashid's defensive efficiency was indeed the same level as Garnett.

The defense level is very high, and the offensive level is also not bad. The real shooting rate in the previous two seasons was even higher than that of Garnett.

Under normal circumstances, the reason why Xiao Ao failed to get the opportunity to perform in the Trail Blazers is that Rashid performed too well. The two almost entered the league. Rashid's performance was so outstanding, and it was really unreasonable to train Xiao Ao.

If we really want to talk about the gap between Rashid and Garnett, it may be reflected in the organizational ability. Garnett claims to be a man with his own offensive and defensive system, Rashid cannot compare with this.

Of course, it is not to say that Rashid really has no passing ability. He mainly plays an offensive end point in the Trail Blazers and even later the Pistons. He expects him to end the offense and how can he pass the ball and assist the ball, so his assist data has not been much.

In addition, Rashid's three-pointers are now extremely unstable. Later, when he joined the Pistons, his three-pointers were pretty good, and he has always maintained at around 35%, but his three-pointers in the past two years are simply outrageous.

In the 98-99 season, Rashid's three-point shooting percentage reached 42%, but the result fell to 16% last season. It was really confusing. The key is that the number of three-point shootings in these two seasons is still almost the same.

However, even if Rashid's three-pointer was almost there, Jiang Dongbing didn't care. Jiang Dongbing would definitely not be willing to sell such a young and powerful player.

In addition to these three players with annual salary of over 10 million, the Trail Blazers also have Sabonis, an annual salary of 9.82 million, Brian Grant of 7.68 million, and Steve Smith of 7.2 million.

This shows why the Trail Blazers’ salary last season was so terrifying that the entire Grizzlies could not find any player with a salary of 7 million US dollars? There are actually six Trail Blazers!

But these six high-paying players? Jiang Dongbing really wants to stay only one Rashid Wallace, and he is planning to send all the others out.

Old Sabonis is naturally extremely powerful at his peak? But now he is old? This year he is already thirty-six years old. After the Trail Blazers ended his rookie contract, he signed with him for 30 million US dollars in three years. Currently, there is still a contract of 11.25 million US dollars in the last year that needs to be executed.

It’s not that Old Sabonis’s strength is not worthy of this contract? After all, even if he is old now, he is also a front-line center in the league, and it is reasonable to get a contract of tens of millions of dollars.

So while Jiang Dongbing was thinking about sending Sabonis away, he was also thinking that if the Trail Blazers could not find a decent center next? He could execute Lao Sa's last year's contract.

Steve Smith has agreed to send it to the Spurs? As for the remaining Brian Grant, he must not be kept, and his contract is also outrageous.

What does 7.68 million US dollars mean? If Xiao Ao signed a maximum salary now, it would be less than 10 million US dollars, which is equivalent to Grant having a salary similar to Xiao Ao? But the strength of these two people is very different.

...

After tossing and turning all night, Jiang Dongbing probably had a idea? Early the next morning, he called Paul Allen and the team general manager Bob Whitsett.

Is Whitsett a poisonous person? Jiang Dongbing has a pretty good impression of him.

Later Portland Trail Blazers had nicknames of veterinary teams and prison teams, but they were actually related to general manager Whitsett.

First of all, the Trail Blazers' medical team was recruited by Whitsett? It has been used for more than ten years? Secondly, many of the players he recruited were causing big trouble? So it is called the Prison Team.

Whitsett's philosophy is to create a bunch of All-Stars, regardless of whether it is suitable or not, as long as the players are famous enough, they will spend money to dig them up and put them together, making the Trail Blazers lineup look extremely luxurious.

However, due to the lack of chemistry, the team's record has never been particularly ideal.

For this reason, some fans even once cited the "Trade Whitsett" brand at home. In addition, the veteran NBA coach Doug Collins also bluntly stated that Whitsett was not a real-world manager at all, but a manager in game fantasy basketball. This evaluation is undoubtedly extremely insulting.

However, Collins is actually right. The biggest reason why Whitset can firmly take the position of general manager of the Trail Blazers is Paul Allen. Whitset is Paul Allen's direct army. Later, after the Trail Blazers really couldn't continue, Paul Allen transferred him to the NFL Seattle Seahawks as general manager.

An embarrassing thing came. I went to the Seahawks as general manager for several years, but it turned out to be the same as the Trail Blazers, which made people angry and resentful. When he quit his position as general manager of the Seahawks, the Seahawks actually won the championship in the second year.

This matter truly explains a truth. Even if a person without ability starts at a high level, it is useless and will definitely not achieve anything in the end.

"Jiang, I was so excited that I didn't sleep all night last night. I'm looking forward to the start of our new season." Whitset's face was full of excitement when he saw Jiang Dongbing.

His excitement was definitely not something he pretended to be, but he really wanted the Trail Blazers to win the championship...

Paul Allen was also excited. Today, Jiang Dongbing called himself and Whitset to come over, and it was likely that he would announce his team-building plan.

When Jiang Dongbing first joined the Grizzlies two years ago, the Grizzlies' trading operations were not favored at that time. However, the Grizzlies' record later proved that these operations were extremely magical. Each operation brought the Grizzlies' overall strength to a new level.

"Jiang, let's talk about your team building plan. I didn't sleep well last night and I was thinking about this all night." Paul Allen urged.

Jiang Dongbing smiled and nodded, "Okay, then I'll talk about my thoughts."

"It may be a bit shocking. If you have any comments, you can propose it and discuss it."

As the two of them watched, Jiang Dongbing began to talk about the team building plan he had developed last night in a scrupulous way. Of course, this plan was just a preliminary plan.

"Sell Scott Pippen, Steve Smith, Brian Grant, Sabonis, Stoudemier, try to get as many draft picks as possible or some young players."

If Allen and Whitsett hadn't seen Jiang Dongbing's serious expressions, they would even think Jiang Dongbing was joking.

This does sound like a joke. Four of the five people listed by Jiang Dongbing are the starting players of the Trail Blazers. Even Grant, who is not the starting player, is also the most important substitute for the team...

It means that Jiang Dongbing will break up the entire team as soon as he comes up!

Whitset looked awkward. The lineup he had worked hard to create was so insignificant in Jiang Dongbing's eyes that he had to replace them all...

It’s quite tragic to think about it. Things that I regard as treasures are worthless in the eyes of others.

"Jiang, are you doing too much? You don't want to save me money, right?" Paul Allen asked curiously.

The main thing is that the five people listed by Jiang Dongbing account for almost 70% of the total salary of the Trail Blazers. If they are all dealt with, the Trail Blazers' salary will be reduced too much, and the boss Paul Allen will naturally save a lot of US dollars.

Jiang Dongbing nodded. He really had this idea, mainly because he felt that Paul Allen was too sucker and there was no need to spend money on such a place.

"Paul, I know you don't care about spending money on the team, but you have to spend it to something that really makes sense."

"Think about it, these people are completely squeezing our salary space now, and it will be troublesome for us to renew our dates with newcomers in the future, so instead of being troublesome at that time, it's better to deal with it as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, the Trail Blazers' record will definitely not deteriorate. I have this confidence." Jiang Dongbing said slowly.

Paul Allen looked strange. The young head coach in front of him was really interesting. The coaches were desperately trying to spend more money on the boss. Jiang Dongbing was so good that he actually wanted to save money for the boss.

"Okay, since I invite you to the Trail Blazers, I naturally believe in you."

"As for the five-person deal you mentioned, no one else has any problem, just whether Avidas can consider it anymore. The Trail Blazers fans and I like this veteran very much and want to give him a brilliant career." Paul Allen said with a wry smile.

Strangely, Lao Sa is extremely popular in the Trail Blazers, so high that it is incredibly high that he even surpasses the popular Trail Blazers actor Rashid Wallace.

Jiang Dongbing remembers that after Rashid lost a game, he threw a towel on Old Sabonis' face in anger. Think about what Old Sa is, how could a person of the current player level of the master of the current player to endure this humiliation and directly announce his retirement...

The Trail Blazers also punished Rashid severely. Even the reason why the Trail Blazers sold Rashid, a very useful insider, was the reason for the towel throwing incident.

Jiang Dongbing knows Rashid quite well. Although he himself has never admitted it, Jiang Dongbing suspects that he is like Artest, both a bipolar disorder patient and often cannot control his temper at all. Take throwing a towel on Lao Sa’s face as an example. Who can do it for normal people?

Of course, in addition to bipolar disorder, the towel throwing incident is also related to Rashid being a black supremacist. Yes, in addition to white supremacists, there are black supremacists like Rashid in this world.

Jiang Dongbing is not worried about Rashid's bipolar disorder or black supremacy. If he is really dishonest, it will only be a matter of Jiang Dongbing to sell him.

It may be a bit troublesome to sell the other five people, but it is not too easy to sell Rashid.

"Okay, then leave Avidas, his contract will only last one year, and the impact is not very big." Jiang Dongbing agreed directly. After all, the boss pleaded with mercy, so he had to give some face.

Paul Allen was delighted and was looking forward to Jiang Dongbing's trading operations in his heart. He didn't know what kind of magical transaction Jiang Dongbing could perform in the Trail Blazers.

"Bob, you can cooperate with Jiang's trading operations with all your strength. I believe you have a special talent in this regard." Paul Allen laughed.

Whitset looked embarrassed. He knew that the boss was hurting himself. Speaking of which, although he was not strong in matching the lineup, his trading ability was still good. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Trail Blazers to create the lineup last season.

...

Paul Allen left first if something happened, Jiang Dongbing and Whitset began to discuss.

"First finalize Steve Smith's matter. I have agreed with Greg that after the draft is over, I will sign this deal directly." Jiang Dongbing decided to start with the easiest Smith.

Because Smith has been confirmed to be traded to the Spurs, there is no need to worry about this deal, just consider how to make the Spurs balance the salary of this deal.

According to the principle of trading salary matching, if teams like the Spurs whose salary is below the luxury line want to reach a deal with the Trail Blazers for Smith, it is impossible for them to only make a second round pick, and they also need to pay one or more players to match their salary.

Smith's salary is 7.2 million US dollars, and the players sent by the Spurs do not need such a high salary. According to the rules, the total salary of the players sent is no less than 4.8 million US dollars.

Whitset's mouth twitched. He knew about the matter between Jiang Dongbing and the Spurs. Now Jiang Dongbing almost wanted to send Smith to the Spurs for free. Of course, he felt a little uncomfortable.

However, Paul Allen has solemnly warned him not to interfere with any trading operations of Jiang Dongbing, so even if he feels uncomfortable, he will definitely not show it. He can only express his attitude of fully supporting Jiang Dongbing.

...

Jiang Dongbing called Popovich directly, but Popovich on the other end of the phone was so happy that he couldn't stop. He didn't expect that this would actually happen. The Spurs actually got Smith.

"Ginger, what about salary matching, why don't we trade Elliott for Smith? His contract will only have the last year left, and the total salary is more than five million US dollars, which is just right."

"After the transaction is completed, if you don't need Elliot, you can cut him, so that you can save a lot of salary space." Popovich immediately gave his own advice, probably he had already thought about it.

Jiang Dongbing almost laughed out loud on the phone. Popovich had a good plan. What is certain is that once Elliot was cut by the Trail Blazers, he might have to board the plane to San Antonio that night and sign the Spurs again.
Chapter completed!