Chapter 390 389. Bad Boy Law

At noon on July 2008, 7, a plane landed at Beijing Airport. Reporters who had been waiting for a long time captured the scene of Zhang Yang and Yao Ming getting off the plane together. Sports channels and sports websites were the first to report this news.

When the Chaoting Sports Channel's Sports News broadcast the footage of the two getting off the plane, the host used only one sentence to describe it - the strongest duo in the basketball world is back.

After Zhang Yang arrived at the hotel, he felt very sleepy, but he drank a triple espresso and resisted falling asleep, waiting until dark.

After playing with Harden and DeRozan in New York for two days, he flew to Los Angeles to meet up with Yao Ming and return to China together. Now he has to adjust to the jet lag.

Yao Ming also had to adjust to the jet lag, so he made a cup of strong tea and ran to Zhang Yang's room, chatting while playing Frozen Throne.

Every time Zhang Yang saw Yao Ming's custom-made extra-large mouse, he wanted to secretly replace it with a smaller mouse to see how Yao Ming operated it.

He didn't play games, but was aimlessly browsing the news online. When he saw the title of "World's Strongest Duo", he quickly called Yao Ming to look: "Brother Yao, look."

Yao Ming took a look and said confidently, "Our group nickname is pretty good."

If Yao Ming and Zhang Yang had seen this combined title last summer, they would have felt embarrassed.

At that time, Zhang Yang was already the FMVP, and he was only eliminated in the first round, but now, he confidently accepted this title.

Zhang Yang: "They must have referenced the cover of Sports Illustrated and copied the nickname."

Last summer, Kobe Bryant said, "I will definitely participate in next year's Olympics," and Sports Illustrated immediately gave him a cover with the headline "The World's Best Basketball Players Are Out."

The US men's basketball team failed to win the championship for three consecutive world championships starting from the 02 World Championships. Kobe was regarded as the savior, and people expected him to lead the Dream Team to regain its glory like Jordan did 16 years ago.

Yao Ming heard a hint of dissatisfaction in Zhang Yang's tone and felt that his own ambition was still not as high as Zhang Yang's.

However, in this regard, he did not think about comparing himself with Zhang Yang. He was almost 28 years old, while Zhang Yang was only 20 years old. However, the honors they had received were almost the same and there was no comparison at all.

Zhang Yang didn't see any new basketball news today. The most popular news was about the rookies.

Many people burst into tears at this year's draft, which was jokingly called the "most watered-down" draft by domestic media.

Mayo was the hottest pick in this draft, falling to the 7th pick. In a press conference after signing with the Celtics, he said, "I am the best in the 08 class. I will prove myself and make those who look down on me and bully me pay the price!"

When Zhang Yang saw Mayo's remarks two days ago, he felt like he was being scolded.

When did Zhang San bully Mayo? It was obvious that he wanted to use him as a stepping stone but failed.

After completing the contract with Beasley, the fortune teller called Beasley a version of Anthony with enhanced athletic ability, and said that he would rebuild a championship-contending lineup around Wade, Beasley and Marion.

Just looking at the names of Wade and Marion, coupled with the No. 1 pick with excellent combat effectiveness, it seems to be quite interesting.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang remembered that after Marion was traded by the Suns for the 36-year-old O'Neal, he lost his spirit and developed serious self-doubt. He was autistic and depressed for two years before he gradually came out of it. His performance plummeted during the peak period of his prime years, and he was finally sold by the Heat in exchange for another junk contract.

If Rivers were the head coach of the Heat, the situation might be better.

There is another piece of news related to Harden. Zhang Yang believes that it is the media's way of creating confrontation, grudges, and thus creating long-term topics.

Yahoo Sports revealed that the Thunder initially wanted to select Harden, but after being intercepted by the Knicks, they had to settle for Rose.

All the analyses are very plausible. If Zhang Yang didn't know that the Thunder owner likes players with the same playing style as Rose and Westbrook, he might have believed it.

Zhang Yang stayed up until after 8 o'clock in the evening, had dinner and then went to bed. When he woke up the next morning, the feeling of discomfort had basically subsided.

Yao Ming was very upset when he saw Zhang Yang humming a song happily while getting his breakfast. He once again saw the gap in physical talent. His recovery ability was simply amazing.

He also went back to his room to sleep at around 8 o'clock last night, but didn't fall asleep until almost 12 o'clock, and woke up before o'clock, as if he had taken a nap, but because he hadn't slept for too long, that little time was not enough for him to rest well. He was still sleepy, but couldn't fall asleep...

After breakfast, Yao Ming made another cup of strong tea, went to Zhang Yang's room, and tried not to fall asleep while playing the tower defense map of Warcraft 3. There was no other way to adjust to the jet lag, so he had to endure it. He didn't have to report until the 5th, and today was the 2nd, so he had plenty of time.

Zhang Yang had planned to go shopping, check out some shops according to his prepared guide, and take his parents and brother out to play when they came back, but a phone call disrupted his plans...

...

At about 7:1 p.m. on July 8, New York time, the extended annual meeting of the NBA ended. David Stern held a press conference and announced that after a vote by the owners of the league's 30 teams, a proposal jointly submitted by the Lakers, Bulls, Mavericks and Spurs was passed with a vote of 26 to 4. After consultation between the owners of each team and Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the NBA Rules Committee, the 'rookie contract amendment clause' was introduced.

The terms of this amendment, such as the proportion of rookie contract salary to the salary cap, length of time, options, etc., have not changed.

There is only one clause change - rookie contract extension.

The revised terms stipulate that if the player gets at least two All-NBA selections, is selected as an All-Star starter twice, or wins the regular season MVP during the execution of the rookie contract, and meets any one of the three, the team will be allowed to sign a new contract with the player with the contract treatment of a seven-year veteran when the rookie contract is renewed after the end of the rookie contract, and the maximum starting salary is allowed to reach 7% of the salary cap.

Zhang Yang's shopping plan was interrupted because of this incident. Tellem called him and he started a transatlantic video conference with his parents and agent.

He had never thought of cross-ocean video calls before, it was his mother who suggested it. He felt that his mother was really trendy. She is a trendy mom now, and will probably be a trendy milk mother in the future.

Tellem detailed the terms of the revised rookie contract.

Zhang Yang originally thought that this amendment was just the "Ross Clause" typed out in advance, but after listening to Tellem's detailed explanation, he realized that there was a big difference!

The 'Rose Clause' can only be used when the parent team renews the contract. Whether the parent team is willing to give it actually depends on whether the parent team is willing to give it. Of course, most teams are willing to give it, but the parent team has the right to decide.

This amendment clause is not only applicable to the parent team. If the player meets any of the three conditions after completing his rookie contract and tests the free market as a restricted free agent, his team can also make an offer with the starting salary of a seven-year non-Bird Rights veteran!
This is much more severe than the 'Rose Clause'!
The four teams that voted against were the Bobcats, SuperSonics, Magic, and Hornets, corresponding to Zhang San, Durant, Howard, and Paul.

He has started in the All-Star Game three times, not counting other things, which already meets the requirements of the new rules.

Howard was selected to the third team and the first team once, so he also meets the requirements.

This is the first time that Paul was selected to the first team. Even if the Hornets' strength declines next season due to age, injuries and other issues, and their opponents have a better understanding of them, and their record declines a lot, he is still a favorite for the best team. He is sure to be selected to the best team twice within his rookie contract, so it is foreseeable that he will meet the requirements.

As for Durant, he averaged 20+ points per game in his rookie season, and his training and game attitudes were excellent. He is not the type of player that Big Dog is. Even if you don't have a clairvoyant eye and only look at his rookie season performance, you can predict that he will be selected to the All-NBA team twice within his rookie contract.

Zhang also said: "This new rule is too harsh. In the future, any team that selects a super talent and meets the award conditions will definitely be able to get a seven-year veteran's maximum salary contract, and the parent team must actively give it; if they don't give it, other teams will also give it, and the parent team will eventually have to match the contract. If it does this, there is a high probability that it will cause a rift with the player because of not actively giving the highest salary.

The Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, and Bulls proposed this new rule. Yang Yang, I think they are targeting you."

Zhang Yang: "They are pretty nice people. They helped me get a raise."

Yang Jing was speechless for a moment, then asked, "...will this new rule have an impact on our team?"

Zhang Yang: "Not for the time being. Our salary will definitely exceed the cap next season. The short-term impact will not be significant, but in two years, when many of our current players' contracts expire and we rebuild the lineup next time, the impact will come.

However, there are exceptions to everything. There are always some players in this world who don’t like money and only care about the team. They are willing to take less money to help the team create better salary conditions…”

Yang Jing: "Yang Yang, what do you mean?"

Zhang Yang: "Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of person. Of course I'll take the salary I can get."

Yang Jing gave a thumbs up to the camera, meaning - he is worthy of being my son.

But it’s hard to say this since there are outsiders around.

Tellem put aside his concerns about the "Duncan-style decision" and joked: "Jack, if the reporters hear what you said, you will be scolded again. They will definitely attack you and say that you are not loyal enough to the team and don't consider the team."

Zhang Yang: "How can this be disloyalty to the team? I try my best every night on the court. I am loyal to my teammates who fight with me and to the fans who cheer for us. The kind of loyalty you are talking about is too superficial. It is just loyalty to the boss. It has no meaning."

Telram was stunned when he heard this. He knew that Zhang Yang was talking nonsense again, but he felt that what he said made sense.

Yang Jing: "Michael must be very angry this time."

When Zhang Yang heard this, the image of Boss Qiao’s furious look emerged in his mind.

Bald Joe: I was targeted when I was a player. I was invincible in one-on-one duels, so they set up an 'anti-isolation clause' specifically for me, not allowing me to play one-on-one against the basket alone. Now that I'm a boss, they're targeting me again... The tiger roars, roars...

Zhang Yang smacked his lips and said, "Michael should be able to figure it out. If he wants to dig a 7-year veteran in the free market, he should pay a similar salary. Why not just treat me as a 7-year veteran..."

…The players, parents and agents all agreed, and the ten-minute transatlantic video conference ended successfully.

In fact, it didn't take up Zhang Yang's time, but he didn't feel like going out shopping, so he turned on his computer to read the news.

Sure enough, this incident quickly attracted heated discussion among the media and football fans in the country.

It can be seen at a glance that this new rule is aimed at him, Zhang San.

Howard, Durant, and Paul all benefited from it by chance, while their teams did nothing and just sat there and took a critical hit.

It's difficult for Paul to break out of the West; with Yao Ming in the East, it's difficult for Howard to go far; Durant's future is definitely bright, but it's hard to say when he will be able to lead the team to win the championship. James and Anthony performed better in their rookie seasons, but they are still struggling in the first round.

The media named the 'rookie contract amendment clause' the "bad boy rule".

A group of big players who just turned 20 years old will be targeted to death by those teams that have the potential to compete for the championship all year round.

An article posted on the blog by Su Qun, the commentator of Chaoting TV, caught Zhang Yang's attention.

Su Qun, who has not yet entered the management level, spends most of his time every year doing on-site interviews in the United States. He probably knew the news when the proposal just came out, but it had not been finalized at that time, and he did not know how it would be implemented, so it was not announced in advance.

In the article, he analyzed that at the NBA's annual routine meeting every year, each team actually submits a lot of proposals, but very few are passed.

Any proposal made by any team will definitely benefit itself and not others, or even benefit itself at the expense of others. It can only be passed when it meets the interests of more than two-thirds of the teams. Some involve changes to the original terms, and the number of votes required is even higher.

For example, this year the proposal by the Knicks and Lakers to renew the 06 labor-management agreement with the players' union was voted against by the majority of owners.

The profitability of these two teams has always ranked first and second in the league. The labor agreement remains unchanged and the rules are stable, which is beneficial to the two teams but not to most teams.

For example, the Knicks' parent company owns a TV station, and the Lakers are said to be reaching a sky-high broadcasting agreement with Time Warner.

The Knicks' situation is special. They have their own TV station. Even if the league requires payment of broadcasting fees, Dolan will take the initiative to sign a low-price contract, which is not very meaningful.

But as for the Lakers, every team feels they can make some moves.

The broadcasting agreement that the Lakers are about to sign is reportedly higher than the total price of the live broadcast agreements currently being executed by the NBA and major TV stations for 30 teams. Not to mention the team owners, even the league officials are jealous.

The proposals that can be passed at such meetings will generally affect the alliance structure.

For example, when the Knicks proposed and passed the amnesty clause, the team that benefited the most was the Lakers.

The Lakers took this opportunity to clean up Brian Grant's junk contract in the summer of 06, and then replaced the original middle-class long-term contract with an expiring big contract by subsidizing role players and draft picks, freeing up space in the summer of 07 and signing Kidd and Garnett in one go.

Su Qun sees the 'bad boy rule' as a proposal that will have a more far-reaching impact on the alliance structure.

The amnesty clause can only be used for old contracts signed before the rules were issued, that is, a one-time clause.

The 'bad boy rule' is a long-term contract. Now it is targeting Zhang Yang. In the future, more teams will suffer from it, which will limit the birth of super teams to a certain extent.

After reading Su Qun's article, Zhang Yang felt that the analysis made sense... but he was still limited to the identity of a "newcomer". Basically, he was used to the capitalists' exploitation of young employees.

Just like he told his mom, these players who performed better than most veteran stars during their rookie contracts should just be treated as 7-year veterans...

At noon, Zhang Yang took Yao Ming to the restaurant he had planned to visit for lunch.

Yao Ming also knew about the introduction of the "Bad Boy Rule", and he was even more jealous.

Little Giant: I have played in the NBA for 6 years, and I didn't even get a contract with a starting salary of 25% of the salary cap, but only a second-highest salary. But Zhang San is going to get a 30-year veteran contract with a starting salary of 7% of the salary cap! It's totally unfair!

Another day passed, and it was July 7rd. After two days, Yao Ming's discomfort caused by jet lag had basically subsided. After all, he was an active athlete in his prime.

After breakfast, Zhang Yang and Yao Ming discussed and hit it off, and went to report to the Olympic Committee in advance. Both of them couldn't wait to experience the feeling of being each other's teammate.

The reporting procedures were completed smoothly. He has met with the officials in charge of basketball many times since March this year. In the more than a month after the end of the season, the 3 members of the coaching staff also flew to Charlotte three times.

He seriously suspected that these people were using communicating with him as a cover to travel at public expense, otherwise there was no way to explain why they were eating at Michelin restaurants and staying at five-star hotels.

After completing the formalities, the two picked up their packed luggage, boarded the car arranged by the Olympic Committee, headed for the airport, flew to Qingdao, and headed to the men's basketball training center, Laoshan Gymnasium.

This is the gymnasium rebuilt by Qingdao for the 07th National Games next year. It is a large comprehensive gymnasium with tens of thousands of seats. Construction began in early and was completed at the end of the year. It has been in use for more than half a year. It has complete supporting facilities and uses the most advanced training equipment. It has been requisitioned by the Olympic Committee to prepare for the men's and women's basketball teams. In two days, it will be moved to the Olympic Village.

In the evening, Zhang Yang met his national team teammates for the first time... some of them were not. In March, the Basketball Management Center recruited nearly 3 players for training, but half of them were cut in May. Now, including him, Zhang San, the Little Giant, and Lian Mei, there are less than 80 people.

Yi Jianlian had already returned to the team when the second batch of training lists were announced in May. Zhang Yang and Yao Ming also returned to the team. When the list of the final training camp was released two days later, only 5 people could go to the Olympic Village, and the final list had only 24 people.

When the training team members saw Yao Ming and Zhang Yang coming, they cheered loudly, and enthusiastically pulled Zhang Yang to ask questions and asked for photos.

This made Zhang Yang a little confused. He was prepared to be targeted by the old hands, mainly the Guangdong gang, who were famous for their love of sticking together. He was ready to turn on the invincible mode at any time.

And everyone is so... friendly?
In fact, there were originally a few troublemakers who wanted to give Zhang Yang a warning and let him know who the local boss is.

But the incident in which he beat the No. 1 pick in training camp and made him burst into tears at the draft was just not long ago, and this incident is still one of the hottest topics in domestic forums.

If Zhang Yang showed off his power and held a grudge against them, and challenged them to a one-on-one duel, whether it was a game of basketball or a fight, they would probably be beaten to tears... They would most likely be on the news like Mayo...

...

The next day, July 7, most of the players of the men's basketball training team arrived at Laoshan Gymnasium for training just after 4 o'clock.

Another group of people will be eliminated soon, and no one wants to be the one to be eliminated. But except for those few people, most people are uncertain about their future. They can only train hard and show themselves, hoping to get the recognition of those 11 coaches.

When a group of people arrived at the training ground in groups, they all stopped at the entrance.

There's already someone inside!
Zhang Yang is training! And his vest is soaked with sweat!
Liu Wei asked Yao Ming: "Dayao, what time did Zhang Yang arrive?"

Yao Ming thought about Zhang Yang's stay at his house and said, "If he has a training plan on his days off, he usually gets up at 6 o'clock, starts aerobic or anaerobic training at 6:10, then practices shooting or basic technical movements until about 3 o'clock, and then continues training after a nap at 7 o'clock in the afternoon until dinner. He trains for 8 to 8 hours a day. In his words, this is called an -hour work system."

Yi Jianlian, who was not happy with some of his teammates' laziness in training and their last-minute efforts when they were about to be eliminated, but was too embarrassed to open his mouth to advise them, interrupted and said, "My agent said that Zhang Yang has been working this hard for the past five years in basketball."

Zhu Fangyu: "He really only played basketball for 5 years?"

The little giant looked at Zhu Ba with an embarrassed expression. Why did he feel that this guy might be to Zhang San's liking?
Yao Ming controlled his expression and replied, "Yes, he is the genius that Nash said, who is more talented than anyone else and works as hard as anyone else."

Hearing his teammates swearing in their native dialect, Yao Ming was satisfied with everyone's reaction.

Yi Jianlian, the taciturn man, suddenly interrupted and Yao Ming immediately understood what Yi Jianlian was thinking.

He was actually dissatisfied with some situations, but was powerless to solve them, after all, he was away from the country for a long time.

He hopes to use Zhang Yang to stimulate his teammates. Maybe some of them will be shocked. They may think that 20 years of hard work is not as good as 5 years of hard work. But it is better to have some stimulation than nothing...

After Zhang Yang finished a set of shooting practice, he greeted his teammates and he noticed them when they came.

Yao Ming stepped forward and said, "Yang Yang, you got up so early to train again today. You really work hard!"

Zhang Yang felt that Yao Ming's speaking style was a little different after he returned to the national team... But it didn't matter, he replied: "Come early to complete your personal training, and practice tactics with everyone later, and try to integrate as soon as possible."

For this answer, the little giant gave Zhang San a thumbs up in his heart.

Yao Ming said: "You work so hard, I feel embarrassed to rest anymore, let's train together. To understand the tactics, you can communicate more with Kobe Wang (Wang Shipeng), Blatti (Du Feng), and Liu Dadu (Liu Wei). They may be our head coaches in the future. Every time I return to the team, they help me get familiar with the tactics again..."

The three people whose names were called felt honored, and Zhang Yang also felt that it was a lucky thing to join the men's basketball team at this stage.

Unlike Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian who participated in the "golden era of outside shooting", the men's basketball team in Zhang Yang's memory has become rotten. For future domestic basketball fans, the men's basketball team at this stage is a dream...

(End of this chapter)