After the opening of the NBA free market, there have been many blockbuster news, such as Tatum and the Celtics reached a five-year $315 million super maximum salary contract, breaking the NBA historical record in one fell swoop! And Celtics' largest shareholder Grossbeck also made a move, to be honest, in 02 spent $360 million to buy Celtics shares, and the latest Celtics valuation has been close to $4.7 billion, they have earned enough, and in the next few years, the Celtics double Tanhua + Holiday + White + Boshen lineup combination, luxury tax is unimaginable! As last season's champion, the Celtics retained the frame lineup, and many teams are struggling, the 76ers signed George for $212 million in four years, and Maxey was renewed for $204 million in five years, including Embiid's contract, and they also became the first team in NBA history to have three players with contracts of more than $200 million.
And the Mavericks, who reached the finals, also got Klay as they wished, and continued to upgrade the lineup. Because the Lakers don't have a lot of chips, and the players on the roster are not trading well (except for Reaves), the Lakers are destined to be very passive this summer. And there is a team that is easy to ignore, the Clippers and George pulled for half a year, the Clippers just didn't give George the top salary, and finally George left directly and joined the 76ers. From the outside world, the strength of the Clippers' roster is indeed declining, including George's direct departure this time, which has led to the compression of the salary cap. However, the Clippers' several operations this summer have really achieved precise reinforcement, the key is that they will not have to pay the luxury tax next season, but the lineup is still at the championship level, and several major pain points have been solved!
Starting from one detail, after Willis executed a $4 million player option + Tucker executed an $11 million player option, Clippers management made a direct decision to seek a trade to send these two away! The next step is to cut it before the start of the new season! Why did the Clippers do this? To put it bluntly, Tucker is reluctant to play for the Clippers, and the negative energy of the past season has seriously affected the team; And Wei Shao's efficiency value is also dragging down the team, after all, Wei Shao's ball possession rate in the regular season is third in the team, and the first in the playoffs, so it's right to get a base salary, but Wei Shao is hurting the team. In addition, the Clippers and Harden completed a two-year, $70 million contract extension, signed Porter Jr. with a two-year salary, signed Derrick Jones with a three-year $30 million salary, signed Batum with a two-year, $9.6 million for two years, and also signed free agent Dunn.
These few signings can only say that the Clippers management has finally gone from a dream to a reality! First of all, Harden has a 2-year contract of 70 million, and Harden is worth the price in terms of his ability to guarantee the regular season alone. But the reason why it was not given 3 years is because of Harden's instability in the past few years and declining data, and once there is no improvement next season, the Clippers will also be easy to trade. But the Clippers are finally taking the defensive pressure on Harden and Leonard seriously. First of all, Derrick Jones and Batum are both all-round forwards, and Batum can play the No. 5 position in the small lineup, with good projection ability, and his top defense and confrontation at the No. 4 position can release more than half of Leonard's defensive pressure. And Derrick Jones's foothold is fundamentally defense + eating cake, and it is enough to have speed and confrontation.
Dunn's defensive biting ability, Porter Jr. came off the bench to disrupt the battle, and combined with Powell to increase the team's scoring points in the connecting section, which was also to pave the way for the follow-up to send away Wei Shao + Hyland. After all of this, the Clippers need to find another backup No. 5 spot, and a new roster is on the horizon. Clippers starters in the new season: Harden + Mann + Derrick Jones + Leonard + Zubac, there are Batum + Powell + Porter Jr. + Dunn and others on the bench, and the follow-up Clippers also have a biennial exception available, but the Clippers will directly pull the total salary of the team next season below the luxury tax threshold! You know, in the past four years, the Clippers have paid $371 million and received nothing. To put it bluntly, there are indeed some drawbacks in the core model of the double-forward line of the Kajiao combination, the team is top-heavy, and the small card is also riddled with injuries.
But with this new lineup, the stubborn defensive problems have been solved, Xiaoka has found a stand-in, he doesn't have to occupy the No. 4 position for a long time, and Harden has a partner who can defend by his side, and there are two masters of chaos on the bench. Because of the existence of Harden, he has the attribute of activating role players, which is why the Clippers dare to let George go directly, reduce expenses and deploy the roster in a more balanced direction. Because of the arrival of Batum and Jones, in fact, Leonard's offensive and defensive pressure in the new season has been reduced a lot, and the Clippers' small lineup projection ability has improved very significantly, Harden can finally get the ball, and no longer let George fight with the ball like in the second half of last season.
The trading market gives birth to real winners. The Clippers have been hopeful and disappointing every year, but compared to past years, Clippers management has finally come to terms with reality, starting with their consistent refusal to give George a salary cap, and starting with a more pragmatic signing. But the premise of all this is that Leonard can't get injured again in the playoffs! Congratulations to Harden, who will continue to play the helm role of the Clippers in the new season, no longer need to worry about George and Westbrook, mourning and winning, and looking forward to this new Clippers team to bring surprises next season.