er to make room for Howard to join, Duncan jumped out of the last year of his contract and signed a short-term contract with the Spurs at a low salary.
This operation, which is very similar to Nowitzki’s in history, has caused fans to praise the “Stone Buddha” for a long time.
But for Duncan, this is actually his inevitable choice.
His current experience with the Spurs is much worse than in history. If he does not seize the last opportunity of his career, his historical status will lose a lot.
Howard’s joining is undoubtedly the last and best opportunity.
Then Danny Green, who was originally interested in the Spurs, had no chance to sign with the Spurs.
It’s not that there is really no chance, but that the Spurs boss is reluctant to part with it.
Howard’s contract is 88 million for four years and 22 million for one year. If the Spurs want to sign Green again, they will definitely exceed the cap by a lot.
Even for Duncan, owner Holt is not willing to spend so much money.
In the end, Green went to the Thunder and became a member of the youth army.
The most direct impact of this wave of personnel changes is that the strength of the Clippers and Spurs has undergone fundamental changes.
Although Howard suffered from injuries last season and his performance was not as good as expected, and he was not even included in the best team because of it.
Of course, more importantly, after losing Howard, the Clippers had difficulty finding a suitable replacement in the free market for a while.
Some people would say, isn’t this free market and Al Jefferson’s?
The Clippers have no cap space!
The combined contract amounts of Kobe and Gasol’s two maximum salaries are no less than those of the next-door Lakers Sun Hao and Yao Ming.
The reason why we could form a luxurious lineup before was entirely because of the super luxury tax.
This is not a matter of changing individuals, it is a matter of people that cannot be replaced when Howard is gone.
So you can imagine how angry the Clippers fans were at this time. They were exactly the same as Lakers fans at the same time in history. They felt like they wanted to kill him.
Then there are the Spurs, who have retained the core lineup of GDP and Leonard, and added a top center in the league. This strength has soared.
Even if GDP retires one after another, the core lineup of Leonard and Howard will be enough to support them for a while in the future.
And it is worth looking forward to how Howard will perform under the coaching of Popovich.
As for the Lakers, there are basically no major changes in the lineup.
In the previous core rotation, Knight and Butler are only in their third year in the new season.
As for Millsap, whose contract expired in the summer, he finally chose a three-year, 36 million contract to stay.
This is obviously because he wants to follow Sun Hao and Yao Ming in the Lakers.
After a rough period, the 2013~2014 season began quickly.
At the beginning of the season, the performance of several teams attracted great attention.