597 Shelter for the Old and Weak (1/2)
”According to an announcement made by the Clippers, the team has signed a one-year veteran minimum salary contract with free agent Osef. They are paying him 2.32 million dollars. This season, Osef will return to the Staples Center in Los Angeles wearing the Clippers' jersey. Is this true or is it fake news? That guy has ruined himself with drugs and got a girl pregnant. Can he still play?”
”The Clippers' announced the news and gave a lot of details. The specific amount of money was included. I think there is a nine out of ten chance it is true. Weren't there some reports the past few days that Osef had begun preparations for a comeback and that he resumed training. He is training at the fitness center owned by the Clippers' head coach! It doesn't surprise me at all that Osef will be joining the Clippers.”
The news of Osef signing with the Clippers was revealed before training camp for the upcoming season started. The veteran minimum salary was not high, but it was a chance for Osef to regain his dignity.
At the end of last season, there was a rumor that Osef had joined the Clippers. The current news confirmed those rumors. Thus, people were not surprised.
Osef had a bad record. Once your reputation had been contaminated by drugs it was hard to earn it back. No one believed in a drug addict and no one was optimistic about his comeback. Many people saw the signing as a bad decision.
The sports commentators gave the signing a very low rating. Among the scores of more than a dozen sports commentators, the best rating for this signing was only a C. It didn't even receive a C+.
Just two days later, the Clippers announced another signing. They signed the free agent ”Yellow Mamba” Hall for two years at $8.5 million.
8.5 million for two years. An average of more than 4 million a year, this price was less than the regular middle-class contracts and more than lower-middle class contracts. The second year of the contract was the team's option. If Hall did not perform well, the Clippers would not continue with his second-year contract.
Of course, for Dai Li, it was not possible to only use Hall for one year. An athlete could use three athlete patches. This meant that Hall would not be troubled by his lack of menisci for three seasons.
Dai Li was planning to give Hall a one-year contract first so that he could show his strength and, after that, give him a two-year contract. After all, Hall was a star player, and he should get a salary that matched his strength.
Right after this signing was disclosed to the media, it received a wave of criticism.
”Hall is not the 'Yellow Mamba' of the past. He doesn't have any menisci in his knees. He can't run and he can't jump. He's useless. I really don't understand why the Clippers would sign him.”
”Two years at 8.5 million. It would be better to try to train a few rookies. That way, they might be able to get one or two useful players.”
”If Hall could still play, he wouldn't have retired. First, they signed Osef, and now they signed Hall. I really don't understand what the Clippers are doing this year!”
People were not optimistic about Hall's comeback. Not only had he lost the menisci in his knees, but he had returned to play after he had lost his menisci before. He could not adapt to the intensity of an NBA game.
Hall was unable to continue to play. Now, Hall was a few years older, so his comeback was less likely to succeed.
The news of the Clippers' signings did not end there. The next day, the sports section was dominated with headlines about the Clippers.
”Legendary star Raymond announces his comeback!”
He was a two-time scoring champion and seven-time All-Star. A superstar in the NBA, Raymond was a player who could indeed be described as a ”legend.”
Countless Raymond fans were excited by this news. Many people did not care whether Raymond could match his old stats, they only cared that Raymond was returning.
People began to guess which team Raymond would join, which team would hand him an olive branch. Some people were worried that no team in the NBA would accept Raymond. After all, Raymond had played for many years. He was injured and had been retired for a while. The current Raymond might not be able to handle the fast-paced rhythm of an NBA game.
This worry was superfluous. A few hours after Raymond's announcement, the Clippers released the news that they had signed a three-year contract with Raymond at $25.8 million. The third year was a team option.
The salary was not what Raymond valued most. He was not short of money. He had earned hundreds of millions of dollars in his career. He was more concerned about the starting position that Dai Li promised. After all, Raymond was a superstar; he still had an ego. If the team was willing to guarantee his starting position, he didn't mind getting a lower salary.
From the perspective of the Clippers, a two-year, $25.8 million contract for a superstar like Raymond was certainly a very cost-effective deal.
No one else felt that the current Raymond was worth 25.8 million for three years.
Sure enough, after the Clippers announced the signing of Raymond at this price, almost everyone felt that the Clippers were stupid, acting like rich kids with too much money to spend.
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