The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Donnie Walsh was also very happy to see Su Wan's beaming face.

The contract renewal discussion went smoothly, basically following Su Wan's wishes—how many years to sign, which year to opt-out, all were dictated by Su Wan.

As for the amount, that didn't need to be mentioned by Su Wan.

It directly hit the maximum top salary.

After finishing the last season, it was Su Wan's seventh year serving in the NBA. Even without the "Rose Rule," Su Wan could sign a top salary contract worth 30% of the salary cap.

Based on this year's salary cap of around 58 million, Su Wan's first year salary would be 17.4 million...

Su Wan signed a total of seven years, a 5 plus 2 contract.

The contract would start in 2011 and end in the summer of 2018.

It included a no-trade clause.

Su Wan had the option to opt out of the contract in the summer of 2016.

If he remembered correctly, starting in 2016, the League's salary cap would rise from 73 million the previous year to 90 million.

Signing a seven-year contract was naturally for that 12.5% increase.

Players like Su Wan, who hadn't changed teams in the first six years of their career, had their "Bird Rights" move with them. So, even if Su Wan had only played for New York for one year, as long as he signed the seven-year deal, his salary increase could reach as high as 12.5%!

That's to say, Su Wan's first-year salary of 17.4 million would be followed by 19.575 million in the second year, 22.0218 million in the third, 24.774 million in the fourth, 27.87 million in the fifth, 31.35 million in the sixth, 35.269 million in the seventh... adding up to a contract of approximately 180 million over seven years.

This was the largest contract among active players.

But signing this contract made Donnie Walsh visibly joyful.

Such a contract meant stability for the New York Knicks for at least five years.

It was absolutely a great achievement.

As for spending 180 million to sign Su Wan...

Let's put it this way, if it were back in '96 when NBA rules hadn't been fully fleshed out, Su Wan could have definitely received a contract with an annual salary of 30 million!

It's only because of the rules that Su Wan didn't earn even more money!

His domination in the NBA couldn't be reflected by just 180 million.

Then came the second matter for consideration this summer, the New York Knicks' choice.

This draft pick was rather key because the Knicks had already traded away next year's pick.

This meant the Knicks only had this year to acquire new talent.

Although the Knicks were a team with plenty of young players and didn't desperately need new blood...

Don't forget!

Trades also require chips.

Therefore, quality rookies are always beneficial.

Su Wan glanced at this year's draft list.

With the New York Knicks' first-round pick at the 25th spot, Su Wan immediately spotted a suitable name:

Jimmy Butler!

That was a great addition to the wing position.

Never mind that the New York Knicks already had plenty of wing players, but Vince Carter and Artest's contracts were both up in a year.

Artest's form had declined terribly last season, and with the new "Shortened Season," he was even less reliable.

Vince Carter was more consistent, but his defense was atrocious.

Not knowing whether Battier could be successfully signed in the summer, the Knicks currently only had Paul George as wing backup.

Thus, adding another rookie wing player seemed extremely important.

Especially since this year's second-round picks weren't that promising.

The only one who made it big was "Chandler Parsons," and after snagging a hefty contract, he immediately slackened off. It would be better to choose the more tenacious Jimmy Butler.

He was certainly someone who could fight through tough battles.

As for the later "Glass Attribute"...

That was a 2024 issue, it was only 2011 now.

Moreover, Su Wan was fairly certain that Jimmy Butler wouldn't play in New York for many years. He was likely to become a trade chip at some point, and be traded away by the Knicks.

Donnie Walsh showed a flicker of confusion on his face when Su Wan mentioned Jimmy Butler, as if to say:

Does this guy really exist among this year's rookies?

But once Su Wan had spoken, there was nothing more to say—the choice was clear, pick him!

In the following days, Su Wan stayed in New York, waiting for the recording of "Su Wan's Predictions" to start.

The third episode of "Su Wan's Predictions" saw an upgrade in the studio's scale.

Mainly because the sponsorship fee for this session was higher than before, a whopping 50 million for endorsements.

However, some of that endorsement fee included long-term contracts with Su Wan's other programs paid in advance.

Su Wan had reached further in-depth cooperation with ESPN.

According to Su Wan's vision, his personal brand would officially launch next year, alongside a new basketball variety show which would also go live on ESPN. These sponsors probably heard the news in advance.

It's worth mentioning that in just one year in New York, Su Wan had already earned 110 million.

Around 50 million of that was from endorsement deals in partnership with ESPN, and the rest were endorsements contracts with local New York brands.

In just about ten days after winning the championship, Su Wan secured nearly 30 million worth of endorsements from New York State.

"S u Wan Street" was also nearing completion. It was estimated that by this time next year, it could be operational, and the benefits from his equity share were expected to reach about 80 million in the first year.

Of course, the success of "Su Wan Street" would be closely tied to his team's performance.

If the Knicks won the championship again next year, the revenue Su Wan could obtain from "Su Wan Street" would be more than 80 million, and not a cent less.