The defending champion Nuggets' exit must have surprised many people. Although they lost two home games in a row in the series, they fell behind the Timberwolves 0-2 by a big score. However, as the previous champion, Denver Nuggets showed their dominance. They were the first to win the match point of the series for the next three games in a row. In this case, most people are imagining that Nuggets will enter the western showdown, or even defend the championship successfully. However, they first lost an away game, and then suffered a reversal when the home lead reached 20 points. Such an exit is tragic for anyone. 30.8 million yuan. See you again, warrior. I still want to win the championship. This time, you should sacrifice more.
The Nuggets' exit had nothing to do with the Warriors, but it made the Warriors be pulled out again. According to statistics, only Celtic's salary this season exceeds the luxury tax threshold for the four teams currently in the eastern and western finals. Among the other teams that have been eliminated but have to pay luxury tax, Warriors is obviously the most embarrassed team. Their luxury tax of nearly 200 million dollars, coupled with the results that failed to qualify for the playoffs, undoubtedly, when it comes to the most failed team of this season, Warriors is always a name we can not leave. From their general manager, Dunleavy Jr., we can know that, Reducing expenses is one of the core tasks of the Warriors management during the off-season period.
The future of others may not be certain, but the Warriors' substitute guard Chris Paul is a player that everyone can expect will not get his contract worth 30.8 million dollars next season. At the beginning, the Warriors exchanged Paul's four-year contract with Poole. In addition to their attempts on the court, they used Paul's contract to free up space and reduce the burden of luxury tax. This goal is believed to be well known by everyone. From Paul's point of view, it's really frustrating not to get so much salary. After all, before being traded by the Sun, there was a rumor that the first idea of the Sun was to fire Paul. Even if the latter was sent to the Wizards and Warriors by successive transactions, he did not have the idea of buying out the team. It can be seen from this that Paul's self-esteem is very strong.
But in Warriors, Paul made sacrifices for the team. Under the premise of the existence of Curry and Clay, whether helpless or disappointed, Paul accepted the identity and positioning of a substitute for the first time in his career at the age of 38. You know, before joining Warriors, whether in the regular season or the playoffs, the rookie season or this period of time, Paul was the first point guard of a team that could not fight hard, even when it was once considered a rotten Thunder. Such sacrifice has been a great concession to Paul. Considering the achievements of the Warriors this season, and Paul's embarrassing situation in the array (often Paul will be put on the bench at the critical moment because of the line-up problem), most people think that Paul and the Warriors are really not suitable.
In fact, Paul's heart is still very eager for the championship. After his 39th birthday, Paul was asked what he learned. Paul said that with the increase of his age, he paid more attention to the moment in his mind and cherish the moment, because no one can go back and spend these days again. When talking about his career, Paul said that he still appreciated the opportunity to play in the NBA. He thought that the current situation was no longer only about money. He loved basketball and was deeply involved in it, and his desire to win the final (to win the championship) was stronger than ever before.
Indeed, Paul doesn't have much time. He is 39 years old, and his personal ability has declined at a rate that everyone can see. Then the next free agent market (on the premise that the Warriors will probably fire Paul) is likely to be the last chance for Paul to decide his future in his career. Like many people, I don't think Paul will return to the Warriors, although he and the core players of the Warriors all said that this season's cooperation was very happy. But from a rational point of view, on the one hand, the Warriors could not provide Paul with the salary that other teams could provide. On the other hand, from the perspective of personal ability, since they already have Curry, even if Clay leaves, Paul and Curry's backcourt combination is difficult to excite people.
From the perspective of championship competition, no one will believe that a team that is not eligible for the playoffs can go against the current and have the opportunity to challenge the championship, on the premise of reducing the overall salary, keeping the core players old and the team strength weaker. Paul is still valuable. Many championship teams still lack an organizational brain, and Paul has accepted a substitute. He will become a hot potato in the market. This decision may directly affect whether Paul can win the championship in his career.
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