As a businessman, Cai Chongxin understands the importance of “disruptive innovation”. Not surprisingly, he tried to bring this concept to the professional league.
When he decided to buy the team in 2019, the Brooklyn Nets were in crisis, they were in the same city as the NBA’s most valuable team, and they lost 2013-2019 due to Billy King’s notorious manipulations. A first-round pick during this period. So unlike the average bad team, they had no talent and no hope.
In that context, Sean Marks and the Nets management team had to adopt a new way of building the team — in fact, it has been subtly in this league, but Marks concreted this concept into a formal plan — that is to create a team. The palatial palace, inviting their future kings in.
The Nets first picked up Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie from the junk heap, then picked Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert with the 20th overall pick to make the playoffs in 2019. Marks bought chips for the team with his own vision. With such a roster and a good salary structure, they attracted Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving that summer, and LeVert and Allen later became James Harden. important piece.
When the “Big Three” came to the city, they symbolized another peak in the “Player Empowerment Era.” KD and KI decided to play together, so they decided everything following a discussion, then called Marks and told them the terms. Later, they participated in the selection of the head coach, recruited the players they wanted, and the team was made up of the will of the stars, including everything off the court.
However, with the development of the professional league today, the organization and professional division of labor within the team has become very complicated. The “Fujima-style” approach of players and coaches in the Bill Russell era, or even directly becoming managers following retirement, can no longer work. .
In the Nets’ case, the players were given too much power, violating the authority of the rest of the team, which prevented the entire system from functioning smoothly. Harden is not satisfied with head coach Steve Nash’s game plan and wants to play more field battles; KD is not satisfied that the Nets did not let Irving play on the road without vaccination; Irving is not satisfied that he has to play that way in the regular season Many games. . . The front office and the coaching staff were elbowed everywhere, and that affected their team culture and competitiveness, and the end result we can see very clearly: having the best talent and lineup in the league, paying so much, But it didn’t make it to the conference finals for two seasons in a row.
Even though they were strong candidates for “the most disappointing team of all time” this summer, Durant called Cai Chongxin hoping to help the culprit Irving get a longer contract, and when the request was rejected, he Apply for a deal.
I don’t know when our basketball got to this point. Players and teams are divided into two distinct entities, before they are closely integrated, the former is contained within the latter.
But just as the Nets brought new ideas and ideas with business thinking, they also believed in the spirit of contract, the cornerstone of capitalism. Cai Chongxin and Marks did not intend to obey Durant and Irving. Unlike other teams dominated by superstars in the past, they used their correct trade as an endorsement to negotiate toughly with the stars.
Cai Chongxin and Marks made it clear that they want to win, but they also want to win with dignity. They told Irving that they wouldn’t offer him a long-term deal and put him on the shelf; they then told Durant that if no team made a good offer — at least one star player and at least one star, according to ESPN Multiple first-round picks — then they won’t be traded.
That ultimately forced Irving to express a willingness to continue playing with the Nets, and Durant relented and returned to the negotiating table, eventually agreeing to stay. This may bring some inspiration to some teams in the future, that is, although the power and rights of players are constantly improving, they should still be responsible for their own decisions and bear the risks involved.
If you have signed a long-term maximum salary contract to ensure your life, it means that you have chosen to pay a part of your freedom to fulfill your contractual obligations dutifully, and have a good professional ethics. Do what the team wants you to do.
It’s unprecedented for an employee to ask not to work and still get paid, but that’s what Ben Simmons did with the Sixers last year (and he ended up getting a portion of his pay in a settlement). The Nets’ practice this year shows that the management is beginning to feel that they have had enough. Players should also be part of the team, and they should have the power to build with the management, but not over it.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association will have until December 15 this year to decide whether to withdraw from the current collective bargaining agreement. If either of them chooses to do so, the current agreement, which came into effect in July 2017, will expire on June 30, 2023. Whether or not new negotiations eventually begin, we have to admit that it’s hard for the league to set rules that would limit Durant’s — and Simmons, Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard’s — requesting trades during the contract period, and if it’s done normally The four-year, $198 million contract he previously signed should run until the 2025-26 season for the Nets.
Yet the Nets created this unruly team themselves, and they figured out how to tame it. And will this approach affect teams like the Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, and 76ers? We can wait and see.
Another inspiration brought by the KD transfer incident is regarding philosophical aspects. That is, is the relationship between a star and the team an employment type or a cooperative type?
On the surface, the owner pays the players and takes the business risk themselves, but in fact the influence of the stars may be far greater than the value they receive. In the case of the Nets, no matter how messed up KD and KI did, their participation made this team an instant championship contender, they made the coaching team’s tactical system simpler, and they made it easier for management to recruit players. , these are obvious.
We can temporarily abandon the black and white words on the contract and think carefully regarding this relationship. If the star and the owner are involved in the establishment of the team together, then considering that the team can sometimes directly trade the player without communicating with the player; then Now that the star is applying for a transaction in the contract, is there no problem?
This is just an idea and logical debate. At present, most players in the league have been greatly improved, and they are paid by their bosses, just like us ordinary people. But the top 1% has started to make a huge noise.
Therefore, this discussion will certainly continue in a more serious manner in the future.
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