Compared to the past few offseasons...
In the summer of 2014, the intent of most free agents to sign "2+1" or "1+1" short contracts with various teams has obviously increased.
This is because, before the free agent market opened, the NBA officially announced that the new television broadcast contract would take effect in the summer of 2016.
A senior expert from ESPN, Bobby Max, said in his personal column: "According to the current labor agreement, once the new television broadcast contract takes effect, the salary space for each league team will increase significantly in the future."
In the NBA, what does a significant increase in the salary cap mean for a player?
In his past life, Qin Yue noted that the NBA official salary cap for the 15/16 season was about 70 million US Dollars.
By the 16/17 season, this amount had quickly risen to 95 million US Dollars.
Therefore, starting from the summer of 2016, the income of players signing new contracts with various teams will inevitably increase significantly.
Additionally, in this phase when the NBA is transitioning between new and old contracts, those teams previously lacking operational space will also benefit.
For example, the defending champion Warriors specifically mentioned by Max in the article.
In the summer of 2012, Stephen Curry, who completed an early renewal agreement with the Warriors, signed a standard maximum-salary contract for 5 years with a starting salary of 14.5 million US Dollars and a total value of 80 million US Dollars.
However, under the new television broadcast agreement...
Curry's maximum contract, not expiring until the summer of 2018, has instead become an inexpensive rookie contract.
Because according to the current NBA salary cap growth calculations...
In the 17/18 season, the salary cap for each league team would definitely break 100 million US Dollars.
And by then, Curry's maximum contract would only account for 15% of the Warriors' total salary cap.
Although the Warriors will not be the only team to benefit from the transition between new and old contracts in the future NBA.
But for the Warriors, about to enter the "4.0" era, the signing of the new television broadcast contract has quietly become a shot in the arm for them to continue dominating the NBA.
This means that at the current time node, the Warriors, needing to reach renewal agreements with many restricted free agents on the team, will harvest a bunch of "new rookie contracts" in the future.
Whether it's Curry with 5 years for 80 million US Dollars.
Or Danny Green with 5 years for 40 million US Dollars.
Or even Butler, who just reached an early renewal agreement with the Warriors with a 5-year 55 million US Dollar contract...
After the new television broadcast contract takes effect, their contracts will all become very cost-effective.
Of course, seeing this, some might ask...
With the salary cap about to increase significantly, why didn't Butler choose to sign a short contract with the Warriors this summer?
This is because in the NBA, restricted free agents and free agents are completely different matters.
Especially under the new labor agreement.
Even if Butler wanted to sign a short contract, he could only choose a "3+1" contract.
But the defect of this contract is also obvious.
That is, for Butler, who just became the Warrior's starting small forward last season, he doesn't have the capital like Qin Yue or James back then to dare to challenge the team.
In short, if Butler's development doesn't meet expectations, who will be responsible for his future then?
So, compared to free agents who have a choice...
Restricted free agents, who can only prioritize the present over the future, still have to put the money in their pocket first.
After all, no matter how delicious the cake is in the future, if you can't eat it, it has nothing to do with you.
In conclusion, under the impact of the new television broadcast contract, the entire 2014 summer free agent market can only be described as chaotic.
For instance, the Lakers signed the famous Joe Johnson from the free agent market with just a "1+1" mid-level exception.
For example, to strengthen their roster, the Grizzlies offered a 4-year 70 million US Dollar "sky-high contract" for Zach Randolph and brought him into the lineup.
When some free agents chose short contracts this summer for the interests of the future.
When past "sky-high contracts" will fall to rookie contracts in two years.
This summer...
Even the most senior NBA experts couldn't predict which player would sign with which team, or which team would offer a "sky-high contract" to players that didn't seem worth the price.
And amidst this chaos, the 14/15 regular season officially began in November of that year.
In the summer, the "Golden State Cavaliers," introducing many former teammates of Emperor Zhan, encountered trouble at the start of the regular season.
In December, in a game against the Grizzlies, Qin Yue first unexpectedly sprained his right index finger.
Immediately after, Danny Green was also sidelined due to plantar fasciitis.
Although over the past five seasons, Warriors coach Mike Malone has always figured out ways during the offseason to get more rest for the main players...
But during the five consecutive championships, including Qin Yue, key Warriors players, developed chronic fatigue due to participation in too many high-intensity games.
Additionally, after achieving five consecutive championships, the Warriors players' drive to advance has also become an irreversible situation.
Even when playing through injuries, the GOAT would always use his competitiveness to drive the defending champions to move forward.
But in response, Kwame Brown, who has joined TNT TV Station, pessimistically remarked, "This season, the games the Warriors lose due to complacency and underestimating their opponents are more than those in the past five seasons combined."
