[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1278":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444645,1896,"Chapter 1278 - 8: Mr. Gump","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1278",1278,"\u003Cp>Actively participating in the labor dispute was just a small episode in Gan Guoyang’s basketball career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew in his heart that the NBA, as a business, wouldn’t decline quickly and would only grow stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this confidence, he was assured during the negotiations, knowing that neither the owners nor the players wanted to break this rice bowl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as balance and coordination were well-maintained, this millionaire-making machine, the dream factory for basketball youths, would continue to operate and churn out more and more money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout this process, Gan Guoyang remained fair and strict as always, using his incredible energy, rich experience, and cunning tactics to stand on equal footing with David Stern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stern really had no way to deal with Gan Guoyang for a time; this top disciple of Larry Fleisher was indeed adept, and he had many resources he could mobilize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Gan Guoyang wasn’t as selfless as he appeared; he had personal motives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the mid-level exception and veteran minimum contracts provided the Trail Blazers with more flexible salary cap management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It facilitated future enhancements for the Trail Blazers; otherwise, Gan Guoyang’s salary alone would exceed the entire salary cap, and the Trail Blazers would lose the opportunity to sign helpers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Trail Blazers’ current lineup, winning the championship would be quite difficult; apart from Ah Gan, one could say the old were too old and the young were too young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To enhance roster depth in the future, some trades would be necessary to sign capable players, and the mid-level exception and veteran minimum contracts would be important tools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secondly, the new transition labor agreement left room for superstar contracts, allowing Gan Guoyang to sign a record-breaking $100 million contract over three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a retired and then returned player, Gan Guoyang had many points for negotiation on the over-the-cap renewal issue, and the league gave the green light, providing a signing exception for the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His annual salary set a historical record in North American professional sports, with an income exceeding $30 million a year, befitting his status as a seven-time champion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, once the luxury tax was imposed, or if a maximum salary rule was established, Gan Guoyang certainly wouldn’t have secured such a big contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Gan Guoyang signed this unprecedentedly massive contract, in the summer of 1996, Michael Jordan, who became a free agent, also demanded a huge contract from the Chicago Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After repeated negotiations and back-and-forths, Reinsdorf finally gave Jordan a four-year, $118 million mega-contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although this contract didn’t surpass Gan Guoyang’s in terms of annual salary, its total amount set a new historical record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shortly thereafter, the Seattle SuperSonics offered Ewing a contract with an annual salary of $18 million to continue their championship pursuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The SuperSonics’ consecutive Western Conference appearances in the Finals were largely credited to Ewing’s performance; his defense and low-post offensive ability were what the Supersonics desperately needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And his rebounding had improved; after all, the Supersonics’ backcourt rebounding protection was already poor, bringing in Ewing was a significant enhancement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of Ah Gan’s presence, the status of the center was further strengthened in the 1990s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Olympics, the Los Angeles Lakers reached an agreement with O’Neal, finalizing a 7-year, $120 million contract, once again setting an NBA contract record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lakers’ original plan was to offer O’Neal $96 million, but seeing the prevalence of hundred-million-dollar contracts, Jerry West very boldly increased the contract amount to $120 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, the Orlando Magic no longer had the strength or sincerity to compete with the Lakers; they lost the best talent in their team’s history and wasted a precious No. 1 draft pick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of annual salary, O’Neal’s more than $17 million a year accounted for two-thirds of the salary cap, leaving only one-third for the other Lakers players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in reality, O’Neal’s first-year salary was $10.71 million after moving to the West Coast, accounting for less than half of the salary cap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salary would increase each subsequent year, reaching $23 million in the 2002-2003 season, the final year of the contract, if O’Neal opted in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this, it was clear that players and teams were optimistic about the overall revenue growth of the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just the NBA; in American cinema, Jim Carrey’s salary also reached $20 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Mike Tyson’s first fight after being released from prison, he earned $65 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shockingly high salaries at the top of the arts and sports industry, with \"0\"s that left ordinary people dizzy, essentially stemmed from the booming American economy in the 1990s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no fetters from the Soviet Union and under Clinton’s administration, American society entered a golden period of development; they were truly the world leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The NBA seized this opportunity and expanded their market to all of America and even the entire world, and revenues naturally increased significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grand summer of 1996 was filled with the scent of money in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Alonzo Mourning, who in the top teams of the 80s could barely serve as a second-in-command center, was taken by New York with a seven-year, $105 million contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should have stayed in Charlotte, but starting from the third year, his relationship with Larry Johnson deteriorated sharply, and they went from friends and comrades to hostile enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson, who arrived a year earlier, already had a 12-year, $84 million long-term contract with the Hornets, and Mourning had a bad relationship with Hornets owner Shinn, so Mourning had to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior alumnus Ewing and coach John-Thompson gave him clear advice: Go to New York, go there to fill the void Ewing left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>",941,"2026-06-06T01:41:52.558Z",1,"novelbin.me","b0be53d198ab8d5469467658d2e1d8b83981bfead121b13b5eecde2ac98d8b38","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1279","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1277",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]