The night they won the championship, the Warriors didn't stick around in Cleveland, the "City of Failure." After all, Cleveland really isn't the place for a championship party. According to the plan, the team's victory celebration would be held the day after they returned to Oakland. This lavish party, organized by Zack's personal manager, Evans, was split into two parts: a first half for the married Warriors players and a second half reserved for the single bachelors, led by Zack himself.
At dawn, in Oakland, as Zack returned victorious with the O'Brien Trophy and the Finals MVP trophy for the second year in a row, thousands of Warriors fans chanted his name. "He brought the dream back to the Promised Land once again," Anthony Lester, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, would later recall about the 2007 victory parade.
Artest, mimicking Pippen from back in the day, deliberately held up "3" fingers to the crowd, which immediately drew cheers. In 1992, when the Chicago Bulls celebrated their championship in Grant Park, Pippen's "3" signaled the start of their quest for a three-peat as a budding dynasty. For Artest, who always considered himself the "King's Right Hand," recreating this classic moment was both a tribute to those Bulls and a subtle hint that he was the Scottie Pippen of this Golden State Warriors team.
However, during the parade, when Artest tried to recreate another classic, mimicking Shaq's "counting money" gesture towards Warriors owner Chris Cohan, Cohan's expression clearly soured. Even before the Finals, Cohan had already heard news that the league would officially introduce the "Messiah Clause" this summer.
How would you describe this upcoming new rule? Simply put, this new clause, similar to the "Rose Rule" Zack remembered, was a super-charged version specifically targeting the Warriors. While the Warriors had re-signed Richardson and Dunleavy Jr. last summer, their salary structure was still healthy. That's because their absolute core player, Zack, was currently on a "child labor salary." And the cheap contract Artest signed with the Pacers in the summer of 2003 meant he'd only take up $7.4 million of the team's cap space next season. That's right, a superstar on a rookie deal and a second-star offering incredible value for money were the key to the Warriors building such a luxurious roster at this moment. After all, how many NBA teams could afford high-paid bench players like Dunleavy Jr. and Murphy in this era?
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However, once the Messiah Clause was implemented, those good old days would be gone forever. This clause, specifically tailored for Zack, stated that if a player won at least two NBA Finals MVP awards during their rookie contract, they could, upon the expiry of that contract, receive a super max deal worth 35% of the team's salary cap, regardless of the usual service time restrictions for max contracts. Zack was already halfway through his rookie contract, and after his third season, the Warriors could offer him an early extension. Cohan knew very well that the Warriors' massive increase in market value was solely due to Zack. So, no matter how much he hated the league's new rule, he would immediately offer Zack that super max contract. But to give Zack that super max deal while keeping the Warriors' salary cap healthy, the team would naturally have to make tough choices with their roster. In Cohan's view, the introduction of the Messiah Clause was practically setting a rebuild date for the Warriors: the 2007-08 season would be this Golden State Warriors' "Last Dance."
"I remember Ron's contract expires at the same time as Messiah's rookie deal, right?" Cohan turned to Lowell, the team president, and asked. "Yes, his agent has been hinting to me recently that Ron wants a max contract that matches his contributions after this one expires," Lowell replied. "A max contract?" Cohan scoffed, smacking his lips. "We need to leave enough flexibility to offer Messiah a super max, and we still need to keep most of our championship players. Where would we have extra cap space to give him a max contract?"
Lowell nodded. "It's not just Ron; our most pressing issue now is that Baron's contract expires after next season." "Baron also wants a max?" "Baron's agent said he bled and contributed to this Warriors championship, and he believes Oakland is the last stop God guided him to, so he hopes for a respectable max contract..." Hearing this, Cohan waved his hand to cut Lowell off. "These damned bloodsuckers! Why doesn't he think about how he's already collected nearly $30 million in salary over the past two seasons combined? If he truly sees the Warriors as his last stop, then he shouldn't be making such outrageous demands from the team at a time like this!"
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After a pause, Cohan asked, "I remember that Kwame, Jarrett, and Messiah usually have the best relationship on the team?" "Kwame's contract also expires after next season, but we have a team option on him, so we can choose to keep him for another year or sign him to a new extension." "I heard Kwame changed his agent to Jeff Schwartz?" Lowell replied, "Jeff has always maintained a good working relationship with us. I've inquired about Kwame's demands, and we should be able to keep him with a market-value contract in the future." "What about Jarrett?" "Jarrett is our own homegrown rookie. Barring any surprises, a mid-level contract around four or five million dollars should be enough to satisfy him." Cohan sighed. "Our own guys are reliable; unlike those mercenaries, who threaten the team at every turn."
Cohan then brought up the team's general manager, Mullin. "Chris is good at everything, except he's too naive. Once the Messiah Clause is out, we'll definitely have to prioritize re-signing Messiah. How could we possibly keep all the championship players?" Lowell said. "Chris values sentiment too much, which is why I'm not comfortable giving him all the power," Cohan said, giving Lowell a meaningful look. "The Warriors' market value will likely surpass the Lakers next season, second only to the Knicks. It's not that I'm unwilling to spend, but we must ensure that the money we spend is well worth it." At that moment, no more words were needed. Lowell, the president who had always been loyal to Cohan, instantly grasped Cohan's meaning.
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During the victory parade, watching the relentlessly enthusiastic crowd, Zack wondered what Michael Jordan, at 29, felt when he won two consecutive championships for the Bulls. But regardless of Jordan's feelings at the time, Zack just wanted a good night's sleep. Playing until June for two consecutive years—after the excitement faded, every Warriors player felt, without exception, how utterly exhausted their bodies were. And some of that physical exhaustion simply couldn't be relieved by short-term rest.
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After his explosive performance in the Finals, finally freed from his "crazy" state, an utterly drained Zack didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day. That night, at the team's championship party, Mullin, the "old drunk" and the only front office member allowed at the party, approached Zack and discussed the upcoming draft. "Mike [Malone] has already talked to me. He thinks the team urgently needs a big man who can rotate with Troy [Murphy], someone with good playmaking ability and outside shooting range." Given that the Warriors' cap space wasn't as great as when they first drafted Zack, the team desperately needed quality "child labor contracts" to supplement their current roster.
So, Zack took the Warriors' draft board from Mullin. Then, he found that besides Marc Gasol and Josh McRoberts, Sun Yue's name was also on it. Historically, for a player to be drafted in the second round of a strong draft year like 2007 by the Lakers, Sun Yue certainly wasn't just relying on the market. Zack knew how excellent Sun Yue's combine numbers were, especially his 4-point agility drill in the lane. If Zack remembered correctly, "Great Sage Sun's" time in that drill was even in the top five of his draft class. The Lakers believed Sun Yue's physical frame and lateral quickness had the potential to make him an excellent perimeter defender, which is why they used a second-round pick on him. However, the Warriors' front office included Sun Yue on the candidate list mainly to please Zack. Zack, unsure if he could convince Sun Yue to focus entirely on basketball, didn't want to open that "back door" for Sun Dasheng.
Zack knew how much Kobe Bryant looked after Sun Yue historically; even after the Lakers won the championship, Kobe said of the "freeriding" Sun Dasheng, "I don't think any player on our team is superfluous. Sun's full-effort defense against me in every practice helps this team." In Zack's view, if even Kobe couldn't develop Sun Yue, how could he guarantee that Sun Yue would grow better in the "greenhouse" of Oakland?
And after learning that Zack didn't plan to open the back door for Sun Dasheng, Mullin breathed a slight sigh of relief. This year, the Warriors only had the 30th pick in the first round. According to previous mock drafts, Sun Yue would likely be picked in the early second round. Since 2007 was a deep draft class, it would be extremely difficult for the Warriors to acquire a pick for Sun Yue through a cash trade. Therefore, if Zack truly wanted Sun Yue, the Warriors would most likely have to bite the bullet and use their first-round pick on him. Now, knowing Zack's thoughts, a completely relieved Mullin continued, "Our scouts in Europe believe Marc Gasol's actual draft position might be underestimated. Although he's a bit overweight right now, he's definitely a big man who fits our tactical requirements. And Josh McRoberts is a versatile forward, especially his shooting; I believe he has great potential there."
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In the 2007 draft class, Zack only remembered these two players who had both playmaking ability and shooting range. However, as Zack knew, Marc Gasol, the future best defensive playmaking center in the NBA, was unlikely to fall to them, especially after Pau Gasol's trade to the Lakers. Zack was well aware that Lakers scouts, who had been closely following Marc Gasol, would likely recommend that the Lakers pick "Little Gasol" with a higher draft pick.
Therefore, "If we want to pick Marc Gasol, we might need a higher first-round pick." Hearing this, Mullin's face immediately fell. It wasn't that he disagreed with Zack. It was just that in a deep draft year, what assets did the Warriors have to trade up in the first round? Unless the Warriors offered valuable bench players like Jackson or Barnes, Mullin would have a hard time convincing other team GMs with just cash. Moreover, the Warriors taking "Little Gasol" with a higher first-round pick would also come with risks because, as Zack remembered, "Little Gasol" wouldn't be able to join the NBA right away.
Thinking this through, Zack decided not to make things difficult for Mullin. After all, the Warriors' willingness to use a 30th overall pick to draft "Little Gasol," who was projected as an early second-round pick in mock drafts, was already like having "heavenly insight." If the Lakers really picked "Little Gasol" with a higher first-round pick, the Warriors could only accept their fate. Zack knew that after winning two consecutive championships, the Warriors were now a target for everyone. Additionally, considering Murphy was still in his prime, the Warriors only needed a rotation player to share minutes with him, so they wouldn't break up their existing championship core for a player who couldn't immediately join the NBA. Zack vaguely remembered that in his prime, McRoberts was a valuable role player who could get a mid-level contract just for his playmaking. So, as long as they could draft either "Little Gasol" or McRoberts, the Warriors' draft would be considered a success.
This summer, without national team duties, Zack would focus his training on Kwame Brown. Zack planned to reopen his "Divine Selection Training Camp" after the break. At that time, besides Brown, Zack also planned to invite Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue, who would be entering the draft this year. Although Zack wasn't going to open a back door for "Great Sage Sun," considering his intention to utterly destroy America's basketball redemption dream at home in 2008, special training for Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible in Zack's eyes.
Zack didn't know which NBA team Yi Jianlian would be drafted by in this life. But it must be stated that no matter how unreliable Yi Jianlian's agent, Dan Fegan, was, the fact that he had Yi Jianlian perform a non-contact workout with a chair during his tryout was definitely not a "scam" as later marketing accounts claimed. Because, given Yi Jianlian's physical conditioning at the time, if he had faced too much physicality in a tryout, his core playstyle from the CBA would have been exposed. Zack had already tested Yi Jianlian's physicality last summer. Overall, Yi Jianlian's potential was commendable. But often, people truly underestimated that Yao Ming's ability to become a superstar center in the NBA was due to his physical talent for adapting to the NBA's intense physicality.
In Zack's previous life, when Yi Jianlian played for the Nets, he did receive strong support from the team. However, to survive in the NBA, Yi Jianlian had to break many of his bad habits and accept a role as a defensive-minded stretch four. Zack believed Yi Jianlian's talent simply wasn't enough to support him continuing his core playstyle in the NBA because, in an NBA filled with "superhumans," to be a core player, your talent had to be "a superhuman among superhumans."
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On the 23rd, the Warriors held a grand championship parade. This year's parade route was largely the same as last year's. Fans interacted closely with the players, spending an incredibly enjoyable day with their heroes. Amidst the passionate cheers of the fans, the Warriors' championship players received the best possible reward. And the Warriors' front office, led by Mullin and Lowell, received widespread praise from Warriors fans for that perfectly executed team-building plan.
The only one who remained untrusted by the fans was the team owner, Chris Cohan. On the day of the championship parade, Cohan couldn't understand why he, who consistently poured money into the Warriors, was so unpopular with the fans. "This is clearly my team!"
In the NBA, Lakers owner Jerry Buss once famously said, "As a team owner who can just sit back in a suit and reap the benefits, you can't ask everyone to like you while you're raking in cash. Whether the fans approve of me isn't important. As long as the Lakers make me money, I'm the most successful owner in the NBA." Clearly, Warriors owner Cohan didn't have Buss's clarity. And this made Cohan make up his mind. He planned to sell the team once its market value further increased. If two consecutive championships couldn't earn him the fans' approval, why should he bother to keep holding onto this team?
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The night of the championship parade, the team held another party at Zack's East Bay mansion. At the party, Baron Davis approached Zack with a worried look. "You're saying that after winning the championship, your agent talked to the team management about an extension, but their response left you very dissatisfied?" Looking at Davis, who had been an unstoppable force, a true "God blocks, kill God; Buddha blocks, destroy Buddha" in this year's playoffs, Zack asked curiously, "Baron, can you first tell me, in your opinion, what kind of contract would you consider a 'respectable' veteran's contract?"
Davis expressed his feelings to Zack: "Winning these two championships has made me fall in love with this city. I want to dedicate the rest of my career here. But now, they won't even give me a veteran's contract starting at $9 million." A starting salary of $9 million? Zack could see that Davis truly intended to finish his career with the Warriors. After all, given Davis's current market value, when his contract expired next season, he could easily get a big contract worth over $10 million annually anywhere else.
Although Zack had long decided against playing "legacy basketball" in the future, given that Davis still had several seasons of high-level play left, Zack actually thought the veteran's contract Davis wanted wasn't expensive. Furthermore, if the Warriors weren't even willing to give Davis such a contract, how could Zack believe that the Warriors still had the desire to contend with other teams in the future? So, after patting Davis on the shoulder, Zack said, "Next time you negotiate, you can relay my stance to the team management: you are an indispensable member of the Warriors in my eyes." Hearing this, Davis, emboldened by Zack's support, was overjoyed. "Regarding contributions to the team, I know that if you're not number one, no one dares to claim it, but I knew you wouldn't ignore my sacrifices and contributions to the team!"
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Next, Artest also found Zack at the party. "My current contract expires at the same time as your rookie contract," Artest told Zack. "So?" Zack asked. Artest mused, "I'll be direct. These two seasons, I've made significant contributions to the Warriors winning the championship. I don't dare to ask for a max contract like yours, but after my contract expires, the Warriors should at least offer me a little something more than my current salary." "How much do you want?" "I want a new contract with a starting salary of no less than $8 million."
$8 million. Considering Artest's ability to play both small forward and power forward, and the defensive capabilities he could provide even if his offensive talent was "recalled by God" in the future, this was also a veteran's contract that wasn't expensive. "Have you talked to the team management about this?" Zack asked. "I did. They said your extension is the top priority. But I only wanted a promise, and I didn't expect them to refuse even a verbal one," Artest said, looking dejected.
Zack knew that the Warriors' front office wasn't entirely run by Mullin. However, he still couldn't understand why the Warriors' management was so cold in handling the extensions of Davis and Artest. Mullin had previously told him that Cohan was willing to pay a certain luxury tax if necessary. Now, the question was: was Mullin lying before, or did Cohan never intend to pay the luxury tax? "Don't worry, I'll definitely be on your side in the future. For now, just enjoy your vacation," Zack said, patting Artest on the shoulder.
After the championship parade, Warriors President Lowell, who had successively rejected Davis's extension request and Artest's verbal promise, immediately plunged into busy work. Unlike General Manager Mullin, who was solely devoted to serving Zack, Lowell always knew where his allegiance lay. Since owner Chris Cohan already had the idea of selling the team, Lowell's focus was naturally on how to save Cohan money while ensuring Zack remained with the Warriors. To that end, Lowell didn't hesitate to use his information advantage over other Warriors personnel, portraying Davis and Artest as "bloodsuckers" who only wanted huge contracts.
Lowell knew very well that in the 2007-08 season, the Warriors would still be that Warriors team. But with the Messiah Clause coming, the Warriors' rebuild absolutely had to be put on the agenda. Mullin was too sentimental, and in Lowell's view, as long as the Warriors could keep the Messiah, this team would surely fetch a good price when sold. As for those mercenaries? Once Chris Cohan sold the team, what did those mercenaries have to do with him, Lowell?
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