231: 107: I will prove he’s not worth it (Vote for monthly tickets!) 231: 107: I will prove he’s not worth it (Vote for monthly tickets!) The drama at Lower Merion High School made Jerry Stackhouse furious.
He couldn’t understand why nobody went to confiscate all those damn one-on-one videos!
In this regard, the Adidas team really wasn’t as smart as Nike.
Stackhouse had become a complete clown in the eyes of Philadelphians, and his hatred for Roger escalated once again.
At this time, Stackhouse wasn’t the only one troubled by Roger.
“Damn it, who can get that damn newspaper out of Orlando for good!?”
Rich DeVos thundered in his office, with a shredded copy of the “Orlando Sentinel” on his desk.
The poll about whether Roger “deserves the highest salary in history” infuriated him.
It massively hindered his plans to drive a hard bargain.
DeVos had promised to offer Roger a contract slightly higher than Ewing’s, but that was because he thought the Knicks would offer Ewing a salary of around 12 million at most.
In that case, he only needed to offer Roger 12.5 million to retain him and save face.
But Ewing had actually signed a one-year contract for 18.7 million!
This was more than double David Robinson’s salary, who was the highest-paid last season!
DeVos didn’t understand how David Falk pulled it off, nor did he know what James Dolan, that idiot, was thinking.
Yes, he can spend his money however he wants.
But by doing so, he affected not just the Knicks but the entire league!
If you pay so much, how can the rest of us follow?
There was already a significant conflict between the owners and the players, and many people predicted a league shutdown in 1998.
And here Dolan is, offering an 18-million contract, undoubtedly disrupting the market.
The Magic were affected because, according to their promise, DeVos had to offer Roger a contract above 18.7 million!
This was completely beyond DeVos’s expectations.
DeVos was right; James Dolan was indeed an idiot when it came to offering contracts.
From 1998 until 2010, the Knicks would rank in the top three on the league’s salary list for 13 consecutive years.
Yet for half of that time, the Knicks wouldn’t even make it to the playoffs.
Their salary sheet was a cornucopia, but their track record was barren.
It’s hard to say how much more money James Dolan could have squandered if the league hadn’t standardized contracts in ’98.
Perhaps the era of 50-million salaries would have arrived a decade earlier.
In short, Dolan’s renegotiation with Ewing threw the whole league into disarray.
The Chicago Bulls were quite troubled.
If Ewing is getting 18 million, how much should we offer Jordan next year?
It’s hard for everyone when you suddenly throw 5000 into a game where the entrance fee is 3000, isn’t it?
DeVos had it worse than the Bulls; he had to figure out a solution to this problem right now.
What’s more lethal is that many teams this year have enough salary cap space to offer Roger a ten-million annual salary.
The Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks…
they all have plenty of salary cap space.
With the cap rising by a full eight million this year, these teams hardly have anyone under contract.
Boston and Philadelphia both have historic backgrounds and aren’t small markets.
In Denver, the Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, is on guard.
It’s hard to say these teams have no allure for Roger.
Eric Fleisher made it a point to mention in a phone call with DeVos: “Out of trust for you, I have not taken any calls from any teams.”
Although those teams can’t offer more than 18 million due to bird rights reasons, they can afford 12.5 million.
So, if everyone is offering 12.5 million, then Roger may very well choose another team.
Originally, Rich DeVos wanted to play the emotional card to lower the price: “Roger, do you believe in love?
The fans in Orlando love you, just like I love you.
We all don’t want you to leave, although the most we can offer is a price of 12.5 million, our love for you is genuine!”
But then that damn “Orlando Sentinel” poll came out, rendering all the prepared rhetoric of DeVos meaningless.
The fans didn’t give a damn about love with Roger; they were hands down in favor of him receiving the highest annual salary in history.
“Have these idiots even seen what 18 million looks like?
Why the hell are they stirring things up?
It’s my money that’s being spent!
Damn Sentinel, why does Orlando have such a toxic media outlet!” DeVos cursed to vent his anger.
At this point, the person by DeVos’s side was no longer Pat Williams, but the new general manager, John Gabriel.
After successfully building a team that won the championship last season, Pat Williams rose to become the basketball operations executive of the Magic Team and the senior vice president of Amway Corp.’s RVD sports company.
The former title was just a nominal position, the latter is where Pat Williams is now mainly focused.
Having tasted success with the Magic Team, Amway Corp.
wants to dive into the professional sports industry.
They’re planning to establish a WNBA team in Orlando and participate in the WNBA’s construction, and that’s what Pat Williams is busy with now.
Thus, the contract negotiations were entirely handed over to the newly appointed John Gabriel.
The situation was tough for Gabriel because the concerns for the Magic weren’t just about this year.