After all, Irving was a rookie, and that was the most cost-effective time to sign him.
But they hadn’t expected that Nike would offer Irving a super contract for 4 years at $32 million, and they simply couldn’t match that.
So, although they failed to sign Irving, it alerted them early on.
There was no reason for Hansen to refuse UA’s approach, after all, jumping from $2 million straight to $11 million was a huge difference.
But he felt that the 6-year term was a bit too long, and in the end, after both parties agreed, the contract was changed to 4 years for $44 million.
That was equivalent to extending his existing contract with an additional 2 years for $40 million.
While Hansen was still on a rookie contract making millions on the court, the income from his sneakers had already propelled him into the ranks of multimillionaires.
By mid-October, preseason games would have already started in a normal year.
But the lockout was still not over, meaning that a condensed schedule for the upcoming season was now inevitable.
At the same time, this would also mean the intensity of games in the new season would exceed that of past seasons, increasing the risk of potential injuries.
Upon returning, Hansen also started his physical strengthening training again with the help of Grover.
He would continue to reduce his weight to 96 kilos, but also lower his body fat percentage.
The purpose of this was to reduce the wear and tear on his body to guarantee his playing time on the court and further reduce the risk of injury.
In summary, compared to last season, he would become lighter and more enduring.
It wasn’t something that would happen overnight; it would take him one to two months.
By November, after Thanksgiving had passed, under immense pressure and after 15 hours of prolonged negotiations, both parties finally reached a new agreement on November 26.
The agreement was lengthy, but the most important part was essentially the redistribution of the revenue pie, which allowed the owners and NBA stars to pocket more money under the new deal.
The resulting changes included some revised provisions, with two of the most notable being:
First, the duration and increment of long contracts were changed to shorter terms with larger increases, meaning that "Bird rights" became more important. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩
Second, a significant increase in the luxury tax and the introduction of the super luxury tax.
Both of these changes would have a profound impact on the upcoming free agency market.
Of course, the new season was shortened, and some key dates would shift.
For instance, the new season officially started on December 8, and unlike in previous years, preseason training, signings, and trades all started at the same time; free agency signings would run until the 15th, and then on the 25th, the regular season would officially kick off.
These activities were typically spread over the course of a summer, but now they were crammed into a mere 17 days, with the free agents market lasting only 7 days—a substantial challenge for the general managers of each team.
The Grizzlies also faced significant pressure.
Among the core players of the Grizzlies, Guy was in the second year of his new contract, and Randolph had renewed his contract at the end of the last season for 4 years at $71 million.
However, Conley and Little Gasol needed to renew their contracts for the new season, and their bright performance in the playoffs last season meant that their contracts would not be cheap.
Battier also had to renegotiate his contract.
On December 8, the 2011-2012 season officially kicked off.
The first day brought two explosive pieces of news that shook the league.
It wasn’t about free agent signings; it was about trades.
First, Paul officially requested a trade from the Hornets, and soon after, Howard also requested a trade from the Magic.
To have two of the league’s top five superstars request trades simultaneously was explosive in any offseason.
And both players had one thing in common: their contracts had "threatening" potential.
Normally, their contracts would expire in the summer of 2013, but they both had player options for the final year.
This meant that if the teams did not agree to their trade requests now, they faced the risk of losing them for nothing the following summer.
But all this wasn’t too concerning for Hansen.
Because according to the history he knew, barring any unexpected events, Howard would stay with the Magic and become "Ho’nest," while Paul would go on to create "Los Angeles Lob City" with the Clippers.
He was more concerned with his own team’s contract renewals.
He had already made it clear that if the Grizzlies’ management didn’t manage to keep everyone, it would be very awkward.
However, he’d been awaiting news about Conley’s renewal, but another piece of news arrived instead.
Hollins had been fired.