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Is loyalty really worthless?

Text |  hill

Edit |  Aunt Wang, Xinyu

"If you look at Lillard's current situation, you wonder if he'll play for the Trail Blazers again. They haven't made the playoffs for two years in a row, and Lillard will turn 33 in July. Personally, I expect that he will have a good discussion with the team in the offseason about how to strengthen the team. If not, there will be many questions about where his future lies. ”

The above passage comes from The Athletic's Shams Charania, who reported on the show that Lillard will end the season early due to a calf injury, and gave the above comment on it.

This is not the first time Lillard has been rumored to leave the team, but every time before, it ended up. Since being selected by the Blazers with the 6th pick in the first round in 2012, Lillard has always insisted on one man and one city, and thus became the NBA star who has played for the longest time for the team selected by the Warriors after the "Splash Brothers", and the word "loyalty" has almost become synonymous with him.

But in the face of reality, how much is "loyalty" worth? If the Blazers' condition doesn't improve, is there any need for Lillard to keep going? Should his "one person, one city" be ridiculed, or should he gain more respect from people?

Is loyalty really worthless?

 Loyalty is actually cheap?

Once upon a time, "loyalty" was one of the proudest labels for NBA players, but people's values have quietly changed.

"If they give you that much money, it's easy to be loyal." That's what an NBA general manager said about Lillard in an interview with ESPN's Baxter Holmes. Between the words, the meaning of questioning and even ridicule is quite obvious.

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this. After all, $121.77 million is hard to refuse, and Lillard agreed last summer to extend the Blazers contract for another two years at that price, and when the new contract ends, he will immediately turn 37 and receive a total of nearly $500 million from the Blazers. Isn't it easier to say yes?

In 1984, the NBA added a signing exception to the collective bargaining agreement called the "Larry Bird Clause", allowing free agents whose contracts expired to break through the salary cap and sign a longer and higher salary increase contract with the parent team, in order to help the team retain its signature stars and consolidate the local fan market.

But even though players can get more generous offers than other teams when they renew their contracts with their parent team because of the Bird clause, they still can't stop the accelerated flow of NBA superstars.

A recent case in point is James Harden, who in 2020 rejected a two-year, $103 million early contract extension offer from the Rockets (a record at the time) and insisted on leaving, showing that money is not the only factor players consider in deciding to stay.

Is loyalty really worthless?

Money alone has proven time and time again that money alone is often not enough to keep NBA stars on their teams, and over the past decade or so, more and more superstars have made the choice to be closer to Harden than Lillard-esque, leaving the team he has played for many years to join other stars in another place to form a super team and chase their championship dreams.

Lillard is of course also eager to win, and in his 11-year career so far, he has been named to the All-Star, All-NBA team many times, becoming the Trail Blazers' all-time scoring champion, praised by general manager Joe Cronin as "the best in Blazers history", and head coach Chauncey Billups also called him "the face of the Blazers forever", but there is always a huge vacuum that cannot be filled, that is, the championship.

In Lillard's own words, "The only thing I didn't do was win a championship and therefore not get enough recognition." We live in a meeting where we say, 'How many rings do you have?' of times. That's why I'm so eager to win the title, just to make all the things I've achieved before become more complete. ”

But Lillard doesn't want to win a championship by "huddling," and he has publicly expressed similar attitudes more than once. In his mind, winning titles like Dirk Nowitzki and Giannis Antetokounmpo is what he wants. As the best rapper in the NBA, Lillard even wrote this into the lyrics:

"Don't want to join a super team, maybe my Achilles ankle,

Hector, I have taken up the shield,

Try to be on this lonely road, close to Dirk and Greek freaks.... ”

Is loyalty really worthless?

Lillard's refusal to join a super team for the championship was interpreted by some as not seeking advancement, content with the status quo, as long as there is money to be made, and the opportunity to establish the status quo as the first man in team history, he is willing to retire in Portland, and therefore suspects that Lillard's loyalty is hypocritical loyalty, cheap loyalty.

Lillard himself once explained: "People have always misunderstood my loyalty, they think I am loyal to a team, but in fact, I am loyal to myself, loyal to my true self." And I am a person who is willing to sink with the ship I am on, especially when the ship has not been treated badly by me. Be a real person, stay the course, keep fighting, that's who I am. ”

 Loyalty is a poison?

Last summer, Lillard and Bradley Beal, who joined the league in the same year, renewed their contracts with their parent teams, and John Hollinger wrote an article pointing out the harm of the two extensions to their respective teams, titled "Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard's contract puts the Wizards, Blazers in trouble."

Hollinger, a former ESPN ace reporter and currently at The Athletic, was recruited by the Grizzlies as an executive for many years, and his article also analyzes the cost of "loyalty" from the perspective of team management.

Hollinger likened the players' contract extension negotiations to a battle in which the Blazers and Wizards chose to surrender "unconditionally."

Is loyalty really worthless?

The article mentions: Even supernovas such as Morant and Zion have made concessions in their contract extensions - neither contract contains player options, and Zion has agreed to accept strict attendance terms, and only if the specified conditions are met, can he get a full salary. However, the Trail Blazers Wizards met Lillard and Beal's request to the fullest extent and made the best offer allowed by the collective bargain.

Beal's situation is even more peculiar, and even gets a no-trade clause, which means that the Wizards will completely lose the initiative during the next few years of contract between the two parties, and even if one day, they want to change direction and trade superstars for the future, as the Jazz did with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last summer, Beal can completely ruin their efforts with a simple "no".

It should be noted that in recent years, almost no player in the NBA has received such treatment in contract extensions, and the most recent player with trade veto power is Carmelo Anthony during the Knicks. Earlier, the Lone Ranger had also given Nowitzki a veto on a deal, but in part because Nowitzki took the initiative to make concessions when he cut his salary and renewed his contract.

Hollinger believes that the smartest thing for Wizards management would be to send Beal away two years ago when he was at the peak of his form, so that at least Jo-Holloday-esque rewards (3 first-round picks and 2 first-round swaps). Now, however, they have given him a five-year, $251 million super-max contract with a non-tradeable clause without room for other teams.

Embarrassingly, the result of the Wizards being in the lottery zone for a long time this season, Beal has played only 50 games throughout the season, and was snow-hidden two weeks early to forgo the impact of the play-offs. This is exactly the same as Lillard's situation.

Is loyalty really worthless?

Evidence suggests that even if superstars like Lillard and Beal sign nine-figure contracts at every turn, their real value is still higher than what the team pays them. With Lillard and Bill's current abilities and performances, they are certainly worth the price.

The problem is their age: Lillard is running for 33, Beal is a little younger, but this June will also be over, and by the time their new contract reaches the final two years, it will most likely become a burden for the team.

Examples like LeBron James and Stephen Curry are, after all, a few, and more star players will take a sharp turn between the ages of 29 and 33, such as Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Kemba Walker, and, of course, John Wall, familiar to Washington fans — Wizards management has magically extricated themselves from the league's worst contract for the past two years, but now, like the legendary Sisyphus, they seem to be trying to push the boulder to the top of the mountain again.

To some extent, the Blazers faced a similar dilemma, sending away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington before last year's trade deadline in order to clear salary space and do an "incomplete rebuild." And now, not only have they failed to return to the playoffs, but they also seem to be locked up again by Lillard's contract.

In this way, the loyalty and persistence of Lillard and Beal seem to have really become a poison that hinders the team's progress.

Is loyalty really worthless?

 Does loyalty still have a meaning?

"When did it become a bad thing to make good business decisions for yourself, for happiness and peace of mind?" Kyrie Irving gave this response during this year's All-Star Weekend in the face of reporters' questions about the frequent applications of stars to trade and leave the team.

Not long ago, Irving suddenly requested a trade, forcing the Nets to reverse course midway through the season and overturn the rebuild. As a result, the original Nets fans divided into several groups, some turned to Dallas, some turned to Phoenix, and of course, some became "passers-by".

This isn't the first time Irving has forced the team to trade himself through a trade application. As early as 2017, he voluntarily left the Cavaliers under the good situation, not only ruining the team's plan to win a second championship, but also making his career the road to "becoming an immortal".

And his friend Kevin Durant was forever "humiliated" because he left the Thunder for many years to join the Warriors in 2016. Including LeBron James, although the achievement of leading three teams to win championships is unprecedented, three "decisions" have also become the biggest "black spot" of his career.

Is loyalty really worthless?

Over the past decade, the NBA has entered a new era under the leadership of new head Adam Shaw. The league held high the banner of attack, and all kinds of high scores and god data emerged one after another; They have introduced play-offs and mid-season tournaments are planned; They sell chest ads and even work with bookmakers.... Everything is profit-oriented, and correspondingly, TV contracts and the team's market value are indeed skyrocketing, and it looks prosperous.

But behind the prosperity, there are also many skeptical voices: the regular season has become an all-star, everyone does not defend and swings against each other, the data is injected, the game has more than a wonderful picture, the intensity is insufficient, and there are often half-court flowers, or even a section of flowers, losing the core charm of competitive sports.

The frequent flow of superstars has also added new attractions for the league. But after a long time, it began to numb. On this year's trade deadline, Russell, Gordon, Poeltl, Warren and many other players were traded back to the team that originally selected them, going around in circles, and the curve achieved "one person, one city", which is fun and reflects the impetuosity of this era.

In an impetuous environment, being able to keep up with the trend is to keep pace with the times, of course, it is understandable. But choosing to stick to it is even more rare and worthy of respect.

"I make the fans feel like they're not spending money on tickets. When they come to see me, they see a show and they get excited about it. They can also witness victories and gain playoff experience. Year after year, I've been providing people with that experience, looking around, my jerseys everywhere and the love hasn't faded. Ten years, besides the championship, what else have I not given to everyone? Lillard said in an interview.

Is loyalty really worthless?

Yes, a summer of recruitment may be able to exchange for a championship, but the cultivation of feelings takes time. If the cooperation between players and teams is compared to a relationship, a marriage, then whether poor, rich, sick, healthy, can choose to persevere, from the beginning to the end, no matter what, should not be questioned and ridiculed.

If Lillard's persistence is cheap loyalty, then such loyalty is not too much, but too little.

So, I really hope that this fall, I will see Leigh wearing the Trailblazer shirt again.

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