On the 26th Beijing time, the first round series of the playoffs between the Clippers and the Suns ended, and the Clippers were eliminated 1-4 after losing to the Suns 130-136. Although Wilson scored only 14 points in this game and shot low from the field, he gave his all to shoot the last bullet for the Clippers. At the end of the season, Wilson's contract with the Clippers will expire, and it will be interesting to see where he will go. Previously, George once said that he promised that the Clippers would renew Wei Shao's contract, and if Wei Shao accepted the Clippers' contract extension, then the salary should be a "cabbage price", and his status on the team is also "three masters".
Although Wei Shao has averaged a triple-double in consecutive seasons, his career has not been smooth. Especially after leaving the Thunder, Wei Shao was stuck in a big contract and never got what he wanted. For example, after he joined the Lakers, he was called a "team vampire" by the media, which obviously refers to his poison contract. At the Lakers, Wilson was very unhappy. There are many criticisms and accusations against him from the outside world, especially the weakness of Wei Shao's bad projection has been amplified in the Lakers system, which has made him the target of the outside world many times.
Halfway through the season, the Lakers finally completed a trade for Wilson and sent him to the Jazz. After that, the two sides reached a buyout, and Wei Shao joined the Clippers with a veteran base salary contract of $780,000. Wei Shao, who has been a player with a super contract of more than $40 million in his career, now has to accept a veteran base salary contract, and you can see that his market value has plummeted. But for Wilson, coming to the Clippers was another chance for him to re-prove himself. Especially after the playoffs, when George and Leonard were out due to injury, it was Wilson who was carrying the team forward. In the series against the Suns, Wilson averaged 23.6 points per game, which is completely the level of a first-class player.
Wei Shao's performance also won the respect of the Clippers and even the media. Clippers coach Lue said: "It's amazing, without Leonard, without George, Wilson gave us the belief that we can win and he instilled confidence in our young players. He leads by example, he defends Durant from behind blocks, grabs rebounds, he also defends Booker, and his efforts every night, that's the energy we need. A reporter from the Clippers said of Westbrook: "After this series, I really can't stand any accusations against Westbrook. Wilson joined the Clippers as a three-in-a-chief, but ended up being the main choice to defend Durant and Booker. It was a tough last fight, but Wei Shao tried his best in this series. ”
Wilson has earned enough respect for the Clippers, but he faces a choice this summer: renew his contract with the Clippers or go to a new owner? Previously, the Clippers said that they were willing to renew their contract with Wei Shao, but external analysis said that the renewal price would be "cabbage price". What's more, considering Leonard's remaining contract with George with the Clippers, the 35-year-old Wilson is destined to accept only the "three-master" team status.
George expressed enough optimism about the Clippers' contract extension of Wei Shao, saying: "Wei Shao helped himself to get back the price, we all know that he is still the best, there will definitely be some decisions." I absolutely guarantee that he will be here and absolutely guarantee that he will come back. He's bigger than me, and in the playoffs, he gave everything to our team. So I think he's the leader we need in the point guard position, and I hope he'll come back. ”
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Song Xiang
Editor/Zhang Kunlong