With the effective of the league's new collective bargaining agreement, many players in the league have received historic contracts in the offseason, among which future stars such as Edwards, Three-Ball Ball and Haliburton have received a five-year salary of $260 million, thick eyebrows have received a three-year $186 million extension, and Jaylen Brown has received a five-year $304 million extension. And Curry's salary next season has reached $51.92 million, it can be said that the league has officially entered the era of players' annual salaries of 50 million. Booker agreed to a four-year, $224 million cap extension with the Suns last year, and by the 2027-2028 season, Booker's annual salary will be $62.06 million, and Lillard will be able to get $63.23 million in 2026-27. In addition, superstars such as Batum, Jokic, Towns, and Embiid are all expected to get epic contracts with an annual salary of more than 60 million next year or the year after.
And the championships of the past three years have proved that one man and one city can also reach the top of the league, and Alphabet, Curry, and Jokic have all set an example for other players in the league. In this regard, Lillard is not a positive case, Lillard wants the team to build a championship squad for him, but he can't give up his top salary, and is a veritable refined egoist. Lillard has always been based on one man and one city, and after the season, Lillard asked the team to find a helper, but after the Blazers offered him a two-year, $120 million contract extension, Lillard immediately applied to the team for a trade, asking to trade himself to the Eastern Conference champion Heat. It can be said that Lillard's choice succeeded in maximizing his interests. After Harden opted for a pay cut for the championship and is still worrying about his next contract, Lillard is already lying down and counting money.
However, the biggest sacrifice in the offseason is not Harden, although Harden was used by the 76ers in the early stage to make sacrifices for the team to strengthen and reduce salary, but when Harden found out that he was stabbed in the back by the 76ers, he also decisively executed the final year of the contract, and immediately asked to trade himself to the Clippers, at least the more than $30 million in the final year can be guaranteed, and Harden still has a chance to fight for a big contract in one year. And Wei Shao is the one who sacrifices the most! After the Lakers had a failed season, Wei Shao was finally traded, and then the Jazz chose to buy out, Wei Shao joined the Clippers with a base salary, did not think that Wei Shao found spring in the Clippers, and when George and Leonard both fell, Wei Shao took the Clippers and the Suns hard, and the playoff statistics returned to the level of star point guards. At that time, the media in Los Angeles broke the news that Wei Shao saved his career and also fought for a middle-class contract for himself.
However, I didn't expect Wei Shao to reach a 2-year, $7.8 million contract with the Clippers, which is not much different from the veteran's base salary. Wei Shao has no other way, and his all-encompassing style of play determines that the rebuilding team does not need him, and the championship team may not dare to ask for him. Rebuilding the team requires veterans to provide experience to help the young people in the team grow, and Wei Shao's current style of play is very possession, which makes him lose the meaning of his existence in rebuilding the team. In the championship team, Wei Shao could not act as a pitcher, and the effect of punching the frame was not good. The Clippers lack a core backfield, and after the Clippers experienced a stage of running-in period, Tyronn Lu gradually found Wei Shao's instruction manual. It can be said that Wei Shao and the Clippers can be regarded as mutual achievements.
But will the Clippers really taste the sweetness of a championship? Apparently not, George and Leonard's health problems directly pulled the Clippers' ceiling down. In order to keep the Clippers' lower limit, Wei Shao had to lobby Harden to join. However, the Clippers also seem to be aware of the team's current predicament, and whether Leonard is still trustworthy is directly related to the Clippers' offseason signings. In fact, the Clippers did waver, and they were not even willing to send the team's "Leonard" Mann Jr. on the Harden trade, apparently, which also prepared for the departure of Leonard and George in the later period. However, Wei Shao is one of the few pure basketball players in the league, but when he chose the Clippers, he was doomed to an end that neither money nor championships would get.