Turn to "translate" James Posey's own handwriting: The NBA is a business field, and players have the right to talk about business

"This is not a personal opinion... It's just business. ”

We've all heard this phrase millions of times, and anyone who has ever played in the NBA — at some point — is likely to hear it from the other end of the phone.

In the name of winning, people are laid off and their options are not taken into account, but are traded against their will.

This is the nature of the business.

With the massive capital injection the NBA receives through the new televised agreement, and the tougher luxury tax penalties in the new collective bargaining agreement, we have all become more savvy in the basketball business field.

At the end of the day, it's important to remember that this is the essence of the NBA... The NBA is a business.

This summer, when the likes of Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Joelnbid sign huge contracts to stay with their team, it reminds us once again.

But on the other hand, most players — especially those who aren't superstars — go through tough moments, and the business on the basketball court ends up pushing them into an outcome that wasn't what they wanted.

For me, that moment was after we won the NBA championship in Boston in 2008.

Even today, when I tell others that I've only been with the Celtics for one season, they seem surprised. They seemed to think I should have been with the Celts a little longer. For me, I feel that way too. Unfortunately, as you might expect, it was the business that prevented me from staying in Boston longer.

In the summer of 2005, Memphis traded me to Miami along with Jason Williams and Andre Emmett. Patlerly built a good team around O'Neal and Wade, and we eventually beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

However, next season, for some reason, we didn't go very far. We were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round and I felt like I needed to play in a different place. I was still at my peak, just a year after winning the title in Miami. At the time I was already known as a "quality 3D player", so I thought I would have easily found a team that suited me better.

Meanwhile, boston traded for KG and Ray Allen, and the Celtics were looking for some tough role players and experienced veterans to perfect the team. I had a few options at the time, but I thought it was my best chance to win the championship, so I chose to join them.

I'll never forget what it was like to be a member of the Celtics against the Lakers in the Finals.

To be honest, I could have paid more if I stayed with the Miami Heat, but I ended up taking a pay cut to play for the Boston Celtics. Is this a bad choice? Celtic management only offered me a one-year contract at the time. At this point, I've just turned 30, and while I feel like I can play for a few more years, once you're 30, you'll have to start thinking about your pre-retirement career.

As a player, especially when you're young and already have some success, it's really hard not to think about what life will look like once you retire. So as you get older, you'll begin to prepare yourself mentally for retirement. So when you reach the age of 30, you start to value long-term security and multi-year contracts more than you did in your 20s.

Still, I was confident in myself and decided to accept a one-year contract to play at the Boston Celtics. I think if I can prove that I can be a valid puzzle in the team, the team will offer me a multi-year contract that is closer to my market value.

It turned out I was wrong.

We won championships, lit cigars, held championship parades and so on.

When it was all over — you guessed it — I was only offered a one-year contract.

It's useless to say more, I'm really disappointed. I helped the team win the championship and it felt like I had proved myself. In my opinion, if other team members, including me, are retained, there's no reason why we can't win at least one or two championship trophies again.

But if there's one thing I've learned in the NBA league, it's...

This is a business ground.

At the end of the day, everyone wants to win a championship, but winning a championship in the NBA costs money. When most teams win a championship, they start thinking about how to win the next championship by spending less money. And usually players like me get caught in the middle.

So yes, I wanted to go back to Boston, but when New Orleans stepped forward to give me a four-year contract, my agent felt it was taken for granted. I have a good relationship with Chris Paul and David West, who have a 56-win record in the season just concluded, and Paul is second in the MVP vote, behind Kobe Bryant. I've won titles in Miami and Boston, so I thought I could help the New Orleans Hornets get through this.

I was very happy with my situation at the time, but it was better to stay in Boston and help the team win the championship again, which is different at the end of the day.

Behind every player like Stephen Curry, there are 100 players like James Posey, and there are 100 players like PJ Tucker

Curry is clearly one of the greatest players of all time, but without a player like Tucker, the team can't win the championship. If there had been no Tucker in the playoffs last season, Giannis wouldn't have won.

And now, Tucker is in Miami.

Now, I can't say I know Tucker firsthand. But to see the role players of the championship team end up finding out they're going to another team, I can only say I'm not surprised because things like this happen all the time.

I've experienced this before, so I can't help but pay attention to something like this. I can't help but notice that there is an inevitable gap between players who want to maximize their income and team owners who want to minimize expenses.

When management finds ways to save money and reduce team salaries, they are considered smart management. When players are looking for higher salaries, we are said to be too greedy. For most role players, you'll feel lucky to get one or two long dates in your career. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with trying to maximize your income, and this phrase should be repeatedly said.

After all, that's business, right?

When Mikhail Prokhorov bought the Brooklyn Nets for $200 million and sold them for $3.3 billion, that was business.

When Leslie Alexander bought the Houston Rockets for $85 million and sold them for $2.2 billion, it was business.

When the late great Larry Miller bought the Utah Jazz for $14 million and sold them for $1.6 billion, that was business.

Let's also remember that when players have a chance to be free agents, there's nothing wrong with them deciding to do what's best for them. Especially those who have proven themselves as winners who have been struggling throughout their careers to get a chance to earn a decent salary.

After all, fairness is fairness.