plumnovel Chapter 334 Howard is definitely leaving Los Angeles
Chapter 334 Howard is definitely leaving Los Angeles
"Xiao Qin, why don't you stay a few more days? That way we can fulfill our friendship as landlords."
"I've been training all the time, so I don't have time to take you out to have fun."
Li Nan guided Qin Xiao and said kindly.
Everyone had returned to the Dragon Kingdom yesterday with the gold medals, and Qin Xiao had asked someone to book tickets to Los Angeles tomorrow morning.
"Guide Li Nan, let's not do this between us!"
"The main reason is that it has been a while since I came back this time, and there are still things waiting for me to do in Los Angeles."
"So I won't stay any longer this time. We'll get together again when we return to China next time!"
Qin Xiao rejected Li Nan's offer to stay.
There was indeed something wrong with the reason why he rushed back to Los Angeles.
Just this morning, he learned an important piece of news from Kobe about Howard's contract extension.
Due to the team's salary space considerations, the Lakers management can only give Howard a two-year contract worth 3600 million at most.
After two years, they can sign Howard to a maximum salary.
But for this contract, Howard directly chose to reject it.
He wants to pursue a long-term, max-salary contract, starting at least four years.
Because during last season's game, Howard felt that his position with the Lakers was a bit awkward.
At first, he joined the Lakers because he was interested in the position of the Lakers boss.
Once Kobe retires, the Lakers management will definitely do their best to train him as his successor.
However, Qin Xiao's sudden appearance disrupted his original plan, so he was a little worried that he would not be Kobe's little brother in two years, but instead would be Qin Xiao's little brother.
Coupled with his declining condition after two years, it will be almost impossible to sign a big contract by then.
Now that he has won the coveted championship, the pursuit of honor is no longer so important.
Howard pays more attention to current interests. He wants to make as much money as possible while he is still in his prime!
There is nothing wrong with him doing this. After all, no one will think that he makes too much money.
Howard's ultimatum to the Lakers is today. If the Lakers don't give him a clear answer today, he will announce a test of the free market to see what other teams are offering.
He doesn't mind bearing the abuse of Los Angeles fans. Now that he has made a decision, he is not afraid of those rumors.
However, the Lakers management has a headache. Once Howard leaves, the team's strength will inevitably decline.
Especially his dominance in the penalty area will be greatly affected. After all, Gasol is old and won't be able to play for too long.
To make matters worse, the Lakers don't have enough salary space to operate.
It's almost impossible to fill Howard's vacancy.
Qin Xiao hurried back because of this problem.
Once Howard decides to leave, he will immediately recommend Hassan Whiteside to the front office.
……
The next morning, Qin Xiao got on a passenger plane bound for Citizen.
He didn't worry too much about the team's penalty area problems after Howard left.
Because he knows very well that Hassan Whiteside is definitely qualified for Howard's position.
His rebounding ability is no weaker than Howard's, but he is slightly inferior to Howard on the defensive end.
But for the Lakers, that's enough.
Qin Xiao even feels that Hassan Whiteside is more compatible with the Lakers' current lineup.
He's just a blue-collar guy and doesn't need the ball like Howard does.
At Los Angeles International Airport, a passenger plane from Dragon Kingdom landed slowly.
Kobe and team general manager Kupchak were already waiting outside the airport.
The moment they saw Qin Xiao, the two of them raised their feet to greet him.
"Qin, you are finally back!"
"Congratulations, you won the Asian Championships. You stole the show this time!"
Kupchak and Kobe also congratulated Qin Xiao for leading the Dragon Kingdom men's basketball team to reach the pinnacle of Asia.
"Thank you!" Qin Xiao thanked him first, and then asked bluntly: "Did the negotiation break down?"
Kupchak sighed and nodded helplessly; "Dwight wants to pursue a larger contract, but we can't satisfy his appetite. Just a few hours ago, he announced that he would test the free market."
"There should be many teams now offering him an olive branch. It is almost certain that Dwight will leave. He is looking for the most suitable next home."
In fact, when Kobe Bryant mentioned Howard's contract extension for the first time, Qin Xiao knew that this guy was probably going to leave.
"Then I wonder if Mr. General Manager has figured out how to fill his vacancy?"
When it came to this topic, Kupchak became even more helpless. He frowned and said: "To be honest, with the current situation of the Lakers, there is almost no room for maneuver. We do not have enough attractive chips in our hands. Even in the future, The draft picks are overdrawn!”
In order to build this lineup, Kupchak almost hollowed out the future of the Lakers.
Fortunately, we successfully won the championship last season, otherwise, it would have been a bloody loss.
As the general manager of the Purple and Gold Army, Kupchak brought multiple championships to the team through operations during his tenure.
But even such a legendary manager is now at his wits end.
Kobe and Qin Xiao are not for sale to the team, and it is absolutely impossible to trade them for reinforcements.
The other remaining players are either too old or weak, and such chips cannot attract any team at all.
If the vacancy left by Howard's departure cannot be filled, the strength of the defending champion will be greatly reduced, and it will be difficult to defend the title in the new season!
"If you really have no one to choose from, why not listen to my opinion?"
As soon as these words came out, Kobe and Kupchak immediately looked at Qin Xiao.
"Do you have a good candidate? We don't have any leverage."
Qin Xiao waved his hand: "I don't use any chips, I just pick up a player that others don't want. That person's name is Hassan Whiteside."
When Qin Xiao said this name, both Kobe and Kupchak looked confused.
"Uh... Qin! Although we are short of people, you can't make blind recommendations."
"If he's your friend, forget it."
Kupchak even thought that Qin Xiao wanted to use his relationship to help this unknown guy find a job.
After all, he didn't have much impression of this name.
As long as he is a slightly famous blue-collar center, he will agree to Qin Xiao's request.
"By the way, Kobe, do you know this guy?"
Kobe also shook his head, frowned and looked at Qin Xiao and said, "Qin, forget it, if it doesn't work, let's think of other ways."
Qin Xiao didn't say much, but he already had a plan in mind.
"By the way, when will the team resume training?"
"In a week's time, we will have to train a little earlier. The team management has informed them."
"Okay, then we'll see you in a week!"
After parting ways with the two of them, Qin Xiao headed towards Beverly Hills.
The first thing I did when I got home was to call my agent Mark.
"Mark, help me find someone, Hassan Whiteside. I'm going to see him at the Lakers training facility in a week!"