Clippers news: Harden takes the initiative to cut salary, Xiaoka is full of confidence, Paul s signing countdown

Harden took the initiative to cut salary

During this offseason, the Clippers made frequent operations. First, they signed champion center Lopez, improving the team's weak substitute problem; then through the transaction, Powell was given the explosive power forward Collins, who had both inside and outside shooting; finally, in the buyout market, he signed the former top scorer Bill at a value of $1,100,000 for two years. Today, Clippers President Frank accepted an interview with the media and revealed the reasons why the Clippers could sign Daluo and Bill. Frank said: "I must pay high respect to Harden. He not only participated in the recruitment of players, but also took the initiative to cut salaries to make room for the team to strengthen the team. This is also an important reason why we can sign Daluo and Bill." This offseason Harden jumped out of the original contract and signed a two-year $8,150w contract with the Clippers, of which only $1,330w was guaranteed in the second year.

Frank said that Harden performed well last season and led the team into the playoffs. The Clippers originally planned to give him a contract with an annual salary of $5,000,000, but in order to improve the Clippers' competitiveness, Harden cut his salary by tens of millions of dollars, freeing up the full middle class for the Clippers. After the split, he signed Daluo and Bill. Admittedly, a large part of the reason Harden did this is because he wants to work hard to win the championship before the end of his career, but it is not easy to sacrifice a considerable amount of money for the benefit of the team, and most players cannot do it. It is obvious that during this offseason, Harden contributed money and efforts to the Clippers, and did everything a team leader should do. He also hopes that the entire Clippers can do his best to realize Lao Deng’s dream of winning.

Xiaoka is full of confidence

Today, Clippers President Frank talked about the recent situation of the team's core Kawhi Leonard in an interview, and said that Leonard is full of confidence in the upcoming new season. Frank said: "Leonard is in very good physical and mental state at present. He has been training in Los Angeles recently. He will travel to Africa and participate in activities before the end of the month. Leonard is very excited and satisfied with the team's current lineup. He can't wait to start training camp and the new season." At present, the Clippers' starting lineup is basically finalized for Harden, Bill, Ka Jr., Collins and Zubac; substitutes are rotated to Dunn, Bogdan, Jones Jr., Batum and Dalow.

You should know that Xiao Ka has always been introverted and low-key, and basically does not show a big opening and closing mood. So why is he so confident and wants to show off his strength in the new season? The author believes that there are two reasons: 1. The Clippers have made several targeted reinforcements this year, and the team's competitiveness has greatly improved, which has once again made Ka's enthusiastic expectations for the championship; 2. This is the healthiest offseason in the past few seasons. He can have enough energy to train and maintain his condition, and with the arrival of Collins, he has returned to the No. 3 position that he is most familiar with and can show off offensive and defensive aggressiveness. It is foreseeable that Leonard is expected to re-scort his top performance in the new season.

Paul's signing countdown

Recently, news about Chris Paul's return to the Clippers has been rampant. Today, according to Sports Illustrated Clippers reporter Joey Linn, he spoke with people around Paul and his former team during the Las Vegas Summer United game, who firmly believe Paul will sign the Clippers and spend his last season in his career there. At the same time, some sharp-eyed netizens discovered that the Clippers new player Bill, who had worn the No. 3 jersey in the NBA for more than ten years, changed his jersey number to the No. 23 we wore in high school on social media, and seemed to intend to give the No. 3 jersey to Paul. All signs show that it is basically a foregone conclusion that Lao Cannon returns to the Clippers, and it is only a matter of time before signing.

Perhaps many fans are a little confused about why the Clippers are pursuing Paul, who is short and over 40 years old. First, Paul's condition has indeed declined as he gets older, but his fuel tank still has oil. With top-level transmission and control capabilities, he can play the role of the team's second-line commander, allowing Harden to rest with peace of mind; second, Paul has strong spiritual attributes and extremely high ball quotients, and he can remind players on and off the court not to make mistakes, and sometimes can even help Clippers coach Tyron Lue; finally, Paul is the greatest player in the history of the Clippers, and his return will bring topics and traffic, thereby introducing more off-court economic benefits to the Clippers.