"The team will actively communicate with those teams that are interested. I'll also have someone draw up a new contract for you as soon as I get back, and your agent can negotiate the details. By the way, you should have already met the prerequisites for Bird rights, so the team will offer you a max contract with the largest possible raises. Then we can use that contract to negotiate with those teams and try to send you somewhere you want to go."
The moment GM Presti got down to business, he pulled away from the sentimental mood and transformed into a "business elite."
"What was your top choice again? New York and Los Angeles? So that would be the Knicks, Nets, Lakers, and Clippers?"
"Actually, just the Knicks and Clippers. I'm not interested in joining the Nets or Lakers. They already have too many superstars."
"Oh? You really don't want to join a fully built superteam, but would rather choose a weaker team near the bottom of the League, with major holes in its roster and even a somewhat... questionable front office?" (The Knicks' front office had been a mess for a while. And the Clippers... Under the current circumstances, trading Paul? I can only say they're completely insane. Frank is an idiot, Tyronn Lue is outrageous, and Ballmer is even more absurd. No wonder Griffin threw it right in his face back then. Riley, Ainge, and even Mor dog got called cold-blooded, but at least they were acting with business in mind. You couldn't deny that their ruthless moves had kept the Heat, Boston Celtics, and Rockets competitive for quite a while. Just look at what these dumbass Clippers are doing! Waiving a veteran who'd played for the league minimum? Just because he was unhappy with the team's