Intensive Training

Boston Celtics General Manager's Office:

"Welcome to the Celtics family!"

"Thank you, I will certainly not let your expectations of me down!"

Today was the day Goodwin signed with the Celtics, and he had brought a lawyer along to help review his contract.

After both the lawyer and Goodwin himself had inspected it, Goodwin signed his name.

The contract officially took effect, and Goodwin became a member of the Boston Celtics.

Goodwin signed a 3-year, $1.8 million contract. Looking at the first overall pick, LeBron James, who signed a 4-year, $18.79 million contract with an average annual salary of $4.7 million, while Goodwin only made $600,000—this was the gap in value between a second-round pick and a lottery pick in a rookie contract!

Goodwin's take-home annual salary was even less than $300,000, because taxes in North America were terrifyingly high and came in all sorts of varieties.

Federal tax, state tax, pension tax, agent commissions, and various types of insurance, etc.!

First was the federal tax. Currently, federal tax is divided into seven brackets; the lowest annual income of $9,875 only requires a 10% payment, while the highest annual income exceeding $518,400 requires a 37% payment.

Next was the state tax. Tax rates vary by state; the highest, California, is at 13.3%, while the lowest—places like Florida, Nevada, and Texas—even exempt personal income tax. Additionally, states like Ohio, Wyoming, and South Dakota exempt corporate income tax, while Alaska, Delaware, and Montana exempt sales tax.

Following that was the 4% league pension tax; then came the agent commission, which is generally set between 1.5% and 4% of the player's contract. Generally speaking, the better the player, the lower the commission percentage. For players like The Diesel, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan, their contracts would be max deals regardless of where they went.

Finally, there were various insurance contracts. NBA player premiums range from 1.5% to 5%. For example, if a player has an annual salary of $40 million, the minimum insurance cost would be $600,000. Furthermore, the more severe the injury history, the higher the premium, though this portion is covered by the team, so it doesn't have much impact on the player's salary.

Adding it all up, an NBA player's take-home pay is only about 41% of their salary.

However, Goodwin thought it was fine. He didn't have any expensive hobbies, nor did he have anywhere that required spending large amounts of money. Besides, he believed that with the System, he would definitely become a league superstar.

Becoming a superstar meant money would come pouring into Goodwin's pockets.

Money = strength!

Just keep training.

Just as Goodwin was about to say goodbye, Danny Ainge called him back and said, "Goodwin, I heard you don't have an agent yet. Do you need me to introduce one to you?"

As soon as the words fell, Goodwin shook his head: "Sorry, Ainge, I don't need one for the time being."

Goodwin had already thought about this issue. What does a rookie need an agent for? You only wear the hat that fits your head.

"Alright, let me know if you need one, and I'll introduce you!" Goodwin's answer was beyond Danny Ainge's expectations; he had actually refused.

However, Danny Ainge thought even more highly of Goodwin. To be so mature at only 19 years old—sometimes personality also dictates performance on the court.

Goodwin nodded, then bid farewell to Danny Ainge and headed home without delay to continue training, otherwise, he would have to "work overtime" again.

Goodwin had long since adapted to these months of devilish training, but as he adapted, the System would automatically increase the training content.

Goodwin didn't have much of an emotional reaction to this situation, but when he saw that he only received 1 skill point after completing a task, he felt quite emotional.

"System, you don't learn the good stuff, why are you learning how to increase the workload without increasing the rewards?"

"Train well. If you fail to complete it, 2 attribute points will be deducted at random."

Checkmate!

What could Goodwin do when encountering such an "unscrupulous boss"? He couldn't just fire it and find a replacement; he could only endure it!

Thus, Mencius said: When Heaven is about to place a great burden on a man, it first pains his heart and mind, exhausts his muscles and bones, and starves his body and skin.

Come on, bring it on, I can handle it.

Just like that, Goodwin kept his head down and trained at home, not even participating in the Summer League.

Goodwin believed that participating in the Summer League didn't have much significance; it was better to train diligently at home.

But because of this, Goodwin was "held a grudge" against by the interim coach, John Carroll, who hadn't been fond of Goodwin to begin with.

In his view, choosing Goodwin was not as good as choosing Kyle Korver.

Kyle Korver, full name Kyle Elliot Korver, was born into a basketball family. His parents and two uncles had all played for university basketball teams, and his mother once scored 74 points in a single high school game.

Kyle Korver spent his college years in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton University, where he attended, was not a prestigious university, but this also allowed Korver to become a famous star for the school. In the 2000-2001 season, which was Korver's sophomore year, he averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. His junior year improved to 15.1 points, and by his senior year, his scoring average had reached 17.8 points, advancing one step at a time.

During his junior year, Kyle Korver led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals. By his senior year, his three-point shooting percentage reached 48%, and he also improved on the defensive end. Ultimately, he made a total of 371 three-pointers over his four-year college career, a school record for Creighton University, and ranked sixth in NCAA history.

Comparing him to Goodwin, who had fewer appearances and less playing time, John Carroll believed Kyle Korver was better.

Unfortunately, Danny Ainge liked Goodwin more, and even Red Auerbach leaned toward Goodwin. What could a coach say about that?

John Carroll had originally thought that since they were on the same team, he would take a good look at what kind of strength Goodwin had. Good grief, he didn't even show up for the Summer League, which made John Carroll so angry he almost lost it.

John Carroll was previously an NCAA head coach. You have to know that in the NCAA, the head coach is above everything, but this was the NBA, where it's the opposite—the star player is above everything. Clearly, John Carroll hadn't adjusted to this concept.

Consequently, John Carroll decided he would make things difficult for Goodwin in the new season no matter what.

Goodwin was, of course, unaware of this, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared, because memories from his past life told Goodwin that this interim coach, John Carroll, wouldn't last long with the Boston Celtics.

Time passed slowly, and the new season drew closer and closer.

On September 26th, the Boston Celtics officially began training camp. As a member of the Boston Celtics, Goodwin woke up early, washed up, and ate the nutritious breakfast he had made for himself.

He complained while eating: I need to hire a nutritionist once I have money.

After eating his fill, Goodwin shouldered his backpack and headed to the Boston Celtics' practice facility.