Chapter 23 Backroom Deal
Yang Mo was shocked when Pat Riley suddenly said this. Although he vaguely felt that Miami might choose him, hearing Pat Riley's promise with his own ears still shocked him.
"Come, come with me to my office and we'll talk in detail." Pat Riley patted Yang Mo's shoulder and led him to the office.
Yang Mo was still a little confused at this time, and subconsciously followed him into the office. After sitting on the sofa, Pat Riley took out a bottle of energy drink from the refrigerator and handed it to Yang Mo, saying: "Yang, I can make a promise to you now, you will definitely not be eliminated this year. We will select you in the right position."
"A suitable position? What position." Yang Mo frowned when he heard this. He knew how big the difference was between a second-round pick and a first-round pick. It was almost impossible for a second-round pick to sign a maximum salary contract after his rookie contract. Arenas was an exception, and the league even set up a special Arenas clause.
"We only have a No. 2 pick and a No. 21 pick." Pat Riley said seriously, "But for you, we will trade with other teams and use cash to buy a second-round pick ."
"So..." Yang Mo's tongue was slightly tied, and then he said, "Are you planning to sign me with the second-round signing rights?"
"Yeah." Pat Riley nodded. He was a little surprised. He thought Yang Mo should be very excited and moved. Why did he now act more like he was dissatisfied with this ranking?
"Oh, okay, thank you." Yang Mo nodded politely to Pat Riley.
However, Pat Riley could see the emotion behind Yang Mo's politeness. Pat Riley had been in the league for half his life and had always been very accurate in judging people. In his opinion, as long as Yang Mo went to other teams for a tryout, there would definitely be other general managers who would take a fancy to him because his ability was indeed outstanding. There would even be teams that would take the risk of using their first-round draft pick to select him because of the Chinese market behind him.
It would be terrible if things came to this.
Therefore, Pat Riley subconsciously frowned. He felt that the situation was very difficult. He did not expect Yang Mo to be so difficult to deal with. He originally thought that if he made a promise to such an unknown boy, he would be moved to death and work hard for him. He did not expect Yang Mo to be so ambitious that he did not even take the second-round draft pick seriously.
Yang Mo is not ambitious. He just simply thinks that he has a safe bet now. He can try other teams. If he can get better treatment, he will of course choose the better one.
However, Pat Riley was unwilling to accept this situation. Yang Mo was a rookie that he must get, and he could not bear to see such an outstanding player slip away from his fingers.
Pat Riley pursed his lips and weighed the pros and cons for a while, then made a condition to Yang Mo: "First-round picks are very difficult to get in the trading market now, and all managers in the league think that this year is a big year for the draft. Therefore, I may only be able to trade for a second-round pick, but I can give you a verbal promise. Once we select you, no matter what the draft position is, we will give you a three-year contract worth 5 million US dollars, and you can even have player options for the second and third years."
This is the biggest offer Pat Riley can make right now, and he is taking a gamble. This contract is almost at the level of a first-round pick, and many first-round picks may not be able to get a contract of this amount.
After hearing this, Yang Mo's heart couldn't help but tremble with excitement. Five million US dollars, converted into RMB, is nearly 35 million.
Before this, Yang Mo didn't even dare to think about it. He didn't even have the confidence to be selected. Now, not only was he promised to be selected, but he was also offered a contract.
Yang Mo hesitated for a long time. This was a great temptation for him. However, he decided not to jump to conclusions. After all, no one knew whether there would be a golden egg in the next basket. Just like three days ago, he could not imagine that Pat Riley would personally promise him a contract worth 5 million US dollars.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Riley. This will make me more confident to face the future." Yang Mo said excitedly, holding Pat Riley's hand tightly.
Yang Mo was very excited, but he still did not give a clear answer.
Pat Riley was dumbfounded, muttering in his heart: Chinese people are just hard to deal with. If it were a black player, he would have cried out thank you very mach.
"Yang, can you tell me what you want? Do you want us to sign you with the second pick?" Pat Riley was anxious and simply dragged his feet: "You are indeed a very good player, only 20 years old, and have great potential. But... your height is too awkward for your position. We can't take such a big risk."
"No, no, no. " Yang Mo waved her hands and explained, "I didn't mean that. I'm already very touched by your promise to sign me."
"Then why don't you give me a clear answer?"
"I don't think I can make the decision on this matter, right?" Yang Mo shrugged and said helplessly, "You know, I'm just a rookie. If a team selects me in advance, I can only sign with them."
Yang Mo's words clearly meant that Miami was treating you as a backup. If there is a tall, handsome and rich guy willing to sign me with a better position and a higher contract, I'm sorry, I'll go to that guy. If no one chooses me in advance, then congratulations, you have succeeded in your counterattack.
Pat Riley didn't want to be a backup because he wanted Yang Mo so badly. So, he said excitedly: "As long as you don't try out with other teams, I guarantee that no other team will choose you."
"This..." Yang Mo was a little surprised that Pat Riley said it so directly.
Seeing Yang Mo's hesitation, Pat Riley gritted his teeth and raised the stakes again: "I can add another million dollars to your contract. In addition, I promise that as long as there is a chance to trade with other teams for a first-round signing, we will definitely choose you. How about it?"
Pat Riley showed his sincerity to the maximum. Yang Mo thought about it. He was alone and had no agent. Even if he wanted to try out, they might not agree. Besides, a 6 million contract was really good. At least it was bigger than last year's first-round pick Yi Jianlian. So he gritted his teeth and agreed: "Okay, I promise you, but you have to give me a written promise."
"This..." Pat Riley immediately became conflicted when he heard the written promise.
This kind of under-the-table deal does exist in the NBA, but once it is discovered, the punishment is very severe. The Timberwolves signed an agreement with Smith before the draft, which resulted in a five-year draft pick and cash penalty, causing KG to never win a championship during his prime.
"Don't worry, I will never let anyone else know." Yang Mo said with a smile: "It won't do me any good if it gets out. I just want a guarantee."
Yang Mo's words were very convincing. Pat Riley didn't want such a genius to slip away. He let out a long breath, made up his mind, walked to the desk, quickly wrote a letter of guarantee and signed his name.
Yang Mo took the guarantee letter and took a look at it. It promised that Yang Mo would be selected and given a three-year contract worth six million. Yang Mo had player options for the second and third years.
After confirming that everything was correct, Yang Mo finally felt relieved. From now on, he was a member of the NBA. Thinking about being able to fight side by side with Dwyane Wade in the future, he was excited. At this moment, he really wanted to call Monkey: "Hey, Monkey, do you know? From now on, Brother Mo and your idol Wade will be teammates, why don't you come and curry favor with me?"
