NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 656 Trying to Move Beverly

Jeremy Grant entered the University of Syracuse in 2012, where he played college basketball. In the 2014 NBA draft, he was selected 39th overall in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers.

From this perspective, the digital draft is still acceptable, although it somewhat wastes those top picks.

Grant was later traded to the Thunder by Digital Man, and then to the Nuggets in 2019.

2019-20赛季，他常规赛场均可以得到12分3.5篮板1.2助攻，季后赛的他场均可以贡献11.6分3.3篮板1.3助攻。

Statistically, Grant isn't better than Gallinari; in fact, the latter is a better shooter. However, Grant's advantages lie in his youth and health, and defensively, Grant is clearly superior.

Jia Fei had played against Grant and knew that the guy was talented. He might not become a star player, but he was ranked quite high among non-star players.

Grant also developed his skills step by step through hard work. He wasn't highly regarded and fell to the second round. He didn't have top-tier talent, but his physical attributes were quite good, with excellent proportions. His dynamic attributes were okay but not outstanding, at least not compared to top-tier players. However, if you measure him by the standards of a complete player, he is actually very good.

These types of players aren't suited to be the core of a team, but they're perfect as pieces for a championship puzzle. However, most title contenders find them too expensive, while teams with cap space aren't particularly interested.

Obviously, no team will offer him a max contract. He's already 26 years old, and his potential has been almost fully developed. There's no indication that he has the potential to become the next star. As a second-round pick, he's one of the representatives of underdog success stories. Although he can't be compared to second-round picks like Jia Fei and Jokic, how many first-round picks from the 2014 draft class dare to say they're better than him?

The "Logo Man" has clearly noticed Grant. If the Clippers have been looking for a replacement for Jeff Green, then Grant is obviously a very good choice. Grant is younger than Jeff Green, and the two have some stylistic similarities. You could say they both lack a truly lethal offensive weapon and their shooting is somewhat inconsistent, but if they do what they do best and utilize their versatility on both ends of the court, then they are absolutely valuable.

"Jeremy's market value is very good right now. Many teams want to sign him, and the Denver Nuggets also want to keep him, but he doesn't seem very keen on renewing his contract," the Logo man said.

Jia Fei knew that in his previous life, Grant ultimately did not re-sign with the Nuggets and left to join the Pistons. If that were the case, the Clippers would have a chance to compete with teams like the Pistons.

"What is his current market value?" Jia Fei asked.

"Between 1800 million and 2500 million!" the man with the logo said.

“We don’t have enough room for his salary!” Jia Fei said.

“Yes, if we want to get him, we need to free up salary cap space. We need to get rid of one of the three contracts: Kyle, Patrick, and Kelly!” The man with the logo stated the actual situation.

Jia Fei rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought...

If one of Beverley, Lee Kelly, and Olynyk had to leave, then Beverley would obviously be the most likely to go.

Beverley's aggressive style is indeed needed by many teams. His ability to lead the defense and his open three-point shooting are also selling points, making him one of the representative 3D point guards in the league.

However, his weaknesses are also obvious. Occupying the point guard position, he lacks playmaking ability, his individual ball-handling and offensive skills are mediocre, his shooting isn't particularly accurate, and he's easily outmaneuvered due to his size disadvantage. Furthermore, he's already 32 years old; generally, at this age, the performance of young guards tends to decline significantly.

The Clippers have no shortage of 3-and-D players, nor are they lacking in lead defenders. The George-Paul duo can both lead, and Bridges and Dillon off the bench can also do so.

As for defense, the Clippers have no shortage of players; they have plenty of perimeter defenders.

In addition to his offensive and defensive abilities, Beverley can also provide the ability to do special things, such as going head-to-head with players like the "Ball Chaser" to warn teams that want to use dirty tricks.

The problem is that the Clippers already have a lot of talent in this area. Olynyk and Dillon are good at this part-time. With them around, even Green has become a good student. Who would dare to cause trouble?

Jia Fei's plan is to trade Beverley!

He's made up his mind. Beverley isn't unusable, he's just too expensive. The Clippers can't afford him anymore in their efforts to strengthen the team.

Jia Fei shared his ideas with Logo Man, but the specific implementation still needed to be carried out by Logo Man and his team.

"Trading Patrick is fine, but what do we need in return? Does the player need it?" the man with the logo asked.

"No need. It would be best if we could get the draft pick, but it's okay if we don't. We can give it away for free. We just need to free up salary cap space and roster spots!" Jia Fei said.

"Okay, I'll get right on it!" Logo Man is known for his decisive and efficient work style.

The Clippers definitely need to free up salary cap space, and they also need roster spots. If they trade Beverley for another player, then if they want to get Grant, they will need to make further trades, or they will have to give up re-signing players like Hartenstein, otherwise they will have more than 15 players.

Beverley signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with the Clippers last offseason. His performance justifies the contract, but the Clippers have too many talented perimeter players and are also competing for Grant, so they had to let him go.

While Jia Fei was strategizing, his agent, Jeff Schwartz, kept reminding him about Nike's request to renew his contract.

In the 2014 offseason, Jia Fei signed a six-year endorsement contract with Nike worth a total of $120 million. The contract expired this year, and Nike had been actively trying to renew it, but Jeff Schwartz rejected the offer.

Now that Jia Fei is the league's top player and has accepted China's development plan, his commercial value is enormous, and many companies want to sign him. Although those companies may not be as rich or powerful as Nike, if they offer truly generous terms, they are not necessarily uncompetitive.

For example, what if we gave company shares in addition to the contract?

Of course, Nike wouldn't easily give up signing a legendary superstar like Jia Fei. Losing Jia Fei would severely impact their stock price and revenue, and acquiring him would make their competitors even stronger. Logically and emotionally, they don't want to lose Jia Fei.

It's worth noting that Nike has made a fortune from Jia Fei over the years, and they have a deep understanding of this Chinese man's market value.