The Suns' conference room.
Around a dozen people sat around the conference table, all members of the Suns' front office. General Manager Lance and Head Coach Gentry were among them.
"Ahem..."
Lance cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention before he began.
"Everyone, the trade market has officially opened.
"This past season, we started out as a team that was supposed to tank, yet we ended up becoming NBA champions.
"That's obviously a great result.
"But what I want to point out is that after trading away STAT, we didn't make many major additions, so we still have a fair amount of salary cap space.
"That means now that the market is open, we can continue strengthening the roster and make the Suns even more competitive next season."
"Mm-hmm."
"Exactly."
Two members of the front office nodded in agreement.
"No, no, no."
Gentry shook his head.
"I don't think strengthening the roster should be our first priority. Our first priority should be... re-signing Blake.
"Things may have been quiet lately, but the moment the market opens, the entire league is going to come after him. We won the championship this year almost entirely because of Blake.
"If we can't put enough on the table, there's nothing stopping him from joining another team and making his path to another championship even easier."
"Exactly."
Lance nodded firmly.
"There's no question about Blake. We're absolutely offering him a max contract.
"The only issue is that we don't know how much it'll take yet. More specifically, we don't know what kind of offers the other teams are going to make."
"That's true."
Gentry nodded.
The Suns were absolutely determined to re-sign Blake.
So their plan was to wait and see what the other teams offered him, find out what the highest bid was, then come back with an even better offer and re-sign Blake with the biggest max contract they could give him.
That was the Suns' front office strategy.
Just as everyone was discussing it, the conference room door opened and Suns owner Robert Sarver walked in.
"Mr. Sarver!"
Everyone stood to greet him.
Robert gestured for them to sit back down. He remained standing and got straight to the point.
"Lance.
"Tell Blake's agent that the Suns will absolutely give him an offer he'll be very satisfied with. While he considers the offers from the other teams, I want him to do one thing.
"Before he makes his final decision, give the Suns one last chance."
"Like when we signed Blake at the beginning of the season?"
Lance asked.
"Yes."
Robert nodded, his expression serious.
"Whoever gets Blake gets the championship. That's what everyone believes, and naturally, we believe it too.
"No matter what it costs, we have to re-sign Blake this summer.
"He brought the Suns the first championship in franchise history. He is our 'Sun God.'
"We're not letting him leave."
"Understood, Boss!"
Lance replied.
The rest of the front office nodded as well.
Everyone understood how important Blake was.
Everyone knew they had to keep him.
With the Suns' owner personally stepping in and making his stance clear, the organization had officially decided to do whatever it took to keep Blake.
But in reality, the Suns weren't the only team making plans behind the scenes.
The moment the trade market opened, numerous teams publicly announced their intention to sign Blake.
First among them were the Los Angeles Clippers, a team with no shortage of money.
They immediately offered Blake a four-year, $100 million contract, hoping to bring him to Los Angeles.
Four years, $100 million.
That was an average of $25 million per season.
What kind of money was that?
What did it mean?
In the upcoming 2011-12 season, Kobe Bryant was set to rank first in the entire league in salary.
He would make $24.8 million that season.
Meanwhile, "Mr. 20 Million" Lewis had become the textbook example of a highly paid underperformer after landing his massive contract.
Even so, his $20.5 million salary for the coming season still ranked second in the league.
Kevin Garnett, "The Big Ticket," ranked third at just $18.8 million.
But if Blake signed this contract, his $25 million annual salary would instantly surpass "Black Mamba" Kobe Bryant and make him the highest-paid player in the league.
And keep in mind...
Blake was only nineteen years old.
He was just a second-year player.
No, technically, he was still a rookie about to enter his second season!
The moment news of the Clippers' offer came out, countless fans were stunned.
"Damn!"
"I nearly sucked all the air out of the room. What are the Clippers doing? Have they lost their minds? They're giving a player who hasn't even started his second season that kind of max contract?!"
"That is a seriously insane contract!"
"The Clippers really do have money to burn. But Blake plus Griffin? One is a top-tier rookie, the other is a No. 1 overall pick.
"If those two team up, the Clippers could really build something around them."
"You think that salary is high? I actually think it's pretty reasonable. Or rather, I think four years and $100 million is completely in line with what 'The Emperor' Blake is worth."
"Exactly!"
"I agree completely. Blake just led a team to a championship as the sole superstar. Whoever gets Blake gets the championship. Who wouldn't want him?!"
"Four years, $100 million? Not only do I not think that's too much, I actually think it might be too little.
"With Blake's ability and popularity, whichever team he joins could see its franchise value double.
"Maybe even more than that."
"Blake definitely deserves a $100 million payday, but I still have to say, that kind of ridiculous money makes me insanely jealous!"
"Man... I'm practically drooling with envy."
"Seriously. The guy is nineteen years old, gets a $100 million contract, and still has room to improve.
"Meanwhile, when I was nineteen, my mom gave me 1,000 for living expenses and I was jumping for joy."
"I'm sitting at a construction site eating a boxed lunch, enjoying the few peaceful minutes I get for lunch break, and then I see this news.
"Suddenly, my food doesn't taste nearly as good."
"Comparison really is the thief of joy!"
"We're all human. How can the gap be this huge?"
"I'm so jealous!"
"Hey, quit complaining. Look. Right after the Clippers, another big-spending team is making its move.
"The Knicks couldn't resist either."
That's right.
While fans were still buzzing over the Clippers' offer, the Knicks' front office made a high-profile announcement on Twitter.
They wanted to sign Blake to a five-year, $140 million contract.
The deal would be structured as a 3+2, with player options for the final two seasons.
In other words, if Blake signed with the Knicks, he could land a massive contract worth $28 million per year.
And that wasn't all.
The Knicks' front office made it clear that they would not trade STAT or Anthony.
Their plan was to build an absurdly stacked Big Three.
Blake, Anthony, and STAT.
All for one purpose.
To go after the championship next season.
The moment that news broke, the league was stunned all over again.
"Holy crap, have the Knicks gone insane?! Five years, $140 million? What kind of contract is that? That's ridiculous!"
"That's brutal!"
"That's New York for you. They really don't care about spending money!"
"And they're keeping both Anthony and STAT? They're going to be paying a ton of Luxury Tax, aren't they?"
"Hold on. Is the Luxury Tax really the main issue here?
"Shouldn't we be talking about Blake, Anthony, and STAT?
"That trio would be absolutely ridiculous!"