Even so, with federal taxes and other various expenses, more than 40% of a player’s salary is taken away in taxes.
Moreover, if you play an away game, you have to pay income tax according to the local tax rate, so truly tax-free games are only about half of them.
Porter’s last year was at the league minimum salary, just a few hundred thousand US Dollars. After deductions, he received tens of thousands, so fifteen thousand was really a lot.
The team and Ah Gan were willing to help him pay the fine, and he appreciated it. Recently, his attitude towards Ah Gan has greatly improved.
He also agreed to consider staying with the Glory later on to pursue a coaching-related career.
Of course, Porter didn’t know that he actually didn’t have to be fined fifteen thousand in the first place.
Another important piece of news for the Glory Team is Tomjanovich’s return.
After treatment and rehabilitation, his bladder cancer was effectively controlled.
The day after the regular season ended, Tomjanovich insisted on returning to the team and taking the reins again.
In the office, Guoyang asked Old Tang about his condition, and Old Tang said, "The flow is still very strong when I pee."
The two laughed heartily. Guoyang told Old Tang to inform the team immediately if he felt any discomfort and to rest whenever necessary.
"This might be my last chance to win a championship, Sonny. I feel... after this season, it will be difficult for me to continue coaching. Maybe I can last another season, but... it’s tough, really tough. So I had to come back, I want to lead the team to the championship."
Tomjanovich said excitedly that this was his reason for insisting on coming back for the playoffs, for the championship.
"Don’t worry, Rudy, we’re all prepared. We’ve been waiting for you to come back; you’re indispensable."
"Really? Looking at your record, it doesn’t seem like I’m indispensable."
"That’s the regular season; the playoffs are different."
Tomjanovich agreed with Guoyang’s point.
Since Yao Ming and the veterans needed rest, and Tomjanovich needed adjustments too, the team didn’t immediately organize training but took a three-day break instead.
It wasn’t until game day morning on April 19th that the Glory Team held a tactical and shooting practice to prepare for that night’s game.
During practice, General Manager Danny Ainge asked Old Tang, "Have we rested too long?"
Tomjanovich said, "For a team with many veteran players, more rest is not a bad thing. They know how to play the game."
Ainge nodded and asked, "What do you think of Porter?"
"Porter? Porter is a good player, the only one who can restrain Ah Gan."
"Oh no, I’m not talking about as a player; I’m talking about as a coach."
"I heard Porter coached three games, and apparently, he did quite well. I think he has potential, but..."
"But what?"
"But he can’t do without Ah Gan. Without Ah Gan, his coaching ability might not be that great. He’s not a charismatic person."
"What do you mean by a charismatic person?"
"You should understand, Danny, it’s like you."
Danny Ainge laughed and immediately understood. Porter was indeed somewhat quiet and reserved.
Such a person is indeed not very suitable for coaching. Coaches generally need to be outgoing and continuously exude energy outward.
However, if Ah Gan is around, Porter could indeed be a good coaching candidate. Danny Ainge was also considering the future coaching situation of the team; he needed to plan ahead.
He understood Tomjanovich’s health situation. It’s already fortunate if he can get through this playoffs, and he was likely to retire next season.
That night, the first-round playoff game between the Glory Team and the Heat kicked off at the MGM Hotel Arena.
You could tell O’Neal was not happy at all; it was like his worst fears came true!
He joined the Heat in the summer, thinking he was safe and had finally gotten rid of Ah Gan. But soon after, news came that the Glory had moved to the East District!
O’Neal was now wondering if someone was targeting him. If he went to play in Europe, would Ah Gan follow him there?
He was almost lax during the regular season, yet still made it to the playoffs. Firstly, O’Neal’s strength was evident; even as the sole core, the Heat was still quite a formidable team.
Secondly, the overall strength of the East District wasn’t that great.
Thus, O’Neal had the best stats he’s had in recent seasons.
Originally, O’Neal was playing happily, but upon entering the playoffs, he saw that he’d be up against Ah Gan again!
The Shark had resigned to his fate. Facing Ah Gan, then let it be. Even if he couldn’t win, he would strive to achieve better performance stats.
This year’s playoffs saw a reform by the League in terms of the ranking rules.
Last season, with two conferences and six small divisions, the rule that each division leader ranks in the top three was unfair to strong teams in the same division.
It led to scenarios in the Western Conference, where forces colluded to rank the Lakers first so they could face the Glory, while the equally impressive Kings ended up fourth just by being one game behind.
Thus, this year, the League stipulated that the top positions would no longer be stable for the three division leaders but among the top four. The remaining team with the best record would be ranked based on performance.
For example, in this year’s Eastern Conference playoffs, the Glory was first in the Southeast Division, the Pistons first in the Central Division, and the Celtics first in the Atlantic Division.
According to last year’s rules, these three teams would be solid as the top three, unless the division leader couldn’t even make it to the top eight. As long as they made it to the top eight, they were in the top three.
This year is different; these three teams will be in the top four positions, and among the remaining teams, those with the best records will compete for ranking. For instance, the Philadelphia 76ers, with a record not as good as the Celtics but better than the Pistons and stronger than teams from other divisions, entered the ranking competition and ranked third, pushing the Pistons to fourth.