New York.
Bird came out of the NBA headquarters building, feeling refreshed.
Just now, he had a conversation with Stern, the general content of which was his concerns about the Cavaliers' formation of the Big Four.
He could feel that Stern was also very angry about this matter. In essence, Stern was fooled by James because last season James kept saying in front of the media that he would bring the championship to Indiana and would not leave if he couldn't do it.
But now that the Big Four are only a tenth of the team, the big-market teams are fine, but the small-market teams are not competitive and the market will shrink significantly. When the market shrinks, those bosses will be unwilling to invest, and they will fall into a vicious cycle. By then, it will not be just the Cavaliers' problem.
This is also the real reason why Stern tried his best to suppress the emergence of various super teams. He needed to ensure that every team in the league could get a share of the big NBA pie.
Although it is in compliance with the rules for James to opt out of his contract and join the Cavaliers as a free agent, and even Stern cannot stop it, it is foreseeable that the Cavaliers will become the focus of the referees' attention next season.
Just then, his cell phone rang. It was Griffin, the general manager of the Cavaliers.
He was stunned for a moment and picked up the phone.
After a brief greeting, Griffin explained his purpose.
When he heard that the Cavaliers wanted to trade Wiggins for Bynum, he couldn't help but laugh.
He was unwilling to sign and trade with James before, so why does Griffin think he will do it for the Cavaliers?
Didn’t James tell Griffin about his previous attitude?
It seems... it's really possible.
"If you don't like Wiggins, we can also look for third-party transactions."
Griffin persisted.
But when he heard this, Bird suddenly had an idea.
Instead of refusing directly, he gave Griffin a candidate: Marc Gasol.
After hanging up the phone, Bird still had a smile on his face, but this time it was a smug smile.
There are fewer centers in the league now, and Gasol is one of the top five centers in the league. Of course, more importantly, he is considered not for sale by the Grizzlies.
If the Grizzlies really like Wiggins and are really willing to trade for Gasol, then... they will just say they don't want Gasol.
The main focus is fishing.
James disgusts him so much, wouldn't he be disgusted back?
Then he got in his car and went to a local coffee shop in New York.
Then, wait there for someone to come.
Meeting Stern was not his main purpose for coming to New York, this person was.
Not long after, a person with shiny skin, round face, delicate features, and a face that looked both cute and sweet appeared opposite him.
"Melo" Anthony.
Anthony signed one more year than James and others after his rookie contract ended, but in his second contract, he had an additional player option.
So he can also opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer.
Anthony saw Bird smiling, then sat down a little stiffly.
Unlike James, Anthony has great respect for Bird. After all, the things that Bird did in his career, such as "Are you here to compete for second place?", "I'm going to kill you here?", "God wore No. 23 jersey, but we defeated him", etc., were simply awesome in his eyes.
"Melo, I want to invite you to Indiana." Bird was also quite direct.
"LeBron is leaving?" Anthony seemed very surprised. Forget about the Banana Boat Brothers. In the history of James leaving the Heat, Wade was the last to receive the text message notification. How could plastic brothers have so much real feelings?
"Yes, he's going back to Cleveland."
When Bird said the second sentence, Anthony's eyes widened even more. James was actually going back to Cleveland!
Back then, Cavaliers fans burned his jerseys everywhere, and Gilbert even wrote an open letter to insult him. How could James go back?
But he quickly regained his composure. If it was LeBron, it seemed to make sense. It was all about interests.
"You know, I've always been disdainful of him." Bird is now in the stage of making no secret of it.
"But I have always been optimistic about you. You have scoring skills that are ten times better than his. If it weren't for Nike and ESPN, the best rookie would be yours. If you can be in a better team, I don't think you have no chance to become MVP."
Anthony was stunned. If such words came from someone else, he would think it was flattery, but the person speaking now was Bird, the King of Force!
"Mr. Bird, are you serious?" He couldn't help but confirm.
"Of course, now we have an opportunity to come to Indiana to prove it." Bird nodded affirmatively.
Anthony's face flushed instantly, he was indeed moved.
His experience with the Knicks over the years has been truly a failure, especially with Stoudemire's current big contract dragging the team down and making it impossible to strengthen the team.
If he continues like this, he may not even be a superstar in two years.
Although Indiana is not as good as New York, its basketball market is much bigger now. It may not be a bad place for James to plant trees and enjoy the shade.
only……
After the excitement, he quickly calmed down.
The four Banana Boat brothers were able to get together because they had some similarities, including the same emphasis on interests, which was why he was able to accept James' return to Cleveland so quickly.
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the Knicks are the only team that can offer him a five-year maximum salary, while other teams can only offer him four years, and the salary increases are also different.
"You can sign and trade as long as you tell the New York management that you must come to Indiana." Bird continued. He also knew something about Anthony, and how could an old hand like him not know those methods of Paul?
Anthony was really moved.
He was originally a very competitive player, but after staying in a place like New York where there is so much decadence and luxury for too long, he slowly lost a lot of things.
But now Bird has given him a chance, as Bird said, to prove that he is better than James.
This is entirely possible because the Pacers have Paul, and Paul and he are a very good match.
"One more piece of advice. I don't think gaining weight is a good thing for you. You are a nimble sword, not a heavy knife like the others."
Anthony finally nodded.
This is not just about benefits, but also about opportunities and recognition. Being able to work with Bird will be a new journey that he is looking forward to.
…
LeBron is leaving Indiana and returning to Cleveland
Before the free market officially opened, a news report from the Indiana Sports Daily caused an uproar.
Well, before James made his decision, Bird made the decision for him!
This instantly caused shock among the teams in the league.
Bird's move was truly unsportsmanlike.
However, this is entirely the result of James' team's self-righteousness.
The last time he made his decision, James kept it secret until the last minute and then announced his decision on live TV.
But this time, they thought they had figured out everything, so they went to Bird in advance and asked him to cooperate with them.
Bird: he~tui.jpg!
It can only be said that James spent the past two years in Indiana in vain, as he really didn't understand Bird.
James: Bird had already resigned when I came. Is it my fault?
The release of this report put the Cavaliers in a passive position.
Not to mention the public pressure from fans on social media, their negotiations with various teams have become extremely difficult.
For example, the Grizzlies completely closed the negotiation window for Gasol Jr.
This situation is the same as when the Bulls wanted to form the Big Four.
Managers of other teams in the league certainly don't want to see a team that is strong and lasts for a very long time emerge.
Except for a few teams that have been struggling most of the time and don't have much hope of winning the championship, other teams either refuse to talk or ask for an exorbitant price.
Griffin really wanted to curse.
James screwed them over this time.
After Houston also closed the trading window, Griffin couldn't bear it anymore and went to find Gilbert.
“Boss, are we sure we want LeBron?
What I mean is that, in the current situation, we may not be able to exchange Wiggins for the chips we want, and if we sign LeBron, we will be targeted by the league next season. Even with LeBron's contract model, if he suddenly leaves, we will get nothing.
We can definitely build the team around these three young guys and then wait for them to grow, which I think will be possible in a year or two."
Gilbert looked at Griffin, who had dark circles under his eyes, and nodded.
This is a recognition of Griffin's ability and his decision.
He is a businessman. Although he has a certain passion for basketball, he is not the kind of person as Cuban in the final analysis. The Cavaliers are more of a tool for him to make money.
The Cavaliers were originally unknown in the league, but they became popular and made a lot of money by selecting James.
With James' departure over the years, the team's attention has been waning, and his wallet has been shrinking at a visible rate.
Although what Griffin said is indeed correct, the team may be able to succeed by building a team around Irving, Wiggins and Davis, but that does not mean there is money.
The Pacers are a good example. Their lineup has always been competitive, but the market has never been big. It was only after the arrival of James, Howard, Paul and others that they have achieved their current prosperity.
Even look at the Spurs. The Spurs have so many championships, but Pete Holt can only sell tractors?
Again, why do you think Aby Pollin was willing to be a "puppet boss" and let Jordan do whatever he wanted?
If he were the owner of the Knicks or the Lakers, he wouldn't have to tolerate James's back-and-forth behavior.
But unfortunately he is not.
So even if James won't stay with the Cavaliers for too long, it would be worth it if he can earn more money for a few more years.
Even if we take a step back and say that they paid nothing to get James, what would happen if they lose him again?
It's like a girl takes the initiative to date you, but then breaks up with you in the end. That's like getting something for free, at least you felt good, right?
Griffin looked helpless. He couldn't go against his boss's will. All he could do was speed up the pace.
If Bird hadn't revealed this, he could have taken his time selecting players, but given the current situation, Bynum can forget about it and can only settle for the next best option.
And the key is that he has to maintain communication with James' team about this candidate and get their consent.
This general manager is really shortening his life.
…
On July 1, the door to the free market officially opened.
The Heat became the protagonist of the first day. They first gave up Granger. This move made Riley the target of criticism from many fans, who thought he was cold-blooded and ruthless.
But, if Riley isn't cold-blooded and ruthless, who is?
After giving up Granger, the Heat signed Luol Deng with a two-year, $19.86 million contract.
Immediately afterwards, Wade and Bosh opted out of their original contracts and reached a five-year, $118 million contract with the Heat.
In this way, the combined salary of Wade, Bosh, Deng and Hibbert in the new season reached 65.89 million, which has exceeded the salary cap of 63.06 million in the new season.
However, because the Heat have the Bird Rights of Wade and Bosh, it means that both of them can renew their contracts above the cap in the end, and the Heat still have room for reinforcement.
Xu Yong was also paying attention to the free market during training. When he saw the news about the Heat all over the screen, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
In history, Wade lost 20 million because of James' contract change. Now that James was traded early, he got the maximum salary he deserved.
Of course Wade also deserves it. In the past two years, he led the team to win the second championship in team history, firmly established the role of the soul of the Heat, and has always been on the MVP list.
And because of this change, Riley doesn't have to lament when he's old that not renewing Wade's contract was the worst thing he did, as he did in history.
Even if the salary cap increases rapidly in the future, especially in 2016, the Heat will avoid the situation where premium contracts are flying all over the place.
The Bulls also began to strengthen their team at this time, and their first move was to keep Hawes with a four-year, $22 million contract.
At the same time, they were forced to let go of Livingston, who signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Warriors.
This is also the salary pressure brought by the Bulls now. One thing that puts huge pressure on the Bulls management is that Butler is about to renew his contract.
This forces them to be cautious in selecting role players to avoid falling into the "middle-class contract trap."
At the same time, as a supplement, they signed "American Karen Mok" Andre Miller with a veteran minimum salary. In order to join the Bulls, the latter reached a buyout with the Nuggets and gave up the non-guaranteed portion of the contract of 3 million.
It was on this day that Butler came to Xu Yong's house.
"Gar (Foreman) approached my agent and wanted to reach an early contract extension with me."
Xu Yong was not surprised by what Butler said. The Bulls must keep Butler, and the sooner the better.
Of course, he also knew that Butler came to him to ask for his opinion.
"How much?"
"70 million in 5 years."
After listening to this, Xu Yong touched his chin.
If Butler renews his contract in advance, the maximum amount he can renew is 90 million for 5 years. Based on his performance and potential last season, this contract amount shows that the Bulls still want to keep him.
"What do you think?"
"My current idea is to finish playing next year and test the free market," Butler said.
"There is a certain risk." Xu Yong reminded that Rose's return will definitely take away Butler's ball rights.
"Yes, that's why I'm hesitating too." Butler said and looked at Xu Yong.
Xu Yong put his hand down, but he didn't know how to give any advice.
Because there are really too many uncertainties about this matter.
The first level of uncertainty is that Rose's return will take away Butler's ball rights, but Butler's statistics will not necessarily drop.
Moreover, McGrady's statistics in the Raptors were average, but the Magic were still willing to spend a big price to sign him.
For rookies, data does not represent everything. It is not impossible that a team will offer Butler a maximum salary next summer.
The maximum salary he can get at that time is 95 million for 5 years, of which 25 million is real money.
The second level of uncertainty is whether the Bulls will match the offer at that time. If not, Butler will leave the Bulls.
The third level of uncertainty is another situation. Butler's talent is indeed incomparable to McGrady. If he can't produce good numbers, he may not be able to get the current 5-year, $70 million contract.
There is even a point that if Butler does not renew his contract and enters the contract year, it is hard to say whether he will pursue data because of this.
This is the potential risk for the team.
However, as Butler's senior, and the two have such a good relationship, he must be acting more from the perspective of Butler's personal interests.
"Jimmy, I can't give you too much advice on this. I can only say that this is a choice about [confidence]."
Xu Yong’s meaning is quite clear. If you are confident enough and can perform better in your rookie season, then take a gamble.
If you think the risk is too great, then sign it.
"Then I'll wait until next summer," Butler said.
Xu Yong laughed after hearing this. This choice was expected. Butler was still very confident in this aspect.
But if this is the case, they must win the championship in the new season, because if they fail, the second level of uncertainty is likely to occur.
After Butler left, Xu Yong picked up his phone and saw a new blockbuster tweet.
Anthony signed a five-year, $124 million maximum contract with the Knicks, and then reached a sign-and-trade with the Pacers, getting two first-round picks and a $20 million trade exception.
Anthony actually went to Indiana!
He originally thought that once James left, the Pacers would start rebuilding.
After all, the Pacers are different from the Heat. James left as a free agent, and Bird couldn't get a return by trading James like Riley did.
Now James has been replaced by Anthony, this move can only be described as very cool.
Moreover, the effect of Anthony's combination with Paul is better than that of James in terms of adaptability.
But why does this seem more and more wrong the more I look at it?
In his impression, whichever team James leaves, that team will have to start rebuilding, but now James has left the Heat, the Heat have won the championship, and after leaving the Pacers, the Pacers' strength has not decreased but increased?
It's quite interesting.
And while he was still sighing, something bigger was coming.
The Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Digital Man reached a three-way deal.
The Cavaliers traded "starting point guard tragedy" Jarrett Jack, Wiggins and three future first-round draft picks for Kevin Love.
The Numbers Man sent Thaddeus Young in exchange for Mbah a Moute, Shved, and a first-round pick from the Cavaliers.
The Timberwolves sent Love in exchange for Jack and Wiggins, as well as two future first-round picks from the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers finally got Love, but the price was a bit high.
After all, giving away the No. 1 pick and paying for three first-round picks is absolutely unprecedented.
All I can say is that this move by Bird really disgusted James and the Cavaliers.
As for the Timberwolves' choice, it is reasonable.
Because they are one of the few teams that are always bad.
At their peak, the team could only play in the Western Conference Finals with a three-headed monster. They had no idea what the championship was and could hardly see it. Love played like that last season and still didn't make the playoffs. Rebuilding is inevitable.
As for the Cavaliers' Big Four, they are not in the same division and it basically has nothing to do with them.
Then, social media crashed.
Although James has not officially announced his joining the Cavaliers, Bird's previous decision-making assistance means that the Cavaliers' Big Four are already known to everyone.
It took a long time for social media to return to normal, and when Xu Yong opened it, he found it was really amazing.
No one would have thought that the first person to speak out would be Bosh.
Bosh had probably been waiting for the news for a long time, and he tweeted immediately.
"I think I have to remind K.love to be mentally prepared, because he needs to learn a lot of new things in the new season, such as losing weight and squatting on the three-point line, having his ball rights greatly reduced, and being criticized by the media. Of course, these are not the biggest problems. The biggest problem is that his sacrifice may not bring him a championship."
When Xu Yong saw this, he burst out laughing.
I have to say that Bosh has a lot of resentment.
But it makes sense.
If Bosh didn't have much resentment, he wouldn't have beaten James directly on the court last season.
Now Granger is useless. Although the Heat added Deng, his adaptability is much worse, which means the team's strength has declined. His resentment will only deepen.
But if he pushes it down, he will inevitably be attacked by James fans.
Bosh is not very good at this kind of social media war, but "KBfnas" came uninvited and joined the battle with James fans.
James fan: You can be jealous, but the Cavaliers have already locked up the championship for next season and will start a new dynasty.
KBfnas: So it’s “not.seven” again?
James fan: Love is much better than you! Have you ever played like Love? Have you ever made the second team?
KBfnas: In the 2006-2007 season, Chris Bosh was selected to the league's second team. That's not perfect, brother.
James fan: Your historical status will never be higher than LeBron's, you are just a second-rate star.
KBfnas: 1＞0, next question.
James fan: Anyway, the Cavaliers next season will be unstoppable, with the unprecedented Big Four, the league will have no rivals.
KBfnas: Are there enough points for the ball?
In fact, the battlefield is not just Bosh's personal Twitter, but social media is also full of smoke.
"Let's get excited. The wanderers are coming home. Cleveland is winning its first championship in the four major sports leagues. Go! Go! Go!"
"How dare you, traitor, say the king is wandering!" Comment from "KBfnas".
"I am so touched. I am a Cleveland fan. I never thought we would see the day when LeBron would return! (Attached is a photo of the Cavaliers jersey from the 2009-2010 season)"
"You're a fake fan. Real fans would have burned their jerseys long ago." Comment from "KBfnas".
"We can finally put the Bulls under our feet!"
“Xu.is.your.dady.” Comment from “KBfnas”.
…
Xu Yong really couldn't laugh anymore.
What does “one man is worth a division” mean?
However, Durant has adjusted his mentality very well this year. It seems that Nowitzki's championship is still a good motivation for Durant.
I was just smiling when a new message came in, which made me feel a little emotional.
It is rare for Kidd and Nash to speak together and jointly announce their retirement.
These two legendary point guards, who have accompanied many old fans and are known for their nicknames such as "Ji can't attack" and "Na can't defend", and have had many interactions with each other, played for the same team and won the championship in the last moments of their careers, and then officially retired together.
But compared to Iverson and McGrady last year, they are already very lucky.
After retiring, Kidd was invited by the Magic. He will become the new head coach of the Magic, coaching Oladipo and Paul George and helping the team reach the playoffs.
Nash, fortunately, Nash did not become the head coach to control any team. He should be enjoying some personal time.
Also, along with the official announcement, a coaching change worth noting is that the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, who built the defensive system for the team, and hired former TNT commentator Steve Kerr as head coach. This is also the latter's first time as an NBA head coach.
With the emergence of the [Vertical Jump Rule] and the arrival of Kerr, the small-ball Warriors team that Xu Yong is very familiar with is about to officially rise.
This time, the competition intensity in the new season will be unprecedented.
In the West, the Thunder and Mavericks are still very competitive.
The Thunder's biggest move this summer was to reach an early contract extension with Reggie Jackson for five years and $65 million.
Because Gasol's contract has been sharply reduced in the new season, and his new contract will not start until next season, this operation is still very appropriate.
As for the Mavericks, they had already found replacements long before Kidd and Nash announced their retirement.
After sending Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Delonte West, and two first-round picks, they traded for Rajon Rondo from Boston.
Because the Celtics' Big Three disintegrated, Rondo's attention also dropped sharply.
In fact, he has had a rough past two years. A torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee is a devastating injury. He no longer has the athletic ability and has been plagued by injuries. He has only played in more than 30 games in the past two seasons, and his trading value has plummeted.
The Celtics are now rebuilding, and Rondo is no longer in their plans.
And now there is only one year left in his contract. The Mavericks are willing to spend a lot of money, so Ainge will naturally not refuse.
As for the Mavericks, this move is also a gamble, as they have potential injuries and a point guard who is in his contract year and has no offense.
However, this kind of deal is in line with Cuban's style, allowing Nowitzki to compete for the championship throughout his career, even though they have already succeeded once.
In return, Nowitzki and Cuban staged a classic contract renewal scene this year.
Cuban: 20 million a year, it can’t be any less. If it’s any less, I’ll be angry.
Nowitzki: 5 million, no more. If it's more, I will retire. I'm not short of money.
Cuban: Whether you are short of money is your business, whether I pay you or not is my business. You deserve it, 15 million cannot be less.
Nowitzki: 10 million, maybe. If you keep delaying, I will get angry. A Chinese director asked me to play the role of the Silver Horn King, so I plan to give it a try.
Cuban: Okay, okay, I’ll do as you say.
Finally, after Nowitzki averaged 21.6 points per game this season and won the FMVP and led the team to win the championship, he renewed his contract with the Mavericks for 3 years and 25 million, with the third year being a player option.
This wage cut is even more exaggerated than GDP and is completely beyond the comprehension of others.
This is also a unique case of Scorpio shitting in the NBA, and there will never be a second one.
But this is the unique relationship between Cuban and Nowitzki, so it is completely understandable that the Mavericks would sacrifice future reinforcements.
The Mavericks then used the extra salary space to sign Chandler Parsons with a three-year, $45 million contract.
Rondo, Leonard, Parsons, Nowitzki, Chandler, the competitiveness is still very considerable.
So in the new season, the new three-way battle between the Warriors, Thunder and Mavericks will still be full of drama.
Things are even more lively in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers, Pacers, Heat, Bulls, and Raptors are the five major championship contenders. If we also include the Nets, Hornets, Wizards, and Hawks that made the playoffs last season, as well as the Magic led by Kidd, we will also include the Magic.
You may not believe it, but these days, it's a bloody fight to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
It is no exaggeration to say that next season will be the most competitive year in the Eastern Conference since the founding of the NBA.
The free market is still going on, and teams are constantly making minor adjustments.
It was at this time that James published a sincere speech expressing his gratitude for his return on the sports website he invested in.
"Before anyone cared where I played, I was just a kid in Northeast Ohio, and that's where I walked, where I ran, where I cried, where I bled, my hometown.
Remember when I was sitting in front of the Boys and Girls Club in 2010? I was thinking, That's really hard. I could feel myself walking away from something I had spent so much time creating.
If I had it to do over again, I would do things differently, but I’ve moved on.
Because I wanted to win a championship, which is what every player dreams of, but that was not possible in my hometown at the time, so I took everything and chose to leave and chase my dream like everyone else.
I must admit that the decision that boy made was so immature that it hurt so many people. I can understand the burning jerseys, the open letters, and the boos. He deserved it. He made a big mistake.
Now, he is ready to come back and correct it. Everyone gets a chance to correct their mistakes, and I believe he does too.
I'm not promising a championship this time, I know that's hard to do and we're not ready for it right now.
Of course, I want to win the championship next year, but it will be a long process and my patience will be tested. I know this, and I am facing a young team and a new coach, and I am already mature.
I'm excited to lead these young and talented guys and I feel like I can help Kyrie Irving become the best point guard in our league and help AD become the best power forward in the league.
I want kids across Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of third graders in Akron who my foundation supports, to realize there's no place like the one where you grow up.
Maybe after college they will return home and start a family and a career, that would make me smile, our community has been struggling for so long and needs all the talent it can get.
In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given, everything is earned, and you work to get what you have.
I'm ready to take on this challenge.
I’m going home.”
…