At the same time that James posted the message, the contract signed by both parties was also exposed for the first time.
James signed a three-year, $100 million contract with the Warriors. The third year of the contract comes with a player option, which means James will play for the Warriors for at least two years.
The reason why it is 3 years instead of 4 years is because the league has a 38-year-old clause. If he opts out in the third year of this contract, he can still sign a 4-year maximum salary contract with another team.
In other words, such a contract not only allows his cooperation with the Warriors to be more in-depth than that with the Cavaliers, but also allows him to still have the initiative in his own destiny.
And when Dream Basketball starts, it is the day of an earthquake in the league.
Although James failed to become the league successor that Stern originally wanted him to be, he is still one of the top five stars in the league. Now, he is going to join the team that had the best record last season and won the runner-up.
A season ago, there were fans who said they couldn't find a stronger team than the four-star Cavaliers. Now, you have seen it.
The four stars of the Cavaliers, Davis, Irving and Love, were all weak teams before. They have a certain chance to replicate the success of the Boston Big Three, but in history, only the Celtics have succeeded in a similar situation because they will encounter problems with running-in.
The Cavaliers' failure proved that paper strength does not equal team strength, and their running-in ultimately failed.
But the Warriors are different. The Warriors are a team that has already been fully integrated, and now they just added James. Their probability of successful integration is much greater than that of the Cavaliers.
On social media, many fans of Western Conference teams directly cursed.
"This is so unfair. The Warriors now look like a cosmic team. Even the Bulls and Thunder are no match for them. This is just like a bug in a game."
"Before leaving Cleveland, LeBron was only criticized for his footwork, but he is still a dragon slayer and deserves respect. But look at what he has done in the past few years, joining the Heat, forming the Cavaliers Big Four, and now joining the Warriors. He has been trying to take shortcuts!"
"Taking shortcuts is despicable enough, but the point is that he has been taking shortcuts and has never succeeded. Now he is a joke in the league."
"I'm a Warriors fan. I think the management made a very stupid decision. LeBron can't make us better. If you look at the teams he's been on in the past, you'll know that he's almost destroyed every team he's been on."
Then, the Cavaliers fans were scored twice, breaking their defense again.
"When LeBron said he was going home, I found the jersey I had buried in the ground and put it on again, but now, I've decided to burn it completely. Goodbye, my youth. I hate LeBron! (From the little boy who dug out the jersey from the ground and took a photo two years ago)"
"My King, go chase your dream, but I'm sorry I can't follow you anymore, a fan who has loved the King for 13 years."
"If you stay in Cleveland, I will love you even if you never win a championship in your life, because you once said you did something wrong, but now, you make us look like a big joke. From today on, I will go from being your most loyal fan to your biggest hater."
"You really make me look down on you!"
Just before Xu Yong reported to the national team, Foreman called him and said that the Bulls had signed Yi Jianlian back with a two-year, $6 million contract with a player option.
Yi Jianlian has been playing for the Mavericks for many years and has always been a member of the rotation, but with Aldridge joining the team last season, he fell out of the rotation and did not get much playing time.
Although his physical fitness has declined at the age of 29 (actual age 32), he still has a place in the league as a space-type inside player thanks to the adjustment of his playing style that year.
With the league's salary cap skyrocketing, the Bulls were able to sign him back at this price, which was completely acceptable to management.
Moreover, Yi Jianlian now plays completely as a center, and signing him basically means that the Bulls will not keep Split.
When he arrived at the national team, Xu Yong met Yi Jianlian, and the two gave each other a warm hug as soon as they met.
Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, the Chicago Bulls back then, are also fond memories for Chinese fans and Bulls fans. Now Yao Ming has become the chairman of the Basketball Association and is slowly developing in the direction of a female star, while Yi Jianlian is still working hard in the league. Fans will feel as if they were in another world when they see this scene.
In addition to Yi Jianlian, Xu Yong also met other people, including Jeremy Lin, who had just signed a big contract with the Nets, Guo Ailun, who has already established himself in Europe, Zhou Qi, who played in the Celtics' rotation, and Ding Yanyuhang, who played in the NBA Development League.
In addition, there are veteran Sun Yue, Zhou Peng, Zhai Xiaochuan, Wang Zhelin, Zhao Jiwei and others who are in their prime in the CBA.
Although the lineup is quite different from the one that won the championship four years ago, with Xu Yong included, there is a great chance of reaching the semi-finals.
The national team's training location this time is Sanya, Hainan. Xu Yong's impression of this place comes more from the Hai Tian Sheng Yan, but when he actually arrived there, he found that the beautiful beaches here make it a very suitable place for training.
Except being watched.
You know, there are a lot of people going there for vacation in the summer, so whenever the men's basketball team has training, there will always be people watching from a distance, and even quite a few people taking pictures.
This makes them a bit like the dream team.
"We are all benefiting from Brother Xu!" But as Guo Ailun said, everyone knows why they are doing this.
"Playing well is the most important thing." Xu Yong reminded Guo Ailun. In fact, Guo Ailun's dribbling talent is at the ceiling in China, and it is also acceptable in the NBA. It's just that his shooting and passing are too poor, and this guy is a bit like Durant, too keen on the Internet.
Just when Xu Yong was training with the national team in Sanya, the Bulls made new moves. They had been negotiating an early contract extension with Adams, and now there was a result. Adams finally agreed to renew his contract for 4 years and 100 million, and the contract will officially take effect next season.
This contract is bigger than Xu Yong's, but considering his performance last season and the fact that money is not money this summer, this is a reasonable contract extension.
This is also after Rose left that the Bulls officially confirmed the core lineup of the Iron Triangle.
However, just as Xu Yong thought before, whether Jokic can transform into a power forward next season will be crucial.
The Bulls' move didn't stop there. They also gave away two second-round draft picks and sent Split to the Digital Man team.
The Digital Man team is believing in the process. They can get draft picks by eating expiring contracts, which is their favorite operation.
However, this kind of air-changing operation is not normal for a championship-contending team, and the facts have proved this.
Because this was obviously a move to free up salary space, the Bulls signed Joe Johnson to a two-year, $22 million contract.
[Single Joe] After being bought out by the Nets last season, he joined the Heat and played very efficiently, scoring 12.2 points with a hit rate of 51.8%. His three-point shooting rate reached 41.4%. Although his efficiency inertia shrank in the playoffs, the price was very suitable.
Again, although he is 35 years old, he has not suffered any injuries in his career and is less risky than Deron.
Moreover, Johnson is a swingman. The Bulls did not have a reliable substitute for Xu Yong last season. In addition, the substitutes' scoring ability was not enough, so Xu Yong was very expensive.
It can be said that if Xu Yong had not let Butler play more in advance and brought Butler into better shape, it would have been difficult for the Bulls to successfully defend their title last season.
The addition of Johnson can alleviate this problem well. His current ability is not enough to be an All-Star, but he still has the strength to start, and he is even better as a substitute.
Even in certain games, the Bulls can let Butler play directly at the No. 1 position and put him on the court, which will make it difficult for the opponent to defend.
If we take into account Stephenson and Artest who have already completed their contract extensions, the team's strength is still significantly improved compared to last season when Rose was injured.
Point Guard: Beverley, Stephenson, Dejounte Murray
Shooting guard: Butler, Holiday
Small forward: Xu Yong, Joe Johnson, Artest
Power forward: Anderson, West, Dio
Center: Adams, Jokic, Yi Jianlian
Moreover, this lineup is not subject to luxury tax this year. After trading Rose's contract, the team's strength can be maintained like this. If the Bulls can still perform well this year, Foreman has a good chance of winning another Best General Manager Award.
However, the Bulls' continuous operations during this period did not attract attention, because the social media was flooded with news during this period.
In order to concentrate on preparing for the new season, Durant decided to withdraw from the Rio Olympics, and his position will be replaced by Westbrook.
Xu Yong was surprised when he saw this, because Durant's character is very real. He has been fighting for his country throughout his entire career. The Dream Team has never failed to win a competition he has participated in, including the 2020 (actually held in 2021) Olympics that Xu Yong knew about. It is not an exaggeration to say that he helped the Dream Team win the championship with his own efforts.
You have to know that this kind of summer game is quite draining on the body, and you can even argue that this drain to some extent contributed to his subsequent serious injury.
But fans on social media reacted strongly to the news.
When Xu Yong finished his training, he also paid attention to this recent hot news.
"Why did you announce your withdrawal only half a month before the Olympics? And the reason is so ridiculous!"
"That's right. He has a spot but backs out at the last minute. Is it because he's afraid of Xu and the Chinese team?"
"Don't recruit Durant anymore, he doesn't deserve to be on the national team!"
"I think the Basketball Association will think you are very smart when they hear what you said. They know who can really help them win." Comment from "KBfnas".
"So who wasn't even on the starting roster?" commented a "loyal Kings fan."
"I feel like KD chose to quit because of the Warriors, so you really should ask that guy why he wanted to join the Warriors." This comment came from the "Lakers' No. 1 Fan."
"I think so too. The way the Warriors form a team is simply disgusting. And you let KD go to the Olympics to waste time? Why doesn't LeBron go?" Comment from "Kobe Loyalty for Life".
Looking at these comments, Xu Yong just felt that they were real and funny.
Durant's decision to quit the national team half a month before the game is ridiculous. Most people wouldn't do it, but when it happens to Durant, you don't think it's impossible.
And there is nothing wrong with the reason Durant gave. Why should James go to the Warriors to form a super team and have fun in the summer, while he should work like a slave and die to win the championship?
You have to know that the lineup of the Dream Team in Rio Olympics this year is much weaker than that in London, so his consumption is inevitable.
So James got all the benefits and the goodies, and Durant has to work like a slave?
So it is completely logical for Durant to have such an idea, and he was not sure whether James would really go to the Warriors before, so he did not quit. Now that he knows, he feels disgusted, so he quit temporarily.
Even Xu Yong could guess that he should have talked to Westbrook before quitting and let the latter temporarily replace him.
It's really a bit real, and also a bit childish.
But this is definitely good news for the Chinese team, because Durant was right when he said something on social media. Durant can really help the American team win.
Without Durant, and now without Kobe, and even without Howard and Chandler to guard the inside of Team USA, the strength of the Dream Team will be greatly reduced.
Their previous goal was to reach the semi-finals and get the runner-up, but now it seems that they can raise this goal a bit.
Half a month later, in August, Xu Yong went to Brazil with the national team.
His first impression after arriving in Rio de Janeiro was that it was very dirty and the environment was very poor, especially there was a lot of garbage floating on the river bank at the port. It was summer, and he could smell a distinct musty smell when passing by.
Even the Dream Team, who always liked to stay on yachts, chose to stay in local hotels this year.
As a developing country, Brazil has experienced an economic crisis in recent years and is on the verge of bankruptcy. It is completely different from when it first applied for the Olympic Games.
However, the harsh environment did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Brazilians. After all, economic problems are at the national level, but the people are very enthusiastic about the Olympics.
Brazilian football is particularly strong, and billboards of Ronaldo, Neymar and others can be seen on the streets from time to time.
South America is a paradise for football, and Brazil is the country of football.
In comparison, the current level of Brazilian basketball is a bit worse. Like their neighbor Argentina, they have also ushered in the golden generation of Barbosa, Nene, Varejao and others with the global development of basketball, but unfortunately they have never achieved any results.
Of course, Brazilian basketball was once glorious, but that dates back to ancient times. They won the Olympic bronze medal three times in 1948, 1960 and 1964.
And when talking about the Brazilian men's basketball team, the one that must be mentioned is the legendary man Oscar Schmidt.
He participated in five Olympic Games and won the scoring title three times. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he scored 55 points in a single game against Spain, setting the highest score record in the Olympics. He averaged 42.3 points in eight games. He is the single-Olympic scoring champion, the all-time Olympic scoring champion, and the all-time World Championship (World Cup) scoring champion.
If the history that Xu Yong knows is that James was crowned the GOAT by being the NBA's all-time scoring champion, then Schmidt would be the GOAT of the Olympics.
And the biggest difference between him and James is that he is not really just scoring points.
At his peak, he was able to score 43 points in the World Championship semi-finals against the Dream Team that included Admiral Robinson, Danny Manning and others, and the Brazilian team finally lost by only 4 points.
A year later, in the men's basketball final of the Pan American Games, facing the same opponent, and even the same players, on American soil, after trailing by 20 points at halftime, he scored 35 points in the second half and 46 points for the entire game, leading his team to a 5-point victory over the American team.
This shows that people, like Sabonis, are not incapable of playing in the NBA, but are unwilling to give up the opportunity to play for their country under the modern rules (the NBA was not yet globalized in 1989, and the rules stipulated that players playing in the NBA could not represent the national team in the World Series).
It is August 4th, and the 31st Summer Olympics opens in Rio.
The Maracanã Stadium, which can accommodate nearly 80,000 people, is full of passion.
Unfortunately, as athletes, they cannot feel the atmosphere on the scene like the spectators. While waiting to enter the stadium, they can only watch the whole process through the TV broadcast.
When Gisele Bundchen began her 100-meter-long catwalk along the stadium stage, cheers from the athletes rang out not only outside but also in the aisles.
Bundchen can be said to be the most famous model in Brazil and the world. She is also the fastest-earning female model in the world. Last year she earned $44 million.
In comparison, even though the NBA salary cap has skyrocketed this year, the maximum salary is only over 30 million.
However, Bundchen is already 36 years old this year and announced her retirement last year. If it weren't for this year's Olympics, she would not have performed on stage again, so this is also the last dance of her modeling career.
It is the combination of these factors that makes everyone so excited to see this scene.
Even through the screen, Xu Yong could still appreciate Bundchen's beauty. The combination of her figure and face made her a true angel on earth.
If it weren't for the age gap, Xu Yong wouldn't mind having a relationship with the other party.
Speaking of which, Bundchen has only dated two boyfriends, one is "Little Leo" Leonardo Dicaprio, and the other is the GOAT of the football world, Tom Brady, who is also her current husband.
After the opening ceremony, the athletes entered the venue. Xu Yong was at the front of the Chinese team. He was the flag bearer of the Chinese team at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games this year, and this was also the first time in his life.
When the host read the word "china", Xu Yong walked out of the passage holding the national flag in his hand. The spotlight shone on him, and the entire Maracana Stadium was in a state of excitement.
Just like people could truly feel Kobe's popularity at the BJ Olympics back then, only at the Rio Olympics could everyone truly feel Xu Yong's popularity today. In comparison, perhaps only this sentence can describe it: even better than before.
Even the staff at the scene kept their cameras pointed at Xu Yong, and what followed was a continuous and long-lasting cheering, the decibel of which was no less than when Bundchen appeared.
Yes, in this football country, the influence of basketball player Xu Yong is so huge.
"Perhaps the NBA at this moment is inseparable from Xu." Barkley couldn't help but sigh while broadcasting the opening ceremony on TNT.
At this time, the people around him, not only his partners O'Neal and Kenny Smith, but even the guest "Magic" Johnson nodded in approval.
Jordan brought the NBA to a global level, and Xu Yong brought it to another new level.
There are many differences between them, from skin color to personality, but what is the same is that they are all unique and great players.
The Olympics are divided into two groups, and this year the Chinese team was assigned to the same group as the host Brazil team.
Don't think of this as an honor, because the Chinese team is the defending champion of the last Olympics and they are on the same level as the US team.
The reason why the Brazilian team chose to be in the same group with the Chinese team instead of the American team is that they think they have a better chance of beating the Chinese team.
Moreover, the Chinese team is Brazil's first opponent in the group stage, and the match is scheduled in the prime time in the evening.
The Brazilian team can be said to have made sufficient preparations this time.
Although the final result proved that their preparations ultimately did not work.
Because it is a home game, almost all of the Brazilian players who can play are here, including Barbosa, Nene, Raul Neto, Varejao who played for the Bulls last season, and Split who was just traded.
In terms of strength, the Brazilian team is definitely at the level of the quarterfinals, and with the advantage of being the host, it is a team on the edge of the top four.
So the whole game was quite intense, until the last quarter, Xu Yong scored 20 points in a single quarter in 10 minutes, and finally helped the Chinese team win the game.
At the end of the game, Xu Yong scored 46 points.
A slightly exaggerated, but very reasonable score.
The reason for this exaggeration is that Xu Yong's debut statistics were only 9 points away from the 55-point record set by Schmidt.
The reason is that with Yao Ming's retirement and Yi Jianlian's declining ability, the Chinese team now basically relies entirely on Xu Yongduo.
Xu Yong, who has officially reached his peak, can score 69 or 72 points in a single game in the NBA playoffs.
Although FIBA games are not NBA games and the rules are very different, because of the technical characteristics of the game, Xu Yong is exactly the player who can switch perfectly like Durant.
Xu Yong's performance lasted throughout the entire group stage. He averaged 39 points per game and led the Chinese team to a perfect victory in the group stage.
If it wasn't for the easy win against the African brothers, Xu Yong would have been taken off the court early with only 20 points, and his average points per game in the group stage would definitely have been over 40.
After watching such a performance, fans basically have two feelings.
First, Schmidt's dusty history, which has never been touched by anyone, has begun to loosen up a little.
Secondly, they saw a hypothesis that many people had put forward back then: what would it be like when Jordan played for other national basketball teams.
Just when everyone thought Xu Yong's performance in the group stage was crazy enough, when it came to the knockout stage, they realized that it was just the beginning.
In the first knockout match, against Serbia, which was fourth in another group, Xu Yong surprised everyone with his 51-point performance in a single game.
The game was also very intense. Both sides fought until the very last minute. Xu Yong used a difficult buzzer beater to help the Chinese team get through the dangerous moment.
After the game, there was a voice from the outside world that felt that the Chinese team was much weaker than it was four years ago, and it was even difficult for them to beat Serbia, which was ranked fourth in the group.
But in fact, the strength of this Serbian team was completely underestimated.
Although Jokic has not joined the Serbian national team yet, in the history that Xu Yong experienced in his previous life, Serbia was the runner-up in this year's Olympics.
Despite such doubts, the men's basketball team successfully made it to the semi-finals, and their opponent was their old rival, the Australian team, which created a famous scene with the "Yellow Miracle" Bogut in the London Olympics.
This is truly a case of enemies meeting each other again.
As a result, the Chinese team played more easily in this game, because Australia was madly double-teaming Xu Yong throughout the entire court, and the other players of the Chinese team were completely open.
So although he only scored 34 points, the lowest since this year's Olympics, he provided 11 assists, which helped the Chinese team beat Australia by double digits and advance to the finals.
Yi Jianlian made three three-pointers from the outside and scored 17 points, the second highest for the Chinese team. Jeremy Lin scored 16 points and 6 assists, Zhou Qi also had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Together with Ding Yanyuhang's 12 points, the Chinese team can be said to have blossomed in all aspects.
This also lets the outside world know that although most of Xu Yong’s teammates are indeed from the CBA, when you look down on them, you will pay the price for it.
In the final, the Chinese team met the American team again.
This American team, also known as the Dream Team XII, does not have Durant, but it still has Irving, Anthony, George, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Green, Cousins, Jordan Jr. and others. It can be said that it has gathered all the stars of the new generation and completely crushes the Chinese team in terms of talent.
Especially since the Chinese team does not have Yao Ming this time, they do not have any advantage in the interior.
The only one they can rely on is Xu Yong.
As for the American team, head coach and Olympic veteran K is well aware of this.
So at the beginning of the final, Lao K, like the Australian team, launched a crazy double-team attack on Xu Yong.
But unlike the Australian team, the American players are very talented. In the FIBA, which is smaller than the NBA, their double-teaming is terrifying.
Why was the Dream Team 8 so terrifying? It was because of this move.
Although this year's US team does not have Wade's thieving hand, they have George and Butler, and the pressure that these two can put on the outside is very great.
Especially Butler, as Xu Yong's Pippen, he is very familiar with Xu Yong's playing style.
Throughout the first half, Xu Yong only took 13 shots and scored 16 points, which is a huge gap compared to his previous games.
The other players on the Chinese team were able to perform very limitedly under the intensity of the American team's defensive rotation.
So by the end of the first half, the Chinese team was already 20 points behind the American team.
Almost no one thinks that the Chinese team still has a chance, not even the players of the Chinese team.
Moreover, during the half-time break, Xu Yong did not give his teammates any chicken soup.
But at the beginning of the second half, Xu Yong showed a completely different style of play from the first half. He began to shoot frequently under double-teaming, and then used various techniques to put the ball into the basket.
That would be crazy to hear, let alone present in front of the fans.
"I don't know how to express it, but what I want to say is that after we came back in the second half, our double-teaming on him seemed to have lost its effect." After the game, Old K said helplessly at the press conference.
Throughout the second half, Xu Yong scored frequently in an almost crazy manner amid the double-teaming of the American team.
19 points in the third quarter and 23 points in the fourth quarter!
In the entire second half, Xu Yong scored 42 points!
The strong aura he displayed on the offensive end made George shrink back when defending him, and even Butler could only watch the ball and sigh.
In the two rounds that decided the outcome, Xu Yong first assisted in defense and blocked Anthony's buzzer-beater, and then returned to the offensive end, where he hit the game-winning three-pointer from the outside against George's defense.
When the ball went in, the commentator on the scene stood up, walked to the side and knelt down.
58 points in a single game!
Xu Yong helped the Chinese men's basketball team to incredibly defend the Olympic title in Rio by breaking Schmidt's Olympic single-game scoring record of 55 points.
When the final whistle sounded, Xu Yong walked to the bench surrounded by his teammates and sat down. Exhausted and excited, he couldn't control his emotions and his eyes turned red.
Before this, or before this summer, he himself would never have thought that he could still lead the team to the top without Yao Ming.
Because he has played in the NBA for many years, he is very clear about the strength of the Dream Team.
But Durant's unexpected withdrawal, coupled with the NBA's [vertical jump rule] that killed local centers, ultimately led to this incredible result.
Just then, someone patted Xu Yong's shoulder hard from behind.
No one dared to do this at this time, except one person.
When Xu Yong turned around and saw Nv Zhao Riyue, whose eyes also turned red, he stood up and gave her a big bear hug.
They once again reached the highest point in the world. Although their roles were different now, they shared the same excitement.
When the competition was over, when he put on the golden medal representing the highest honor of the Olympics, Xu Yong was extremely excited.
After putting on the medals, the other members of the Chinese team held hands and bowed down to Xu Yong on the stage.
There was applause and cheers everywhere, and no one thought there was anything wrong with this scene.
Because in addition to scoring 58 points in a single game, Xu Yong also averaged 42.4 points per game. He broke Schmidt's record in just one Olympics.
After the award ceremony, Xu Yong was interviewed by Zhang Weiping on the sidelines.
When Xu Yong was asked about his feelings about the final buzzer-beater with red eyes, Xu Yong originally wanted to say thank you to Xiao Hua.
But after thinking about it, it doesn't seem right, because the [vertical jump rule] is a product of the Stern era.
So in the end, he could only smile at the camera and say, "Thank you, James."