Chapter 876 [Sensitive Loyalty, Group Superstar]

LeBron James announced his entry into the free market and forced the management. However, the Cavaliers did not immediately dig up big-name stars to assist the emperor. Instead, they announced to the media on the 5th that after negotiation between the two parties, the Cavaliers would no longer offer James and encouraged and blessed him to join. A strong team to compete for the championship, he has done enough for his hometown.

The Emperor was forced to "abdicate" from Cleveland. James was dumbfounded when he received the notice. This was not his intention, but the boss's decision.

James had no way to refute and could only go with the flow. It would be a shame if he said he wanted to stay with the Cavaliers without negotiating.

Since he has been unable to win a championship, Cavaliers owner Gilbert wants to focus on making money. After James leaves, the Cavaliers management will operate very easily. There is no need to pay luxury tax or poach stars, and it only needs to make the salary reach the minimum wage standard. That's it.

The NBA signed a new broadcast contract, and all teams benefited. James's popularity has declined and he continues to be questioned. If he stays with the Cavaliers, his commercial value is not ridiculously high. The most intuitive manifestation is that the Cavaliers lost US$40 million last season.

General manager Kobe Altman convinced Gilbert that if the Cavaliers gave up James, they would also have a star that could attract fans, and that was the 175cm point guard Isiah Thomas. As long as Thomas is given the ball, he can score like Iverson. His height is the best gimmick.

Compared with James, who has the strongest physical fitness in the league, Thomas seems to be inferior to ordinary people. How far he can lead the team will be a highlight. As long as he can lead the Cavaliers to the playoffs, he will be a very good player. Inspirational story.

It's not surprising that the Cavaliers gave up on James. He has been unable to produce results and has long been eliminated by other stars.

NBA team lineups change frequently. Unless you have a coach like Popovich, more than half of the players on the team will have to leave in five years. There are only a handful of players who can only play for one team in their career. A sensitive point in the NBA is called "loyalty."

What is loyalty?

Nowitzki cut his salary year after year for the Mavericks, saving the boss a handful of dollars to recruit. This is called loyalty; Duncan cut his salary to protect the Spurs and never left, and he never complained. This is called loyalty. Loyalty; Haslem has never left Miami since entering the league in 2003. This is also called loyalty.

First of all, you have to stay in this team for enough years, that is, the legendary "old employee". If you have enough years, have enough qualifications, and can speak up in the company, then you have it. The first element of the "Loyal" player title.

Secondly, you need to pay a lot for this team, have a diligent attitude, be strong, and lead the team to achieve good results. When other teams want to poach you with high salaries, you have to flatly refuse, so that you have "loyal" players. The second element of the title.

Thirdly, your contribution to the team must be recognized by other players, the coaching staff, and the management. You must gain a good reputation in the circle and gain enough fame. In this way, you will have the third element of the title of "loyal" player.

If you have been in the NBA for more than ten years and have completed the above requirements, congratulations, you are already a "loyal" NBA player.

Does something seem wrong?

Why do players have to pay so much to gain so-called "loyalty"?

Some players can't see the hope of winning the championship and spend their youth doing nothing; some people continue to make concessions in income so that the management can strengthen their teams, but in the end they find that they are not strong enough; the best As a result, some people gave up part of their income, finally harvested their ideals, and gained a little spiritual satisfaction.

Is there a way for players to gain both benefits and ideals? Maybe, but they can't escape the vicious circle set by "loyalty". Even if the boss doesn't plan, many fans will speak for the boss.

I wish that someone can return to the purest form of basketball, shed tears of unwillingness due to failure, and shed tears of emotion due to the trust and hard work among the players.

You will shed tears of excitement because of the final victory, and you will never win the championship. Failure is not terrible, because you love basketball.

Someone shouldn't join a team and give up their own team for the championship. What's the point of winning the championship easily?

This argument is too common among fans. As a bystander, standing and talking does not hurt your back, and sitting and typing does not hurt your face.

Why is the NBA called a business league? Because this is a business place. China's CBA is a business, the European leagues are a business, and AND1's exhibition games are also a business. When a group of people scolded the Chinese streetball king Wu You for only knowing how to spin a spinning top and playing too dirty, his annual income was in the hundreds of millions. .

Pure basketball only happens on campus, and students don't make money playing. Some campus basketballs are not pure. For example, in the comic "Slam Dunk", the Xiangbei team actually hired a black foreign player as the center. Do not believe? Who can find a Japanese who looks like Takenori Akagi in real life?

In short, it is too difficult to be loyal in the NBA. With no way out, the only thing James can do now is to try his best to join a strong team to compete for the championship.

This time the free market has become more lively. Originally, everyone was only competing for Durant, but now James has also become a target.

The Wizards were the most prepared. They sent Chandler Parsons to the Utah Jazz early in exchange for a future protected first-round pick and a trade exception in order to clear salary space and sign big names.

The Jazz have not considered poaching big names, and no one is willing to come to Salt Lake City if they want to poach him. This is a tragedy due to the poor geographical location.

Opportunities are for those who are prepared.

On July 7, the Wizards announced that they had signed a 1+1 contract with Durant worth $54.3 million, officially forming the Big Three.

Durant grew up in Washington, and he himself admitted that he has deep feelings for his hometown. Of course, the most critical thing is that the Wizards have Wall, a star point guard, and Thompson, a star scorer.

As early as last year, Wall publicly stated on a program: "You will definitely have the opportunity to extend an olive branch to Durant and then do your best to convince him to return to his hometown, but we must be clear that he wants to devote himself to the new season. I'm going to be committed to the Thunder game, and I'm going to give it my all for the Wizards, so we can talk about that later."

Now that Durant has successfully joined, the Wizards' only weakness is the No. 4 position. With Biyombo gone in the summer, it will be difficult for them to find a capable replacement at a low salary. They can only use the Big Three to attract outstanding veterans or train young players.

James also quickly decided on his next home, which required both salary space and the ability to compete for championships. He didn't have many choices. He signed a three-year, 90 million contract to join the Dallas Mavericks, team up with Paul, and play brother basketball again.

Prior to this, the Mavericks were preparing to sign Harrison Barnes to a maximum salary to strengthen the small forward position. Now they have assembled a terrifying lineup of Paul, Matthews, James, and Nowitzki.

Gasol paired up with Nowitzki, but his pick-and-roll defense was too poor, so he was sent to the Suns by the Mavericks for Myles Plumlee, protected draft picks, and maximum cash compensation.

The Mavericks' lineup is still flawed. Except for the starters, everyone else is underpaid, and there is no way to reinforce the substitutes. The two blue-collar centers, Plumlee and Noel, lack shooting range and have poor ability to escape; the substitutes must rely on scoring points. Barea with an annual salary of 4.1 million.

After the two signings were completed, president Adam Silva was very happy. He felt that the stars of the two teams were worthy of admiration and that they would have the strength to stop the Clippers from winning six consecutive championships next season. Finally, they were no longer the only one.

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