Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 942 942 562 An Extraordinary Mid-Autumn

?Chapter 942: Chapter 562: An Extraordinary Mid-Autumn Chapter 942: Chapter 562: An Extraordinary Mid-Autumn DeAndre Jordan leaving the team, just like Chris Bosh, was something we could foresee well in advance.

However, being foreseeable doesn’t mean the fans could accept it.

Great dynastic teams often rely on their own homegrown players for their core lineup, which is why the SuperSonics had dominated since 2007.

In addition to Yu Fei’s joining, they had several elite lottery picks from years of tanking, yet now, only Roy continued to play for the team from those lottery picks over the years.

DeAndre Jordan and Anthony Morrow, who were picked during the dynasty era, were both traded away in succession.

In the eyes of many teams, homegrown players are often more important than hired guns signed from the free agency.

But the attitude demonstrated by the SuperSonics was one of indifference to affinity.

No matter whether you were a player I picked or an All-Star who came to us from the free market, no matter how much you’ve contributed, as long as we don’t have the salary cap space, you’re out.

The abandonment of homegrown talent, and even the indifference toward a star like Chris Bosh who was willing to continue fighting for a fifth consecutive championship, brought unprecedented controversy to the SuperSonics.

The media began to question whether the SuperSonics still aimed for the championship.

Sam Presti, the SuperSonics’ general manager who was subject to intense criticism, found himself in a difficult position.

Of course, he knew that these moves would bring great trouble to the team, but what could he do?

The orders were difficult to disobey; Clay Bennett’s determination was to keep the salary cap within a manageable number.

Three max contracts were their limit.

July 5th
Chris Bosh announced that he had reached a 4-year, 60 million US Dollar contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Transferring from Seattle to Cleveland, one could only imagine the drop, but Bosh still decided to join the Cavaliers because he had some behind-the-scenes meetings with someone.

This was his second time teaming up with others, and compared to the first, it was all too familiar.

The person who schemed with him to team up was none other than LeBron James, who was actively preparing for the London Olympics.

The failure of the so-called Evil Empire made James a target of public scorn.

However, the subsequent lockout somewhat mitigated the impact of his devastating loss in 2010.

Then, with the entire season being canceled, the impact of the failure further diminished.

In the season following the lockout, James performed more steadily and maturely, reaching new career highs in all statistical categories; the Lakers even considered promoting him to the lead role, provided he was willing to make a commitment to stay in LA for the long term.

James was only 27 and a half years old at the time, young enough yet having experienced so much.

In the summer of 2010, Yu Fei reached the pinnacle of the GOAT, while he fell from grace due to failure; these events taught James a simple lesson.

The King cannot have it all, but the victor can.

Only with victory can he turn things around.

The potential of the Lakers was already exhausted, and even though Kobe remained one of the League’s top stars, he would be approaching the age of 35 in the following year—a point where many superstars traditionally experience a significant decline.

He liked the Lakers’ market, but not their current competitiveness, much less sitting in second place to an aging star on his decline.

That was that with Kobe and the Lakers, LeBron had to do what was best for LeBron.

But this summer was not a good time.

The only stars on the free market were him and Kobe, and Kobe would definitely stay with the Lakers; James would have to start anew elsewhere with inferior support.

And so, Bosh entered his sights.

In terms of skill, Bosh had been one of the top power forwards in the Eastern Conference before going to Seattle to grovel at the feet of the GOAT, and after being forced to play at the center position all last season, he had neither the stats nor the honors, nor even the basic respect; shamelessly, he wanted to stay and fight for a fifth championship, but the SuperSonics simply waved him away.

Even though Bosh never spoke ill of his former team and the GOAT, James did not believe that Bosh didn’t harbor resentment toward Seattle and the GOAT who never came forward to help him.

Therefore, James decided to partner with Bosh.

He believed it was the right decision because Bosh had already been “trained” by the GOAT.

If Bosh could sacrfice his tactical position to accommodate the GOAT, he could do the same alongside him.

They hit it off right away; the question was which team to join.

This summer was not a good time for teaming up.

Becaue there were not many big names on the free market and the teams with championship potential had stable rosters, unable to accommodate James and Bosh.

This prompted James’s team to activate Plan B.

If the “Decision” in 2009 greatly tainted James’s reputation, and the fall of the Evil Empire labelled him a synonym of failure, then now, years later, even though the animosity from Cleveland still existed, what if he “suddenly realized his mistakes” and wanted a “prodigal son’s return” like the GOAT, repaying his hometown?

Who could refuse such a beautiful story?

Fans’ attitudes can change with the circumstances; the only issue was the Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert.

Gilbert developed a significant bias against James, but now, with the rebuilding process nowhere in sight, accepting James’s return to make the team a contender again could effectively revitalize the local market.

A merchant’s nature is to seek profit; at a high enough price, even a father might be sold.

Therefore, Gilbert accepted James’s plan, starting with signing Bosh and then waiting for the next step in the arrangement.