warrior godfather

Chapter 733 Where to Go
When the summer league is in full swing, the league is also full of changes and undercurrents.

On July 7, the same day that the summer league started, Leonard’s press conference for joining the Celtics was held. Danny Ainge, Cole, Durant, Thomas Jr., Horford, and Grosbeck all attended to welcome Leonard's arrival.

In addition, just like when Durant joined last year, Grosbeck also invited Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek and several other famous Celtics from ancient times, which fully demonstrated Show the importance to Leonard.

Not only that, Durant, Thomas Jr., and Horford jointly stated at the press conference that they will lead the team with Leonard. There is no distinction between the boss, the second, and the third. The Celtics are a team. To play team basketball.

Cole also said that he has worked with Leonard for several years and knows Leonard very well, and will definitely arrange the most suitable tactics for him to make him perform better in the Celtics.

Danny Ainge stated that the Celtics will continue to strengthen and will make every effort to attack the championship next season.

Leonard finally reciprocated, saying that he came to the Celtics to compete for the championship, and he will definitely cooperate with Durant, Thomas Jr., and Horford to strive for the championship.

Throughout the entire press conference, everyone put the championship first. The atmosphere was extremely harmonious, the stars were united, the coaches were wise, and the managers were capable. The glory of the Celtics in ancient times seemed to be reappearing.

However, the brokers sitting under the stage had different thoughts and watched coldly.

Durant may not care about the status of the team boss, but Kleiman can't.

Last season, Durant led the team with a single core and played an extraordinary performance. Nike increased his support. As long as he works harder, he can take away Nike's top card from James.

Both of them have zero championships, but Durant's reputation is much better than James'.

Nike became more and more disappointed with James and wanted to support Durant instead. Of course, it cannot accept that he is not even the team boss.

After Kleiman learned that Leonard was coming to the Celtics, he was secretly anxious. Although Durant far surpassed Leonard in terms of personal honor, Leonard has five rings in his hand, the best. There is no shortage of lineups and All-Stars, and there are two best defensive players. The statistics of last season are also very luxurious. If the two compete, it is really hard to say.

After all, Durant only came a year earlier than Leonard, so he has no advantage in terms of qualifications, and Leonard has been in contact with Durant many times.

In the face-to-face confrontation, he proved his strength. Even if he didn't have the best first team and mvp, relying on five rings alone was not in vain.

Fortunately, Leonard didn't seem to have the idea of ​​competing for the leadership of the team, which made Kleiman quietly heave a sigh of relief.

But Durant didn't seem to have the intention of competing for the team leader, which made Kleiman very distressed, but there was nothing he could do.

Durant has longed for the championship, and finally found a favorite helper. He only wants to win the championship, and has no time to consider the status of the team. Even if Kleiman tried to persuade him, he would not listen.

In desperation, Kleiman had no choice but to give up this idea and wait until the end of next season.

At that time, regardless of whether the Celtics won the championship or not, he will make a move. Otherwise, how can he get more resources from Nike?

Kleiman turned his head and glanced at Dennis beside him, a slight sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Just wait, just rely on you half-baked guy, a country bumpkin who doesn't understand anything, and see how I deal with you!
……

Dennis didn't know what Kleiman was thinking, but his mood was worse than Kleiman's.

He wanted Leonard to leave the Warriors with all his heart, and he wanted Leonard to be the boss, but he didn't want him to be a brother with Durant.

The championship ring is the highest dream goal for other players, but for Leonard, it doesn't matter at all that he can wear it on one hand.

Leonard's top priority is to get more mvp and personal honors like this for a while, so that he can truly join the ranks of superstars, instead of being able to keep pace with James and Durant in terms of "strength" like now.

But beside Durant, how can Leonard get the mvp?

Although Leonard has more championships, Durant has always been the leader of the team. People are preconceived, and they will think that Durant leads the team. At worst, he is at the same level as Leonard, no matter how good the Celtics are. Durant must account for at least half of the credit for the results, or even more.

When Dennis thought of this, he felt extremely irritable. Didn't he just come out of the tiger's den and enter the wolf's den again?

Of course Leonard also has the intention of being the boss, but how could he show it right away when he just arrived?
The Celtics are not those small teams. They have a deep heritage and a lot of fame. They must be careful.

Dennis himself has no good solution. After all, he is not a formal agent, with shallow qualifications and insufficient connections, so he cannot provide Leonard with more help.

In desperation, Dennis could only suppress his eagerness to act as a well-behaved agent, and wait for Leonard to gain a firm foothold in the Celtics.

He turned his head, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Kleiman coldly, with an imperceptible sneer at the corner of his mouth.

Just wait, a softie like Durant is not even worthy of carrying Kawhi's shoes, sooner or later I will let you know how good I am!

……

At the same time, Thomas Jr.'s agent, Bernie Lee, was also worried.

He and Danny Ainge reached a stalemate in the contract renewal negotiations for Thomas Jr. He wanted a five-year $5 million maximum salary extension contract, but Danny Ainge was only willing to give a four-year $1.77 million Dollar contract renewal.

There are huge differences between the two parties on the amount and duration of the contract. Berne and Danny Ainge have negotiated many times, but they have not reached an agreement.

Bern once persuaded Thomas Jr. to accept this contract. He is already 29 years old, and his height is particularly disadvantaged. He relies heavily on explosive power and can maintain his peak period for a few years. No one knows.

But Thomas Jr. rejected Bern's proposal. He said that he played the best performance of his career last season, enough to be ranked in the top ten in the league, and he would never accept this cheap contract.

As a result, Bern can only bite the bullet and continue negotiating with Danny Ainge, but Danny Ainge is sitting on Durant and Leonard, and he refuses to give an inch, and the negotiation has completely reached a deadlock.

What Bern didn’t know was that Danny Ainge only offered a four-year contract worth $4 million. This time, Thomas Jr. was not injured in the playoffs, so he offered a contract with an annual salary of more than $7000 million. .

In Danny Angie's view, he is willing to offer such a big contract to a 175 cm small guard, it is already because Thomas Jr.

The team has made a huge contribution.

Bernie looked at Danny Angie, who was talking on stage, and Thomas Jr., who was not very good-looking, and his thoughts changed sharply, but he couldn't find a solution.

With the joining of Durant and Leonard successively, the importance of Thomas Jr. in the Celtics has become less and less, and the possibility of signing a maximum salary has become increasingly slim.

Where should he go on his way to the Celtics?

……

On July 7, the day after the Celtics press conference, the Bulls quietly held an internal meeting.

The meeting was attended by Rose, Butler, Stevens, and Foreman, bringing together four important figures in the Bulls.

But unlike previous team memories, this meeting was not called by Foreman, but by Rose.

The other three were at a loss, not knowing why Ross called this meeting.

The three of them were taken aback when they heard Rose's speech.

Rose said that from now on, he hopes that the core position of the team can be transferred to Butler. He assists Butler in the regular season, focusing on maintaining health. In the playoffs, he will go all out to help the team compete for the championship. .

Foreman was very surprised and said:

"Derek, you only suffered a little more injuries last season, but they were all minor injuries. We have full confidence in you, and you will definitely recover..."

But Stevens and Butler didn't say anything. Of course Butler wanted to be the boss, he wouldn't say anything against his will, and Stevens also had his own considerations.

Butler's ability to handle the ball is getting better and better. He wants Butler to take on more tasks, and Rose's body is getting weaker and weaker.

What Ross said was exactly what Stevens wanted.

It was only because of commercial considerations that Foreman still wanted Rose, who is more popular with fans, to be the boss of the team, so he spoke to persuade him.

But Ross had made up his mind, and Foreman couldn't persuade him anymore, so he had no choice but to agree.

Butler was very moved. He didn't expect Rose to be willing to give up his position as the team leader, and immediately expressed his opinion:
"Derek, no matter which one of us is the boss, it is for the championship. I really want to be the boss, but it is not for the privilege or status, but to prove to those who look down on me that those geniuses can do it. I can do it too! In the future, I will continue to play hard as before, and work hard for the championship. The Bulls are not only my team, but also your team!"

(End of this chapter)