Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 362 2017 NBA Free Agent Market
“Decision, decision, decision, decision!”

There is a new guy on social media who also has a strong presence.

Why four decisions? Because it was decided four times!

Kuzma, this is the passive trigger of the Bard, and he immediately opens fire at full power.

Even Han Sen only saw the decision James made after seeing this status push.

Han Sen was visibly stunned when he saw this.

He had actually forgotten about Davis before!

In "history", Davis went to the Lakers to team up with James, which was considered as joining James.

But now, it's James who has joined Davis!

It can only be said that Han Sen’s experience in team building is not as rich as James’.

So the question is, aren't the Pelicans now a twin tower lineup?

If James goes there and squeezes into the inside with these two guys, won't it be crowded?

Hansen's doubts are actually shared by many fans on social media.

Fortunately, this question was soon answered.

Because James did not sign with the Pelicans without a deal, but rather signed first and then traded.

The Warriors first signed a three-year, $3 million contract (third-year player option) with James, and then traded him for Cousins.

It turned out to be another classic bird rights retention operation.

The fans' previous doubts were resolved, but new doubts arose.

The Pelicans' actions are completely understandable because they formed a super twin tower last season, but in the end they didn't even make it to the playoffs.

Although that was somewhat related to the team's poor performance in the first half of the season, the team's overall winning rate remained average after Cousins ​​came.

To quote the fans, Davis and Cousins ​​are the leaders of the group that only gets empty-cuts every day.

Therefore, it is completely understandable to proactively seek change when opportunities arise.

What is puzzling is the Warriors' side.

Although Cousins ​​is now known as the league's top center and his statistics last season were still explosive (27 points, 11 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game), he, like Love back then, has never played in the playoffs and has not proven himself in high-level competitions.

And his style of play doesn't really fit in with the Warriors'.

This is somewhat similar to when O'Neal joined the Suns.

However, after the deal was reached, members of the Warriors expressed their welcome to Cousins ​​on social media.

Even Kerr said on social media: "The Warriors have ushered in the strongest center of the Curry era."

One emotion you can definitely feel is that they can't wait for James to get out of here, and who comes next is not the most important thing.

Then again, the Warriors want Davis more, but the question is, are the Pelicans likely to give him to them?

After losing options such as Hayward and Griffin, this is the best solution the Warriors can make.

Moreover, Cousins ​​is in his contract year next season, so the Warriors have room for trial and error.

If Cousins ​​is really not suitable, the worst that can happen is that he will set his sights on the free market next season. There will be a lot of big fish next summer.

Among them, there is a 2-meter-tall small forward who is still in Indianapolis and is very suitable for them.

The Pelicans also welcomed James' arrival as soon as possible.

ESPN even quickly released the news that Davis personally went to the airport to greet James.

It's hard to say this isn't another push by Nike behind this.

However, this scene triggered ridicule from fans on social media.

The "Son of America" ​​who can't win the game and the "Chosen Son of God" who can't win the championship, when the two stand there, they really have a natural sense of tacit understanding.

The Pelicans also acted quickly afterwards. They first reached a five-year, $5 million contract extension with Holiday, ensuring the core lineup of Holiday, James, and Davis for the new season. Then they used Asik as the main transaction to exchange Mirotic from the Bulls, who had already decided to rebuild.

Holiday and James are not particularly good at three-point shooting. Davis' three-point shooting ability is even less than 30% for many years, which requires the other two positions to have strong shooting.

They already have an outside shooter like E'Twaun Moore in their lineup, but what they lack is a space-capable inside player like Mirotic.

For the rest, they only need to find a hard C to start with Davis in the game to reduce Davis's consumption, and then strengthen the bench lineup, and they will be very competitive in the West.

With the dust settling on James's future, all the big dramas in the East and West this summer have come to an end.

But at this moment, a piece of news broke out and once again focused the attention of fans.

The Rockets officially waived Chris Bosh, who had been plagued by blood clots in the past two seasons.

The news was sudden, but not so unexpected.

Because as early as June this year, a medical report issued by the NBA and the players' union showed that Chris Bosh suffered a "career-ending injury."

That report actually indirectly announced Bosh's retirement.

But Bosh refused to accept the reality and has been trying hard to make a comeback for more than a month.

However, after he did everything he could, the medical team still determined that he was no longer fit to play in the professional league.

"Patients with blood clots must not engage in strenuous exercise, otherwise there is a high probability of increased blood vessel bleeding, causing blood clots to break off and block the pulmonary artery, causing pulmonary embolism, which is more lethal than myocardial infarction."

This is a cold, death sentence from the doctor.

If Bosh insists, he will most likely die on the court.

Eventually Bosh was forced to accept reality.

According to the new labor agreement, in this case, the salary of the player and the team after the buyout will not occupy the salary cap, but the team and the insurance company will need to pay the remaining salary in the player's contract.

After negotiation between the two parties, Bosh's remaining salary of more than 120 million will be paid to him in 43.3 installments, with US dollars paid every half month.

The Rockets certainly did this not to be a good person, but because they were eager to get out of the predicament. They had already reached a verbal agreement with Eric Gordon, and that agreement required the salary space brought by Bosh's retirement.

A number of players sent their blessings to Bosh.

As a former opponent, Hansen also sent a congratulatory message on social media: "When your jersey is retired, I hope to see your Dragon King's Roar again."

But it must be said that the NBA has done an impeccable job in terms of professionalism.

According to their algorithm, Bosh's remaining salary will be paid until the end of 2022.

It’s really like making money while lying down.

Bosh's retirement is just a small episode in the free market.

As the freeze period ended, the verbal agreements reached by the teams were officially signed one after another. Han Sen also paid attention to the dynamics of his own team.

The biggest thing the Cavaliers did this summer was to renew Covington's contract with a four-year, $4 million contract.

This may seem a bit expensive, but in fact, the contract is not cheap at all. It is the market price. In an era when the maximum salary has soared to 3000 million, the top 3D player is worth this price.

As a result, among the Cavaliers' starting five, except for Jokic who is still on a rookie contract, the rest are all making more than 1500 million. If we add Wade who is on the bench for 2000 million, if Hansen had not opted out of his contract to sign a new one, these people would have already exceeded the luxury tax.

The remaining room for reinforcement for the Cavaliers will be very limited.

However, Gilbert showed his generous side. He opened his wallet to support the team's dynasty and did not care about the luxury tax.

The Cavaliers renewed Korver's contract with a three-year, $3 million deal, retaining the team's most accurate shooter last season.

Immediately afterwards, Griffin also began to make an effort and directly signed Derrick Rose, whose contract had expired, with a veteran minimum salary of 290 million.

In addition, a similar thing happened again last year, and David West also moved to the Cavaliers with a minimum salary contract.

Everyone has something they insist on, but just as justice may not necessarily triumph over evil and hard work may not necessarily be rewarded in the real world, when the final result comes, it depends on whether you choose to die with pride or make a compromise in the end to avoid regrets.

Pierce "died" with pride, and West finally chose to compromise.

Because he is different from Pierce. Pierce already has a guaranteed championship, but he doesn't.

He gave up more than 10 million just to win a championship before retiring so that he would have no regrets in his life.

Especially after seeing Deron retire with a satisfied look on his face, he chose to compromise with himself.

Some people stay, some people go to other countries, and naturally some people leave.

Tucker chose to join the Rockets for 4 million over 4000 years.

Powell received a four-year, $4 million contract offer from the Raptors, but the Cavaliers ultimately chose not to match it.

Hansen took a look at the Cavaliers' current roster.

Point guard: Hansen, Rose, Murray

Position: JR, Wade

Small forward: Covington, Korver, Kuzma
Power forward: TT, West, Cunningham

Center: Jokic, Nene, Dedmon
The strength of this lineup has been slightly improved compared to last season, and the Cavaliers management can be said to have done their best.

The rest depends on the players' condition and how much improvement Jokic can make in the new season.

In addition, the league has introduced a new two-way contract this year, and each team can have two quotas.

The Cavaliers also waived Jones Jr. and signed him to a two-year, two-way contract, with the first year of the contract fully guaranteed.

They gave the other two-way spot to Alex Caruso.

Caruso was the player on the list that Hansen gave to Griffin last season, but the Cavaliers did not have a spot to sign him in the end.

In fact, Caruso was unable to play in the NBA last season and basically spent all his time in the Development League. The Cavaliers offered him a two-way contract and he came over immediately.

As a team that has won two consecutive championships, the Cavaliers' two-way contract is extremely tempting to these fringe NBA players.

After all, the championship team comes with the spotlight. If they play a few good games, they will most likely get a guaranteed contract from other teams.

Even like Powell, if you seize the opportunity to get into the rotation, a tens of millions annual salary is not a dream.

While paying attention to his own team, Hansen also noticed another team in the East that was quietly making a fortune.

After the free market freeze ended, the Bucks quietly completed a deal with the Magic. They sent Jabari Parker and John Henson in exchange for Lopez from the Magic.

Lopez has been steadily contributing 20+10 data to the Magic team over the years, but the Magic has also been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for many years.

The Magic Coach also knows that he is not that cut out for the job, so trading him for Parker, who has more potential and was able to score 20+ points last season, is undoubtedly a better choice for them.

After acquiring Lopez, the Bucks' lineup has become solid, with Lopez and Antetokounmpo in the interior, Middleton and Brogdon on the front line. Now they only lack a point guard of above standard.

And from this perspective, after several years of decline, the Eastern Conference will usher in a season with unprecedentedly fierce competition next season.

The Cavaliers and Celtics are in the first tier, the 76ers, Raptors, and Bucks are in the second tier. In addition, the Pacers, Wizards, and Pistons are all competitive teams.

It won't be easy for the Cavaliers to get out of the Eastern Conference this year.

The free market continues to develop, and each team's reinforcement work is gradually being finalized.

Among the teams that have attracted more attention, the Warriors signed veteran CJ Miles with a three-year, $3 million contract.

In addition, Curry's statement "not one can be left behind" also indirectly led the management to choose to keep former meritorious players, such as Iguodala's 3-year, 4800 million contract renewal and Livingston's 3-year, 2400 million contract renewal. This kind of meritorious basketball also gave the team considerable salary pressure.

Another team worth paying attention to is the Pelicans, who signed Nick Young with a full mid-level salary to continue to strengthen their outside shooting ability.

When it came to late July, Han Sen held a personal training camp as in previous years.

An uninvited guest arrived shortly after the training camp started.

Han Sen was still very surprised when he saw Tony Allen's bearded and slightly sloppy appearance.

It looks like Allen is having a rough summer.

After communicating, Han Sen realized that the other party wanted him to help him find a job.

This surprised Hansen even more. You know, Allen was still the starting player for the Pacers last season.

Even at the awards ceremony, Allen was selected to the league's second defensive team.

How could no one want this?

In fact, even Allen himself didn't believe it.

But that's the reality.

Han Sen asked him to sit down. After careful analysis for a while, he suddenly realized that Allen was abandoned by the times.

In the small ball era, guards without three-point shooting are a huge drag on the team on the offensive end.

Moreover, Allen is getting old. He is 35 years old this year. 35 years old is a hurdle for most players. A sharp drop in form is a normal physiological phenomenon.

An older defensive engineer who has no offense, no training value, and may even lose his form at any time will indeed discourage most teams.

"If you're in trouble..." It can be seen that Allen also decided to come to Hansen after struggling for a long time.

"No, you came just in time." Han Sen did not mean to agree directly when he said just in time, because he knew the difficulties the Cavaliers would face in the new season. What he said was just in time to give Allen a chance.

It's just in time for his training camp, let's see how much gas Allen has left in the tank.

He asked Allen to come back the next day, and then he called Griffin to the training center the next day.

A few days later, the Cavaliers announced that they had signed Tony Allen with a minimum salary contract, completing their final signing for the new season.

(End of this chapter)