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Chapter 269 On the Importance of Following the Right People

It must be said that Ray Allen's desire to curry favor with a powerful figure was genuine.

Qin Yue was also tempted by this veteran who was about to turn thirty-seven.

Qin Yue knew very well that the cruel and merciless years had only taken away Ray Allen's athleticism and his stamina to run all over the court.

But Ray Allen's superb shooting skills are the key to his ability to attract multiple title contenders this summer.

Moreover, if Qin Yue remembers correctly, it was during the 12/13 season that Ray Allen staged the spectacular "Saving Private LeBron" performance in the Finals.

Historically, how important was Ray Allen's game-winning three-pointer for the Heat in Game 6 of the 2012-13 NBA Finals, assisted by Chris Bosh?

It's no exaggeration to say that without Bosh's offensive rebound and Ray Allen's three-pointer, LeBron James would never have had the opportunity to become the marketing GOAT.

Therefore, although Qin Yue did indeed, as Ray Allen thought, still harbor resentment to this day for the other party's belief that he was unworthy of the title "Messiah".

However, considering that time has long since faded this grudge, which was not even a deep-seated hatred, and that the other party's attitude of admitting their mistake was so sincere.
Therefore, Qin Yue, who couldn't possibly let the Gentleman's Sword, which had been offered to him, go to another championship contender, almost immediately reached a verbal agreement with the other party.

In Qin Yue's view, this was a gentleman's sword that he could turn from an enemy into a friend.

although
Ray Allen offended the GOAT simply because he made a not-too-offensive comment during the GOAT's rookie season.

But in order to get the chance to ride on the coattails of the GOAT (Greatest Attorney).
Only Ray Allen himself knows just how humbled he was to beg the GOAT for forgiveness.

However, Ray Allen, who desperately wanted to wear another championship ring before retiring, firmly believed that such humility was worthwhile.

Ray Allen, who is about to turn 37, knows better than ever who in today's league can bestow that championship ring upon him.

In mid-July, the Warriors officially signed Ray Allen to a two-year veteran minimum contract.

On the day of signing
At the Warriors' press conference for Ray Allen, reporters discovered...
Rather than a press conference announcing Ray Allen's signing with the Warriors, this was more like a self-criticism session by Ray Allen.

For a full thirty minutes, the topic of his previous disrespectful remarks to Qin Yue was repeatedly emphasized by Ray Allen: "I must apologize to 'Messiah' for my blindness back then. I think in recent years, he has proven with his actions that he is indeed the greatest player in the history of basketball."

Ray Allen's obsequious attitude towards Qin Yue broke Garnett's resolve, who had previously hoped Qin Yue wouldn't accept Ray Allen.

“How could Ray-Ray do this?” Garnett exclaimed angrily. “His fawning over Messiah is absolutely disgusting!”

"Kevin, can I ask you a question?" Yao Ming asked as he prepared to depart for London to join the Chinese men's basketball team.

"You ask."

"If, and I mean if, you also had the chance to become Qin Yue's teammate, what would you choose?"

The next second, Garnett's response was incredibly crisp: "Woof, woof, woof!"

Perhaps, not all players in the NBA are interested in Qin Yue, the number one succubus in basketball.

But for those players eager to ride on Qin Yue's coattails to win a championship, Garnett has already given Yao Ming his answer on just how appealing Qin Yue's coattails are.

……

Ray Allen's willingness to apologize and take responsibility has finally given the Warriors' management team a sigh of relief after a rather bumpy summer in terms of player acquisitions.

However, just as they breathed a sigh of relief, the Warriors' management, led by Larry Riley, immediately found themselves in new troubles.

The current NBA is in an era of decline for interior players.

This has led to a situation where quality centers on the market are either too expensive or simply not good enough for the Warriors.

Fortunately, Mike Malone's words successfully dispelled Riley's worries.

Why do we absolutely need to bring in an inside player?

That day, upon learning that Riley was constantly troubled by the Warriors' inability to find a suitable backup center, Malone suddenly asked him a question.

Upon hearing this, Riley asked in surprise, "Mike, don't you think our current interior structure is too weak?"

thin?

Malone laughed and said, "Larry, do you have a misunderstanding of the word 'thin'?"

In Malone's view, if a team with Qin Yue can be called weak in the paint, then which team in the NBA would dare to say that it has a solid reserve of interior players?

"Larry, the pace of NBA games will only get faster in the future."

"so?"

"So, as long as 'Messiah' continues to play center in the new season like he did in this year's playoffs, we can completely solve the current problem that is bothering you by further reducing the size of the ball."

Indeed, back in last season's playoffs, the Warriors proved with their frontcourt duo of Qin Yue and Wallace that, apart from the Lakers with the Gasol brothers, the Warriors' frontcourt is not at a disadvantage against any opponent.

Therefore, in Malone's view, instead of continuing to obsess over finding a backup center, the Warriors should try to broaden their strategy and solve the problem by having Qin Yue play center.

"With 'Messiah' playing center, we not only have Kwame off the bench, but Matt can also fill in at power forward when necessary. This gives us five players to rotate in the paint."

Qin Yue, Wallace, Brown, Barnes, and Dream Chaser.

To be honest, if the Warriors had been able to recruit Duncan this year, Malone would have already planned to continue pushing the team toward small-ball next season. He even considered having Riley use Brown while Brown still had trade value to trade for an inside partner who could create space for Qin Yue.

Unfortunately.
Brown's good luck in this life helped him successfully escape a disaster.

"So, Mike, according to you, the next thing we should strengthen is the forward and guard positions?"

Malone nodded and said, "I appreciate the partnership between Jimmy and Antoine, but considering that Gerrard will be playing the power forward position for a long time next season, we do need to strengthen the team's existing forward line."

Seeing this, Riley no longer hesitated.

After all, in this era, it's hard to find a quality backup center, but there are plenty of quality backup forwards and guards in the NBA.

"Mike, what do you think of JR Smith?"

"JR Smith? He still hasn't found a new team?"

It's not just that they haven't found a new job yet.

JR Smith, who decided to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Nuggets this summer and test the free agent market, has now become a clown in every sense of the word.

First of all, the teams currently willing to offer JR a big contract are either utterly terrible teams like the Timberwolves.

Or it could be Milwaukee, which, like Minnesota, is located in a harsh, cold region.

It's true that JR Smith is known for being somewhat idiotic in the NBA. But that doesn't mean he's actually stupid.

JR didn't want to waste his prime years on these hopeless teams.

but
Which championship-contending teams on the market have enough salary cap space to sign JR Smith?

As the recruitment efforts of various teams gradually came to an end, JR suddenly became an extremely awkward big fish in the free agent market.

In fact, before the Warriors contacted JR Smith, JR had already prepared to go to Minnesota to assist the "forsaken one".

However, after receiving the Warriors' invitation, JR packed his bags without even thinking.

“You know, even today, I still consider ‘Melo’ my older brother.”

Seeing his manager's puzzled expression at his decision to go to Oakland so readily, JR explained, "And 'Messiah'? He's 'Melo's' older brother, which is also my older brother's older brother, so I could never refuse 'Messiah's' invitation."

JR's agent responded with a wry smile, "But 'Jr,' do you know that the Warriors can only offer you a mini mid-level exception at most?"

Upon seeing this, JR flew into a rage and shouted, "What's wrong with being a mini middle class?"

The priceless bond of brotherhood cannot be measured by a mere tens of millions of dollars.

Playing for the Warriors just means earning a few hundred million less in salary, right?
In JR's opinion, as long as he can follow Qin Yue, how could Qin Yue possibly treat him badly?
In short, don't ask JR why he was willing to smoke, drink, and get a perm for Qin Yue.

The answer is that, for a long time, he has only ever had two suns in his heart.

One was Carmelo Anthony, who abandoned Wade in Denver to play brotherhood basketball with him.

The other one was Qin Yue, who would treat him to a lavish meal every time he and the Nuggets visited Oakland.

On July 19, the Warriors officially signed JR Smith from the free agent market with a three-year, $7 million contract.

How can one describe this incredibly cost-effective signing?
Simply put, even Qin Yue didn't expect that JR would give up high-salary offers from other teams just to play basketball with him.

In Qin Yue's eyes, this was very unreasonable.

But this is definitely very JR.

After all, if JR Smith had any brains at the same stage of his career, he wouldn't have waited until the 16/17 season to get his first big contract with an annual salary of over ten million dollars.

However, JR in this life has made a choice that could very well change the course of his life.

Because, just as JR thought.

After he showed absolute loyalty to the sun in his heart, how could Qin Yue possibly mistreat him?

Meanwhile, on the other side, James, who had already gone to Minnesota to report, encountered another Waterloo in his life.

On July 20, the US men's basketball team officially announced the roster for its new Redemption Team.

James, dubbed the "forsaken son of heaven," was conspicuously excluded from Coach K's 12-man roster.

The reason is that Durant stated very firmly within the US men's basketball team: "I don't want to play with that hypocrite. If you decide to select him, I will immediately withdraw from the US team."

Durant's statement became the final straw that broke James's back.

Because on the international stage, what merits does James possess that make him comparable to Durant?
It's worth noting that Durant had already proven his lethality on the international stage two years ago in Constantinople.

But what about James?
On the international stage, all that James left for American fans in this lifetime were those two games: one where he scored 55 points against Qin Yue in person, and another where he scored 58 points against Qin Yue by stepping on his head.

Therefore, Coach K, who had already been given an ultimatum by USA Basketball that he would be fired if he didn't win a championship, chose Durant over James almost without hesitation.

This also made James, who was originally trying to make a comeback through the London Olympics, feel the coldness again in that already boundless darkness.

There was even a moment when James himself thought he had truly become a forsaken child.

"Randy, do you think I still have a chance to get back in the spotlight?"

"Brown, you can't give up! You have to know that Michael Jordan also spent many years before he won his first championship trophy."

give up?

James will never choose to give up, no matter what.

Although some players are unwilling to give up their belief in fighting for every ball and their fighting spirit to win as soon as they step onto the field.

But James, unwilling to give up his hard-won fame and success, will try his best to climb out of the abyss even if he has fallen into an endless abyss.

……

In July, before the start of the Olympics, Chinese fans who were eagerly anticipating the London Olympics received both good and bad news.

The good news is that with Qin Yue and Yao Ming joining the team, the fully-staffed Chinese men's basketball team will once again make a run for the Olympic championship under the leadership of the "Qin-Yao" duo.

The bad news is that both Yao Ming and Qin Yue will officially retire from the national team after this Olympics.

"The Chinese team, which has dominated the past two major tournaments, will have its last performance at this Olympics." — ESPN Headline
"Time, don't rush me; what's meant to come, I won't push away. Time, don't rush me; what's gone, I'll still chase. When we have to say goodbye, the moment of parting is like the flowing water of time—who can withstand it? Who can sigh, what can be done?" —CCTV's special program "Basketball Park: Goodbye is Also Goodbye"

"I don't expect all fans to understand me and Yao Ming, but personally, I have no regrets about my national team career." Qin Yue said in an interview before the opening game of the London Olympics. "Now, I just want to focus on the next game and try to defend the title with the national team in London."

That night, there was no suspense whatsoever.

Led by Qin Yue and Yao Ming, the Chinese team defeated the Brazilian team 94-75 in the opening game.

It's worth mentioning that, compared to the match itself...
The Brazilian players who lined up to take photos with Qin Yue after the match were clearly more eye-catching.

GOAT will officially retire from international competitions after this Olympics.

Therefore, the Brazilian players all wanted to seize the opportunity to take a group photo with their opponents during their final dance on the GOAT international stage.

Of course, the most incredible player has to be Andre Varejao, Brazil's star center.

While others came to take photos, Varejao came to look for work.

"Give me a basic salary!" During the post-match photo session, Varejao said to Qin Yue, "I admit that I followed the wrong person back then, but now, I want to make up for that mistake."

……

PS: Update brought to you (Wow, what exactly is 'The Right Guy' Gordon trying to do in this year's playoffs? To be honest, this year's playoffs have actually been quite exciting).
(End of this chapter)