Cleveland, in the Cavaliers general manager's office.
Tyronn Lu took a sip of coffee with a smile on his face.
"David, LeBron called me two days ago. Have you seen Wang Feng's performance in the Olympics?"
David Griffin is the general manager of the Cavaliers.
He looked at Tyronn Lue, with no obvious expression on his face, and said calmly, "I saw it."
Wang Feng's performance in the Olympics, especially in the finals, amazed the world.
Facing many superstar-level players in the NBA, Wang Feng's performance was not inferior at all, or even better.
Throughout the game, those responsible for guarding Wang Feng were Draymond Green, who was on the league's best defensive team last season, and Paul George, who was on the second team.
However, under the full coverage of two top perimeter defenders, Wang Feng scored 39 points.
Not only that, Wang Feng's performance on the defensive end was also very impressive. Kevin Durant only scored 9 points under his defense.
Of course, this also has a tactical effect on the American team deliberately avoiding Wang Feng, the strongest defensive point of the Chinese men's basketball team. After all, the American team has more than one player with strong scoring ability, Durant. There is no need to fight with Wang Feng, but even so
, Wang Feng’s intimidating power on the outside defensive end can also be seen as average.
No one could have imagined that Wang Feng could be so strong, even facing all the top NBA stars!
Throughout the entire Olympic Games, many of Wang Feng's skills were eye-catching.
Excellent breakthrough ability, stable mid-range shooting, and an ultra-long-distance three-point shooting range that is comparable to Curry.
There is no doubt that the Cavaliers have found a treasure!
Being able to sign such a player for 18 million is really a huge profit!
The only pity is that the Cavaliers only signed Wang Feng for one year.
It is completely conceivable that as long as Wang Feng can exert more than 80% of the ability he showed in the Olympics in the following season, after the season is over, many teams will definitely join the fight for Wang Feng!
But for David Griffin, this is really not particularly good news.
In fact, he, the general manager, basically has no real power except for the daily management of the team.
The signing and trading of team players are not his decision, at least that has been the case since LeBron James returned to Cleveland.
Trade Wiggins and overdraft draft picks to acquire Love from the Timberwolves.
Give Tristan Thompson a high salary that is completely inappropriate for his abilities, and then trade him at a loss a few months ago to free up cap space and sign a player who can only play for the team for one year.
James completed all these operations through direct communication with team owner Daniel Gilbert. He did not go through him as the general manager at all. Faced with the team owner's decision, all he could do was continue to execute it.
"Do you really think that with Wang Feng on the team, the team can compete with the Warriors?"
David Griffin looked at Tyronn Lue, who was sitting in front of him happily drinking coffee, and asked.
"This summer, we lost a lot of players. Mozgov and Dellavedova were poached by other teams with high salaries. Tristan and Yin Man were also traded away from the team. The substitute lineup is seriously vacant. At the same time, there are still many players in the starting lineup.
There is a JR. Smith contract extension issue that has been delayed..."
"You must have heard about it, right? That guy wants a high-paying contract extension, no less than 15 million a year! Are you kidding me?"
Tyronn Lue looked at David Griffin and said, "You came to me today and that's what you wanted to say. Indeed, JR's asking price is a bit too high. I will find a way to find LeBron and him."
Let’s talk about it, as for the substitute lineup, there should be many veterans who hope to join the team with a minimum salary to win a championship ring, right?”
"No..." David Griffin shook his head, "Compared to the Cavaliers, they are more inclined to contact the Warriors. Which of the two teams is more likely to win the championship is obvious."
"Tyron, it has been two seasons since LeBron returned to the team, and we have also failed on the stage of the Finals for two consecutive seasons. In the past two years, the team has been paying high luxury taxes and building the most luxurious team in the league.
With the lineup, have you ever thought about what will happen if the team fails again?"
The smile on Tyronn Lue's face gradually disappeared.
They have no way out. If they continue to fail, both Griffin as the general manager and himself as the head coach will probably be blamed. Even James...
This season, they can only win but not lose!
…
As the time comes to the end of September, all NBA teams have begun to recall players from vacation one after another and begin recovery training in preparation for the preseason games in early October.
However, until this time, the Cavaliers' contract renewal work has still not been completed.
JR Smith's contract extension has completely fallen into a stalemate, and the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement on the contract extension amount.
Not only that, the team is also extremely slow in recruiting role players. It only spent a low salary of 1.55 million a year to renew the contract of James Jones, who can hardly play anymore, and he has performed well in the playoffs.
Chad Jefferson signed a two-year, $5 million contract extension.
If they hadn't successfully signed Wang Feng, this summer signing would undoubtedly be the worst among the thirty teams.
When Wang Feng arrived at the team to report, there were only 10 players in the team including him, and they couldn't even make up the 12-man roster for the new season.
"Is it so miserable..."
Wang Feng was a little speechless, but he also knew that he was half responsible for this.
If it weren't for getting him, the Cavaliers would not have traded Tristan Thompson and Yinman Shumpert, and would have had enough salary space to negotiate a contract extension with J.R. Smith. All three players would have stayed on the team.
Under this situation, the Cavaliers' roster should have 12 talents, and they can sign a few more players with minimum salaries.
But in Wang Feng's opinion, this is actually better.
Tristan Thompson is overpaid and incompetent, and Yinman Shumpert is no different than worthless.
As for J.R. Smith, Wang Feng feels that if he is not with the Cavaliers, it will be better for both parties... No, maybe it is not good for Smith himself. After all, who on other teams would be stupid enough to force this guy to get a four-year, 57 million contract?
contract?
In Wang Feng's impression, JR Smith, who signed a big contract, averaged a sharp drop from 12.4 points last season to 8.6 points, and his shooting percentage dropped from 41% to 34.6%. In the future, it will be performed on the stage of the finals.
The shocking scene of wisdom made James furious and incompetent.
It's a pity that Wang Feng, who has just arrived, can't have any say in the team's management decisions, especially when this senior undercover agent is still the team's king James.