As a traditional giant, the last time the Los Angeles Lakers won a championship was seven years ago, in the 2009-10 season.
At that time, Kobe was still in his prime and had just won two consecutive championships. People thought that Kobe could win the sixth championship in his career next season and create two dynasties like Jordan.
However, since then, the Lakers have gradually declined.
In 2011, they were swept by the Mavericks 0:4 in the second round of the Western Conference, and in 2012, they were beaten to death by the Thunder. In 2013, they formed the F4 team, but the result was even more unsatisfactory. Kobe tried his best and forced himself to win.
He dragged the Lakers into the playoffs, but he suffered injuries as a result. The Lakers were swept out by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
Since then, the Lakers have never made it to the playoffs and have been at the bottom of the league every year for four seasons.
Last season, the 16-17 season, was the first season after Kobe Bryant retired. The Lakers, led by a group of young players, had a record of 26 wins and 56 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the league and winning the second pick.
This is the Lakers' second second pick. Last year, they used the second pick to select forward Brandon Ingram, whose draft template was Durant.
With the second pick this season, they selected point guard Lonzo Ball.
The Lakers, whose entire team is basically composed of young people, could actually acquire Wang Feng. This is something that most teams in the league did not expect.
Most people believe that Wang Feng, who has won three championships, should choose a competitive team and continue to pursue the championship. What can he do now when he joins the Lakers? Be a nanny? The problem is that Wang Feng is just an entry-level player.
A player who has been in the league for three years, apart from his rich experience in the playoffs, he is not much different from a group of young players on the Lakers.
"It seems that Wang Feng has been seduced by the glamorous life in the metropolis. The Lakers are now one of the worst teams in the league. They have a young lineup and a chaotic management. They are basically a mess. The only thing that is tempting is Los Angeles.
This city of angels.”
"Originally, I was expecting Wang Feng to join a strong team like the Celtics, Spurs, and Trail Blazers and continue to compete with the Warriors. It seems that Wang Feng, who has already won three championship rings, has fallen into disgrace. Compared with his achievements,
, prefer to receive better treatment.”
"Really? On the contrary, I see ambition in Wang Feng's choice. I think he chose the Lakers not just because the Lakers are located in a big city like Los Angeles, but also because the Lakers are a young team.
And there has been no leader since Kobe retired."
"Wang Feng was only the second or third player on the team whether he was in the Warriors or the Cavaliers. The Warriors have Curry and the Cavaliers have James. I think he is tired of playing the second role. He wants to be the No. 1 player."
The leader of a team, as the first core to fight for the team, if considered from this perspective, the Lakers are indeed very suitable for Wang Feng."
There were mixed reactions to Wang Feng's selection in the league, but it did spark heated discussions.
Some people did guess correctly what Wang Feng was thinking...part of his thoughts.
The reason why Wang Feng chose the Lakers is indeed because the Lakers are full of rookies and young players, and he can easily control the situation.
In the 15-16 season, Wang Feng, who was still playing for the Warriors, had received an invitation from Kobe Bryant, hoping that he could join the Lakers after his contract with the Warriors expired.
Wang Feng chose to decline after careful consideration.
There were many reasons at the time. On the one hand, the Lakers themselves could not protect themselves. The team management was in a state of chaos due to overt and covert infighting. The players were not interested in playing, and the record was terrible.
On the other hand, Wang Feng only wants to sign a one-year short-term contract first to further increase his value before choosing to renew the long-term contract.
A year later, the time has finally arrived.
Being selected to the All-NBA Team for two consecutive years allowed Wang Feng to obtain the Rose clause, which allows him to sign a four-year super maximum salary of 118 million.
After a year of turmoil, the Lakers finally have some clues.
Jeanie Buss temporarily won the power struggle. She fired General Manager Kupchak, who was Jim Buss's staff, and supported Magic Johnson to take over, taking complete control of the team's affairs.
If there is no Wang Feng, Magic Johnson will sign James for the Lakers next season, the 18-19 season, and successfully acquire Anthony Davis through a trade in the 19-20 season to form a dual-core lineup and successfully win the championship that season.
.
It can be said that the general direction and management of the Lakers in recent years have been very reasonable.
Of course, the Lakers' struggles in the following two seasons after winning the championship proved that the internal strife in the Buss family is far from over.
The team management's struggle for power has nothing to do with Wang Feng, and he doesn't bother to care.
He only knows that with the financial resources and abilities of the Lakers, they are fully capable of rushing to the championship in the next few years, and now is the time when everything is waiting for improvement and a star is needed to step forward.
Wang Feng will now take on the role of this hero who was born out of nowhere!
This was supposed to be something James would do a year later, but Wang Feng took it away first.
This can be regarded as taking someone else's path and leaving others with nowhere to go!
…
A few days later, Wang Feng flew to Los Angeles to officially complete the signing ceremony with the Lakers and attend a press conference.
The Lakers showed enough respect for Wang Feng's joining. Team general manager Magic Johnson and team star Kobe Bryant all attended and praised Wang Feng.
"Everyone knows that I tried to recruit Wang Feng in the summer of 2016, but he rejected him." Kobe smiled and told reporters: "I didn't expect that a year later, he would come back here again, which made me very happy.
Los Angeles has ushered in a new legend, Wang Feng is a very good player, impeccable in offense and defense, I see the shadow of his youth in him, and I also believe that he will become the new flag of the Lakers!"
Magic Johnson expressed confidently. "Signing Wang Feng is just the first step in the Lakers' re-emergence. We will continue to strengthen the team through transactions and signings, and at the same time vigorously cultivate the team's rookies. In the next five years, we will
The goal is the championship trophy!”
Facing the reporter's interview, Wang Feng had a smile on his face.
"For me, this is a new stage and a new beginning. Without players like Stephen and LeBron around me, I can only rely on myself. It should be very difficult on the court. This is a challenge for me.
, but I will bravely accept this challenge and overcome it!"
Wang Feng's speech did not shy away from anything. The reporter with a keen sense of smell immediately caught some meaning from it and couldn't help but secretly smack his tongue.
Wang Feng is preparing to become the boss of the Lakers, but that's right, the Lakers currently have a group of young players, and Wang Feng's personal honors are enough to keep them in check.
Not to mention personal honors, just looking at salary, the gap can tell the difference.
Wang Feng, who signed a contract with the Lakers for 118 million yuan in four years, had an annual salary of 27 million yuan in the first year! It is higher than the annual salary of all the young players of the Lakers combined!