Chapter 414: The dust settles, return to Cleveland
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However, the Timberwolves have two important problems.
First, Anthony Towns has been selected to the All-NBA Team and All-Stars in the past three years, which does not meet the system's mission requirements. If Wang Feng wants to go to the Timberwolves, then Towns will inevitably be sent to the Lakers as a trading chip.
Only then.
Second, the Timberwolves are a team in the Western Conference. As we all know, the Western Conference is much more competitive than the Eastern Conference. If nothing else, there are several teams equipped with the Big Three, including the Big Three Warriors, the Big Three Clippers, and the Pelicans.
The Big Three of the Pelicans and more.
On the other hand, in the East, although the Nets, Bucks, 76ers and other giants are also very strong, they all have some weaknesses. The Nets have the time bomb of Irving, and the Bucks only have Antetokounmpo struggling to support them. 76
The partnership between Harden and Embiid still doesn't have any great hope, at least until Wang Feng travels through time again.
"Timberwolves and Cavaliers..."
Wang Feng was a little confused for a while.
…
The time soon came to June 30, and the NBA free market began.
The free market in 2021 has been somewhat mediocre.
The performance of each team is stable, and there is no news about any particularly big-name stars changing clubs. The only players whose contracts have expired are not very well-known.
Many media originally believed that there would be no particularly big news this summer. The only suspense might be how the Clippers would sell the All-Star player Russell Westbrook they had acquired.
The majestic regular season MVP, the historical triple-double king, has now become a negative asset. If you want to give it away, you will not get any benefits. The Clippers even have to supplement the draft picks before any team is willing to take it. No one is willing to take it.
.
But there's nothing we can do about it. Westbrook's salary is as high as 41 million U.S. dollars, and it will be a terrifying 44 million U.S. dollars next season. Any team that wants to accept it must consider it. It is not that easy to sell.
No one expected that after the free market opened in Gujing Mubo, a piece of news that shocked the entire alliance suddenly swept across the entire network.
According to an unknown person in the Lakers, the contract renewal process between the Lakers and Wang Feng is not going smoothly. It seems that Wang Feng does not want to stay with the Lakers, but wants to leave the team. As for the reason...it seems that it is because he feels that winning with the Lakers is too boring.
It's challenging.
Maybe this unknown person himself felt that Wang Feng's excuse was a bit too lame, so he had to use words like this to describe it.
But even so, fans who heard the news still felt that it was too fake. What kind of joke was this?
I originally thought this was just fake news. It is not uncommon for the league to break out some fake news during the offseason, but soon some people began to realize that something was wrong.
Something seems really wrong!
After the news broke, neither the Lakers nor Wang Feng's management team immediately came out to refute the rumors. Instead, they remained silent. In addition, in the past few days, most players whose contracts have expired have successively completed contract extensions with the team.
However, there has been no news about Wang Feng completing his contract renewal.
What the hell is going on? Is it true that Wang Feng is not going to renew his contract with the Lakers? Is it true that there was some conflict between Wang Feng and the Lakers during the contract renewal process?
Wang Feng's fans are a little better. They follow their stars wherever they go. The Lakers are just more prosperous in Los Angeles, but the die-hard fans of the Lakers are different. They immediately became anxious.
The Lakers have waited for so long and finally welcomed a phenomenal superstar, who is as dominant as Jordan or even better. Having won three consecutive championships, they are happily preparing to welcome the team's second one.
The arrival of the three consecutive championship dynasty, but now they are suddenly told that Wang Feng is leaving the team? Who is not in a hurry to replace him?
Although with the current strength of the Lakers' lineup, even if Wang Feng leaves the team, they will still be a very competitive team in the Western Conference with only Butler, Ingram, Kuzma and other players.
To win another championship is a bit of a fantasy.
What these fans don't know is that in the past few days, the Lakers management has contacted many teams and asked for quotations for trading Wang Feng, including the Timberwolves and Cavaliers, two teams that Wang Feng is more interested in.
team.
When they learned that there was actually a chance to get Wang Feng, these teams couldn't believe it, as if a pizza fell from the sky and hit them in the face.
Without any hesitation, all teams offered the highest offer they could match.
However, Lakers general manager Magic Johnson is not satisfied with these offers.
They have no choice but to trade the player who is leaving the team, but he is the strongest player in the league today. This is just like trading James in 2012 or Curry in 2016, and it is even more exaggerated.
If possible, he would like to completely wipe out the opponent's entire team before he would trade Wang Feng.
But he didn't have a choice. There were only a few teams that Wang Feng gave him as his intention. If it wasn't the team he wanted to go to, Wang Feng wouldn't agree to a sign-and-trade.
Wang Feng, whose contract has expired, has fully fulfilled his obligation to play for the Lakers and is a complete free agent. He can even sign with the team of his choice as a free agent.
Therefore, in this transaction, Wang Feng is the only one who has the initiative, and everything is decided by him.
In fact, Wang Feng has thought about joining the Cavaliers directly as a free agent.
The current Cavaliers fully meet the system's mission conditions. There is no All-Star or All-NBA player on the team, and there are young players with full potential such as Garland, Sexton, and Mobley.
After joining the Cavaliers as a free agent, he can use these potential players as bargaining chips or directly as targets for training and development, which will be more helpful for Wang Feng to achieve his mission goals.
But after thinking about it, Wang Feng felt that that was still a bit bad.
He has been very happy with the Lakers for the past four years. Although the Lakers management has been in constant internal strife, they have always given enough respect to Wang Feng, the core of the team, and basically met all Wang Feng's requirements, and did not hesitate to do so.
I made every effort to vigorously promote Wang Feng.
Although this is what the Lakers should do, Wang Feng's rise will definitely bring a lot of benefits to the Lakers. More than half of the advertisements on the court are bought by Chinese manufacturers at high prices, and various domestic commercial endorsements and broadcast agreements are all
The requests came one after another, and Wang Feng's requests were all considered from the perspective of winning for the team, such as trying to protect Butler, asking to draft Jordan Poole, etc. In the end, it was the Lakers who benefited.
But many things cannot be directly measured by stakes. Wang Feng is still very grateful to the Lakers for their support, which is why he made the decision to leave some wealth for the Lakers.
James' decision that year was actually a sign-and-trade approach. The Cavaliers received two first-round and two second-round picks from the Heat, as well as a $14.5 million trade exception and a first-round swap pick.
Although these five draft picks did not bring much benefit to the Cavaliers, they at least got something.
When James later returned to the Cavaliers from the Heat, and when he went from the Cavaliers to the Clippers, he joined as a free agent. Neither the Heat nor the Cavaliers received any benefits, but this is understandable.
James brought two championship trophies to the Heat, and also brought the Cavaliers the first championship in team history. It can be said that James has made great achievements, and even leaving when his contract expires is considered relatively honorable.
From this point of view, it is completely understandable why Oklahoma City Thunder fans hate Durant so much.
When Durant left the Thunder to join the Warriors, he joined directly as a free agent and left nothing for the Thunder. He looked like a ruthless scumbag.
Wang Feng has brought three championships to the Lakers. Logically speaking, it would be completely reasonable if he left directly. Even powerful players in the team such as Butler are his legacy. As long as the current lineup can be maintained, it will be a good thing for the next few years.
It will still be one of the strongest players in the Western Conference this year.
In the end, he chose the sign-and-trade method to leave more wealth for the Lakers, even as a thank you to the Lakers for their support, help and tolerance for him over the past four years.
…
As time went by, the news that Wang Feng was leaving the team began to become more and more intense, and even various weird versions began to be spread out.
Some people speculate that there must be an irreconcilable conflict between Wang Feng and the Lakers. Perhaps other Lakers players were dissatisfied with Wang Feng occupying a large amount of the ball and protested collectively.
Some people also speculated that when Wang Feng renewed his contract with the Lakers, the Lions asked for the right to veto trades and even the right to decide on the team's lineup, which led to the breakdown of negotiations between the two parties.
Looking at these news, not to mention Wang Feng, even everyone in the Lakers management found it very funny.
If the problem is really like what these said, it would be easier to handle. The Lakers have already promised important rights such as trade veto rights, and no one among the Lakers players is dissatisfied with Wang Feng.
The maximum-salary contract for Jimmy Butler, the team's second-in-command, was forced by Wang Feng to sign with the Lakers by threatening to leave the team. Ingram, the No. 3 player, was almost traded away from the Lakers in exchange for a top star, also at Wang Feng's request.
Those who stayed, including Lopez, Kuzma, Jordan Poole and others, were able to get the opportunity to play because Wang Feng's suggestions to the head coach were adopted.
The players in the Lakers who are currently worth a little have all received favors from Wang Feng. It’s too late to be grateful. Who would be dissatisfied with Wang Feng?
This is the most uncomfortable point. No one believes that Wang Feng is really idle. He feels that winning with the Lakers is too easy. He wants to add some challenges to himself before choosing to leave the team. But this is the most ridiculous reason.
is the real reason.
While there are rumors spreading all over the city, the Lakers' trade negotiations have also reached a deadlock.
After some screening and deliberation, Johnson finally decided on Wang Feng's two favorite teams, the Timberwolves and the Cavaliers, because the bargaining chips these two teams could offer excited his heart the most.
The Cavaliers made a direct and unreserved attack, willing to send Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, plus three first-round picks in 2023, 2025, and 2027.
Darius Garland is the fifth overall pick in 2019. He plays as a guard. He performed very well in the regular season this season, averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game. He has excellent physical fitness and great potential. He is very hopeful to become a player in the future.
All-star level guard.
Colin Sexton is also a defender, the eighth overall pick in 2018. This season he averaged 24.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. This is the second consecutive season in which he averaged 20+ points per game in the regular season.
Although the positions of Garland and Sexton slightly overlap, they are both combo guards. They also started at the same time for the Cavaliers this season, and they work well together.
Moreover, in addition to two emerging players with All-Star potential, the Cavaliers also gave out three first-round picks, which can be said to be full of sincerity.
In contrast, the Timberwolves' bargaining chip made Johnson a little upset.
The Timberwolves are willing to send Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in 2014, Malik Beasley, and two future first-round picks.
Compared with the two emerging players of the Cavaliers, Wiggins is the No. 1 pick, but he is already 26 years old. Although he has averaged 20+ points per game in his career, his upper limit can be seen at a glance.
As for Beasley, as the 19th pick in 2016, he did not show much value at all in the four years with the Nuggets. Instead, after being traded to the Timberwolves in the 19-20 season, he briefly performed brilliantly, so he was kept.
This season he averaged 16 points and 5 rebounds per game, which is a remarkable performance.
Johnson knew very well why the Timberwolves were only willing to offer such chips when facing Wang Feng, the league's number one player.
If it is certain that Wang Feng can be kept, the Timberwolves will never let him go. Whether it is Towns or Edwards, they can take it if they want it, without any problem.
However, although Wang Feng is prepared to sign first and then trade, he is not prepared to sign a five-year long-term contract. He will only sign a three-year contract extension, and the third year is still a player option.
The number of years is too short. Anyone can see that after two years, it is difficult to say whether Wang Feng will be able to retain the player option. In order to get the first player in the league, he has to pay too many chips for two years. This requires a careful weighing of the pros and cons.
.
Of course, the Timberwolves' management also covets Wang Feng, but they are also quite confident in the depth and potential of the Timberwolves' current lineup. With the partnership of Towns and Edwards supplemented by Wiggins and others, the Timberwolves are absolutely capable of returning to the season.
The post-game stage.
But if this lineup is completely dismantled in exchange for Wang Feng, and Wang Feng leaves after two years, leaving only a mess, the Timberwolves will be completely destitute, with no potential players, and all draft picks will be sent to the Lakers.
It's really over.
The Lakers were also helpless about this. The Timberwolves' move was a sure sign that the Lakers would not be able to retain Wang Feng, so they deliberately lowered the price in order to obtain Wang Feng at the lowest price.
As for the reason why Wang Feng of the Lakers considered the Timberwolves, in fact, the main reason was that the Timberwolves had a winning rate of less than 30% last season and were one of the worst teams in the league. His only requirement for joining the Timberwolves was that he had the only talent in the team.
To the Timberwolves general manager, the argument that Towns, an All-Star player, cannot continue to stay on the team is a clumsy joke made up by Johnson to get Towns.
He was not even willing to go to Wang Feng or his agent Bill Duffy to verify this, because it was ridiculous to talk about this reason. He felt that if he really went to Wang Feng because of this, he would be laughed at.
ignorance.
The importance of communication is vividly reflected here.
The Lakers hope that the Timberwolves can provide Towns + Edwards with bargaining chips. If the Timberwolves are willing, the Lakers are willing to hook up with Kuzma and Poole, and at the same time reduce their demand for first-round picks as appropriate.
But in the eyes of the Timberwolves, this request was too much to ask. Coupled with the issue of Wang Feng's contract length, they refused without hesitation and firmly stated that Towns is not for sale to the Timberwolves, and it is impossible to trade him away from the team for anyone.
.
Of course, if Wang Feng is willing to sign a five-year contract, the Timberwolves can consider trading Towns + Wiggins plus three or four first-round picks.
Hearing the Timberwolves' reply, Johnson couldn't help but sneer.
"Haha, not for sale?"
Regardless, although the Timberwolves have many high-quality chips, there are also certain hidden dangers, and that is Jimmy Butler.
Before coming to the Lakers, Butler had a very unhappy relationship with the Timberwolves, the team he was playing for at the time. In an interview, Butler even publicly criticized Towns and Wiggins, the two most promising young people on the team, saying that
Famous sayings passed down from generation to generation.
The conflict between the two sides has reached an irreconcilable point. It has just been less than three years, and if Butler and Towns Wiggins are paired together on the same team, can a good chemical reaction be produced?
Without too much entanglement or hesitation, Johnson picked up the phone again and dialed, saying: "Tell Altman that if he is willing to add an extra first-rounder to the transaction chips, Wang Feng will belong to the Cavaliers."
…
On July 5, when the outside world was still discussing the news of Wang Feng leaving the team and was very curious about which team Wang Feng would go to, the Lakers finally announced the news. After some weighing and deliberation, the team decided to make a decision with Wang Feng.
Wang Feng reached an agreement to send Wang Feng to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade manner.
This deal involves five players. The Lakers sent star Wang Feng and guard Jordan Poole, and the Cavaliers exchanged Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and this year's third overall pick.
Draft three players in Evan Mobley, plus four first-round picks in 2022, 2024, 2026 and 2028.
Once this news was announced, the entire alliance was shocked!
Wang Feng actually left, and the Cavaliers he chose as his next employer was one of the bottom teams in the league.
What makes many fans even more excited is that Wang Feng once played for the Cavaliers and assisted James in winning the first NBA championship trophy in team history.
After that season, the Cavaliers desperately wanted to renew Wang Feng's contract, but Wang Feng refused. After the latter switched to the Lakers, he won three more championships with the Lakers in four years, but the Cavaliers encountered Irving and James leaving the team one after another.
, the championship team fell apart in an instant.
Many people still remember the reasons why Wang Feng left the Cavaliers. He wanted to serve as the core of a team to challenge and surpass James, instead of playing a Pippen-like role next to James.
At that time, many people laughed at Wang Feng for overestimating his abilities and actually trying to challenge James, who was ranked in the top five or even the top three in the history of the league. It is obvious that winning more honors with James is the easier shortcut.
Who would have thought that four years later, Wang Feng would return to the Cavaliers with a three-peat dynasty, three Finals Finals MVPs, four regular-season MVPs, and four scoring titles, all in just four years.
And this is precisely what surprises people the most.
What is Wang Feng trying to do? Targeted poverty alleviation?
The situation of the Cavaliers is clear to anyone who watches football.
The Cavaliers' regular season record in the 20-21 season was only 24 wins and 58 losses, ranking among the bottom three in the Eastern Conference. They won the third overall pick. Even though there are emerging players such as Sexton and Garland on the team,
Still a completely bad team.
The team's only All-Star player, Kevin Love, has long lost his courage. He was limited by injuries last season and only played in less than 30 games. He averaged only 12 points and 7 rebounds per game, occupying 3,000 empty seats.
Wan of salary space, but unable to make any contribution to the team.
In order to get Wang Feng, the Cavaliers traded away almost all the potential young players and draft picks in the team. After Wang Feng came to the Cavaliers, the only one left in the team was the aging and injured Kay.
Vin Love and a bunch of role players who rotated in and came off the bench.
Someone immediately gloated: "Wang Feng is in trouble this time. Let him show off again. He still thinks it is too easy to win with the Lakers and wants to increase the difficulty? Now, just give him a hell difficulty. Next
It would be better for him to first consider how to avoid competing for the No. 1 pick this season... Oops, I forgot, next year's first-round pick was also traded to the Lakers. Maybe the Lakers can still receive it during the playoffs.
Good news about the No. 1 pick."
No matter how strong a person is, it is impossible to really go 1v5 on the basketball court, at least from the normal perspective of ordinary people. But obviously Wang Feng cannot be included in the ranks of ordinary people, and he is not indifferent.
No preparation.
Jordan Poole, who was traded to the Cavaliers with him, is one of the insurance policies he left behind.
Poole performed very well for the Lakers this season, especially during the regular season when Butler was injured. He started in place of Butler and his performance impressed everyone. During the regular season, he averaged 14+2+2 points per game.
The data completely exceeded the expectations of general manager Johnson and head coach Walton.
But even so, they did not pay special attention to Poole, especially after Butler returned in the playoffs, Poole returned to the bench again.
They would never have imagined that Poole would usher in a career breakout period next season. In another time and space, he could steadily contribute 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists while playing 30 minutes per game for the Warriors. When Clay Thompson was injured,
Before his return, he was the Warriors' important second-leading scorer, helping the Warriors win the 2021-22 season championship and winning the Best Sixth Man Award.
Poole has a low profile and is still on a rookie contract. It is exactly the player that Wang Feng needs very much who can complete the system upgrade task well, so he specifically requested to add Poole in the transaction.
Lakers general manager Johnson didn't think much about this and simply agreed.
Being able to exchange Sexton, Garland and Mobley for three potential players from the Cavaliers in one go, Poole as an additional player is naturally dispensable. Moreover, Sexton and Garland are both guards. The Lakers
There is also Butler, and even if Poole is retained, he will not have much playing time.
This is just the first step in Wang Feng's mission process.
After reaching the trade agreement, Wang Feng contacted the general manager of the Cavaliers immediately.
One day later, the Cavaliers announced three consecutive signings.
Signed free agent Otto Porter to a two-year, $5 million contract.
Signed free agent Gary Payton II to a 2-year, $3.5 million contract.
Signed free agent Malik Monk for 2 years and $3.5 million.
The three signings have left many people confused. What is this? Is it a reinforcement of the team to welcome Wang Feng's arrival? But this reinforcement is a bit too watery, just signing three low-paid roles.
Can the rotation of players cope?
Wang Feng, a six-time NBA champion and four-time regular season MVP, just wants to show off like this?
The Cavaliers just laid off former All-Star center Andre Drummond not long ago, freeing up a lot of salary space. Currently, the only player on the team whose salary exceeds 10 million is Kevin Love's 31.3 million.
US dollars, even including Wang Feng acquired from the Lakers, Wang Feng's three-year contract extension averages only US$40 million per year.
The Cavaliers currently have nearly 20 million in salary space before the salary cap. If they clean up the players in the team, they are fully capable of signing another All-Star level player.
In this way, at least the Cavaliers can still have some competitiveness with two stars, and there should be no problem in reaching the playoffs in the less competitive Eastern Conference.
But the Cavaliers just signed three low-paid rotation players on a small scale. What's the fuss about?
Of course they didn't know that the three players signed by the Cavaliers were all under Wang Feng's instruction.
Although as mentioned before, Wang Feng has reached the limit of the time traveler's foresight, but he still grasped the last tail of the time traveler's advantage, allowing the Cavaliers to intercept some low-paid and cost-effective players who performed well in the 21-22 season in advance.
.
Otto Porter, in another time and space, averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Warriors in the 21-22 season. He was one of the important role players for the Warriors to win the championship. He was both offensive and defensive, high quality and low price.
Gary Payton II, also known as Payton Jr., is also a championship member of the Warriors. He averages 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He is a very fierce defensive guard.
Malik Monk played for the Lakers in the 21-22 season in another time and space. He is the only stable three-point shooting spot for the Lakers who have been in a bad situation recently. He averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and averaged 10 hits per game.
2.3 three-pointers, with a three-point shooting rate of 39%.
Although these three players are only role rotation players, and the 21-22 season has not yet started, the external evaluation is still lower, but there is no doubt that they are very outstanding players, and it is Wang Feng who builds the Cavaliers' new player system.