Champion, please stay!

Chapter 274, Section 272: The Craziest Day in the Free Market

At noon, Yi Shui arrived at the first stop of the charity event – ​​her high school alma mater.

There are three reasons why this year's charity events were all held in various colleges and universities in my hometown county, city, and province.

One was Yi Shui's own will.

Another thing is to help his parents with their work. His parents have been teachers for over 20 years and don't want to work around him to make money like Yao Ming's parents. They want to continue pursuing their passion for education, so he definitely has to help them.

Another point, raised by his domestic agent Shen Zhiyu, was something Yi Shui hadn't considered before—to contribute to his hometown and maintain good relations with it. If he could achieve enough success in the sports world, as long as he didn't make any fundamental mistakes, the local government would always back him up.

After the 2008 Olympics, the school and the county education bureau had been waiting for this day for almost two years. After the date was set in February, they began to make preparations. The biggest move was to demolish and renovate the old basketball court that had been in use for decades and add tiered seating.

The school invited top students from each class, sports students, school leaders, leaders from the county and city education bureaus, and leaders, teachers and students from township schools in the county. There weren't many people invited, and there were enough seats in the tiered seating area, but the invited media had nowhere to put their things and had to carry their equipment the whole time.

Because the basketball court was surrounded by layers upon layers of people, and even the wire mesh of the large playground further away was covered with students, the school had to call all the teachers who hadn't been called before to maintain order. Yi Shui also helped by holding a microphone and shouting in his hometown dialect to maintain order...

Following the pre-prepared script, Yi Shui said some polite words and then began to instruct the junior athletes on shooting, dribbling, and so on. In fact, none of the junior athletes in their school pursued basketball, and the junior athletes on the school team mostly pursued track and field.

But every junior student was very excited and took the guidance very seriously.

It's not that they don't want to pursue basketball, but height alone excludes the vast majority of students from the path of becoming professional basketball players. This isn't just the case in China; it's the same in the United States. The NCAA has many players who are over 1.8 meters tall and are exceptionally good at basketball. Many of these players become top players in their junior and senior years, or even the best players in a top league. However, the number of players under 190 centimeters tall who are selected by the NBA each year is extremely limited.

However, this doesn't stop the kids from enjoying playing basketball.

After giving instructions for a while, Yi Shui responded to the cheers from the audience by demonstrating dunking and shooting.

Dunking is easy for him. With a vertical leap of 92, he can easily do crossovers and 360-degree spins.

When it came to shooting, he was extremely focused... The system even activated 'Snake Heart' mode for him, making the surrounding sounds quieter in his world. Starting from a 45-degree angle on the left, he moved around the three-point line to the right, and then to the right sideline, making 10 consecutive shots!

After the performance, the host came up and complimented, "You are really amazing, Emperor. You can still make every shot calmly from so far away as the three-point line. You deserve to be called the three-time MVP of the NBA."

With AMVP, MVP, and FMVP awards, Yi Shui is the fourth player in NBA history to win all three MVP awards in a single season.

The first player in history to win all three MVP awards was Knicks legend Willis Reed in the 1969-1970 season; the second was Michael Jordan, who won them twice in the 95-96 and 97-98 seasons; the most recent was Shaquille O'Neal in the 99-00 season, who won the MVP and Finals MVP, while sharing the All-Star MVP with Tim Duncan.

Curry also lamented that Yi Shui should have won the Rookie of the Year MVP award.

Yi Shui replied with a fearful look, "No, I'm not calm at all. I'm terrified. I'm really afraid of not making the shot in front of the kids. I got up very early today and practiced shooting for two hours before I dared to come to school."

I know what my younger schoolmates want to see is me making every shot in the finals. I don't want to embarrass them in front of them, and I'm afraid of disappointing them. I made all 10 of my shots just now, and I feel even happier than if I had won the championship..."

After the interactive session, Yi Shui and the various leaders present exchanged pleasantries and took photos together, thus concluding the first event of the year.

But the work for the day wasn't over yet. Yi Shui went to the podium on the playground, which was marked with the school's name, to give an interview. This was his first public appearance after the championship parade in New York, and many reporters from both China and abroad came to cover the event.

The first question asked by Amy's reporter was about Dolan, Pat Riley, and Wade.

Dolan revealed the information on the evening of the 5th (US time), and it was exposed during the day on the 6th. When Yi Shui received the news this morning, Dolan had already publicly apologized, saying that he was drunk and careless, and should not have revealed the unfinished deal.

Yi Shui saw the boss's interview video and thought, "That was so careless!"

He didn't care whether others believed him or not; he believed it anyway.

As for the feud between the fortune teller and Dolan, that happened many years ago. Is Dolan such a vengeful person? Yes, but putting aside the facts, it's possible that Dolan really didn't do it on purpose.

In short, you have to give the boss face.

Yi Shui replied, "I haven't even entered the NBA yet, and Pat Riley already thinks so highly of me, using me as a bargaining chip in the trade for Dwyane. I am very honored to be compared to Dwyane. He and Kobe are the two best shooting guards in the world, and they are both targets I want to surpass. I am working hard for that."

...

This charity event at the No. 3 Middle School in the county was a great success for Yishui, the school, and the education bureau.

Yi Shui didn't spend any money, but won the favor of his hometown government. The donations to the school and the bonuses for the younger students who made the baskets at the event were also donated by the brands he endorsed in his name and the brands. His parents' careers in the education industry also benefited as a result.

To his surprise, his response to the topic of Wade didn't generate much of a response; it was too official and polite. However, the words he said after performing his dunks and shots went viral both in China and in the US.

In their early years, it was standard practice for star players to take interactions with fans seriously.

Jordan, Kobe, and even the playful Shaq all take fan events, especially those related to basketball, very seriously and do their best, setting a good example.

However, in recent years, this trend has become increasingly bad, to the point that there have been cases where star players have their videotapes confiscated for poor performances on the field...

Starting from his alma mater, Yi Shui embarked on a two-week domestic public welfare and business campaign.

In the NBA, the news of Wade's potential acquisition of the 08 number one draft pick seemed to ignite a fuse, quickly making the free agency market lively.

The first wave of trades that generated significant buzz domestically came from the Timberwolves, Jazz, and Nets.

The Jazz traded Kosta Koufos, Anthony Tolliver, and two future top-three protected draft picks to the Timberwolves in exchange for Al Jefferson.

After trading Al Jefferson for two rookie-contracted big men and two first-round picks, the Timberwolves continued their trades, sending Mayo to the Nets in exchange for Yi Jianlian and Courtney Lee.

When Yi Shui saw these two transactions, he saw three completely different ways of building a team.

The Brooklyn Nets' newly appointed general manager, Billy King, can be summed up in one word—gambling.

I'm betting that Mayo can make it big on another team and form a three-man duo with Lopez and Harris.

The Jazz – pragmatic.

After giving up Boozer's Bird rights and trading Deron Williams, coupled with the expiration of some contracts, the Jazz have freed up more than the salary cap space needed for a veteran's maximum contract.

However, instead of focusing on those big-name free agents, they made a decisive move and selected Al Jefferson, who was a good fit for Sloan, which showed great shrewdness.

The Timberwolves' path... Yi Shui feels it's very similar to theirs.

Evans, with his dominant style of play, was paired with a group of role players.

The team already has Nikola Pekovic and Jordan Hill, along with newly acquired players Yi Jianlian, Koufos, and Anthony Tolliver. They now have athletic forwards, shooting forwards, and defensive centers.

With Wayne Ellington, Luke Ridnour, Wesley Johnson, and Courtney Lee, the lineup also boasts a very good roster of role players at positions 1 through 3.

After trading away Al Jefferson, the Timberwolves have $2000 million in salary cap space... Yi Shui saw related rumors that the Timberwolves are pursuing top free agents such as Yao Ming, Stoudemire, Bosh, Boozer, and Joe Johnson.

This is somewhat absurd. According to reports, apart from Boozer accepting a tryout with the Timberwolves, no other big-name free agents have signed with them.

However, Yi Shui's own side was also a bit upset. They had several big-name free agents come for tryouts, and their target players had also come, but they weren't that interested in signing them. Surprisingly, their only target player wasn't very interested in them.

Walsh has already started working on the second option, which is a maximum salary contract. If it's a player they don't want, they can't just give them away even if they miss out. They must stick to their goals and not waver.

As time went by, NBA teams made their moves and acquired the players they wanted.

雄鹿队还在继续招兵买马，用年均700万、4年2800万肥约，签下了02届老将4号秀德鲁-古登。

Following that, the Bucks traded center Gadzuric and guard Charlie Bell to the Warriors in exchange for small forward Corey Maggette, who averaged 20.8 points per game last season.

The Bucks' two moves have won unanimous praise—they never miss an opportunity to strengthen their roster.

Conversely, Jordan was heavily criticized after the free agency period began.

Al Harrington's demand for a mid-level exception salary was rejected, and he joined the Denver Nuggets with a 3-year full mid-level exception contract.

Felton's qualifying contract expired, and he transferred to the Pacers for 2 years and $1500 million.

They also sent Gerald Wallace to the Warriors in exchange for Radmanovic's expiring contract.

The core roster that made it to the playoffs last season is now down to just Diaw, Kaman, and Stephen Jackson.

The only benefit of this move for the Bobcats is that their salaries have been reduced below the salary cap.

According to reports, the head of Time Warner was so angry that he smashed his office. Last season, he had just signed a 5-year, $2500 million broadcasting deal with the Bobcats, and Jordan took the money and dismantled the team to save on salary.

On July 15th, Yi Shui woke up in his hotel in Shanghai, picked up his phone from the bedside table, and saw a new email. He opened it and saw that it wasn't good news, but he wasn't particularly disappointed. Half a month had passed and the other party still hadn't agreed, so he was already mentally prepared.

He opened his contacts, found the number, and dialed it.

After the call connected, he glanced at the already bright sky outside the window and said, "Good evening, sorry to bother you, this is Brooke..."

...

On the morning of July 15th, US time, the Bulls held a press conference to officially announce two major trades!

With the contracts of players like Tracy McGrady, Tim Thomas, and Hakeem Warrick expiring and the Bulls relinquishing their Bird rights, the Bulls' total salary cap dropped to $3500 million, leaving them with just over $2400 million in cap space.

They traded Eric Gordon and a 2011 first-round draft pick to acquire Dwyane Wade, signing him to a seven-year, full max contract with a starting salary of $1791 million and a total of $1.28 million over four and two years.

送出罗尔-邓、2013年首轮选秀权，签换得到克里斯-波什，签下一份起薪1630万、4+2合计1.18亿的合同，高于基础顶薪、低于7年老将全额顶薪。

Harden, Wade, Bosh, and Noah appeared together at the press conference.

In an interview, Wade responded to the rumor: "Yes, I betrayed the team. I was willing to sacrifice for the Heat. I could take a pay cut to re-sign, like Tim did. I could also support others, like when Shaq came to our team. If Big came to our team, I would be willing to be his second option and pass him the ball. But this time, this crossed my line. He shouldn't have done this."

After finishing a long day of work, Yi Shui returned to the hotel and went online to watch the live broadcast of the press conference.

The message Walsh sent this morning said that Bosh refused to join the team and wanted to join the Bulls. He didn't say that Wade would also join the Bulls, but Yi Shui had already guessed it.

The lively interaction between the big-jawed guy and the fortune teller has come to an end here.

The biggest beneficiary of this whole mess should be Bosh. He left the Raptors with Luol Deng, who is 25 years old and just entering his prime. Deng has four years left on his contract, and whether he is used or traded, he is a very valuable asset. Bosh's reputation for changing teams is much better than if he had only left the Raptors with a late first-round pick.

However, Yi Shui estimates that if the Bulls had a choice, they would definitely keep Luol Deng. But the Bulls only have more than $2400 million in cap space, and if they want to acquire both superstars, they would have to include Luol Deng in the deal.

The Heat were also luckier than the original Cavaliers. They lost Wade, but in return they got Eric Gordon, who was considered to have the ability to average 20+ points per game in his second year.

Yi Shui thinks the fortune teller should be glad that the Bulls can directly acquire Wade and also use Luol Deng to complete the sign-and-trade for Bosh.

The Knicks' plan to acquire a big-name superstar fell through after failing to sign Bosh. Yi Shui was disappointed but not too upset about it.

When Walsh first joined in 08, the initial big-name recruitment plan was to cast a wide net when the time came, signing two max contracts without considering the consequences.

Things are completely different now. After acquiring Chandler in the February trade, Walsh communicated with Yi Shui for the first time about summer plans, and his only target was Bosh.

Stoudemire, Boozer, and Joe Johnson all met with Walsh and D'Antoni after the free agency period began, but none of them were on their radar.

Stoudemire's role overlaps with Yi Shui's, and Yi Shui can play an average of 40 minutes per game, so it's unnecessary.

Boozer is too slow and is not under consideration.

Joe Johnson would be a perfect fit for them, a very good run-and-gun wing pitcher, but a max contract pitcher is a bit too much.

The guy Yi Shui contacted this morning, if he signs successfully, might be just as effective as Joe Johnson, but at a significantly lower salary...

The people on the Yi River are very open-minded about it.

Inside a Los Angeles school district, LeBron James was stunned to see Wade and Bosh joining the Bulls on TV.

The first time is always the hardest.

Before making the decision, James and his team spent a long time mentally preparing themselves before finally hypnotizing themselves.

But this situation has disrupted all his plans!

With Wade, Bosh, Noah, Harden, Kurt Thomas, CJ Watson, Keith Bogans, Omer Asik, plus Kevin Seraphin (selected 17th overall) and Amon Johnson (selected 39th overall) on two virtual minimum contracts, the Bulls' total salary is already over $5800 million, and they have no cap space!
To join, the Bulls would have to trade Harden, Noah, and the rest of the team to the Cavaliers...

Didn't the fortune teller say he would resolve the conflict with Big Jaws? How come Big Jaws woke up to find him back in his hometown with the Long-necked Dragon?
Although he didn't tell Big Cheeks that he was going to the South Coast...

...

Dwyane Wade's departure from the Miami Heat caused a major upheaval in the basketball world.

With the combination of Wade and Bosh, along with Noah, who had already shown the potential of a top-tier rim protector in his third year last season (averaging 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game), and Harden, who averaged 14 points and 5 assists per game in his rookie year, the Bulls suddenly became a championship favorite.

Moreover, Harden, born in 89 and turning 21 next month, is more than 7 years older than Wade, born in 82 and turning 28. If handled well, this could potentially create a generational transition.

However, despite calling himself a 'traitor,' Wade didn't receive much criticism. Instead, many people believed that the Heat should fire Pat Riley and apologize to Wade.

Trading a 26-year-old, the team's only championship-winning player, and Finals MVP for the number one draft pick is truly humiliating.

And it was incredibly cold-blooded! At the time, Wade had just suffered a serious injury and was out for the season, and the hidden meaning behind that quote was—a concern that Wade might not be able to recover his health.

Otherwise, a healthy Wade, Walsh, and Dolan, and even New York fans, wouldn't have refused at the time.

After the Bulls acquired two superstars, the media and fans all turned their attention to New York.

Stoudemire, Boozer, Joe Johnson, and others also felt their chances were better.

但到了7月17号，有媒体爆料，4年2400万签约钱宁-弗莱、两年1300万签约阿米尔-约翰逊。

Last season, Frye served as a backup center for the Suns, playing 70 games and averaging 9.7 points per game, making 2.1 three-pointers per game on 43% shooting.

Amir Johnson played as a reserve for the Raptors last season, appearing in all 82 games. In 17 minutes of playing time, he scored 6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1 block, with a field goal percentage of 62%.

With these two signings, the Knicks' salary cap space dropped from $27 million to just over $15 million, making it impossible for them to offer a full max contract to a seven-year veteran.

Stoudemire and Joe Johnson are both demanding full maximum contracts.

Some media outlets speculated that this was a price-cutting tactic by the Knicks. The two free agents were very keen to play in New York, so the Knicks signed the role players they wanted first to avoid running out of money later. Role players are much more sensitive to a difference of one or two million dollars in annual salary than superstars.

But the speculation about price suppression was disproven the very next day.

At a press conference held by the Knicks, Ray Allen joined Frye and Amir Johnson in receiving their jerseys! Ray Allen signed a 3-year, $3000 million contract with the Knicks and took over the long-awaited number 34 jersey from Dolan!
They also announced that Chris Anderson had been signed to a three-year, $1615 million contract extension.

Salary cap space is full!

After the Knicks' press conference, a conference call was held, attended by management, coaching staff, newcomer Ray Allen, Chandler who was vacationing in Europe, Curry who was hospitalized for having too much spicy food while attending a business event in Chengdu, and Yi Shui who was at the BJ Hotel.

D'Antoni and the core players had an initial discussion about the new season's playing style, and determined to continue with a fast-paced, defensive-oriented approach.

We can take our time with the details later; the off-season has only been going on for less than a month, so there's no need to rush.

After hanging up the phone, Yi Shui took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote down the list.

Point guards: Curry, Chalmers.

Shooting guards: Ray Allen, Webster.

Small forwards: Landry Fields, Danny Green.

Power forwards: Gibson, Amir Johnson, Jeremy Evans.

Centers: Chandler, Frye, Anderson.

Although they didn't sign Bosh, the new roster still made Yi Shui feel very happy.

The phone call with Ray Allen a couple of days ago went very smoothly.

Ray Allen didn't say much; he was the one doing most of the talking. He expressed that Ray Allen is the core of their team's second offseason plan, and the team wants to build a stretch lineup, focusing on three-pointers, passing and cutting, and fast breaks to create a run-and-gun offense.

Ray Allen did not give a direct answer at the time, but that evening in China and the morning in the United States, before the Bulls' press conference, Ray Allen called back and said that he would go to New York at noon and asked Yi Shui to make the arrangements.

At first, Yi Shui thought that Ray Allen's annual salary would be around 1200 million, but he didn't expect to sign him for 3000 million over 3 years.

The Celtics offered him a two-year, $20 million contract last summer, which was rejected. After the season, they increased it to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was also rejected. Ray Allen then joined the Knicks for the same price...

Yi Shui learned from Walsh that all Ray Allen wanted was respect, and he was curious to see what Ainge's expression would be.

Ray Allen only got $10 million, and Anderson should be the happiest person. It was agreed that after signing three prospective players, the remaining salary space would belong to Birdman. The original expectation was a three-year contract of less than $4 million, but now it has increased to more than $5 million a year.

However, there's no point in leaving this space for Anderson; the veteran minimum salary exception would be higher once it's filled.

Looking at the list he wrote down, Yi Shui saw that the power forward position had become a purely blue-collar lineup.

From an emotional perspective, Yi Shui was reluctant to see David Lee leave, but from a practical perspective, if David Lee left, he would have more opportunities to fall into a lower position.

In terms of space, having Frye on the court will provide more tactical options than having David Lee on the court.

The weakest link right now is the backup small forward position. Fields' ability in the NBA is unknown, and Danny Green has improved in the Summer League but still needs to develop.

Barnes joined the Lakers on a minimum contract, and they didn't make an offer to keep him... There's nothing they can do about it; with Barnes' personality, he won't stay with any team for long.

However, after signing two rookies, they still have two spots left. They haven't used their full mid-level exception yet, and there are many talented players on the free agent market. They also have targets in mind, so they should be able to sign a suitable small forward.

For the last roster spot, the coaching staff intends to sign a backup point guard or shooting guard. If Danny Green is counted as a shooting guard, the backcourt will only have 5 players. Compared to the previous crammed roster, this cleanup is a bit too thorough.

...

After imagining how fun it would be to play alongside three great shooters—Curry, Ray Allen, and Frye—in the new season, Yi Shui turned on his computer and started browsing the news.

The advancement of technology is truly remarkable; sports news from the US is immediately reprinted by domestic media.

Just as he expected, they signed four contracts in one go, filling up the salary cap and shocking everyone.

It's quite clear that their primary goal during the offseason was Bosh, because Bosh was the only player they actively invited to try out for.

Since Bosh joined the Bulls, there has been much discussion about whether they will sign Joe Johnson or Stoudemire, and how the Knicks' playing style will change if either of them joins.

The two of them have been living in New York for more than half a month.

Unexpectedly, just three days after Bosh joined the Bulls, the Knicks completed their offseason recruitment!

The free agency market has become more exciting, with major media outlets speculating on where Stoudemire, Boozer, Joe Johnson, David Lee, and others will end up.

Yi Shui went through all the news from the days following the 15th and didn't see much about King. Could it be that James is going to play for one team?

Also, where will Yao Ming go?

He was very curious.

However, now that things have been basically settled with his own team, he is in a relaxed mood and treats the affairs of other teams as mere entertainment.

There are also jokes about their own team.

Ray Allen was called a traitor by the Boston media, and Pierce, Garnett, and others also publicly criticized Ray Allen for joining the team that defeated them.

Yi Shui had anticipated this.

Ray Allen's strained relationship with the Celtics had its own reasons, but Pierce, Garnett, Rondo, and even Rivers and Ainge had equally significant issues.

These people are the kind who don't think they've done anything wrong and blame others first... I guess you could say birds of a feather flock together.

The Cleveland Honest News jumped in to accuse Ray Allen of defecting, maliciously slandering him as a Knicks mole sent to the Celtics... quite interesting.

Over the next few days, Yi Shui threw himself into his work, promoting products, interacting enthusiastically with fans, and checking the news to learn about free agents whenever he had free time.

On the 20th, a trade that could significantly impact the league's landscape was signed – the Grizzlies signed Carlos Boozer to a five-year contract with a starting salary of $14.4 million and a total of $79 million.

After Jermaine O'Neal's contract expired, the Grizzlies, benefiting from the rookie bonuses of Derrick Rose and Marc Gasol, and retaining Rudy Gay's Bird rights, freed up more than $1400 million in salary cap space.

After the free agency period began, the Grizzlies remained inactive, failing to compete for quality role players. Now, they have seized the opportunity and made a ruthless move.

After signing Boozer, the Grizzlies officially extended Gay's contract with a 5-year, $8320 million deal.

With Gay, Boozer, Marion, Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies have assembled the most durable frontcourt in the entire league!

While browsing the news, Yi Shui came across a comment that initially baffled him—the Western Conference Knicks were becoming even more unsociable.

But he quickly understood what it meant: other teams in the East were still going down the tough, physical route, while they continued with their run-and-gun offense, such as the Pacers, who brought in James Posey and re-signed Dahntay Jones.

The newly signed point guard, Felton, also comes from the Bobcats, a team known for its tough defense. His defense isn't the best, but it's not bad either. He applies pressure on the ball very well, and his wing double-teams are very strong. Last season, when the Bobcats played against the Hawks, the image of Felton scooping in and holding off Josh Smith went viral.

On July 23, Yi Shui finished his last day of business activities in Qingdao, returned to the hotel, had dinner, lay on the bed, picked up his tablet, and prepared to watch the news and TV programs.

For the past two weeks, he has been enthusiastically involved in fan interaction every day, and he remains energetic even when he returns to the hotel at night, wanting to present the best side of himself to the fans the next day. Now that all the work is over, all he wants to do is relax.

He sat up as soon as he opened Daye Sports; the headline news rekindled his excitement.

After waiting for more than 20 days, it's finally here!

A preview of an ESPN program, reposted by DaYan: "King: I'm about to make a major decision in my life."

The announcement time was 8 PM US time, which is 8 AM here tomorrow.

Yi Shui set his alarm for 7 a.m. the next morning, which would be enough for him to finish breakfast, read the morning newspaper, and be on time to 'attend the ceremony'.

This is a legendary moment in NBA history, and to see it again... is only possible if LeBron wants to sell alcohol.

But where is James going with this decision? The Bulls? That's impossible.

Although the Bulls' management is arrogant, their vision is not bad.

The Bulls' management wouldn't bring in two ball-handling superstars all at once. In the original timeline of 2010, the Bulls also had cap space, but they didn't even consider trying to sign James because they already had Rose. They were focused on pursuing Bosh and Stoudemire, but neither of them went, and instead signed Boozer.

That means he's announcing he'll stay with the team?
Yi Shui had originally intended to browse the news, watch videos, and even doze off, but now he was suddenly wide awake, genuinely curious. He kept browsing the news until late at night, still unable to fall asleep... but then he stumbled upon some big news!
The Warriors held a press conference at noon US time, where Yao Ming appeared and announced that he had joined the Warriors with a starting salary of $14.4 million and a five-year, $80 million contract!

Yi Shui opened the NBA Chinese website and looked at the Warriors' roster.

姚明加入还没更新，没几个人了，除了埃利斯的1100万、德隆的1494万、杰拉德-华莱士的900万，就剩查理-贝尔的445万、多雷尔-赖特的335万、雷吉-威廉姆斯的66万、布兰登-拉什的207万。

With the addition of Yao Ming, the salary cap is almost full!
Yi Shui recalled the Warriors' trades starting from the draft.

Normally, if someone wanted to trade Deron Williams, they would have just needed to give him Rubio and a few future draft picks. Don Nelson even offered the promising center Tolliver and the second overall pick, all to bring Biedrins with him.

当下的别德林斯还是有一定交易价值的，08-09赛季别德林斯刚打出了场均11分11板2助攻1抢断1.5盖帽的表现，上赛季虽然暴跌到场均5分7.8板，但只打了33场，勇士队方面一直在说是伤病的原因，刚满24岁的别德林斯还是比较受期待的。

Who wouldn't be confused if the Jazz were given Rubio, the second overall pick, Tolliver, and Biedrins all at once?

Perhaps the Jazz weren't initially so determined to dismantle and rebuild. It might have been like what Yi Shui remembered: Boozer left, Deron Williams became even more dissatisfied with the Jazz, publicly challenged Sloan, and Sloan retired in a huff, which led the Jazz to finally make the decision.

But after being bombarded with talent by Don Nelson, the Jazz management decided to stop tolerating Deron Williams.

Then they practically gave away Maggette, who averaged 20.8 points per game in a season, to the Bucks. At the time, Yi Shui didn't care about this trade, but now it seems that it was just to get Gadzuric's non-guaranteed final year contract so that they could free up cap space after cutting him.

This trading tactic reminded Yi Shui of the summer of 03, when the Mavericks, with salaries far exceeding the luxury tax threshold, sent out a large number of draft picks and traded players to obtain a trade exception, acquiring Jamison, Walker, and Nowitzki in one fell swoop, forming the most luxurious power forward lineup in NBA history.

Yi Shui figured the press conference on the other side of the Pacific Ocean should be over. He took out his phone and dialed Yao Ming's number. When the call connected, a hearty laugh came from the other end, and he thought he saw a meme...

After the other person finished laughing, Yi Shui congratulated him: "Brother Yao, congratulations on escaping your misery and finally seeing the light. But isn't this salary a bit low?"

The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Hey, that doesn't matter. It's a little lower than Deron's, which is already giving him face... You don't know, I just came to San Francisco half a month ago, and several sponsors came to me... The Rockets' offer to me was only 4 years for 7000 million, not much different."

Yi Shui retorted, "That goes without saying. There aren't many people who like watching games in Houston. The Bay Area is the stronghold of Chinese fans. You'll definitely earn more there than in Houston."

"I know, but there's nothing I can do... Haha, this time I finally made the decision I wanted to make, and I have better teammates now. I want to play against you guys right now. Ray Allen, wow, my god, you, Curry, Ray Allen, the three of you, and Frye too, you can probably shoot the whole league apart..."

...

The call ended abruptly after a short conversation.

Joining a Bay Area team means Yao Ming has a lot on his plate. His commercial value has skyrocketed, and he also has to deal with things like team profit distribution after moving to a new city. The men's basketball team's final training camp registration date is the 28th, so Yao Ming is already getting busy.

Yi Shui was in a good mood, having placed his phone on the bedside table. Yao Ming had taken good care of him, and he was naturally happy to see Yao Ming escape from that hellhole.

Even with only eight players, the Warriors look much better than the Rockets.

Yao Ming played for the Rockets for eight years, and he never had a guard as strong as Deron Williams, nor a forward as good as Gerald Wallace in defense.

However, while the lineup of Deron Williams, Ellis, Gerald Wallace, and Yao Ming is reasonable, isn't it a pure positional warfare formation?

Don Nelson is a coach who plays a fast-paced, high-scoring style... no, when Don Nelson coached the Mavericks, he also played a slow-paced style, integrating offense and defense.

It's that troublemaker Ellis... uh, Yi Shui thought of the image of Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, and Yao Ming staring at Ellis from the left, right, and top.

It's estimated that Ellis will play his role as the 'poor man's Kobe' well, honestly finishing shots and launching fast breaks.

After laughing heartily with Yao Ming for a while, Yi Shui got sleepy. He picked up his tablet, returned to the homepage of Daye Sports, refreshed it, and prepared to go to sleep... but then another big news appeared!

When Yao Ming joined the Warriors and teamed up with Deron Williams, Yi Shui was simply happy for them. He didn't feel threatened at all. Instead, he hoped that Yao Ming could go further in the playoffs, and it would be even better if they could meet again.

But when Yi Shui saw the headline about this deal, he immediately exclaimed "Holy crap!"

According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers, Hornets, and Rockets have completed a three-way trade!

The Lakers traded Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to acquire Chris Paul.

The Rockets traded Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and their 2012 first-round pick to Pau Gasol in exchange for him.

The Hornets traded Paul for Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, and the Rockets' 2012 first-round pick.

The key point is that Yi Shui opened the NBA website and saw that the trade had been approved!
It wasn't rejected? Is it because the Lakers failed to win consecutive championships? No, Yi Shui remembered, the Hornets' owner hasn't sold the team to the league for management yet, so the Hornets can trade it however they want.

Yao Ming refused to renew his contract with the Rockets, a decision he made clear as early as after opting out of his contract.

The Rockets should definitely make the trade if they can trade Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and a first-round pick for Pau Gasol, who can be the team's core center.

But the Hornets... all I can say is that Kupchak's trade tactics are truly impressive!

With Yao Ming joining a Bay Area team and Paul teaming up with Kobe, Yi Shui isn't that interested in tomorrow morning's "Decision 1".

He took out his computer, turned on the VPN, and started browsing Amei's websites.

Similar to him, in the US, the media and fans are discussing Yao Ming and Chris Paul.

The discussion on Yao Ming's side was more normal. The Warriors spent a lot of money to acquire Deron Williams, but got Gerald Wallace for free, and Jordan was the one who got criticized.

With a core of players like Deron Williams, Ellis, and Gerald Wallace, it's perfectly normal for Yao Ming to join.

The pairing of Kobe and Paul was highly controversial!
Lakers fans were naturally delighted, chanting the slogan "the greatest backcourt in history."

The controversy mainly focused on the Hornets, who traded Paul for players like Odom, Kevin Martin, and Scola.

However, there is another explanation for this controversy—the Lakers were wronged by the Hornets and will lose their chance to contend for the championship in the future.

According to sports medicine experts, the injury Paul suffered, as previously announced by the Hornets, is a serious injury that will severely affect his athletic ability. Paul may never be able to play like he used to.

Seeing that this viewpoint is widely accepted, Yi Shui guesses that the Hornets' management might really think this way. After all, in the original timeline, after Paul returned and played for a year, the Hornets still traded him away.

Tonight, Yi Shui had a rare bout of insomnia. There was too much news, and he was reading it while discussing it on his alternate account. Before he knew it, it was already dawn. At 8 a.m., he saw the live stream of "Decision One".

"I've decided to bring my talents to Miami and create a new era of basketball with Joe and Amare!"

(End of this chapter)