I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Upon returning to the Bay Area, Lin Bei immediately learned that the Warriors and Spurs had completed a trade.

Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogdanovic, who had just been transferred from the Bucks, were sent to the Spurs in this trade.

The Warriors received Richard Jefferson, Tiago Splitter, and a first-round draft pick from the Spurs for next year.

Upon learning of the deal, Lin Bei's first reaction was, "Damn it, Bodog has snagged it!"

Although both the Spurs and the Warriors are future championship teams, the Spurs reached their peak earlier.

In 2013 and 2014, they made it to the Finals for two consecutive years. The following year, they upset the Heat, breaking up the Heat's Big Three who had been together for four years, and ascended to the top of the league.

But Lin Bei had anticipated this deal.

In the original story, shortly after acquiring Stephen Jackson and Bogdanovic from the Bucks, the Warriors made another move, sending Stephen Jackson to the Spurs in exchange for Richard Jefferson, TJ Ford (who was already retired at the time), and a first-round draft pick.

In the previous life, the Warriors' core objective in this trade was very clear: the Spurs' first-round draft pick.

The Spurs' plan was to trade Richard Jefferson, who was underperforming at the time and had three years left on his contract this season, in exchange for Stephen Jackson, who had two years left on his contract and averaged 18.5 points per game last season.

This would not only free up salary cap space but also allow for exploring new possibilities at the small forward position.

It's worth noting that Richard Jefferson averaged only 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game during his three seasons with the Spurs, and he was never able to fit into Popovich's defensive system, instead becoming a salary burden for the team.

In this life, because of Lin Bei, this deal has changed.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers immediately included Bogut in the trade proposal, only asking for Tiago Splitter as additional compensation. The Spurs hesitated only slightly before agreeing.

Thiago Splitter, the future head coach of Young Hansen, is currently in his second year in the NBA.

As a Brazilian-born, European-raised rookie, Splitter has averaged 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game so far this season, which is quite impressive.

但比这个赛季健康时场均11.3分8.3个篮板2.6个助攻1.0个抢断2.0个盖帽的博狗特，斯普利特的表现还有不小的差距。

Stripping away the original historical timeline of the trade, this deal was essentially a swap of Splitter for Bogut.

However, for the Spurs, Bogdanovic will be unable to play this season.

What they gained was a better center for the upcoming season.

For the Warriors, they traded Bogdanovic, who had a strained relationship with Lin Bei, at a discount, and the older second-year rookie Splitter they acquired could never match Bogdanovic's value, no matter how he develops.

The only good news is that Splitter will be able to play this season.

Lin Bei was happy to see this deal, from his perspective—

Splitter's arrival will reduce his playing time at center.

But as long as his starting position is secure, a little less playing time at center isn't a big problem; he can make up for it in other positions.

On the contrary, with Splitter joining, the Warriors' interior strength has been improved, making their goal of rising to prominence this season more achievable.

……

The following day, despite it being game day, Mark Jackson still scheduled a practice session.

The main reason was that the Warriors took a day off after the tourists returned.

The next day is a game against the Mavericks. If they don't schedule a practice session in between, it will be difficult to ensure the team's competitive condition.

On his way to training, Lin Bei encountered some reporters.

"Andrew Bogut joined the Warriors less than two weeks ago and was then traded to San Antonio. It's said this was at your request. Best Lin, what's your response to this?"

Lin Bei was caught off guard by the surprise interview on his way to training, but the questions the reporter asked were exactly what he expected.

He shrugged and readily admitted, "Yes, it was indeed my request. You all know about my feud with Andrew Bodogter, right? We can't continue being teammates."

After a pause, Lin Bei added, "To be precise, I didn't ask the team to trade Andrew Bogdanovic. I just gave the team an option: either he leaves, or I leave."

The implication is that the Warriors' management ultimately chose to let Bogdanovic go.

"Thiago Splitter will be joining the Warriors, and he will be your direct competitor at the center position. Will your attitude towards this new teammate differ from your attitude towards Andrew Bogut?"

After hearing another reporter's question, Lin Bei immediately felt that this person had a problem.

The conflict between Bodog and Lin Bei, both overt and covert, stems from Lin Bei's exclusion of his new teammates.

But Lin Bei wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and replied, "I welcome Thiago to the team. As for you saying he's my competitor, I think that's wrong. In fact, I'm not just a center; I can play all five positions on the basketball court..."

Before other reporters could interject with questions, Lin Bei suddenly waved his hand and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I have a question."

He looked at the reporter who had just asked the question: "What's your name? Which media outlet are you from?"

The fat, middle-aged white man paused for a moment, then introduced himself: "Duff McMenamin, from ESPN."

Lin Bei nodded slightly, his tone completely calm: "I'll remember you."

He turned around and waved his hand again, refusing to answer the remaining reporters' questions.

……

Upon entering the training hall, Lin Bei continued practicing free throws.

After Mark Jackson arrived, he called him to a corner of the training facility and informed Lin Bei.

"Best, the team just completed a trade. Andrew Bogut was sent away, and we got Thiago Splitter. You should know him, after all, you played against him two days ago..."

Lin Bei said, "I know."

Mark Jackson laughed and said, "I called you here to tell you that your playing time will not change because of the new signings. You will just need to fill in at power forward for a while at certain times."

Lin Bei had already guessed this, and he nodded: "I can accept it."

For him, there's not much difference between center and power forward; he's satisfied as long as he can play about 30 minutes per game.

Seeing Lin Bei's prompt agreement, Mark Jackson was even more satisfied and continued, "This adjustment will be implemented for the evening's game..."

Lin Bei hadn't expected this, and he raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

"Andris has recovered from his injury and will return to the game tonight. I will arrange for him to be a substitute."

Mark Jackson gave an explanation, and Lin Bei suddenly understood.

With Biedrins' return, the Warriors have gone from having no centers to having three centers, including Lin Bei.

Of these three centers, Biedrins was the Warriors' former starting center, Splitter was a semi-starting center for the Spurs, and Lin Bei is the Warriors' current starting center.

All three players are quite capable, instantly elevating the Warriors' center depth to the best in the league.

The team's strength has improved, which is a good thing.

As long as the new addition to the Warriors isn't some inhuman player like Bogdanovic, Lin Bei won't have any objections.

Later that evening, during the game against the Mavericks, Lin Bei suddenly thought, "I'll be playing power forward in this game. Could I be going up against Lian Ge?"