He remembered that the Mavericks had disbanded on the spot after winning the championship.
One reason was the age issue of the team, as it would have been difficult to defend the title even if they kept their original lineup;
Another reason was the salary issue. Read full story at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽
Cuban was willing to invest in the team, but everything has its limits.
This involved the labor stoppage this year, and the new agreement after the stoppage introduced a new luxury tax system.
In simple terms, it used to be that you pay a certain amount over the cap, but under the new rules, the tax increases progressively, almost doubling compared to the past.
Oh right, in his memory, another reason Cuban did not retain the squad was targeting the 2012 free agency market, when Howard and Deron Williams could both potentially become free agents.
So was this Cuban issuing a false promise to players before the new agreement was reached?
Or was it just wishful thinking on the part of the players?
Hansen felt the latter was more likely, after all, even if the new collective bargaining agreement was not yet reached, as an owner he would mostly be aware of the direction of development.
After the call with West, Grover also arrived.
The two of them quickly began training.
When they trained until they were completely exhausted, Hansen sat down to rest on the sidelines.
He picked up his phone and saw missed calls and a message from O’Neal.
Opening the message, it was a thank you, and he also said he wanted to invite him to a yacht party in the summer.
He was truly grateful to Hansen, after all, without Hansen, he could not have got that fifth championship.
He returned a call to O’Neal, and they chatted for a while.
Over the phone, O’Neal also confirmed his plan to play for one more year.
His initial contract with the Mavericks was for two years, the second year being a player option.
Although he had quite a few injuries, with Chandler standing in front, playing as a backup for the Mavericks was rather comfortable.
"Don’t be hasty, you’re only in your third year, Michael hadn’t even made it past the first round in his third year," Grover consoled Hansen.
Hansen smiled, but did not continue the conversation.
Kobe had already won the championship in his fourth year, and as for Jordan, he was just leveling up in a bad team.
"Tim, do you think the Mavericks will keep their current lineup?"
Grover’s answer surprised Hansen, and then his explanation made Hansen realize some "historical" changes.
"The biggest difficulty they encountered in the playoffs was when facing you, such a team deserves another try."
The "history" that Hansen knew showed that the Mavericks had come from behind to win the finals.
As some fans joked, it was the Silver Horned King and the Roc working together from the inside and outside to bloodily cleanse the Lion Camel Ridge.
But now it was different, looking back at the Mavericks’ playoff journey this year, they beat the Nuggets 4-1, the Lakers 4-0, the Grizzlies 4-2, and the Heat 4-1.
Although this wasn’t as dominant as the era of the O’Neal-Kobe combo, as Grover said, they had a chance to do it again.
And even if you step back, the Mavericks achieved this without their main scoring guard Caron Butler.
Just as Grizzlies fans look forward to Guy’s return and the performance of the Grizzlies, a Mavericks team with Butler’s return is equally exciting.
As for the luxury tax issue, it’s not as exaggerated as it seems, the key is still Cuban’s thoughts.
So, is this the butterfly effect he brought about?
If that is the case, for him, it’s not a bad thing at all.
After all, he was also reluctant to lose to the Mavericks this year.
If the Mavericks had really disbanded, he wouldn’t even have the chance to win back.
Thinking of this, Hansen’s originally exhausted body suddenly filled with energy again.
He called Grover to continue training.
This night was destined to be extraordinary.
While Hansen and Grover were practicing extra, social media had exploded.
Not everyone was looking forward to the Mavericks’ championship, but the Mavericks defeating the Heat’s peak Big Three was heartening and thrilling.
But apart from celebrating the Mavericks’ championship, the criticism towards James had reached its peak this year.
Not because of the decision to leave, nor because of the display of fatherly love, but because of a comment James made after the post-game press conference.
"You lost the finals and a lot of people are very happy, does that bother you?" This was the question posed to James.
"Not at all, at the end of the day, those who want to see me fail, they will wake up tomorrow morning living the same life as I do today, they will still face the same life just as today, I will continue to live my life the way I like, doing what I enjoy, my family and I will still be very happy, these people might be happy for a few days or a few months because of my failure, but ultimately, they still have to face the harsh reality of their lives."
This was James’ answer, which was akin to moving from online to offline, directly opening fire at everyone.
"After losing to Detroit, Michael said, ’I’ve been harshly dealt with, I want to control the pain, I want to strike back’; after losing to Boston, Kobe said, ’I am the top loser’; after losing to Dallas, Han said ’No one wants to meet us next season’; when LeBron... what the hell did you say!"
"I really don’t know what’s going on in LeBron’s head, is he being controlled by aliens?"
"Is it strange? All the statements you’ve seen from LeBron before were scripted by his team, and this time his team didn’t have time to write for him, so these are his true thoughts."