"We will work hard to keep him."
From Wallace’s response, it was clear that this was not a decision he could make on his own, it likely reflected the will of management, or rather the boss, Michael Heisley.
On the same day that Hansen finished chatting with Wallace, he received a call from O’Neal.
O’Neal had decided to retire.
His situation was similar to Peja’s; if there had been no lockout, they could have maintained their condition through training.
But the lockout had ruined their physical condition. The source of this content ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
This was not at all surprising. Back in 1998, the "Rain Man" Camp had been ruined by the lockout.
The lockout severely tested the players’ self-discipline, and O’Neal had never been very disciplined, especially after winning his fifth championship, he felt satisfied.
As for where he would go after retiring?
O’Neal said this on the phone.
"I’ll take my talent to TNT, joining Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith to form the pinnacle ’Big Three.’"
Actually, O’Neal, because he hadn’t won the fifth championship with the Cavaliers, had always held a grudge against James.
So although he had also managed to win a championship stepping over James last season, it was foreseeable that his commentary would be filled with jabs at James.
O’Neal’s retirement came somewhat suddenly, but it also made Hansen shift his focus back to this year’s compressed free-agent market.
Cuban had said he would try again, but after more than half a year, many things had changed, especially since Nowitzki had been injured during a preseason game representing the Germany Team. Would the Mavericks continue to keep their roster?
The answer to this question was not known for the time being, but news about Paul was already flying around.
The Magic management was actively trying to persuade Howard, but the Hornets were not.
It was not because of a difference in trade value but because of the current situation with the Hornets.
The Hornets’ owner, George Shinn, due to cancer, could no longer manage the team and was preparing to sell, but he couldn’t find a suitable local buyer (the league did not allow the Hornets to leave New Orleans).
To keep the Hornets operational, the team eventually entered into league trusteeship, meaning the Hornets were nominally owned by Stern.
Stern, just overseeing, naturally could not act as an owner and persuade Paul to stay, so a trade involving Paul was certain; the only question was where he would eventually go.
Even now, three bankrupt trade rumors had emerged.
The first was from the Celtics, who wanted to trade Rondo straight up for Paul.
This was logical, as Stern was seeking a good buyer for the Hornets, which would require increasing the team’s attractiveness. Trading Paul for Rondo would both reduce the strength and the attractiveness.
The second rumor was from the Warriors, who wanted to trade Curry along with this year’s 11th pick, Klay Thompson, for Paul.
The Warriors had shown more sincerity than the Celtics, but Stern ultimately did not agree because Curry’s trade value was clearly less than Paul’s at that time, and Thompson was just a rookie.
More importantly, Curry had already started to show signs of injury, which also didn’t help increase the team’s attractiveness.
Or, seeing this, one could already deduce what Stern wanted: aside from having potential young players, draft picks were also needed.
Paul being traded meant the Hornets were rebuilding, and those were the resources needed for a rebuild.
The third rumor was from the Clippers, who were willing to send out Gordon, a young player, along with draft picks, for Paul.
Stern still did not agree.
Hansen was surprised when he saw this.
He might have forgotten other things, but he clearly remembered Paul going to the Clippers.
Fortunately, the next piece of news explained this point.
Because the Hornets had already nearly finalized a three-way trade with the Lakers and the Rockets.
Gasol would go to the Rockets, Paul to the Lakers, and the Hornets would get Odom, young players, and draft picks.
At this point, Hansen remembered Stern’s famous "basketball reasons" for vetoing the deal.
It should be mentioned here that although Stern was the acting owner, since this was a league trusteeship, his decisions were also bound by the other 29 team owners of the league; simply put, if more than 18 of the owners opposed, he couldn’t approve.
So, unsurprisingly, the process should have gone : the Hornets and the Lakers had agreed, but due to the owners’ opposition, Stern ultimately vetoed the trade, then the Hornets went back to find the Clippers, and the deal eventually went through with the owners’ acceptance.
Time flew by to December 10, when free agents had already begun to sign contracts one after another.
The Grizzlies had their outcomes too.
The Grizzlies eventually chose to match an offer from the New York Knicks and signed Conley to a 5-year $50 million (including a hard-to-earn $5 million bonus) extension contract.
At the same time, they also signed Battier to a 3-year $12 million extension contract.
Although it came a bit late, the Grizzlies’ core lineup was stabilized.
Additionally, the Grizzlies had not been able to hire a big-name coach, or rather they hadn’t planned to do so when they dismissed Hollins at the beginning of the season.
The team promoted Dave Joerger as the new head coach, and Tois naturally became the lead assistant.