James’s decision immediately blew up the scene.
The Stern era had always been dedicated to creating 23 VS 24, but unfortunately, it was never successful.
Now, Stern had just retired, and rather than fostering rivalry, it became 23+24!
"The game is over, the Lakers are going to win not just one, not just two, not just three..."
"This is truly a blockbuster combo, they will dominate the league until the day Kobe retires."
"Damn, Hansen just left Memphis, and you guys pull this off? Isn’t Silva going to stop this? Crazy!"
"This is a free agent signing, what reason does Silva have to stop it? This is a ’once in a lifetime’ series!"
"So, who’s the boss of the Lakers now?"
"Fun fact, LeBron doesn’t have a ’wife,’ he has never married anyone, so all this lengthy talk is useless, you might as well say I want to team up with Kobe."
"Look how desperate he is, you must be KD’s burner account?"
"Fun fact, Okafor and Big Gasol’s contracts expire this summer, and if the Lakers trade Lin Shuhao, besides Kobe and James, they will have cap space to sign another max contract player."
"The ultimate league finale, let’s build another dynasty before Kobe retires!"
Interestingly, right after James made Decision Two, the Knicks owner Dolan, like Gilbert back in the day, cursed James.
After all, as the proud owner of the Knicks, he had made significant concessions to James, but James still chose to leave New York after a year.
He called this a betrayal.
Of course, the reactions from the outside world were no longer surprising, as such things were like cheating, if it happens once, it can happen again.
Why would you choose to trust James, who had already betrayed you once?
However, James’s decision would also cost him a lot of money, after all, Dolan was not Gilbert; he wouldn’t cooperate with James on a sign-and-trade, he could simply tank if need be, as even the worst Knicks team would still sell tickets.
Hansen was also very shocked when he saw this news.
Of course, he wasn’t shocked by the team strength of the two-man team, as fans on social media say, the problem of who’s the boss between the two is quite tricky.
He was shocked that James would choose to team up with Kobe, and that Kobe wouldn’t object!
But on second thought, this seemed to be the only way for James to return to the spotlight.
The topic of 23 plus 24 is too significant, even larger than the original Big Three of the Heat.
As for Kobe, he still found it somewhat incomprehensible, even though he had expressed willingness to sacrifice, but this kind of teaming up, Kobe’s character should really despise it.
Maybe there was something not known to the public. Chapters fırst released on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
Yet, this duo gave him an opportunity, because... Kobe fans and LeBron fans have united!
This is truly a ’once in a lifetime’ series.
Hansen immediately logged into his social media and posted:
Previously, Hansen could only target either LeBron fans or Kobe fans, given the fierce rivalry between these two groups.
Now, he could target them both.
Shortly after he posted this, his social media was stormed.
"Last season, claiming to be the greatest ever, this season saying he’s better than Kobe and James together, next season will he say he can win the championship alone?"
"Too arrogant, thinking he’s still with the Grizzlies, without that team’s protection, you’re nothing!"
"Fuck, I can’t wait for the new season to start, then see Hansen get crushed by the Lakers!"
"When it comes to attracting hatred, you’re the real GOAT."
Hansen’s negative popularity was growing at a crazy rate.
Previously, whether he criticized James or Kobe, because it involved personal abilities, only hardcore LeBron or Kobe fans would go against him.
But this time, even rational LeBron fans and Kobe fans couldn’t stand it.
With this wave of comments, the attention to the upcoming games between Cavaliers and Lakers was going to explode.
While Hansen was attracting hatred, Griffin didn’t stop his movements.
He immediately contacted the Knicks.
With the Knicks having a playoff-level roster last season, James’s departure meant a rebuilding, which in turn meant that the Knicks were open for business.
The two teams quickly finalized a trade; Cavaliers sent Varejao and Garrett Jack and received Andrea Bargnani, JR Smith, and a second-round draft pick from the Knicks.
Hansen’s return to the Cavaliers meant Varejao had to be dealt with.
Varejao, now fragile, fortunately had only one year left on the contract James had secured for him, and surprisingly, he had a decent turnout last season, playing 65 games with averages of 8.4 points and 9.7 rebounds, possessing some trade value.
But the main return of the trade, Bargnani, wasn’t much better.
Bargnani wasn’t the least talented number one pick in the NBA, but likely he was the least noticeable.
Perhaps many new fans don’t even realize he was a number one pick.
He played three seasons with the Raptors before showing some number-one-pick-appropriate skills, averaging 21.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
But that was the season he began suffering injuries, and his attendance dropped year after year.