Even if James really wanted to leave, if he had informed them earlier, they could have at least signed Derozan as a fallback, instead of being left with nothing.
But now, the players available to the Lakers are very limited, and they are really struggling to form a team capable of reaching the playoffs in the West.
Lakers fans have started cursing James and his family.
Especially Kobe’s diehard fans.
In their eyes, Kobe had been tirelessly teaching James game experience for the past two years.
To have James succeed him, become the new face of the Lakers, and lead them back to glory!
And what happened? James made his exit after benefiting fully!
Kobe just retired, but the number of his diehard fans remains intimidating, and they lashed out at James.
Some extreme fans even claimed they would break James’ legs if he dared to set foot in Los Angeles again.
However, James had already left Los Angeles for Oakland.
As for what happened in Los Angeles, with his experience in Cleveland, he no longer cared.
As the saying goes, the shameless are invincible.
Lakers fans are cursing, while Warriors fans have begun celebrating.
Oracle Arena already released a photoshopped poster of James in a Warriors jersey, number 23.
Although James’ reputation hasn’t been great in recent years, the thought of a 73-win team bringing in a top-five super star in the league was exciting.
Even the Warriors’ official team put out a bold slogan:
"Let’s break the historical record again!"
They are no longer satisfied with just 73 wins.
The freeze period ended, and teams started signing players one after another. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥
The Lakers became the biggest joke, as they extended Mozgov’s contract for 4 years and 65 million, then signed Luol Deng with a 4-year contract worth 72 million.
The lineup that originally included James, Durant, and Love was now replaced by Luol Deng, Mozgov, and Love, frustrating Lakers fans to no end.
One can imagine that if the Warriors were to play the Lakers on the road next season, it would be highly charged.
The Cavaliers continued to strengthen their roster.
After Garnett announced his intention to sign a ten-day short-term contract with the Timberwolves and retire in Minnesota, they signed Nene to a one-year, 2.9 million contract for reinforcement.
Last season, the 34-year-old Nene averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game with the Wizards.
However, he had already lost his starting position.
The decline in big men’s abilities is the fastest, as shown by Bozer, who suddenly vanished from the league last season.
Moreover, the Cavaliers signed Ci Shiping (Artest) to replace the departing Dentye Jones.
With this, the Cavaliers’ roster for the new season is nearly complete:
Point Guard: Irving, Deron, Dejounte Murray
Shooting Guard: Hansen, JR, Powell
Small Forward: Tucker, Dunleavy, Ci Shiping
Power Forward: TT, Conningham, Hawes
Center: Jokic, Nene, Dedmon
As for Derrick Jones Jr., the Cavaliers signed him to a training camp contract, making it difficult for him to stay with the team.
The free agency signings are nearing completion, and Hansen has started organizing the new year’s training camp.
But at this time, a short yet impactful piece of news was released on the San Antonio Spurs’ official website.
"After 19 years in professional basketball, Duncan announces his retirement."
Yes, you read that right. This wasn’t even Duncan’s own announcement—Spurs issued it instead.
Kobe’s aggressive and fiery personality resulted in his retirement being memorable and grand.
Duncan, with his steady demeanor, retired quietly and unexpectedly.
Stars from around the league have been sending their regards to Duncan.
Hansen also expressed himself on social media:
"Goodbye, the greatest power forward recognized in history."
Kobe, Duncan, counting in Garnett from earlier, and Stademeyer, who signed with the New York Knicks and announced his retirement, stars from the early iconic era are gradually leaving the league.
The end of an old Chapter signifies the beginning of a new one.
While fans were still mulling over Duncan’s exit, the league officially announced a new jersey sponsorship deal with UA.
This new jersey sponsorship deal spans eight years, making UA the league’s new jersey sponsor following Adidas.
This deal is a "victory" after Hansen led his team to win the championship last season, and it is also an unstoppable trend that UA teams have been sweeping the league championships in the past five years.
Although Nike still has plenty of players under its brand, UA’s rise cannot be halted.
According to incomplete statistics, more than 60% of popular new draftees this year, like second pick Ingram and third pick Jaylen Brown, chose to sign with UA.
Ingram, Jaylen Brown, and others also attended Hansen’s training camp.
The training camp scene was vibrant and bustling.
This year, however, Irving did not attend, as he was busy filming the new episode of the Uncle Drew series produced by Nike.
After the Cavaliers’ championship win, Nike significantly increased its attention towards Irving this summer, even portraying him alongside Durant as central figures in the latest Nike poster.
This shows clear intent to groom him as Nike’s successor.
Hansen’s objective for this training camp was to enhance his newly acquired First Gear talent [The tear-drop].
This talent, when translated, means a shot that falls like a tear.
Hansen had heard this term while visiting the Holy City, where the commentator would shout it whenever Parker executed such a floater.
Apart from that, Hansen is focused on improving his defensive footwork in the training camp.
When exchanging ideas with Kobe in the hospital, Kobe shared the core concept of the Little Dog Steps: concise steps like a puppy, slicing through the defense like a breeze through paper gaps.
He thought this could be a very effective strategy against the Warriors’ elevator door tactic.
Of course, theories need practice, and this training camp provides a good opportunity.
Just as Hansen’s training camp kicked off, the Warriors held an official meeting to introduce James.
This was James’ first public appearance since the finals.
With a Warriors jersey numbered 23 in hand, he beamed brightly like a mountain flower.
"Draymond is my brother. After he knew I was joining, he voluntarily offered his number 23 jersey. I told him, ’No need, brother. I can wear number 6 as a sign of my respect for you,’ but he said I deserved the number. I am still deeply moved."
James narrated the story behind his jersey number, showcasing warmth and harmony.
He even revealed the number Green would switch to: Green would don number 35 because he was selected by the Warriors at the 35th position back then.
"This is the strongest team I have ever been a part of in my career. We will become a true super team."
You could clearly hear the excitement in James about joining the Warriors, as their current lineup far surpasses the Cavaliers’, granting him the chance not only to beat Hansen but even dominate over him.
As for "I’ve never joined a super team," that’s not an issue. After all, self-fooled face slapping isn’t considered as such.
"I will help the team build a dynasty."
When a reporter asked about his goals with the Warriors, James remained modest.
Remember, back when he joined the Heat, it was not7, and now he joined the Warriors, who are stronger than the Heat back then, but he only mentioned a dynasty.
Hansen saw the related news reports of the interview after his training ended.
You know, he hadn’t even realized the jersey number clash between James and Green, but upon hearing about Green giving up the number, he found the situation amusing.
If he faced the Warriors in the new season, he’d certainly want to have a detailed chat with Green.
And this whole number 35 thing just seems amusing.
Durant didn’t choose to go to the Warriors, yet the Warriors will still have number 35 in the new season. That’s intriguing.