This Forward is Not Serious

This is indeed a bit confusing, because without a decision, it is just keeping people's appetites whetted.

Moreover, as the free market continues, each team is completing reinforcements one after another, which still hangs on the teams he may sign.

Especially for the Lakers, if they don't get James' commitment to join, they won't rashly persuade Bosh to retire.

Because Bosh is not 100% sure that he can't play, and there is no better choice, they will wait for the last chance.

…

Los Angeles, James mansion.

Just finished another round of meetings with the Lakers, but James' mood is not getting better.

Because during the meeting, in addition to further expressing his willingness to cooperate with him, Kobe also mentioned one thing.

Kobe Bryant may play two more seasons.

This confused James.

Perhaps because Kobe was able to play with James, the desire to win deep in his heart was reawakened, just as he expressed when he called Lin Ying before, he wanted to win another championship before retiring.

But James's thoughts are different. He knows Kobe, so he knows that there is a big difference between one year and two years.

This is like two couples getting along with each other. They are new and exciting for a short time, but after a long time, they will become the most familiar enemies.

Not to mention Kobe's paranoid character, when the time comes, the issue of ball rights and status will all explode, leaving feathers everywhere.

So now he has turned the Lakers from first choice to backup.

"I'm scheduled to meet with the Warriors team tomorrow."

Without James having to speak, Rich Paul had noticed James' emotional changes and spoke accordingly.

James nodded.

The second choice that Rich Paul mentioned before is not the most suitable choice, which is the Warriors.

Because the Cavaliers were defeated by the Warriors in last year's finals.

Going to the Warriors is equivalent to choosing to join the Pistons or Celtics when he was with the Cavaliers in the early years, joining his enemies.

But this is not the most difficult road. The most difficult road is to join the Nets directly. This can only be... the second difficult road.

Of course, it can be foreseen that this will bring huge negative news to him, which may be even greater than the original group.

So he must treat it carefully.

The next day, James and Rich Paul went to a private mansion in the Los Angeles suburbs, where they met with the Warriors lobbying team.

All I can say is, it is extremely luxurious.

Owner Joe Lacob, general manager Bowles, deputy general manager Kirk Lacob, head coach Kerr, players Curry, Thompson, Green and Iguodala.

It can be said that everyone who can speak for the Warriors is in place, except that Jerry West, the big promoter behind it, is not here.

"This will be a historic day."

Boss Lacob said this when he shook hands with James when they met.

After sitting down, with Bowles and Cole as the main generals, the Warriors team began to lobby James.

The focus of their lobbying is to talk about the far-reaching significance of this cooperation, and the only way to defeat their common opponent, the Nets, etc.

The Warriors were clearly prepared.

Bowles even mentioned Durant's decision to join the Nets.

"He opened Pandora's box."

Although he didn't say much, what Bowles was referring to here should be the cooperation between the top super giants in the league.

James basically listened to the first half of what he said, and he only nodded after hearing this.

He thinks he has never been in a super team, but Durant went directly to a super team that won two championships in three years.

He then asked the Warriors team two questions.

"Am I going to mess up your friendship and ruin your chemistry?"

The question was a sensitive one, but James had to ask.

Because he is joining a mature team, if he does not ask this clearly, it is likely to turn into a confrontation between himself and a team composed of other people, and then he will become an "outsider".

However, the Warriors did not directly answer James' question. Instead, Green asked James in return.

"How many championships do you think you can win if you stay with the Cavaliers?"

After asking, he pointed to a few people around him,

"Join us, how many championships can you win? How many games can we win in a season?"

Green's temper is still quite impulsive.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cole coughing.

"Our slogan is 'United as One,' which is also the slogan we have always advertised. The Warriors are not the team of Curry and Thompson. He is the Warriors of everyone on this team."

Taking advantage of this juncture, Bowles began to introduce the Warriors’ current team culture, tactical concepts, and,

Their desire for dynasty.

"Without the emergence of this Nets team, we are likely to complete a dynasty, but now everything has become very difficult, so we are looking forward to you joining and becoming a part of the Warriors to create this Warriors dynasty together."

It must be said that Bowles' eloquence is quite good.

He was the main force in this lobbying effort.

James nodded in approval, and then asked the second, also critical question.

"Do you need me to adjust my playing style?"

This question may be more important than the first one.

Because James's style of play is a big core style of play that covers everything.

If he doesn't change his style of play, the rest of the Warriors are bound to give the ball away, especially Curry and Green.

Let’s talk about Curry first. Although in Cole’s system, Curry has increased a large number of times without the ball, the proportion of holding the ball still accounts for a large part.

If James comes, his proportion of holding the ball will definitely drop a lot, his shot rights will also be reduced, and his data will of course decline.

Then there's Green.

Green may be more affected than Curry.

Because Green's most classic tactic in the Warriors now is to deal cards at the top of the arc.

You don't even give him the ball, but he still throws a butterfly.

After asking, James also looked at the two of them.

Then he got the answer he wanted.

"No, you don't have to change your style of play, you just have to be yourself."

Green's answer this time was a bit harsh.

Moreover, he followed up with the Nets as an example.

"I can play Nikola Jokic's role."

This sentence is very meaningful.

Because Jokic often opens up space at the top of the arc.

James's style of play is very similar to Lin Ying's. If Curry is almost as good as Durant, then Thompson will be their extra advantage.

The meeting went well.

Yesterday, the meeting between James and the Lakers team took 4 hours, but today it only took 2 hours to complete, and the cooperation intentions of both parties were quite good, and the players all left contact information at the end.

After the meeting, Iguodala reached out to James for a hug.

"I've been craving the opportunity to play with you."

As an opponent in the Eastern Conference that year, Iguodala recognized James' strength and respected him very much.

And he also joked with James.

"Because I don't want to be chased by you anymore. It's really difficult to be your opponent."

James couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, and then smiled and patted Iguodala on the back.

He hasn't figured out how to get along with the others yet, but Iguodala can quickly become his brother.

After the meeting with the Warriors, James was in a good mood and was directly sent red wine.

The private villa here is rented by him, so he can have a drink when his family is not around.

"Have you decided?"

Paul couldn't help but ask.

He could feel that James was in a happy mood at the moment.

And as free agency moves downward, he has something to worry about.

Because it's okay to choose the Warriors, which is a mature team in itself.

But if they still choose to go to the Lakers, there really won't be much time left for them.

"It's close, but still a little bit off."

James fumbled with the red wine glass, his eyes a little blurry.

It feels like we are about to reach that state, but we are still a little short of it.

Paul nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

They are not the ones who are anxious at this time, or rather they are not the only ones, the Warriors are also very anxious.

In the current free market, James is their only option for reinforcement.

As for George, who has caused a lot of commotion recently, that is within the contract period, and the Warriors have no leverage to replace him.

Therefore, if he really goes to the Warriors, this is James' time to gain more benefits for himself.

It's all about psychology, there are some things that don't need to be said clearly, otherwise how could they be so close.

Facts quickly proved that they were indeed right.

Late that night, before James was about to go to bed, he received a text message from Curry, a quite long text message.

Curry is not someone like Green who is good at talking about his thoughts. He cannot say many things in person and can only use text messages.

But this text message touched James very much.

"...I don't care who will be the boss of the team, who will be the face of this place, I don't care who will be the most popular in Oakland, I don't even care if your sneakers sell better than mine. .

If you win the regular season MVP trophy next season, I will definitely be the one sitting in the front row and leading the applause.

If the outside world slanders you because of your decision, I will definitely stand up and speak for you and tell them that we recruited you.

I don't care about honors, media, or even statistics. What I really care about is that you can win more championship trophies as my teammates. "

What moves people the most is not the beautiful words, but the true feelings from the heart.

No matter how perfect a lie is, it will not resonate with people as much as a true statement.

This text message from Curry made James feel his true feelings.

Moreover, this text message is also very important.

Because although other members of the Warriors have spoken beautifully, the Warriors’ top player is Curry, and Curry has been silent.

Now that Curry has said it, the biggest stone in James' heart has also fallen to the ground.

He is James, the chosen one. He wants the championship, but he cannot give up his team status.

He also quickly responded to Curry.

"I think the same as you. My goal is to win more championship trophies. If I go to the Warriors, I believe we will become the closest comrades."

James texted back, but still hadn't made a final decision.

Because he is still very worried about the evaluation of the outside world.

TNT has been trying to criticize him for the past two years. Even within ESPN, there are anti-fans led by A. Smith.

He returned to the Cavaliers and said he wanted to finish his unfinished business, but he didn't finish it, and he left just two years later to join the Warriors. He was worried that this difficult road would make his reputation reach the lower limit again.

So he feels closer now, but what else does it take for him to make that determination.

Finally, not long after waking up the next day, the person who made him make up his mind came.

He got a call from Jerry West.

West is a great legend, both as a player and as an agent.

As a former Lakers operation manager, he single-handedly created the "OK Combination". After that, he left the Lakers and went to the Grizzlies, making the Grizzlies one of the most competitive teams in the Western Conference. Now with the Warriors, he hired Cole. .

Now his goal is to find James again and form an unprecedented super team.

James also has great respect for West.

After all, in addition to these, West is also nicknamed "Logo Man", which is a huge card.

But unlike others, West did not lobby James at the beginning, but talked about his own experience.

"I won my first championship in 1972, but before that, I lost seven Finals."

The experience West shared resonated strongly with James.

Because before he won his first championship, he also experienced three failed finals, and was swept twice.

"The taste of failure is very unpleasant. The pain is still in my memory. As a person who longs for success, failure is the most difficult to let go."

West's words kept hitting James. If West was not on the other end of the phone but on the other side, James would definitely want to hug him.

Because this is, sympathy for each other.

"In a team like the Warriors, which is full of top players, you can grow more gracefully and smoothly. You don't have to worry about extra burdens. You can show all your talents. I can guarantee that your addition will make the Warriors run smoothly. More fluid.”

Yes, West even mentioned growth. He feels that James has not reached his limit yet.

These words also made James more and more excited.

Finally, West also outlined the blueprint to James, the blueprint of a dynasty.

"I think we'll meet up in Auckland soon."

Finally, James made up his mind.

Then on this day, James had a phone conversation with Gilbert and then told ESPN his final decision.

Just an hour later, ESPN released James' original text:

"Last year, two losers, Lin and Durant, succeeded. This year, two losers, Curry and I, are going to come together to form a new Avengers. I don't want to copy, I want to become greater.

Stephen and I come from the same place, we're both kids from Akron, we've both proven ourselves, but we want more, and I'm going to take my talents to the Bay Area to start something unprecedented with my brothers there. era. "