The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 366 - 195 Why Should I Save Money for the Boss?

Chapter 366: Chapter 195 Why Should I Save Money for the Boss?

This is a rather complex issue.

First and foremost, what does the Heat Team want to get?

If it’s simply a replacement, there are hardly any players in the league stronger than James, and most of them are not for sale.

Therefore, a more likely scenario would involve a center plus a 3D small forward.

Even with such conditions, there aren’t many who could satisfy them.

If Granger hadn’t been wrecked by James, the Pacers might be able to offer Granger plus Hibbert as chips.

But this brings us to the second issue, if Riley does not plan to rebuild, then he is highly unlikely to trade James to The East.

It’s similar to how the Cavaliers would never send Han to The East, because facing off in the playoffs and getting destroyed would be a career disgrace.

Thus, if narrowing it down to The West, the chips that could match the trading value of James are even fewer.

Then there’s the third issue, where does James want to go?

James joined the Heat without consulting Wade and Bosh, but there was certainly an agreement with Riley.

So, even though he doesn’t have a no-trade clause, James’s personal wishes will weigh heavily on this matter.

In fact, after news was leaked by Five Reasons, Windhorst wrote for ESPN, expressing James’s interest in joining the New York Knicks.

The article mentioned that James had always entertained the idea of collaborating with the New York Knicks, only choosing the Heat previously because he was invited by Wade and Bosh.

Now, unchanged at heart, he’s also looking forward to working with his good friend Carmelo Anthony.

The article even laid out the chips the New York Knicks could offer; Stademeyer and Lin Shuhao.

Finally, there’s Nike’s intervention.

Although James didn’t achieve success with the Heat, Nike’s substantial investment in him hasn’t paid off yet, and it’s impossible to change spokespeople in the short term.

Nike will inevitably exert pressure on the League in this trade, and as the NBA’s biggest financier, that influence cannot be ignored.

So theoretically, there are 29 teams in the League that could trade with the Heat, but only a few, if any, can simultaneously meet these conditions.

However, this is exactly why it’s interesting. If the parties don’t unify their opinions and Riley ends up not trading James, it would make things even more entertaining.

There’s still no outcome from the Heat’s side, and the Grizzlies, as the defending champions, made the first trade of the 2012-2013 season at this time.

They sent Tony Allen to the Pacers in exchange for Dentye Jones and a future second-round pick.

This trade is very intriguing, as Jones is known in the League as a dirty player. During the 2008-2009 season, he was the Nuggets’ starting shooting guard, playing dirty against Kobe in that year’s playoffs.

The Grizzlies making this move is obviously a response to the league’s suspension.

Not suspending my Johnson? Then I’ll trade for a real dirty player.

Or perhaps, Wallace felt Johnson’s nuclear deterrence wasn’t enough, so he switched to Jones’s conventional deterrence.

If there’s a future case of someone daring to trip, they should be prepared to be tripped in return.

And this move also matches the trading habits of the Grizzlies these past two years: collecting former Grizzlies players.

Yes, Jones is also a former Grizzly; he was the 20th pick of the formidable ’03 class, and he left the team only after fulfilling his four-year rookie contract.

As for Allen, he went to the team he wanted; this can be seen as a win-win situation.

Time swiftly moved to June 29, Hansen was still at home recovering, and this year’s draft had just begun on this day.

The Hornets welcomed their new owner, Tom Benson, in April, and at the same time, they obtained their team’s first-ever No.1 pick.

The lottery and such were mere formalities; this No.1 pick was one of the necessary terms for the Hornets to find a local owner in New Orleans.

Additionally, this pick was very valuable, as this year’s draft featured a media-touted "future of America’s posts," Anthony Davis.

Because Hansen couldn’t yet train, and because his black fandom value hadn’t reached the level to exchange for new Talent, he also paid attention to this year’s draft.

The Hornets selecting Davis with the No.1 pick was without any suspense.

Last season, in a spectacular tanking effort, the Bobcats only secured 7 wins and ultimately used the second pick to take Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Seeing this long name and an unfamiliar face, Hansen couldn’t even recall who this was.

Apart from marveling at Mr. Qiao’s consistent insight, he also felt sorry for the fans in Charlotte.

If it weren’t for Stern’s manipulation, they might have secured the No.1 pick to select Davis themselves, and the Bobcats and the Hornets, both historically interchangeable in terms of their names, might really have exchanged their histories.

The Wizards selected Bradley Bill with the third pick, who would later become the highest-paid player in the history of the Suns.

Last season, under the leadership of Irving, the Cavaliers boldly secured 20 wins, ranking second-last in The East, and finally with the fourth pick took "Little Wade," Dion Waiters.

This choice indicated that they were unlikely to keep Meao.

Adding to the previously dismissed Thabeet, this meant that the trade previously involved by Hansen with the Cavaliers was completely deemed a failure.

With the fifth pick, the King selected Thomas Robinson, who Hansen slightly remembered as the one who received a technical foul for sitting on a billboard during a CBA game and who cried on the bench upon learning it would cost him money.