Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 600 - 201: After Winning the Championship, the Hero Leaves the Team (Second Update of the Day!)
At the current time point, the number of teams willing to trade with the Warriors is already few.
Firstly, to maintain their championship roster, the Warriors are bound to be unable to use chips that other teams are more interested in for trading.
Secondly, as a team that just created a 75-win championship myth in the 09/10 season...
In the eyes of other teams, the Warriors' draft picks are not entirely unattractive, but at least could be said to be insipid.
However, the Cleveland Cavaliers are an exception.
During the Finals, LeBron James and his team clearly informed the Cavaliers' organization that the Chosen One would leave the team freely this summer...
So, cutting down future team expenses and officially initiating rebuilding has become the primary task of the Cavaliers.
"Is LeBron really going to leave Cleveland?"
On the phone, when Qin Yue learned that James was about to leave the Cavaliers, even as someone who knows things, he still felt incredibly shocked.
Because this is completely different from what he remembers.
Why is it different?
To know that historically, until the final major decision was made....
James announced on live TV to the Cavaliers fans and organization that he would leave Cleveland and take his talents to Miami.
And this is the main reason why the Cavaliers' owner Gilbert later chose to publicly criticize James, resulting in countless Cavaliers fans burning James' jerseys.
After all...
Until James announced on TV that he didn't intend to renew with the Cavaliers, he always seemed like someone who just hadn't agreed on certain renewal details with his old team Cavaliers.
Now the question arises.
Why did James so candidly inform the Cavaliers' organization during the Finals that he wouldn't choose to renew with the Cavaliers?
The answer is quite simple.
That is, regardless of how James and his team create suspense around his departure, it's hard for him to stir up the seismic event like in Qin Yue's memory.
In Qin Yue's past life, the James who made the "Decision I" on live TV was the MVP Chosen One for two consecutive years.
It's not an exaggeration to say, even if you called James at that time the "prospective league number one," it would not be excessive.
But the current James...
Not to mention that he just led the Cavaliers to become the Bobcats' backdrop for their black eight miracle in the first round of playoffs; above him personally, he is overshadowed by a Messiah from the Bay Area.
Moreover, the most important thing is because the team that James most wants to sign with now is no longer the same...
So if James cannot make a decision quickly, that team could completely make other choices in this summer's free agent market.
Therefore...
To ensure that team won't abandon him in favor of someone else, James must be more decisive than he was in Qin Yue's memory.
This also forces the Cavaliers to give up their fantasy of keeping James and officially start rebuilding ahead of schedule.
"Who are the Cavaliers eyeing in our roster?" Setting aside his curiosity about James for now, Qin Yue asked on the phone.
"They are eyeing Troy Murphy's expiring contract," Ma Long said.
The 10/11 season will be Murphy's contract year. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
This gives Murphy great appeal to the Cavaliers, who urgently need to clear salary space.
But upon learning of the Warriors' plan to trade Murphy to the Cavaliers, Qin Yue couldn't help feeling a bit saddened.
Even though Qin Yue had decided early on that to maintain the team's competitiveness, he couldn't choose to play sentimental basketball...
When it truly came time to abandon old comrades, even Qin Yue still inevitably became melancholic.
However...
Upon hearing the chips the Cavaliers decided to send, the previously saddened Qin Yue immediately changed his demeanor.
"Troy is our important backup!" Qin Yue said on the phone. "If the Cavaliers just want to use some insignificant players for the trade, I definitely wouldn't agree!"
"But what if the chips the Cavaliers are willing to send is Antoine Jamison?"
"Who did you say?"
"Antoine Jamison."
On the phone, after pondering for several seconds, Qin Yue was all smiles: "Then I'll personally knock out Troy and deliver him express to Cleveland!"
Jamison's existing contract has two years left, expiring after the 11/12 season.
In the next two years, Jamison's contract amounts to 13.36 million and 15.08 million US Dollars respectively.
As the new labor agreement is signed this summer, the NBA will officially implement the super luxury tax starting next season, thus players of Jamison's level are destined not to be enjoyed by the Cavaliers, who have lost James.
But the Warriors are different.
Since Murphy's salary for the 10/11 season is 11.97 million US Dollars, already in the high-salary backup category, for the Warriors, if they could trade Murphy for Jamison, their roster could not only experience an upgrade...
Also, they wouldn't have to pay too much for it.
Of course...
To facilitate this trade, the Warriors still need to give up two additional draft picks.
"The Cavaliers hope we will select a player for them this summer, then complete the trade, and they also hope we can include our 2011 first-round draft pick in this trade."
According to NBA regulations, a team cannot consecutively trade first-round draft picks.
However, if a team selects a player before making a trade, the rule can be perfectly circumvented.
Because the selected player already belongs to a team's assets, not a draft pick.
In response, Qin Yue smiled and said, "If we can get Antoine Jamison, what more draft picks do we need?"
As someone who has been through it, Qin Yue is well aware...
In the next two seasons, Jamison still has the ability of a quasi-star forward.
On the court, he can play off the ball and initiate ball-handling attacks through mismatches after a pick-and-roll with himself.
Undoubtedly, with Jamison's addition, the Warriors' upcoming dynasty journey means added security.
Although, after confirming with Ma Long, Mulin, and Riley that the Warriors will proceed with the trade with the Cavaliers after the draft, Qin Yue still felt reluctant to part with Murphy...
But in the NBA, where friends come and go, only the championship banner flies in the wind...
When the opportunity to strengthen is right in front of him, no matter how upset Qin Yue is, he has to accept the gift from Cleveland with tears.
...
Four days later, the Warriors held a grand championship parade in Oakland.
Qin Yue didn't want to hide it from Murphy.
So after discussing with Mulin and Riley, they decided to inform Murphy in advance about his impending trade to help him prepare mentally.
However, unlike what Qin Yue imagined...
Murphy not only accepted everything calmly but also educated him in return: "You're going to be the GOAT of this era, and I'm just an insignificant piece. You have no reason to feel sad about my departure, especially when it can make this team better."
In the past few seasons, Murphy has won a championship ring and secured a big contract...
For him personally, his career can only be described as a life winner.
So when Murphy learned that his departure could bring back a quasi-star forward for his beloved team, he wasn't sad at all. Instead, he was genuinely happy for the team.
After all, Murphy, who will undoubtedly be honored with a retired jersey by the Warriors in this lifetime, has already considered this team and Oakland as his home.
Additionally, during the championship parade, Murphy received a promise from the team's owner, Lacob.
"Troy, I don't know what your plans are for the future, but if you decide to come back after retirement, there will always be a place for you in the team's management."
To this, Murphy laughed and said, "Doesn't that mean I have the chance to lead the Messiah in the future?"
Even though Murphy will be traded as a bargaining chip this summer to strengthen the roster,
for Lacob, who intends to build goodwill in the league for the team, he has long been prepared to treat these Warrior legends well in the future.
In fact, this is how to properly honor basketball achievements.
Because in the NBA, no championship hero can stay young forever.
If a team wants to compete for the championship every season, they must always ensure the vitality and financial health of their lineup.
...
After the championship parade, Qin Yue's indulgent vacation officially began.
Since to acquire Jamison, the Warriors' first-round draft pick will be made as required by the Cavaliers, Qin Yue lost interest in this year's draft.
It wasn't until the day after the draft that Qin Yue found out DeMarcus Cousins was selected by the Wizards with the first overall pick and became this year's top pick.
Cousins, with a shoe-height of 211 cm, was labeled early on by major US media as a "Qin Yue Nth generation" thanks to the operations of his agent, Jeff Schwartz.
Everyone knows that in recent years, any player associated with Qin Yue sees a considerable rise in their draft position, so how much more for Cousins, who was highly anticipated before entering the draft, with superstar attributes except for slightly unstable mentality?
After seeing the news of Cousins becoming the top pick, Qin Yue briefly glanced at the specific situation of the 2010 draft.
The Philadelphia 76ers, holding the second overall pick, selected John Wall, who fell from first to second.
At the third overall pick, another "Qin Yue Nth generation" Derrick Favors was selected by the Nets, who achieved the worst record in NBA history last season (excluding lockout seasons).
At the ninth pick of the first round, Gordon Hayward was picked by the Jazz through an upward draft pick trade.
At the tenth pick of the first round, the famous "Brother Silky" Paul George was selected by the Pacers.
At the thirteenth pick of the first round, the Bucks, having been hurt for a season by Hasheem Thabeet, selected "The Poet" Larry Sanders.
To strengthen the point guard position, the Celtics acquired a first-round draft pick this year from the Grizzlies in a trade involving Tony Allen and selected Eric Bledsoe.
And the Cavaliers required the Warriors to use their first-round draft pick to select Tibor Pele for them.
As for the most notable player among the second-round candidates in the 2010 draft, Lance Stephenson, he remained under the Pacers' banner.
The draft ended.
The trade between the Warriors and the Cavaliers was officially completed.
After trading away Troy Murphy, Tibor Pele, and their first-round pick in 2011, the Warriors acquired the quasi-star forward Antoine Jamison from Cleveland.
And a few days later, when the free agent market officially opened...
Compared to those teams busy orchestrating seismic deals, the Warriors turned their attention to their urgently needed center position.
Since the veteran Foyle had announced his retirement...
Even though the Warriors have Qin Yue who can occasionally play center, they need to bring in a backup center this summer to ensure their depth in the paint.
...
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