From sparring to superstar

Chapter 296 294. The Basketball God’s Decision

Kobe Bryant's home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

In the living room, Vanessa and Vivian were sitting together chatting. Vanessa's belly was bulging, and she looked like she was two or three months pregnant.

Vanessa said, "It's great. Your family is moving here too, so we can go shopping at any time."

Vivian responded: "Yes, that's great. In fact, the house over there is also very good. I can sleep a little longer in the morning before getting up and going to school. But with you here, the educational resources are better. Little Roy will start preschool education in two years..."

In the study room, Li Ao looked at the space that was about the same size as the living room, with several rows of large bookshelves, like a library, and was amazed: "I didn't expect you, Snake, to be a high school student who loves reading."

Kobe, who was sitting by the side reading a book, scratched the book and it was deformed. Is this a compliment or a mockery?

Let's call it a compliment.

He spoke out the first words he said to Li Ao after more than a month: "Congratulations on becoming the championship."

Li Ao shook his head and said: "I still prefer the days when I thought about how to get one more minute of competition time every day, the championship and so on, it doesn't really matter..."

Kobe rolled his eyes, raised his hand, and revealed his left hand that had been hidden under the book. There were two championship rings on his index and middle fingers!
Little Spider-Man, a mere champion has the nerve to show off?

Li Ao picked up the schoolbag he had been carrying and unzipped it.

Kobe had long been curious about why the big spider kept carrying this bag when he arrived at their house. He looked over curiously as if he was afraid of being stolen...

I saw Big Spider taking out the FMVP trophy!

Three minutes later, the door to Kobe's house closed with a bang, and Li Ao and Vivian stood outside the door.

Vivian covered her forehead, her Leo actually ran to Kobe to show off the FMVP trophy.

Although it was outrageous, she had expected it before. She got in the car with Li Ao and went to see the newly bought house that was being renovated.

Today is June 6th, more than ten days have passed since the finals.

After winning the championship, there were continuous interviews, fan appreciation activities, championship parades, being taken to various dinners by Jordan and Ballmer... it was a busy week.

Jordan won his 7th championship and his godhood became more stable.

Li Ao won the FMVP and was in the limelight.

Just say that ESPN is a professional. The youngest record is not No. 1. Basically no one remembers it. Just like no one will make an issue of Duncan being the second youngest FMVP in history. Li Ao surpassed Duncan and became the second youngest in history. FMVP is not a hot topic to begin with.

But ESPN suddenly created a '20-year-old FMVP Club', which only included two people, Magic and Spider-Man.

Don't tell me, this topic is really hot.

Then I received news from Liam that the falling house prices had risen slightly, and the Federal Reserve began to tentatively pour water into the real estate market. Li Ao spent most of his cash and, with Liam's help, bought several hot properties. The stores in the business district and this house have been busy for more than ten days.

After all the chores were taken care of, he came to Kobe's house and wanted him to see what the FMVP trophy looked like... Unexpectedly, Snake didn't appreciate it.

After wandering around the construction site, Li Ao and Vivian returned home. They couldn't understand anything after walking around, but the house they wanted to live in was being renovated, so they wanted to take a look when they had time.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, he was holding Roy and Vivian watching the live broadcast of the draft.

The Clippers only have one first-round pick, No. 25, this year. They got it when they helped the Trail Blazers select Randolph. They gave away their first-round pick and second-round pick when they were building the lineup.

At 8:05 pm, the NBA's first Asian No. [-] pick was born - the Knicks chose Yao Ming without any suspense.

Different from Li Ao's memory, this time Yao Ming refused to participate in the meaningless "Four Nations Invitational Tournament". After negotiating an installment buyout with the Eastern Sharks, he came to the draft to shake hands with Stern.

Yao Ming refused to participate in the "Four Nations Invitational Tournament" carefully invited by the National Basketball Association to "build confidence". Some people were criticized by some domestic media, but the person who was criticized was not Yao Ming, but Li Ao...

Li Ao thought about the news that accused him of bringing Yao Ming into trouble, and moved Little Roy's head.

He took all the curses, and the big bamboo pole had to be rubbed by him!
When Yao Ming and Stern were shaking hands and taking a group photo, the camera showed Jay Williams, another favorite for the No. [-] pick. The man in the college basketball majors had dissatisfaction written all over his face.

After the Bulls took Jay Williams with the second pick, he said to the camera: "I should be the first pick. I will be better than Spider-Man. New Yorkers, you will see!"

Li Ao in front of the TV has a black streak on his head.

Isn't this girl jealous that Yao Ming is the No. [-] pick?How come he turned into shooting at Spider-Man?
No, one meal is not enough. You must ask the big spider to treat him to two.

The Warriors selected Mike Dunleavy with the third overall pick.

With the fourth pick, the Grizzlies selected Li Ao's junior, DaJuan Wagner.

This is different from Li Ao's memory. Originally, the Grizzlies seemed to have selected Drew Gooden.

However, in the original time and space, the Grizzlies had White Chocolate, and there were no good point guards here. It was normal to use draft picks to select the point guard who seemed to have the second most talent in this year's draft.

With the fifth pick, the Nuggets selected Georgian center Nikoloz Skotishvili.

The next Nowitzki curse has begun.

With the sixth pick, the Cavaliers selected Drew Gooden.

No. 7 overall, Rockets pick.

Li Ao is very curious, who will the Rockets choose if they fail to get the No. [-] pick?

The Rockets did not satisfy his curiosity and directly traded the No. 7 pick!
The Rockets reached a deal with the Nuggets, using Glen Rice and the No. 7 pick in exchange for Antonio McDyess.

Then the Nuggets selected Nene Hilario with the No. 7 pick.

Vivian said in surprise: "The Rockets are so generous? Are they willing to pay a top-paid insider?"

Li Ao checked it with the notebook on the side. Sure enough, it was like this. He responded:
"The Rockets are not being generous, they are still thinking about saving money. McDyess' salary next season is 1260 million, which is about the same as Rice's 920 million salary plus the salary of a No. 7 pick. Regardless of whether McDyess can recover from his injury, The Rockets have qualified for their signings this offseason. They have an excuse not to use high salaries to compete for free agents. The three core players of Francis, Mobley, and McDyess also seem to have good cards. It is estimated that they will only use them in the future. The basic salary is enough to collect 14 people.”

"I see...that's really stupid! Fortunately, our team has changed its owner."

"That's right, let's order a bouquet of flowers for Sterling tomorrow..."...

The focus of the Clippers management this offseason is not on the draft, but on renewing contracts for Jordan, Bibby, Matt Halprin and others, as well as recruiting veterans.

At around 9 o'clock in the evening, it was the Clippers' turn to select the 25th pick in the first round.

Li Ao participated in the team's pre-draft meeting, and the team finalized the draft direction-small forwards and point guards with good shooting, or power forwards with good defense.

Jordan has not yet determined whether he wants to continue playing. It is necessary to add a power forward who can do a good job of flank defense or a small forward who is good at shooting.

Greg Anthony chose to retire after winning the championship ring and accepted an invitation from ESPN to be a game analyst. There was also a shortage of substitutes at the point guard position.

The first few on Li Ao's recommended list, such as Kareem Rush and Juan Dixon, who are good shooters, and Tayshaun Prince, Posjan Nabach, who are good defensive talents, were all selected.

Li Ao thought the team would choose John Samuels, a senior graduate from the University of Miami. This draft pick was once regarded as a favorite in the lottery, but his performance was extremely poor in the crazy three, and his draft expectations plummeted. He still fell here. Not selected.

In their pre-draft meetings, they discussed Samuels heavily, and Wally Walker viewed him as a lottery ticket that could be scratched.

But the surprise came. The name David Stern pronounced was not Samuels, but Boozer!
Li Aoran was stunned. He mentioned Boozer in the pre-draft meeting, but did not recommend the selection. What they needed was a power forward who could relieve O'Neal's defensive pressure, not a big colander.

Is this because he didn't pick the role players he wanted and chose Boozer to make Spider-Man happy?No need!
Before he could feel his pain, the live broadcast camera switched to the trading area.

The host of the trading area announced a trade that had just occurred - the Clippers traded Boozer for the Cavaliers' Te'lon Hill.

This made Li Ao's eyes light up!
The TV screen posted the statistics of Te'lon Hill who just finished the season, averaging 8 points and 10 rebounds per game!
Next season's salary is a bit more expensive, $660 million.

But if you want to sign a defensive power forward with such strength in the free market, you have to pay such a price, and you may not be able to get it.

Even if you directly trade the draft pick at the end of the first round, you may not be able to get it. The deal can be completed probably by snatching away the Cavaliers' favorite, and the Cavaliers have to complete the transaction.

Li Ao didn't watch much of the subsequent drafts. Except for Scola at the end of the second round, he had no impression of the others, so after his intended target was selected, he thought the team would select Samuels.

And Scola seems to have to wait until 07 or 08 to enter the NBA. There is no need to trade a draft pick to lock him in. Moreover, Scola is not suitable for him. A defensive power forward is more suitable for his style of play. Cora's defense is no better than Boozer's.

...

After the draft, Li Ao's family flew back to the imperial capital of China. After resting for a few days in his hometown, he left home and followed AJ's team to start the Spider-Man II sneaker promotion event. He also promoted the Spider-Man movie and went to the premiere. Only then did he realize that Disney had cut out almost all of the scenes he shot, and he even became the protagonist of the Easter egg.

However, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. There were more shots and more money from box office dividends. Although he had no intention of joining the entertainment industry, he was still very interested in occasionally making cameo appearances to gain the limelight. It was fun.

On the 1st, the NBA free market has opened, and bad news came that day - Sean Lukes was poached by the Magic for $2 million over two years.

Li Ao can understand that this old teammate who has been with him for two years chooses to leave. There were not many playing opportunities in the first place. After Te'lon Hill joined, Sean Lukes had no chance to play. The price given by the Magic It’s not low either. It’s normal to choose to leave.

The good news also came quickly. The Jazz used 4 years and 2000 million US dollars to poach Matt Harprin, who the Clippers did not have the priority to renew with his home team. Wally Walker gave the same contract to Matt Harp. Lin chose to turn down the Jazz's offer to stay.

Not only did the Jazz want to poach Matt Halprin, they also gave Bibby a starting salary of 812 million and a total of US$5 million over five years. However, Bibby declined the invitation and chose to stay with the team.

Wally Walker passed the news to Li Ao that Bibby's contract extension negotiations were basically completed. He did not complete the contract extension immediately because he was waiting for Jordan's decision.

If Jordan continues to play, they will choose to retain the main lineup and make minor repairs. If Jordan retires, they will have to introduce a forward and defensive ball-handling offensive player.

Li Ao talked to Jordan about this in the days after winning the championship, and Jordan seemed very hesitant.

Li Ao thinks this is normal. Now that Jordan has retired, he has been a god throughout his career. He was still the champion in the year he finally retired. God knows the result of the new season.

The Clippers management was not in a hurry to let Jordan make the decision and showed full respect.

However, Jordan was happy to win the championship and did not make a big deal. He said that he would make a decision before July 7th and would not delay the Clippers for too long.

The Clippers management also understands Jordan's thoughts, but their understanding is in a different direction than Li Ao.

In the view of Wally Walker and Ballmer, Jordan is 39 years old after all, and will be 40 years old halfway through next season. At this age, after winning the seventh championship, it is indeed worth thinking about whether he wants to play for another year.

Moreover, the Clippers management is also worried that Jordan will regret making a hasty decision and suddenly retire next season, which will make them uncomfortable. It is better to wait patiently and let Jordan think carefully.

The core structure of Bibby, Li Ao, Odom, and O'Neal Jr. is there, and they have the capital to wait.

Not only are they waiting, the media and fans are also waiting for Jordan's decision.

After the training in the playoffs last season, people have seen the growth of the Clippers' young players. If Jordan chooses to continue playing, the Clippers will definitely be the favorite to win the championship next season.

Jordan, who is about to turn 40, is once again in a position that can determine the league's structure.

On the way to participate in business activities, Li Ao received news from Schwartz. After a lot of trouble with the Blues Association, Yao Ming and Schwartz finally entered the World Championship training list.

That's right, relying on Li Ao's relationship, Schwartz successfully snatched the job of Yao Ming's agent from many competitors.

The first person to have a relationship with Yao Ming was Bill Duffy, that agent. Li Ao didn't think he was bad, but he was too soft.

Bill Duffy would never dare to go against the Blue Association, but Schwartz did.

Jordan did not postpone it until July 7th. On the 15th, when Li Ao came to Shanghai to promote the next stop, he received a call from Gentry...

At noon on July 7th, Yingjiang’s time, and in the early morning of July 12th, Zhonghua’s time, the Clippers held a press conference.

Jordan said at the press conference: "I decided to play for another year. This time I don't want to take too much money. Thanks to Steve's kindness, I decided to renew my contract with a basic salary."

Lakers fans couldn't hold back for a moment.

Neighbor next door, you are being so mean!
The basketball god who averages 20+4+4 per game, renews his contract with a basic salary?

……

……

I took the time to sort it out today, and it’s short and concise again...

(End of this chapter)