Chapter 1175 [The Most Bizarre Thing Is that He Is Determined to Be Black]

In mid-July, the Lakers' 15-man lineup for next season was determined.

Center: Ivica Zubac, Steven Adams, Andrew Bogut.

Power forwards: Davis Berstein, Al Horford, Montrezl Harrell.

Small Forward: Vince Carter, PJ Tucker, Kevin Durant.

Shooting guards: Andre Robertson, Devin Booker, Dwyane Wade.

Point guard: Guo Xu, Raymond Felton, Jason Terry.

The Lakers' 15 players each have their own characteristics and can all play a role. The fringe players next season will definitely be Zubac and Berstein, and they will have to go to the Development League to train for a period of time.

Guo Xu, who was filming, had a phone call with Kupchak after seeing the news and expressed that he was very satisfied with the team's operation. Except for Adams, he did not recommend anyone else. Kupchak's vision is quite reliable.

Kupchak smiled and asked: "With this lineup, we will definitely be able to defend the title next season, right?"

"Don't be kidding, your ambition is just to defend the title? With Durant, Wade, and Adams joining me, my goal is to win all the championships, including the playoffs. I don't think any team can beat the Lakers, waiting to see the record broken "Okay." Guo Xu said confidently.

In his opinion, the Lakers next season will be an All-Star team, the strongest lineup he has played with since joining the league, stronger than the Suns that won five consecutive championships, and it is impossible for other stars combined to beat the Lakers.

Some veterans were very depressed after seeing the Lakers lineup. They had been rejected before they wanted to join.

For example, Paul Pierce, his performance with the Clippers last season was so poor that no strong team valued him.

Al Jefferson's attempt to cut his salary and join the Lakers failed because his style of play was strong on offense but weak on defense. After the Lakers' quota was filled, he joined the Bucks for 30 million in three years. The Bucks' "Great" Embiid will return next season, and Jefferson will be his substitute. The Bucks did not renew Bogut's contract.

A veteran like David West who had rejected the Lakers would come back and Kupchak wouldn't even give him a basic salary, leaving him to stay where he could. West had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and chose to join the Warriors for 1.3 million a year.

A "Gao Yuanyuan" like Roy Hibbert would have no chance of joining the Lakers, so he joined the Nets for 3.5 million in one year.

The Nets, which were swept by the Lakers last season, fell apart and began to rebuild. James's evaluation finally became a reality. The team lost three starters at once, and LeBron James will lead the team independently next season.

Nowadays, the person who scolds the Nets management the most harshly on the Internet is James.

"Is the Nets management a bunch of SBs? They have so much salary space and they don't dig up superstars to assist James. Aren't Durant, Westbrook, DeRozan, and Drummond all free agents? Whatever. If you dig two, won’t you be able to rise next season?”

James' thinking is so weird. These people have never said they are willing to join the Nets and join forces with James, but they feel that as long as the team has salary space, they will be able to recruit people to "assist" James. They thought this was a real emperor, but in fact James was just their emperor.

What's even weirder is that James scolded Howard, saying that he was not loyal enough and was a domestic slave with three surnames.

"Howard is so wicked. If he wanted to leave, he could have signed first and then traded, but he directly joined the Hawks and left nothing for the Nets. If it weren't for James, he could have reached the Finals twice? He is shameless!"

Howard opted out of the final year of his contract.

After accepting the Hawks' offer, the Nets management did not match it. You can't even match the contract, sign it first and then change your claws?

If this contract really matches, it would be impossible for the Nets to trade Howard for a strong player. Howard is already a blue-collar center whose condition has seriously declined. Other teams would have to have crazy James as their manager to trade stars for him.

The weirdest thing is that Jamie also scolded Wade.

After Wade left, James gave an interview and expressed the turmoil of the Nets while also talking about Wade. He made it clear: "With Wade leaving the Nets, our strength will definitely decline significantly next season and the situation will become more difficult."

James said something, and the good-for-nothing Wade who was held back last season was resented by James again. Someone said: "Wade abandoned his brother. He doesn't even have the courage to continue competing for the championship with James. What's the big deal for this kind of person even if he joins the Lakers and wins the championship?"

Well, the team that sticks together becomes the Lakers, and the James despises teaming up.

But doesn’t Wade have the courage to compete with James for the championship? He knew that defeat was inevitable, and James' maximum salary was wildly touted, so he took the blame for the defeat with his minimum salary.

The most bizarre thing is that James also scolded Durant.

The reason is that some media published news predicting that Durant is likely to join the Nets and join forces with James to fight against the Lakers. The reason is that since Durant no longer wants to stay in the Thunder, the only options he can choose to join a team to compete for the championship are the Warriors and Nets.

At that time, no one thought that Durant would choose the Lakers. As teammates with Guo Xu, he could only be the younger brother, not equal status. Teaming up with James as teammates is like brother basketball, although they don't know each other very well and won't play together during the holidays.

James is a brother in the world, and the same is true in the parallel world. Even if his head was shaved by the Warriors, he would not forget to call Durant and Draymond Green brothers. Maybe one day they can form a team.

The reporter closest to Durant also shouted on social media: "Durant is very likely to join the Nets." So everyone believed it, even though Durant never thought so.

The Jamies were furious. "Durant is so insidious. He never said clearly that he was NO to the Nets, and suddenly joined the Lakers without any warning. The Lakers are the championship without him. How much contribution does he make even if he successfully defends the title after surrendering to the enemy? This kind of joining is the same as A star from a district team who joins forces with the enemy will be punished for his entire life."

They didn't read the news about Durant. The example people gave when they defected to the enemy was James. Without James joining the Nets to set an example, he really couldn't make up his mind.

James also jumped out of his contract and is a restricted free agent. No matter what contract other teams offer, the Nets will match it. He can't leave, and they won't let him go if they want to sign and trade.

The Nets need him to attract fans and maintain home attendance. Since his arrival, the Nets have received more attention than the last-place Knicks.

Of course, the Nets cannot let James fight alone. They signed Warriors center Brook Lopez for $100 million in four years. The management feels that this signing is more cost-effective. Lopez has won two consecutive championships with the Warriors and has rich playoff experience.

Among star centers, Lopez is not too expensive because he has weaknesses. He has excellent offensive range and can reach beyond the three-point line, and he can also attack the basket with the ball, but he is too slow and cannot defend the pick-and-roll on the defensive end.

In order to stabilize James, the Nets had to sign Lopez even though they knew he had flaws. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have a qualified center. Whether they can make the playoffs with James next season is a question.

The Nets poached the Warriors, which reduced the depth of the Warriors' lineup. Not only did it offend Warriors fans, it also indirectly helped the Lakers achieve a better regular season record next season.

Another strong team, the Spurs, made no big moves in the summer and only signed David Lee with a minimum salary. Veteran Duncan announced his retirement. David Lee is obviously not as strong as Duncan. He has always been a black hole on the defensive end.

The Spurs have a reinforcement option on the outside. Kobe Bryant wanted to join but was rejected by the management, even though their outside strength has significantly declined. **Veach doesn't know how to arrange Kobe's ball rights. He seems to be inappropriate as a starter or substitute.