God's hand behind the scenes

Chapter 485
There is a lot of movement in the league during the offseason every year, and this year it is even worse.Chang Wei vaguely remembered that many far-reaching events happened in the summer of 2004 in his previous life, but he did not expect that after his rebirth, he still could not change the general trend of history.

Not long after the finals ended, the local media in Los Angeles took the lead in reporting that Karl Malone, who ranked second in the history scoring list, announced his retirement. In an interview, he gave the reason that his physical condition was not enough to cope with NBA-level confrontation. But Chang Wei knew that he lost his spirit because he joined the Lakers with all his eggs in one basket but failed to win the championship in the end.

In fact, in the playoffs, Malone can still contribute 18+8 data per game. You must know that this was played when he was partnered with O'Neal inside, which is enough to prove that he still has good strength.But at the beginning, he did not hesitate to break with his old partner Stockton and defected to the Zijin Army for the championship. Now he will feel disheartened if he fails to achieve the expected goal, so even if his physical condition can still support him to play one or two more games In the last season, he chose to leave the NBA in frustration.

Chang Wei is still very sorry for Ma Long's encounter. This top power forward has not been able to win a championship ring throughout his career.I met Jordan when I was in the Jazz, and now I joined the Lakers and bumped into the Pistons. It can be said that fate played an extremely cruel joke on him. Even if you are the second in the total score list, the championship is not easy to win .

Malone's retirement was expected by Chang Wei. In his previous life, he chose to retire after the end of this season, but Payton, another member of the Lakers F4, announced his retirement immediately, which made him feel very puzzled.Although Payton failed to achieve his wish in the Lakers in his previous life, he resolutely chose to join the Heat led by Wade after playing for the Celtics for one season, and won a championship ring in the penultimate season of his career , but now he directly chooses to retire?

At the press conference, Payton looked very calm. He said: "It is indeed a pity that we did not win the championship, but I must admit that the Pistons are a better team than us. They deserve this championship trophy. It can be said that as long as there are no accidents, they will be strong contenders for the championship every season, and I don't want to live in their shadow..."

When the reporter asked him if he had considered joining the Pistons, Payton smiled and said: "Look at their main lineup, man, they don't need old guys like me. In fact, I have always felt strange that they There are no experienced veterans in the team, why can they still be so mature in the playoffs? But it seems that this problem has nothing to do with me now. Joining the Lakers is my final compromise for the championship. Joining again Pistons? Forget it!”

Payton's words made Chang Wei feel dumbfounded. Could it be the fault of the Pistons?But no one will make false claims that they beat a veteran to retirement abruptly, at best it is just another proof of their strength.

Besides, it is impossible for Payton to hug Wade's thigh and win a championship before retiring like in his previous life. After all, Wade is doing well in the Pistons now. Even if he wants to be the team leader in the future, there are nine out of ten He is also the boss of the Pistons. It seems that Payton will not be able to hug his thick legs in this life. It seems that there is nothing wrong with saying that the Pistons beat him to retirement.

After the two veterans chose to retire, the most important news of this summer finally surfaced-the OK team parted ways, and Zen Master was fired by the Lakers management!These two news are undoubtedly a big earthquake for the entire league. Since Jordan and Pippen left the Bulls successively, the OK combination can be said to be the most powerful duo in the league. The root cause, but now they actually have to go their separate ways?This is no joke!

It is precisely because the news is so explosive that when some media in Los Angeles broke the news, they were even protested by Lakers fans, thinking that they were chasing rumors to stimulate sales.But soon the Lakers officially announced that O'Neal was traded to the Cavaliers partner James, which made a group of Lakers fans have to accept this cruel fact after crying bitterly.

The F4 formed by the Lakers looked beautiful, but no one thought they would end like this.Payton and Malone retired, O'Neal went to Kecheng, and Zen Master left for recuperation due to physical discomfort. It can be said that the Lakers management put all their hopes on Kobe alone, but there is still a long way to go for the Purple and Gold to restore their former glory.

Of course Chang Wei felt that it was logical for the Lakers to do so, but more experts and fans couldn't understand the Lakers' self-defeating behavior at all.But in any case, this matter has become a foregone conclusion, and the Lakers will not be a powerful Western Conference for at least the next few seasons.Similar to their fate is the Kings. Their core players are old and walking, and they can no longer play the gorgeous basketball they used to be. The decline of these two teams is simply a catastrophe for fans.

When the former Lakers and Kings became history, they were replaced by the Spurs, Mavericks and Timberwolves. The biggest thing they have in common is that there is a new generation of top power forwards in the team. Both Wizki and Garnett are eligible to enter the Hall of Fame. Under their leadership, these three teams have become the top forces in the West.

However, in Chang Wei's view, it is still too early to worry about the Western teams. Even if the Pistons can continue to win the championship, they will have to go to the finals to compete with the Western teams. Before that, they must rush out of the Eastern Conference. OK.It has to be said that the Cavaliers made a good deal, taking advantage of the fact that the Lakers had to send O'Neal away, they exchanged many players including Ricky Davis for the Sharks, which also means that the "Shark King" in the previous life "The combination has been released in advance, but I don't know if it is an enhanced version.

O'Neal joined the Cavaliers in the previous life, which was already the second-to-last season of his career, and at that time he averaged only 12 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, which can be said to be full of old age, but James' data in that season was 29.7 points , 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists, obviously has entered a mature period.But now there is a big shark in his prime and a slightly young James. No one knows the power of their cooperation, and Chang Wei certainly can't see it.

But no matter what, the Pistons finally have a second competitor in the East besides the Raptors, which means that it is not a smooth road for them to build a dynasty, and there is a risk of direct overturning if they are not careful.

(End of this chapter)