Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

After changing a group of people, the strength distribution of both sides became much more balanced than before, and the training matches on the field were also much more exciting.

Zhuang Yu, Westbrook and Love all came to the sidelines.

The three of them were chatting while watching the competition on the field.

At the beginning, we talked about the competition on the field, who performed well, who performed poorly, who made significant progress compared to last year, and who was still standing still.

As we chatted, we talked about the new season.

"The new season in the West will definitely be very exciting, with you Lakers, the Rockets, the Warriors, the Clippers, the Jazz, the Nuggets, and..." Love said with a smile, "Haha, it's interesting just to think about it. I wonder what the playoffs will be like."

Judging from his tone, he seemed to be gloating over someone else's misfortune.

Love's Cavaliers are in the Eastern Conference, and there will be some overlap with the Western Conference in the regular season, but there will be no relationship between the two sides in the playoffs.

Unless the Cavaliers can make it to the finals, but with the Cavaliers' current lineup strength, it is obviously impossible to make it to the finals, and it is hard to say whether they can make it to the playoffs.

After Irving and James left the Cavaliers one after another, although the Cavaliers renewed Love's contract, they had actually entered the rebuilding stage.

The reason for renewing Love's contract is probably to let the old player Love lead the newcomers and complete the transition from the old to the new.

Seeing Love smiling so happily, Zhuang Yu said, "Love, are you really planning to retire with the Cavaliers? Don't you want to fight for the championship again?"

"Aim for the championship?"

Love was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

Who doesn’t want a championship? Even if he already has a championship ring, who would complain about having too many?

When it comes to retirement, Love feels that it is a little early for him to retire now. He feels that he can still play, but when it comes to competing for the championship, which team will want him?

To be frank, when James left the Cavaliers, Love also considered leaving the Cavaliers and joining a team that could compete for the championship. However, in the past few years, he has been tepid in the Cavaliers, and the aura of an All-Star player has gradually faded. Even if some teams are interested in him, they will not offer a high enough contract.

If he stays with the Cavaliers and renews his contract with them, he can still get a big contract, but if he goes to other teams, he will probably have to take a pay cut.

In fact, Love is only 31 years old this year. Last season, he averaged 17 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Although it is not as good as when he was on the Timberwolves, it is obvious that he still has some strength.

Zhuang Yu said: "It's a pity that we can't offer much chips, otherwise if you come to our Lakers, I can guarantee that you can at least get one more championship ring."

These words made Love feel even more heartbroken.

Can I not know?

Of course, joining your Lakers team is the best chance to win the championship. I also want to go, but do you guys want to do it?

The Lakers certainly won't do that.

The key is that Love still has several years left on his contract with the Cavaliers, so the only way to get him is through a trade.

The Lakers' current lineup is relatively complete and balanced. With this lineup, they have won the championship for two consecutive seasons. Who would be stupid enough to break up a good championship lineup, trade for Love, and form a new lineup?

"Forget it, I'd better stay with the Cavaliers." Love said with a wry smile.

Zhuang Yu didn't continue to hurt his friend, and the topic dropped there.

However, Westbrook next to him was concerned. The Lakers would definitely not acquire Love through a trade because they already have a championship lineup.

But the Rockets can.

The Rockets have made a lot of trades this summer, the biggest of which is naturally the trade of Chris Paul for Westbrook to form a "super backcourt combination" with Harden.

But as Love said, there are too many strong teams in the West.

Moreover, each of them is ridiculously strong. There are several teams with lineups that are not inferior to the Rockets, and some even have more gorgeous lineups than the Rockets.

Under such circumstances, even with Harden and Westbrook, it would be extremely difficult for the Rockets to win the championship.

Unless, they bring in another All-Star level player to form the "Big Three".

In fact, the Rockets have thought about this, and they are willing to pay some price, but there are only so many All-Star players in the free agent market.

For example, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler...

Some of these people are not suitable for the Rockets, such as Kemba Walker. The Rockets already have Harden and Westbrook, so why add another guard to make them fight together?

There are also some who are more powerful and may not think highly of the Rockets, nor are they willing to come to the Rockets.

For example, Kawhi Leonard, if he stays in the Raptors, he will be the undisputed core and the boss of the team. Why does he come to your Rockets? To be the second or third?

But Love is no longer an All-Star level player.

Moreover, Love has been the third player in the Cavaliers in the past few years. He doesn't care about the status of the team leader. He and Westbrook were former college teammates and good brothers, and he is also an inside player... Westbrook's eyes began to light up, damn, why didn't I think of it earlier.

Isn’t Love the last piece of our “championship puzzle”?

"Kevin." Westbrook couldn't help but blurt out, "Why don't you come to our Rockets and we can fight for the championship together."

"Ah?" Love was stunned, then smiled and didn't take it seriously.

Zhuang Yu didn't take it seriously.

But Westbrook took it seriously.

He secretly decided that he had to have a good talk with the Rockets management and find a way to trade for Love to form a Big Three. By then, there would be himself and Harden on the outside, Love on the inside, and with a few more people, they would be a championship contending team.

Of course, we have to talk to Harden first.

Thinking of this, Westbrook was a little depressed. He was the absolute boss of the Thunder. Even with Paul George, no one would question his status as the boss. After all, he was already the boss before George came.

Everyone knows the Thunder is his team.

But things changed when I came to the Rockets.

For the Rockets, Westbrook is a newcomer, while Harden has been playing for the Rockets for several years and has always been the boss of the team.

Even with James' strength, in his first year with the Heat, many people still thought that he was going to assist Wade, and Wade was the boss of the Heat.

What's more, in terms of personal strength, Westbrook and Harden may be on par with each other. There are even many people who think that Westbrook is not as strong as Harden, and that his explosive personal data are all inflated.

So after joining the Rockets, Westbrook is no longer the boss of the team.