Those regular bars, some tired, this new project I can not understand, may be traded in what form?
If James had such confusion, he now had a chance to experience it.
Venhorst, who has the title of "James's royal reporter", wrote that the Lakers may have to explore the possibility of trading James this summer, James and his team have differences with the Lakers, and if the contradictions cannot be bridged, a breakup may become a choice.
James has experienced many things in his basketball career, but it is the first time to be put into a trade rumor, in the past, if he did not take the initiative to mention, no general manager would try to do so, otherwise he would be sprayed by the fans to life can not take care of himself, the old Zhan is more skilled in transferring as a free agent, and the trade is still relatively unfamiliar.
This time, has the situation changed?
The deal rumours were sparked by an interview with James over Cleveland All-Star Weekend, when James completed his routine of media group interviews, and Knight reporter Lloyd, who knew him well, asked if he could have a chat, James accepted the invitation, and drove away the security guards who tried to stop the reporter, and had a conversation with Lloyd.
In that interview, James talked a lot, and two of them were worth noting, one was his admission that the door to the Return of the Cavaliers was not closed, and the other was his explanation of why he had changed his mind on staying.
"You have new goals to achieve, and I still want to, eager to reach another level." James said.
When James went to the Lakers in 2018, it was considered that he did not care much about the championship, because the Lakers were a weak team that did not enter the playoffs for five consecutive years, and they did not have irving's level of stars like the Cavaliers in 2014.
The 2020 championship was a sudden happiness, James Hiti had a double harvest on and off the court, so he did not set a player option when he renewed his contract with the Lakers, which was intended to leave the peak in los Angeles.
However, the plan did not change quickly, James never expected the happiness on the field to come and go in a hurry, said that it was gone, the Lakers management failed for two consecutive summers to dismantle the team, the team's championship culture was not rebuilt, and the loss culture was coming back.
The Lakers' lineup did not have the strength to rush the championship, James openly admitted this after losing to the Bucks on February 9, and then the Lakers were defeated by the Blazers who entered the rebuilding period, and the old Zhan had nothing to say, but it was the eve of the trade deadline, he still had some expectations, and woke up to find that everything was business as usual.
James was furious, and he couldn't accept the Lakers standing still in the trading market. James in the thick eyebrow brother joined the Lakers, took the initiative to give up the position of the chief scorer, to the thick eyebrow to play auxiliary, he did indeed do so, leading the league assist list, at that time James felt that his body inevitably had signs of aging, let the thick eyebrows carry the scoring banner, he is responsible for controlling the overall situation, is to comply with the age of the wise choice.
This season's average offensive output of 29.1 points per game, let James realize that he is a little underestimated himself, despite the age of 37 but still very good at playing, Jordan in the bulls' last year is 35 years old averaging 28.7 points per game, now the old Zhan is two years older, scoring higher, what a legendary basketball story, what a good opportunity to improve the historical status, but the Bulls in 98 years are the championship team, and today's Lakers are difficult to say.
James told Lloyd that after winning the championship in 2016, he thought he had no desires and no needs, but this was not the case. Similarly, the coronation in 2020, Old Zhan may also think that the goal has been completed, but the first performance of 29+ per game since 2010 has risen to the top of the expectation, and this expectation conflicts with the current situation of the Lakers.
James has been cautious since the 2010 "decision" attracted criticism, and he hired Adam Mendelssohn, who helped Schwarzenegger successfully run for governor of California, as his media strategy adviser, and most of the public statements were repeatedly deliberated by the media strategy group, one of which was to easily not talk about the team trade, because doing so would be questioned to manipulate management, and the title of "Manager Jen" was not elegant.
James does not say publicly, does not mean that he will not pass the signal to the management through the game, or private communication, such as the 2018 trade deadline, James played a game of 10 shots 3, the Cavaliers were bloodied by the Rockets with a gap of 32 points, the old Jan said to reporters after the game: "Don't ask me about the transaction, I can only control what I can control." ”
The Cavaliers management received a signal from James, and they immediately took action in exchange for reinforcements such as Clarkson and Nance Jr., although this was not very satisfactory to the elder Zhan, but at least the Cavaliers did nothing.
The current Lakers are not as good as the Cavaliers four years ago, James praised cavaliers general manager Altman in an interview for being feeling, Pelinka did nothing before the trade deadline, and said that this was the result of his discussions with Zhan Mei, and this kind of throwing pot behavior challenged James's tolerance bottom line.
However, Pelinka also has something to say, in order to find a superstar partner for James, they have already overdrawn the trading resources, it is difficult for the woman to cook without rice, and the thick eyebrow brother who is easily injured, and the Wei Shao who is incompatible with the Laker personality, are not all old Zhan nodding before coming, especially Wei Shao, James is directly involved in decision-making, and now he is smashing his hands, how can you blame the management for incompetence, you yourself are not responsible?
The Lakers' 2021-22 season has been somewhat difficult to salvage, and it is difficult to predict what will happen in the offseason. James's contract expires in 2023, wait until August 5, Beijing time, he can renew the contract with the Lakers in advance, if he does not sign at that time, the Lakers will have to be the same as the Cavaliers in the 2009-10 season, the 2017-18 season, the Heat in the 2013-14 season, bearing the pressure that James may leave after a year, if they are not willing to bear this pressure, they may start in advance, which is the theoretical logic that Venhorst said that the Lakers may trade James.
Before the Cavaliers and heat, how come there were no such rumors? First, because they were the championship team at the time, and they still had the expectation of keeping James with the championship. The second is that James was more fierce at that time, even if the team has internal and external troubles, it can still be carried, the Cavaliers in 2010 are the first in the regular season, the Heat in 2014 and the Cavaliers in 2018 have entered the finals, especially in 2018, James played a thousand horses to avoid the performance of the white robe, and dragged the Cavaliers with a large lineup defect to win the Eastern Conference Championship for the fourth consecutive year, such an old Zhan, the team would rather have the psychological burden of his possible transfer, rather than try to trade him.
Today's Lakers are getting farther and farther away from the championship, and whether they can enter the playoffs is a question. Although James can still kill four parties on the offensive end, his comprehensive dominance is still declining because of physical problems, and the ability to resist injuries cannot be compared with before, and now the old Zhan needs the invincible teammates in the 2020 rematch park, and the reality is that although the thick eyebrows are still in the Lakers, he is no longer in the "bubble".
James's relationship with the Lakers is not enough to maintain long-term cooperation in contradictions. The Bass family is a favorite star because they know who the cash cow is. When "Magician" Johnson and championship coach Westhead infighting, "Magician" rushed into the office of old Bath, slapped the table and roared: "Either Westhead goes, or I go, you choose!" As a result, The Elder Buzz quickly fired Westhead.
In the 2003-04 season, then Lakers head coach Phil Jackson applied to the old Buzz through his fiancée Jenny Bass, hoping to trade Kobe Bryant, because he felt that Kobe Bryant was too willful to adjust, the old Buzz quickly replied, Kobe Bryant is the Lakers' box office guarantee for the next ten years, and Kobe Bryant does not want to think about it. Subsequently, the elder Buzz stopped talks on a contract extension with Jackson, making it clear that he was standing for Kobe.
In 2007, Bryant was dissatisfied with the Lakers lineup, publicly applied for a trade, and made some less friendly remarks about the old Buzz, but even so, the old Buzz did not send Kobe Bryant away. It wasn't until The Elder Bath's death in 2013 that Bryant revealed his conversations with the Elder Buzz during the deal turmoil.
'He said to me directly, he wouldn't trade me because it wouldn't be good for the team or for me, and he would help me find good team-mates and make me believe in him.' Bryant recalled.
The Lakers can tolerate the occasional "unreasonableness" of "Magician" and Kobe Bryant because they have a strong bond with the team, they are superstars cultivated by the Lakers, they are the sons of Los Angeles, and the Lakers believe that as long as they find the right helper, they can transform this bond into championship power on the field, and the abundant benefits off the field are indeed true.
James is closer to "mercenary" for the Lakers, he has a huge box office influence, but does not have a deep-rooted emotional foundation. The operational ability of the Lakers management is also significantly different from that of the old Buzz period. Since James joined, the Most Successful Operation of the Lakers is to exchange for thick eyebrows, after all, this deal has won the championship, but the thick eyebrows can come to the Lakers, more is the credit of Rich Paul, it is with such hard work, James and Rich Paul have a strong influence in the Lakers, and like the Lakers such a family industry, "outsiders" authority over the boundary, often have a exclusion effect.
James is now 37, not 27, exhausting the resources of the present and the future, building a team around a player of this age group, the Lakers are also the only one in NBA history, if they do not have the confidence to re-rush the championship in the short term, that is, to run through the goal of making more money through the old Zhan more, the Lakers are like this to Kobe Bryant in the late stage of their careers, give you the maximum salary pension, use your market value so that the team can fish more points, the best of both worlds is not good?
The problem is that Kobe Bryant, who has a serious Achilles tendon injury, can accept the Lakers' plan, and James, who can still average 29+ per game, may not be interested in this.
Between James and the Lakers, there is already a smell of gunpowder, but it has not reached the moment of "detonation". Prominent journalist Charania reported that Ritchie Paul revealed that they had no problems with the Lakers, and that some of the things that are happening now are the release of the mood of frustration from poor performance. Charania said that as far as he knows, James will not leave the Lakers at this time.
Charania used the word "present" and was more cautious. James and the Lakers are unlikely to be in a sword fight now, after all, the regular season is still playing, there is still hope in theory, and if the contradiction is too public, it is not in line with James's media strategy, what he said to Lloyd, has been a more emotional warning, and then it depends on what the Lakers do.
At the end of the day, professional sports are in business, Jenny, Pelinka, and james, who are first "businessmen" and then "Lakers."