Never laugh at the "god who descended the mountain", he has achieved countless glory and still has not stopped moving, you will not know if he will be able to climb another peak. All right! The 38-year-old James was swept for the third time in his career, ending his 20th season in the Western Conference finals. The three-in-thousandth probability of going back to the Western Conference is not a failure, but James himself said that he did not want to define it as "success", just because he was blocked out of the Finals and missed the opportunity to catch Jordan with his fifth career title. then Will James consider retiring? Apparently this is a false proposition.
The entries about "James' retirement" are all rushing to the top of the hot search in China and the United States, which shows how touching James' possible "decision" version 4.0 is. In fact, the big can put the small heart steadily, all indications are that James is only a momentary expression of emotional frustration, he does not explicitly mention the word "retirement", there are too many reasons and too many bonds, so that he will not choose to retire, more like he is disguised to pressure the Lakers management to strengthen and upgrade and compete for the championship.
Here's what happened: James' vague statement after he was out was misinterpreted as considering retirement
The origin of "James considering retirement" comes from a report by Chris Haynes after the Lakers were swept out by the Nuggets, who said that James was not sure whether to return next season and was considering retiring.
In fact, such a report is obviously suspected of being taken out of context, more like a deliberate "hype" to seize the secret of traffic. According to James' statement in an interview after the game, when he was asked how he thought about the future, James's original response was, "We'll see what happens in the future, I don't know, there's too much to consider." To be honest, for me personally, there are many, many things to consider about continuing to play basketball. ”
James did not mention the word "retirement" himself, just after a season of ups and downs, with James playing in the NBA for 20 years to see the wind and waves, he will not be discouraged after being swept out of the Western Conference finals, he has already been discouraged to consider retiring, which is undoubtedly too underestimating James's strong psychological endurance.
Cliché: James has been asked many times about retirement, and the answer is to play tai chi
James is 38 years old, and when Anthony, who is about to turn 39, announces his retirement, and Heat's old rival Haslem will retire at the end of this season, James will take over the baton of the current "oldest player" in the future.
James will officially turn 39 in about two months before playing next season, which will be his 21st season. Of course, now that the topic of "James consideration" has been pushed over, it is not the first time James has been asked about retirement, as he gets older, he has been asked about retirement on many different occasions, and James's answers are always different.
Back in November 2019, James was asked about retirement, when James used Brady as a reference, he said at the time, "I'm far from retirement, I'm the same kind of person as Tom Brady (NFL 7 champion GOAT, who announced his retirement for the second time in February this year at the age of 45 to end his 23-year career), and I will play until I can't beat it at all." ”
In the future, James will be asked about retirement-related topics from time to time at different times, and the term retirement has been associated many times in the course of this season. After losing to the Heat on Dec. 29, James said he still wanted to win the championship, "From a team perspective, I can still play at this level and I don't want to end my career there." I still want to fight for the championship. If the squad is right, I know I can give my due performance to any team. I want to win, give myself a chance to win and keep fighting for the championship. This has always been my goal. Once you've got there and know how to get there, just to play in this league, that's in my DNA. ”
When James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar to be crowned the all-time scoring champion, he talked about retirement again, but he played tai chi in his wife's words, "I'm not there yet, I'm not at the retirement stage." My wife wished I had reached the point of retirement. But I'll tell you, I have a little more time to play, I have some time left. ”
Retirement Analysis: Multiple factors determine that James' retirement is almost impossible
1. Sit two and look one: James is still committed to catching up with Jordan GOAT
Does James want to retire? He didn't want to be the ultimate dream of becoming a "GOAT" as an all-time superstar in basketball.
Although James' current historical status is already recognized as "sitting on two and looking at one", it is clear that James is not satisfied, and catching up with Jordan has always been his ultimate pursuit. In fact, Jordan also feels such a "crisis", and the launch of the "Last Dance" documentary in 2020 is undoubtedly hoping to re-consolidate his reputation and remind everyone that he is the first in history.
James is the most influential star today, but in the competition of hard honors, James still has a certain gap from Jordan, the most critical of which is the number of championships. James has only scored 4 titles so far, compared to Jordan's 6, there is still a gap of two titles. James has repeatedly expressed that he wants to win the championship again, and is the goal of winning the championship many times, naturally eager to catch up with or even surpass Jordan, he may still leapfrog Jordan to the top of history, so before the goal is achieved, James will not retire lightly.
2. Father and son on the same court: James has repeatedly expressed that he wants to play with Brownie
In the long history of the NBA, there has never been a "miracle" of father and son playing together, and James and son are expected to create such a new history. James has two sons, the eldest of whom is 18 years old, and he only needs one year of college to enter the NBA draft and enter the NBA in the 2024-25 season.
James currently has two years left on his contract with the Lakers, and his two-year, $97 million contract that he extended early last summer will take effect, with the first year being fully guaranteed and the second year James having a player option. It is not difficult to see that the reason why James asked to have a player option in the summer of 2024 is to facilitate the operation at that time, so that he can be on the same team as his son, and James will continue to work hard to achieve this goal.
3, shock 411: James is expected to create another unique first miracle in NBA history
James has surpassed Abdul-Jabbar to top the NBA's all-time regular season scoring title in the regular season this season, and he also achieved the first all-time 8,000-point miracle in the playoffs. Now James is also expected to create another unprecedented and basically unprecedented miracle in history in the future, that is, to achieve the "411 Project".
James has achieved the feat of surpassing the 10,000 mark in rebounds and assists in his regular season career, and his regular season total is currently 38,652 points, just 1,348 points away from the 40,000 mark. With James' performance of averaging 28.9 points per game in the regular season this season, he only needs 47 games to achieve, when James will create the first miracle in the history of "40,000 points + 10,000 rebounds + 10,000 assists" and continue to consolidate his historical position.
4, the knife is not old: Compared to Jordan playing to the age of 39, James is still at a high level in the 20th season
James can't move? Admittedly, James was unable to stop the Nuggets' advance in the West, being swept 4-0 for the third time in his career and missing out on the 11th career finals. James did experience some decline, such as the gradual loss of his ability to dominate the game in key moments, a sharp drop in the three-point sight in the playoffs, and a continuous decline in physical fitness. It's just that James was only able to blast 40+10+9 super data with only 4.3 seconds of rest in the Western Conference G4, and the only 40+5+5 history in his playoff career 26 times, far surpassing Jordan in second place only 17 times.
James still maintains a super high level of competition, not to mention that James is not yet 39 years old, and Jordan played until 39 in his final season. Jordan retired twice and played only 15 seasons in his career, ensuring his health and endurance to the maximum. James, on the other hand, has been playing for 20 consecutive seasons and has suffered an ankle injury this season, so there are some voices suggesting that James retire for a year off and come back, but obviously such a suggestion is difficult to happen.
James will not easily choose to retire, especially if he still wants to catch up with Jordan, his rest of his career can not afford to "delay", especially his goal is to win at least two more championships, at least equal to Jordan's number of championships, James can not afford to wait, he will continue to continue his high level of form as much as possible.
As reporter Mark Medina reported, a person familiar with James' thinking revealed that James will return next season, "he still loves the sport and can still play at a high level, so I don't think he's going to retire." ”
Lao Zhan's intention: to force the palace lake tube to upgrade the lineup to compete for the championship, next season or the final window of the championship
The reason why James made vague words with "metaphors" after he was out of the game is naturally his consideration. James joined the Lakers for 5 seasons, in fact, the operation of the Lakers management is not satisfactory, whether it is breaking up the championship team after winning the championship in 2020 and sending away many championship members, or giving up DeRozan, who took the initiative to choose a three-way big deal to get Wei Shao, the Lake management has too many operations to waste James's last peak.
It is true that the Lake management led by Pelinka has worked well in the middle of the season, saving the Lakers from the brink of "failure", successfully challenging the three-thousandth probability of counterattacking to advance to the playoffs, and advancing all the way to the Western Conference finals, which is already quite a good result.
It's just that, as James said, "We used to play some good highs, but we didn't seem to have enough for our goal, which was to win a championship." The Lakers' current roster counterattacked to reach the Western Conference finals, but the gap from the Nuggets is still obvious, such a roster is not enough to help the Lakers compete for the championship, James is hinting that the Lakers management needs to continue to upgrade and strengthen.
Next season may be James' final championship window with the Lakers, after all, once next season breaks again, James is likely to leave the Lakers from his contract in the summer of 2024 to focus more on playing with his son Brownie.
As many American notes have put it, Kevin O'Connor said: "I bet James's statement was a negotiating tactic: Unless the Lakers are fully committed to building a roster next season, I will retire." James wants the Lakers to get Irving. ”
As for Lakers reporter Harrison Faigen, he also said: "This report feels like James is saying: 'I'll come back by signing Irving and I'll come back.'" ”
Of course, the Lakers will have a hard time bringing in Irving, they only have $29.6 million salary space this summer, and only six players with contracts with the team next season: James, Thick Eyebrows, Vanderbilt, Beasley, Bamba and Christie.
There are multiple possibilities for the Lakers' operation this summer, and there are too many uncertainties
Commenting on whether the team is likely to make a comeback next season with its current squad, James said: "If I'm not mistaken, I shouldn't be sure what the team's squad will be like next season. ”
How James's mind should work for the Lakers is currently unknown, but it may be guessed to interpret:
First, strive to get Owen and form the Big Three. It will be extremely difficult for the Lakers to sign Irving through free agency, unless Irving himself takes a significant salary cut. The Lakers can also get Irving by signing first and then trading, but it is also difficult to need the lone ranger to cooperate with Russell.
Second, renew the contract to keep Reeves and Hachimura. In this way, the two prove their worth, especially in the playoffs.
Third, the Vanderbilt contract can be converted into a full guarantee stay, and it is unknown whether the contract of Beasley and Bamba exceeds 10 million, whether it is a transaction or a waiver.
Fourth, what extent can the Lakers be upgraded through trade or draft.
Fifth, whether the Lakers will renew his thick eyebrows in advance this summer.
James can now take a holiday, at least he should rest and go back to his family to enjoy the time of his wife and children. As for "decommissioning"? Don't think about it, it won't happen for the time being, all the problems need to be solved one by one, James' future still has many goals he wants to challenge, and the legendary journey is not destined to end here.
(Text/Drunken Lying Float)