Chapter 749: Chapter 749
"Decision, decision, decision, decision!" ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
A rookie on social media is really making waves.
Why four decisions? Because he decided four times!
Kuzma triggered the minstrel’s passive ability, going full throttle.
Even Hansen saw James’ decision through his status update.
Hansen was visibly stunned after seeing it.
He had actually forgotten about Davis before!
"Historically," Davis went to the Lakers to team up with James, essentially joining him.
But now, it’s James who has gone to join Davis!
It seems Hansen’s experience in team building is nowhere near as rich as James’s.
So here’s the question, isn’t the Pelicans a two-tower lineup right now?
James going there to squeeze inside with those two, wouldn’t that just blow things up?
This confusion Hansen has is actually shared by many fans on social media.
Fortunately, this confusion was quickly resolved.
Because James didn’t sign directly with the Pelicans, but rather a trade swap.
The Warriors first signed James to a 3-year, $100 million contract (with a player option in the third year), then swapped him for Cousins.
Turns out it’s another classic bird rights operation.
Fans’ previous confusion was lifted, but another doubt quickly emerged.
The Kings’ operation is completely understandable, because last season they built a super twin towers, but didn’t even make the playoffs in the end.
Although their poor performance in the first half of the season played a part, the overall win rate remained mediocre even after Cousins joined.
As fans would say, Davis and Cousins were the leaders of the empty stat club every day.
So seeing the opportunity, it’s completely understandable they wanted to change.
The puzzling part is the Warriors’ standpoint.
Cousins, although boasting the title of the League’s top center, his stats last season were still explosive (averaging 27 points, 11 boards, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks), but he hasn’t played a single playoff similar to Love back then, thus hasn’t proven himself in high-level competitions.
Also, his style doesn’t quite fit with the Warriors.
This somewhat reminds you of O’Neal when he joined the Phoenix Suns.
However, after the trade was finalized, Warriors players expressed their welcome to Cousins on social media.
Even Cole stated on social media: "Warriors have welcomed the strongest center of the Curry era."
The overall sentiment you can perceive is: they can’t wait for James to leave, and it doesn’t really matter who comes in.
Therefore, the Warriors wanted Davis more, but would the Pelicans even give him up?
After losing options like Hayward and Griffin, this is the best the Warriors could do.
Moreover, next season Cousins will be in a contract year, giving the Warriors room to experiment.
If Cousins turns out to be unsuitable, they can aim for the free market again next season, with quite a few big players available next summer.
Among them is a 2.03-meter small forward in Indy that’s quite suitable for them.
The Pelicans also immediately welcomed James’ arrival.
ESPN quickly released news of Davis personally going to the airport to greet James.
It’s hard to say Nike wasn’t once again behind this push.
But on social media, fans joked about this sight.
The "Chosen One" who couldn’t win a title and the "United States Child" who couldn’t claim a championship, standing together does seem to naturally have a sense of camaraderie.
The Pelicans acted swiftly afterwards, first reaching a 5-year, $131 million contract extension with Huoledi, securing Huoledi, James, and Davis as the core lineup for the new season, and then exchanging Asik for Mirotic from the rebuilding Bulls.
Huoledi and James aren’t particularly outstanding three-point shooters, and Davis’s three-point ability has struggled to reach three percent for years, necessitating the other two positions to have strong shooting.
They already have an outside shooter like E’Twaun Moore in the lineup, lacking only a space-invader like Mirotic.
What’s left is finding a hard-C to pair with Davis as a starter to reduce Davis’s consumption, while bolstering the bench, making them very competitive in The West.
With James’ destination settled, this summer’s grand show across the East and West has come to a close.
However, at this moment, a news cropped up redirecting fans’ attention.
The Rockets officially waived Chris Bosh, who has been struggling with blood clot issues for the past two seasons.
This news was sudden, yet not entirely unexpected.
Because as early as June, a medical report by the NBA and the Players’ Union showed that Chris Bosh is afflicted by an "injury ending career."
That report indirectly announced Bosh’s retirement.
However, Bosh refused to accept reality, attempting to return over the past month.
Nevertheless, after doing everything he could, the medical team still determined he was unfit to play professionally.
"Patients with blood clots shouldn’t engage in strenuous activities, as there’s a significant risk of increasing vascular hemorrhage, causing a blood clot detachment that blocks the pulmonary artery, leading to pulmonary embolism, which is deadlier than a heart attack."
This was the cold, death-sentence-like verdict given by the doctors.
If Bosh persists, he’d likely die on the court.