After quietly signing five players on the first day of free agency, the Lakers made a new move on the second day, which was to trade Julius for four years and $46 million. Randle completes his contract extension.

As a forward selected by the Lakers with the 7th pick in the first round in 14, Randle has played a remarkable role in the Lakers' four seasons, especially last season, he almost shared the power forward position with Kuzma, playing 82 games, starting 49 games, and playing 26.7 minutes, with 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds.

This is still the arrival of Wang Feng, and the data is affected.

Without Wang, Randle would have averaged 16.1 points and 8 rebounds per game this season, and opted to sign with the Pelicans in the summer, and averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Pelicans in the 18-19 season.

Randle then signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the New York Knicks, and reached the peak of his career in the 2020-21 season, averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists while averaging 37 minutes per game!

Even with the formation of a dual-core championship lineup of James + Davis, Lakers fans will still regret from time to time that the team let go of such a high-quality interior player as Randle for nothing.

Now, Wang Feng has come to the Lakers, of course, it is impossible for the Lakers to sit back and watch the Lakers let go of a high-quality power forward with outstanding athletic ability, and the current Randle is really very cheap, 46 million in 4 years, with an average annual salary of 11.5 million US dollars, good quality and low price.

You must know that the annual salary of tens of millions of dollars is basically the average annual salary of ordinary starters after two years, and with the level that Randle will play in the next few years, it is really a blood loss to renew the contract with 46 million in 4 years.

Of course, Randle is not really flawless, and his shortcomings are also obvious, as an interior player, 2.03 meters tall is too short, and although he is physically strong and powerful to impact the basket, he has no three-point shooting ability, and being a short player is a fatal flaw.

Fortunately, the Lakers have another power forward, Kyle. Kuzma can complement Randle on the field.

Of course, this is just Wang Feng's backhand just in case, if the Lakers really don't score anything in the summer, with this lineup, they can still play well next season.

And if the Lakers really do what Wang Feng thinks, they have a chance to trade for Jimmy. Butler, then Randle, Ball and others would be the best trade chips.

At that time, the Lakers can retain the forward combination of Wang Feng, Butler, and Ingram, and there can be a Kuzma on the bench, and the configuration will be directly full!

The biggest difference between Randle and Ingram and Kuzma is the range.

The latter two both have the ability to shoot from the perimeter, help the team open up space, are better off the ball, and are equally athletic.

If there is to be a trade, Wang Feng will naturally prefer to keep these two players.

As for Jimmy. Butler's trade, the biggest chip that Wang Feng can accept, is Ball + Randle plus a first-rounder.

After all, the 76ers traded Jimmy. Butler's price is no more than Robert's. Covington, Dario. Saric A. Bayless and a second-round pick.

Ball + Randle is definitely worth more than the 76ers' bid, after all, Ball is still a high-quality star with a chance to grow into a top point guard in the eyes of many people.

……

After completing the contract extension with Randle, the Lakers briefly fell into silence for the next few days.

And the alliance continues with all kinds of news.

On July 3, Pelicans All-Star center DeMarcus Brown. Cousins opted to join the Golden State Warriors on a one-year, $5.3 million contract.

As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a sensation in the alliance, and the entire alliance was shocked!

Although he suffered a serious injury to Achilles tendon rupture last season, Cousins was a super interior player who could contribute 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game before the injury!

Even if the injury is serious, in the eyes of many people, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, Cousins is worth an annual salary of 20 million, even if it is only a short appointment of a year or two to see how he recovers.

In fact, the offer contract offered by the Pelicans to Cousins is a two-year, $40 million contract extension.

With Cousins joining the Warriors, the Warriors have truly assembled a lineup of five All-Star level players, and the veritable five-star Warriors have been officially formed.

The whole network is full of pessimism about the arrival of the NBA finale.

The Warriors are strong enough, with three championships in 4 years, two regular season MVPs who played the year, and now they have actually strengthened an All-Star center who was 25+12+5 last season, so how can other teams play?

On the Lakers' side, Johnson, who learned the news, regretted beating his chest for a while.

The Lakers have plenty of salary space and can give Cousins a big contract to get a head start!

In fact, Johnson thinks the same as the general managers of other teams, considering that Cousins suffered a serious injury with a torn Achilles tendon, and is unwilling to offer the other party a long-term contract with a high salary.

If the price tag is around $20 million, it's definitely worth the gamble! How can the Warriors not be allowed to rob such a top interior player with a mere 5 million!

However, to Johnson's surprise, Wang Feng was very calm after learning the news.

"Don't worry, it's not necessarily a good thing for the Warriors to get Cousins, we just have to go according to our plan."

Isn't it necessarily a good thing for the Warriors to get Cousins?

This sounds like saying that you can't eat grapes and say that grapes are sour.

The Warriors only spent $5.3 million to sign Cousins, and even if Cousins is really scrapped and can't play a game with the Warriors, how much can the Warriors lose?

Unbeknownst to Johnson, what Wang Feng said was not a good thing was referring to the chain reaction of Cousins coming to the Warriors.

The Warriors' playoffs fell short in the 18-19 season, not only because of the frequent injuries of teammates, although injuries are an important reason, but the trigger is a huge psychological pressure.

With such a luxurious roster, the Warriors cannot be defeated in the playoffs no matter what, otherwise they will inevitably be nailed to the shame post.

With this psychological burden, the Warriors' players are desperate on the court, especially in the playoffs, because they are afraid of failure.

Because of this, Durant and Thompson suffered injuries one after another in the playoffs, and Durant, who was unwilling to fail, forced a comeback in the Finals, and then completely seriously injured the season and reimbursed!

Sometimes, it is precisely this last straw that breaks the camel's back.