Yao Ming didn't appear too surprised, leaving the Rockets was one of the options he considered, and if it weren't, he wouldn't have come to Tempe.

It's just that just like what he said at the beginning, the loyalty in his character made him unable to make such determination.

"Brother Yao, you also saw what happened to Maddie last season, and the Rockets are now giving you such a contract, which shows that once you encounter a similar situation, they will never show mercy." Xu Yong said.

Yao Ming nodded and motioned for Xu Yong to continue.

"And Brother Yao's own body knows by himself, this year's contract should be the last big contract in your career, even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your family, right?" Xu Yong continued.

Yao Ming took another drink when he heard this.

"They're actually right." He continued.

"Yes, they're right, because the NBA is a business league, but since it's a business league, they don't talk to you about their feelings, and you still talk to them, doesn't it seem a little ...... Sentimental? Xu Yong looked at Yao Ming and said.

Because it is Yao Ming, he uses more euphemistic words, but it is more appropriate to say that it is actually like licking the so-called goddess.

People don't care about you, what's the point of you caring about people?

Yao Ming looked at Xu Yong and stopped talking, and it was obvious that he was a little moved by Xu Yong's words.

When Xu Yong saw this, he also hit the railroad while it was hot: "Don't let loyalty hurt you, Brother Yao!" ”

Yao Ming was stunned for a moment, and then smiled bitterly.

"Actually, Brother Yao, you don't have to think too much, just leave the matter to the agent, go around the free market, pick the best offer, if the Rockets give the same offer, then stay, don't give, then you leave, anyway, our main goal is the London Olympics, isn't it?" Xu Yong continued.

Yao Ming smiled and nodded when he heard this, yes, the thing he cares about most now is the London Olympics.

"It's Artest......" Yao Ming smiled and sighed a little.

He had been with the Rockets for so many years, and he had a good relationship with Francis before, then Mutombo, and now Battier and Artest.

Especially Artest, who stayed with the Rockets last season because of him, if he patted his ass and turned away, it would be unreasonable.

"It's simple, Brother Yao, you can sign and take it away, the rocket definitely doesn't want to send you away for nothing, you leave assets for the rocket is also benevolent, Artest is also old, you ask him about his personal wishes, if you want, you can go together as an additive." Xu Yong's brain is very flexible.

Yao Ming's eyes lit up after hearing this, and then he finally smiled happily.

Sure enough, his trip to Tempe was really not in vain.

……

"Don't let loyalty hurt you."

James had the advice Garnett gave him during the All-Star break.

In fact, he was also a little hesitant about leaving the knight, mainly from two aspects.

One is the idol Jordan, if he leaves the Cavaliers, he will never have a chance to chase his idol again.

The second is to go to a new team, which doesn't necessarily have the privileges he had in Cleveland.

Because this time he is going to fight for the championship, he must cooperate with other stars.

So he got in touch with Wade, who had a good relationship, and the place he wanted to go to now was the next meeting.

Knicks.

The previous rumors were true, and the Knicks were his first choice.

The Knicks also have three good things: a back to New York, salary space, and a new team.

Needless to say, with New York at the back, New York is now the only team that can offer three salary caps at the same time.

That's right, he did have an exchange with Riley before, about the Big Three, but he is so Smart, naturally he won't be led by Riley's nose, forming the Big Three is a good idea, but New York can also do it.

And then there's the third point, the new team, not Wade's team, and that's when he can be the boss of the new team with his style of play.

Soon, his agent, Leon Rose, took him into the conference room where the meeting was held.

In the conference room, Walsh, the general manager of the Knicks, and Dolan, the owner, were there.

But what made him feel uncomfortable as soon as he entered was that neither Walsh nor Dolan showed the enthusiasm he had imagined for his arrival.

It also quickly turned out to be a very bad meeting.

Walsh barely expressed his welcome to the arrival, although, like Wade's first meeting with Foreman, the conversation was more out of the team's plans.

But Dolan, the league's worst-rated boss, was very upset with the arrogance of the capitalists, even though he had been prepared before he came.

Even though he's a part-time worker, you can't make me feel like I'm a part-time worker all the time.

But Dolan doesn't seem to be aware of this, or that in his world, these players are just a bunch of workers.

Even, he may have felt good, and at the end of the meeting, he gave James a personal CD to express his consent to James joining.

When the meeting was over and out of the building, James threw the CD directly into the trash can at the door.

He swore that as long as a guy like Dolan was the boss for one day, the Knicks would never have the best of the day.

No one has been here in this big city before, and it's not that others don't have vision, but they deserve it.

But when he got in the car, he was even more annoyed, and if the Knicks ruled out, his better options would be the Nets and the Heat.

"Where is Dwayne now?" He asked Rose, who was beside him.

Rose shook his head.

James frowned, Rose's ability is far worse than that of Fu Paul, and it seems that he will find an opportunity to replace him later.

……

"Still no progress?" Foreman listened to his assistant's report, his brow furrowed.

It's been two days, and the Bulls have asked around, not to mention that the Raptors don't agree to sign it, and no one on other teams is willing to take over Hinrich and Deng.

Hinrich is because he has been on the bench for a few seasons and has a two-season contract, which is really not so easy to give.

But Deng's words are at least a normal contract, and he is young, so he should not be so marketless.

"Try again." Foreman can only urge his assistant to increase his efforts, trading this kind of thing can only be your will, and he can't force others to exchange with you.

……

Chicago on a private jet to Cleveland.

Riley is sipping red wine while eating the freshest Chicago steak.

He turned his head to look out the window, where the plane had just taken off and overlooked the city of Chicago.

There are many high-rise buildings, and rivers and lakes are crisscrossed.

What a beautiful and Gotham city.

In fact, long before the free market opened, he predicted that his biggest competitor would be the Bulls.

That's not just because he knows Wade wants to go back to Chicago, but also because of the competitiveness the Bulls have shown.

A young team that has just completed the Black Eight and has huge salary space, which is extremely attractive to free agents.

Don't say Wade is a Chicagoan, not a Chicagoan.

So what he has to do is very simple, which is to PK Chicago.

That's why he didn't stay in Miami and chose to come to Chicago.

Of course, this is only the most inconspicuous thing he has ever done.

One of his earliest things, which really worked, was to contact James and then come up with the idea of the Big Three.

That's right, it's to bind the three people, and then export this concept to the three people, so that they realize that they are not actually three people, but a whole.

One of the goals of this is that as long as the trio is one, they can't go to the Bulls because of James.

James was a little bit out of the way, and he was beaten away, but he wasn't to the point where he joined if he couldn't beat him.

As for the Big Three going to other teams, he wasn't worried at all.

Most likely, it's the Knicks, but as someone who coached in New York for four years, he knows the Knicks and Dolan too well.

He could even predict that the Knicks might not even get a second chance to meet James.

So his operation is actually to set up a fence for the "fish pond" of this year's free market early, and wait for the fish to drill into the trap he put in.

But people are not gods after all, he has calculated so much, but he still misses one point, that is, Wade's determination to go to the Bulls.

Fortunately, he has not been in the league for so many years, he can know when Bosh will arrive in Chicago, and naturally he can also know the movements of the Bulls.

After learning that the Bulls were actively peddling Hinrich and Deng, he had already guessed that Wade and Bosh wanted to join the Bulls together.

So one thing he did was to reveal the Bulls' thoughts to the rest of the league ahead of time.

The core lineup of Rose, Xu Yong, and Noah will be the No. 1 Cavaliers in the East, and if you add Wade and Bosh, the key is that they are all so young, five years, no, ten years of domination.

True Alliance Finale!

When other teams heard the news, not to mention rejecting the Bulls directly, they must have been very resistant in their hearts.

Even if you put a bad team, you hope to have a chance to rise in a few years, and you don't seem to have any hope for ten years, so who do you resist?

Moreover, Hinrich is a negative asset, and Deng is barely a positive asset but has a long contract, which in itself is not very attractive to other teams.

What's more, because of Xu Yong's trade last year, the Bulls' most valuable first-round pick this year has also been sent away.

What? Future first-round picks?

You're going to form this kind of finale lineup, and your draft pick with a high probability of 30 picks, who is rare!

The first round is the same as the first round, but in reality there is a world of difference.

So basically, the Bulls are calling right now, and they're either rejected outright, or they're just saying, "Is it okay to add an extra head?" Add whom, Xu Yong! "Got the Bulls so angry that they hung up the phone.

Riley finished the last steak, wiped his mouth with a hot towel, and stood up with a smile.

The Big Three, he had never done such an exciting thing in his life, and now, it was really getting closer and closer.

……

It's July 5th, five days after the free market opened.

At this time, some contracts have been reached one after another.

Some teams have already started to strengthen themselves after knowing that they are out of play.

Wade and Bosh couldn't sit still.

They stayed in Chicago, but after all these days, there was no progress on the Bulls' side.

Wade called Foreman to ask about progress, and Foreman's reply was the same as before, and they were still working on it.

"We can't wait any longer."

When Wade hung up the phone, Bosh spoke.

Although there is still time in the free market, if it drags on like this, even if their team signs them, the follow-up operation space will become small.

You must know that basketball is not a one-person sport, even if you are a big three, you can't play with a bunch of base salary.

"Let's go back to Miami."

Wade also accepted reality.

If the Bulls can maneuver the space, it won't take that long.

has dragged on until now, and it can only be said that it is basically no longer a play to go back to Chicago.

But he finally stubborned.

He called Foreman back and told him that he and Bosh were willing to wait one more day.

The next day.

Before Foreman's call came, Wade received a call from James first.

"Dwayne, let's play together, wherever it is, I just want to play with you right now."

James is sincere, Wade is emotionally mixed.

On the one hand, there is the Bulls who can't ask for it, and on the other hand, there is the "true confession" of friends who have a good relationship.

He didn't say yes to James right away, but when he hung up the phone, he knew he had no choice.

"Chris, we're going to be the public enemies of the league next season." Wade looked at Bosh and smiled bitterly.

Originally, he just wanted to go back to his hometown to play, but he didn't expect to take the most difficult road half-pushed.

"That's not bad either." Bosh is quite open-minded.

He spent too much time in the first half of his career, not to mention the championship, and only played twice in the playoffs.

This kind of life has been going on for a long time, and he also wants to live a more exciting life.

Wade nodded.

On the bright side, the last thing they ended up going to was his team.

If he really wins the championship, his historical status should also be improved a lot.

……

IMG Building, Cleveland.

James hung up the phone, got up and picked up the championship ring from the Little Swan plush blanket.

Even though it doesn't seem like it's worth a few bucks, James knows that its point isn't in its value.

Especially when Riley says he can bring a lot of championships to Miami.

"Let's do it." James said with a smile after putting away the championship ring.

……

After leaving the IMG building, Riley had already begun operations.

There are two things he has to do now, the first of which is naturally to clear enough salary space for the Big Three to join.

According to the maximum salary regulations, the big three with seven years of service will each account for 30% of the salary cap, and the three will be 90%, which means that he will almost clean up the entire team.

The second thing is that he has to get James to cooperate with him, he was so involved in the Bulls before, if other management knows that the Heat are going to make the Big Three, he can't clear that space.

So the news he is releasing now can only be to form a lineup with Wade and Bosh as the core.

And in order to do these two things, he needs to sign Bosh with the Raptors first to prop up salary space.

The Raptors obviously can't say no to this, because if they don't, they'll only lose Bosh for nothing, let alone trade with the Heat, and they won't have to accept a junk contract like they did with the Bulls.

Immediately afterward, the Heat began to peddle Beasley for draft picks to satisfy the Raptors and later the Cavaliers.

Beasley was the No. 1 pick in '08, and although he didn't play as expected, he was only in his third year as a rookie next season, and he didn't worry about the trade market at all.

As long as this is done, he can put away the fishing nets he had laid down early.

Everyone's considerate of the middle-aged bald old man, I'm not a short single dog wow, I have a wife and children, I'm getting to pick up and drop off something, I also paid my wife's birthday yesterday, 8K I will keep the bottom line, I will definitely stay up late to add more to the top ten of the new book list that I promised before, even if I don't get in the end, I will add it if I am in good condition~ Thank you very much for a very good 5000 reward~~

(End of chapter)