Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1135 A Tumultuous Offseason! The League Ushers in a New Landscape!

"Let's talk about the other teams." When the car arrived at Lin Tian's long-missed home, Lin Tian got out of the car and walked into the house side by side with Pelinka.

Charlize Theron appeared before the two with a smile, stepped forward and kissed Lin Tian, ​​then said, "Honey, you two chat. The baby's asleep. I have to go to the set tomorrow. The drinks and food are all prepared."

"If only I could have one like that..." Pelinka sighed, watching Theron's departing figure.

"You don't deserve it." Lin Tian mocked without even thinking, "You bastard, you don't deserve any good girls, you'll only break their hearts."

"Aren't you going to hurt her feelings?" Pelinka scoffed. "Haven't you seen Elizabeth's new movie? She wore a Lakers jersey eight times in it, and Angelina Jolie said you're her type."

"If you keep going, Charitz might just blow your head off with a rifle," Lin Tian said casually. "Come on, tell me about the other teams. Has any new super team emerged this season?"

"Didn't you pay attention to this when you were competing in the Olympics? Didn't you talk to those guys about it?" Pelinka said helplessly, "You could have easily gotten the latest information anytime you wanted by just turning on your phone or computer."

"I'm lazy." Lin Tian leaned back on the sofa as if it were nothing, and said with his eyes slightly closed, "I'm all ears."

"The Mavericks made a huge deal." Pelinka seemed to be trying to scare Lin Tian, ​​dropping a bombshell right off the bat.

"Oh? Nowitzki is gone?" Lin Tian asked casually without moving.

"It was James who left." Pelinka paused after saying this, wanting to see if Lin Tian would have any reaction, at least some shock, to provide him with some emotional value.

Unfortunately, Lin Tian remained lying there motionless, his emotional value questionable.

Master Lin only provides this to the girls.

"Alright, alright," Pelinka said helplessly. "Nobody knows what's going on inside the Mavericks. Is it that they want to change their approach, or that they absolutely need to make changes to the team, or something else entirely?"

"There are a lot of rumors. Some say that Nowitzki and James don't get along, some say that James doesn't get along with the team's management, and some say that everyone on the Mavericks team doesn't get along with each other."

"According to my most reliable source, James requested a trade from the Mavericks and specified his next team. He only wants to go to a team that has a chance to compete for the championship, and only wants to go to a top team."

"This is actually a very difficult thing to achieve, because there are only a few top teams, and the most important attribute of a top team is stability and perfect chemistry, so theoretically, it is very difficult to meet James's requirements."

"Then, the infighting within the Celtics also came to light. First, when Howard was interviewed by reporters at the USA Basketball training facility, he said that the atmosphere there was fantastic, and everyone was giving their all. This was a kind of happiness that he hadn't felt in the past few years."

"What else? If my teammates had always been these same people, I would have definitely gone further and won more honors by now."

"Anyway, it's something like that, it sounds like an expression of dissatisfaction, a veiled criticism, or something sarcastic."

"Anyone who isn't stupid can tell that Howard is just using different methods to criticize the Celtics. As for the reason, it's the same old story. He wants so-called respect and thinks Duncan is always the leader of the Celtics, not him."

"Even though Duncan gave him a lot of ball possession, shot attempts, and low-post opportunities, he still felt wronged, felt that he was not valued enough in the team, and felt that he was not respected."

"You know Ainge, he's cold-blooded, calm, ruthless, decisive and efficient. If there's infighting in his team, he'll definitely make a trade immediately instead of hesitating and letting the locker room completely get out of control."

"The only thing that could stop him from making a deal is that he doesn't receive a good enough offer."

"Then, when Howard and James, two consecutive number one draft picks from high school, both had conflicts with their teams and requested to be swapped, everything was already a natural progression, wasn't it?"

"James went to the Celtics and Howard came to the Mavericks. Both teams traded away their unruly elements, quickly completed their locker room rebuilds, and acquired an MVP-caliber player in his prime."

"At least on paper, both teams made an S-level trade. Of course, player exchanges of this caliber are not something that can be done in a simple 1-for-1 deal. Both teams will ultimately have other personnel and draft picks involved."

"I don't think you're interested in the specific trade assets, so I won't tell you. Anyway, this is a huge trade involving four teams, seven draft picks, and 11 players! In recent years, no, I think it's hard to find a trade of this magnitude in the entire history of the league."

"In terms of the number of teams involved, the strength of the stars, and the level of media attention, there is probably no other trade in history that can be compared to this one."

In the end, Angie proved to be more shrewd and clever, and he reaped huge benefits from this deal.

"Besides James, what other benefits can he get?" Lin Tian looked at Pelinka curiously. He was also very curious. Ainge, that old fox, had already gotten James, so what other benefits could he possibly get?

Are the general managers of other teams all idiots?

"He gained salary cap space, and he almost incidentally traded away all the less valuable contracts on the team, including their star player of the past few years, Ginobili."

"Then, with three All-Star caliber players on the team—James, Duncan, and Parker—Ainge still managed to clear $1000 million in cap space. Guess who he used that money to acquire?"

"Kevin Garnett?" Lin Tian looked at Pelinka's barely suppressed smile and immediately guessed who had gone to the Celtics.

"Hahahaha! I knew you'd guess it right away, I knew it! Hahahaha! Kevin Garnett! Their roster on paper is absolutely the best in the league right now."

Pelinka was smiling so happily because he knew what had happened in last season's playoffs.

The Lakers laid almost no defense on Garnett in the latter part of the series, allowing him to rack up points on the court.

The Lakers allowed this guy, who has always only cared about money, to put up terrifying numbers in the playoffs that are comparable to his peak.

The purpose at the time, besides the fact that it would be more beneficial for the Lakers to have Garnett score more points and take more shots (Garnett's mid-range shot wasn't enough to kill anyone), was mainly because Lin Tian, ​​that cunning guy, wanted to see who would fall for his trick.

Others might not know how much fuel Garnett had left in his tank, but Lin Tian knew it very well.

Last season, Garnett gave it his all to put up impressive numbers in his contract year and secure a lucrative retirement contract.

No matter how much fuel he had before last season, he definitely doesn't have a drop left now.

This guy was completely overexerted last season.

Whoever signs him will definitely become a sucker.

"Three years, $33 million," Pelinka said with a sly grin. "The Celtics' next three years are going to be incredibly exciting!"

"Are you so sure that Garnett will experience a precipitous decline due to overexertion last season, as I've predicted, and that his contract will become a complete waste of money?"

"It's not like I've known you for just one day," Pelinka snorted. "I believe everything you say, and all my doubts and suspicions will eventually be proven wrong. I've already learned my lesson."

"Robert," Lin Tian suddenly sat up, saying seriously, "Eating shit can prolong life and enhance male virility!"

"Fuck you! You bastard! I'll XXX you!" Pelinka shouted angrily, but Lin Tian really thought he was an idiot.

Lin Tian laughed heartily and said, "Alright, alright, come on, what other big things are happening in the alliance?"

"The Nets acquired the newly drafted number one pick, Davis, forming a double-number-one inside-outside combination with Irving. Many people think the Nets can turn things around."

"Don't talk to me about such trivial matters. I'm only interested in changes that affect the alliance's structure."

"Let me think about it," Pelinka said, his eyes darting around. "The news from New York is that Derrick Rose, who is being treated for his knee in New York, is recovering very poorly and won't be able to return to the team before the start of the new season."

"Ideally, I would like to complete my comeback by early January."

"I'll give him a call and find an opportunity to talk." Lin Tian nodded. He never expected that even though Rose had left Thibodeau and Chicago, and even though he had won the championship in Charlotte.

But what awaited him was one injury after another.

These are all major injuries that could potentially impact the course of an entire career.

Lin Tian could only sigh.

"Then you should also give your good buddy Yao a call," Pelinka added. "Although he didn't participate in the Olympics this summer, he was almost fully recovered just a week ago. Yao, who started training early, felt unwell after less than a week."

"He has a problem with his toe. Although it hasn't been diagnosed yet, he will definitely have to rest for at least 2-3 months. The Bobcats are still having a tough season."

"Then I'll call Michael too. I think he needs my comfort."

“No, I swear he doesn’t need to.” Pelinka shook his head, giving Jordan the answer: “But I think that’s exactly why you should give him a call.”

After the two laughed for a while, Pelinka added, "By the way, the other team in the league that joined the Howard-James trade was the Heat. They sent away their scoring champion of the past few years and their core player, Beasley."

"Last year in the playoffs, Beasley already had problems with being marginalized, not fitting in with the rest of the team, and not keeping up with the team's pace, but I don't think anyone expected that Riley would react so quickly."

"He didn't even wait for training camp, let alone let the original lineup play a few games in the regular season, he just made the trade."

"Riley has made Curry the star player. Starting next season, Curry will be the Heat's number one core player."

"Then, the Heat also acquired three future first-round draft picks and Joe Jensen, a small forward who, although his performance has declined significantly, is still quite good, to fill the void left by Beasley's departure."

"More importantly, the Hawks traded Joe Jensen as a liability, and the Heat not only acquired Jensen but also a total of three future first-round draft picks. Although Jensen still has three years and $63 million left on his contract, it's not a big deal for the Heat."

"Their team has a lot of new players, many of whom are on rookie contracts, so they don't have much salary pressure at all."

"By the time the team's salary cap pressures up, James's big contract will likely be expiring. So I think the biggest winners in this huge trade might be Riley and the Heat, who are quietly making a fortune."

"After all, even though James is starting to decline, he can still contribute 15-20 points per game in the next one or two seasons without any problem. Even in his final year when he's too old to play anymore, we can always trade him a first-round draft pick."

"All things considered, he got two years of free use and even acquired draft picks. Riley's calculations have always been quite shrewd!"

"I think the Heat also have a chance to make it to the Finals next season and become the Lakers' opponent."

"As for Beasley, he went to Dallas, and to some extent he should be able to fill the void left by James. We might have to play them again in the Western Conference Finals this year."

"Fill the gap? Him? Western Conference Finals?" Lin Tian snorted and said, "Let's not even talk about how Beasley's ability compares to James'. This guy is also a well-known ball hog, the kind who thinks he's the best. And then there's Howard, who thinks he's the best in the world."

"What's even more intriguing is that Howard and Beasley both left their original teams for Dallas because of reasons such as not feeling respected, wanting to prove themselves, or wanting to be the team leader."

"Is it possible for these two to coexist? I don't think Jason has the ability to unite them. If he could do that, at least we wouldn't have won that championship in 2011 so easily."

"Oh, and don't forget Nowitzki. Although he has a much better personality than those two and is a model of not fighting for anything, he's a true Dallas team soul."

"You, Howard, felt like Duncan was above you when you were with the Celtics, but now that you're in Dallas, do you think you can take down Nowitzki?"

"Next season, I think the story between these three will be one of the biggest laughs in the entire league."

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Pelinka said with a laugh. "What could be more interesting than watching old rivals fight amongst themselves and suffer?"

"What about the Cavaliers? Have they made any reinforcements?" Lin Tian asked curiously. They were the Lakers' opponent in last season's Finals, and the only one who gave the Lakers some trouble and even had a chance to win the series. Lin Tian was still paying close attention to them.

"Big Z has retired. He's finally reached his limit. I heard that Wade and others tried hard to persuade him to stay, but last season's disappointing performance left him disheartened and unwilling to continue."

"But the Cavaliers are still quite humane. They didn't let Zydrunas Ilgauskas retire immediately. Instead, they re-signed him to a one-year non-guaranteed minimum salary contract, allowing him to retire after the season starts."

"In that case, if the Cavaliers eventually win the championship, then Big Z will also get a Cavaliers championship ring."

"It's very heartwarming." Lin Tian nodded and said, "If I remember correctly, Big Z has only played for this one team, right? It's a touching mutual commitment."

"Unfortunately, he still can't get the ring that belongs to him."

"But on the bright side, his agent is still able to get his own commission, so his agent must be very happy."

"Aside from Zydrunas Ilgauskas' departure, the Cavaliers' overall approach was similar to ours: no trades, no free agent signings, just drafting a few rookies. I guess they'll promote Varejao next season."

"If they can find a suitable backup player for the 4-5 position, the Cavaliers' strength won't be much worse than this season."

"The East is packed with strong teams again," Lin Tian said after hearing Pelinka's words. "The Cavaliers, Heat, and Celtics are still the three powers vying for supremacy."

"The West isn't bad either," Pelinka said. "The Mavericks, Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, Thunder—these teams are all formidable. Compared to the East, the West has just as many strong teams."

"But we're the only top-tier team," Lin Tian said. "The East has several dazzling super teams, you know."

"I understand what you're trying to say." Pelinka and Lin Tian had worked together for many years, and at this moment, he immediately understood what Lin Tian meant: "Whichever region you go to, the number of super teams on the opposing side will suddenly increase, right?"

"You've driven them all away, forced them to stick together, and made them run for their lives, right?"

"That's exactly it!" Lin Tian clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "You really understand me!"

The two then burst into loud, raucous laughter; if you only listened to the sound, their laughter was certainly villainous.

Of course, in fact, from the perspective of the other 29 teams in the league and their fans, these two are indeed the biggest villains in the NBA in the last 20 years.

Everyone took it upon themselves to defeat them, and their ultimate goal was to defeat Lin Tian, ​​this evil dragon.

Unfortunately, the star players, one after another, hoped to become the heroes who would end the dragon's rule, but in the end, they could only become skulls and corpses under the dragon's feet.

They became a testament to both brutality and greatness.

Lin Tian, ​​however, remained aloof and superior.

So, in this year, will anyone be able to challenge Lin Tian's authority? (End of Chapter)