NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

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The 2011-12 season for the Bulls still ended in the Finals.

Against the Lakers, with the same Three-Headed Monster configuration, the Bulls, whose roster was in a desperate situation, still lost to the Lakers 2-4 and lost the Finals.

The Bulls won two home games in Game 1 and Game 5, but with the massive disparity in strength, not even Wang Chong could change the course.

At the end of Game 6 of the Finals, Kobe could not hold back his emotions and broke down crying on the court.

It was so hard, really so hard.

Although Kobe had already won four championships before this, all four were won with O'Neal, and none of them truly belonged to him.

Now, Kobe, who had won the fifth championship of his career, finally had his own championship. What this meant for Kobe, who was naturally strong and had an almost paranoid desire to win, was clear.

In the six games of the Finals, Kobe's performance was actually average. With Danny Green guarding him the entire time, he averaged 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, and his shooting percentage was only 39%. Throughout the Finals, Gasol and Howard, who averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, still didn't have an advantage over Paul, who had defeated Thomas and averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.

But the Lakers were Kobe's team after all. Even though he was now somewhat separated from the team and basically relied on his personal abilities to fight alone on the court, after the team won the championship, the FMVP was still awarded to Kobe.

Kobe, aged 33, finally won his first FMVP, which raised his honors to 5 championships, 1 MVP, and 1 FMVP. Although his personal honors were still somewhat modest compared to Jordan's 6 championships, 5 MVPs, and 6 FMVPs, and Wang Chong's 5 championships, 4 MVPs, and 4 FMVPs, he was far behind, but at least he could leave his name in the history of the league. Under Jordan's name, the second-best shooting guard in history would no longer be questioned.

Wang Chong's performance in the Finals was no worse than in the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, with his shooting percentage close to 60%.

The Lakers were not as good as the Heat in defending Wang Chong. After changing his name, Artest's defensive abilities were not much better than Sean Battier's. Not to mention that the Heat later asked James to team up with Battier. The Lakers simply couldn't come up with that configuration. Even with Howard, the three-time DPOY, they had no way of limiting Wang Chong's offensive firepower.

But while Howard couldn't restrict Wang Chong, he could effectively restrict other players on the Bulls, including Gasol. All of the Bulls' players were heavily guarded. Wang Chong couldn't go solo, no matter how good his performance was. There was still a significant difference.

In fact, after the Finals, some media outlets believed that with Wang Chong averaging 43+11+5 per game during the Finals, he could become the second-ever losing FMVP in NBA history. After all, with these stats, the Lakers would take two of the Three Greats combined to match Wang Chong in terms of numbers.

But the league didn't do this after all. Unlike Jerry West, the first losing FMVP in history, Wang Chong had already won 5 championships. As for the 4 FMVP trophies, the only players in NBA history who could rival them were Jordan and O'Neal.

If Wang Chong received another FMVP trophy for the losing team, that would make it 5 FMVPs.

No one thought Wang Chong needed a trophy like that to console him. After all, after this troubled season, as long as the Bulls players could return healthy, the Bulls would still be one of the biggest favorites to win the championship next season. Even if players like Lupus and Garnett were aging, the new generation of Curry and Gasol could completely replace them.

No one knew how many more championships the Bulls would win in the future.

However, after winning the championship, the Lakers showed ambition.

When Kobe Bryant delivered his Finals MVP speech, he made an ambitious statement. The Lakers would defend their title next season. They would win the sixth championship of Kobe's career, surpass O'Neal and Wang Chong, and catch up with the league's top player, Michael Jordan.

These words sounded somewhat harsh, to be honest, especially for O'Neal's fans, who felt particularly uncomfortable.

How did you win your first four championships? You have no idea.

You also reached out to O'Neal, held him by the thigh, and won four championships. Now, after just winning one, with two superstars, Paul and Howard, protecting you, do you feel secure immediately?

Wang Chong's fans were also upset.

There is only one MVP and FMVP, so why should we compete with Wang Chong, who has won four consecutive championships, 4 MVPs, and 4 FMVPs? To put it bluntly, if the Bulls hadn't had so many injuries this season, what would have happened in the championship? They lost two remaining games to the Bulls and won the championship 4-2. With this fighting ability, do you still want to defend your title next season? Did you ask the Bulls?

In addition to Wang Chong and O'Neal, who were touched by Kobe, there were actually two other people present who felt quite uncomfortable.

Those were Paul and Howard.

The Lakers won the championship, and the two of them played an indispensable role. The most important offensive tactic for the Lakers' wing was the pick-and-roll between Paul and Howard. It was called the critical moment attack nine times out of ten. Everyone would miss shots and not help the team at all.

On the defensive side, the two defensive cores of the Lakers were Paul and Howard. Although Kobe was also selected for the Second Defensive Team, his contribution to the Lakers' defense wasn't as good as before. Age had made Kobe's competitiveness harder, his form had also declined, and his defensive energy was naturally not as good as in his prime years.

To put it bluntly, Kobe this season was a bit like a leech, clinging to Paul and Howard to suck blood. After winning the championship, he rightfully received all the praise and applause.

Paul and Howard, the heroes of the championship, would surely feel uncomfortable seeing this. After all, before coming to the Lakers, they were the absolute central figures of their respective teams and the most dazzling in the spotlight.

In Los Angeles, attention was mainly focused on Kobe, and the two of them had become contrasts. Who would be happy to be replaced?

If a player has relatively high emotional intelligence, in his acceptance speech, he would also thank his teammates for their help and humbly say that he could not have succeeded without them. He would thank the players who contributed quietly.

But Kobe didn't want to say that at all. Maybe he was too excited and forgot, or maybe he didn't think about it at all, thinking that it was his merit that the team won the championship.

Of course, the joy of winning the championship temporarily overshadowed these contradictions. As long as we can win the championship, everything we pay will be worth it.

But once the Lakers fail, the situation may change again. It is hard to say if Paul and Howard will continue to tolerate Kobe.

——In any case, the shortened 2011-12 NBA season came to an end.

Once the Finals were over, the league's teams began preparations for the new season without interruption.

The Bulls were no exception. This season, many of the Bulls' players had expired contracts, including Chauncey Billups, Danny Green, Marcus Thornton, and key players from Jeremy Lin's team.

Given that Billups was 35 years old and had suffered serious injuries, although the team wanted to keep him, at most, it would only be a short-term veteran minimum salary contract. The signing and renewal of other players would also be limited. The team needed to discuss it in detail.

For Wang Chong, among this group of players whose contracts had expired, the only one who must stay was Danny Green, who had been training for three years.

Due to Billups' injury this season, Green had served as the team's starting shooting guard numerous times. Although his personal stats were average, they reflected his excellent 3D player characteristics, plus the special situation of the Bulls' recruiting hate. It was feared that a mid-level contract worth at least $5 million would be required to successfully keep him.

Thanks to Billups' contract expiring, more than $10 million in salary cap space was suddenly freed up for the Bulls. Otherwise, it would have been more difficult to re-sign Danny Green.

Before the free agency market opens in early July, the team management cannot contact players whose contracts have expired in advance. The first thing they must do is the annual draft.

In the 2012 draft, the most well-known and popular player was undoubtedly the favorite for the number one pick. Anthony Davis, known as the "brow brother," would certainly be worthy of the number one pick based on his future performance in the league.

But the number one pick had nothing to do with the Bulls. In fact, not to mention the number one pick, the Bulls didn't even have a first-round pick, which they had traded away a long time ago.

However, halfway through the season, Wang Chong had already made plans in advance and obtained a second-round pick through a trade. As expected, this second-round pick was relatively high, and they could definitely select Wang Chong's favored players.

In the 2012 draft, there were two very good players in the second round. One was Draymond Green, the 35th pick in the second round, and the other was Chris Rice, the 39th pick in the second round.

In Wang Chong's opinion, the value of these two was even greater than most players in the lottery area.

Let's talk about Draymond Green first, who was selected by the Warriors and was inactive for two years after the Warriors changed coaches. He was promoted to the starting position with his defensive skills, dirty play style, and his version of James' ability to handle the ball and distribute it from above the arc. He quickly became the main player for the Warriors and one of the core figures of the Golden State Triangle.

Although Green, who would have a big contract in the future, would be a total burden for the team, Green, who had an annual salary of over $10 million at his peak, was still quite good. He was once the best defensive player and an eight-time best defensive team selection. He was a perfect interpretation of Green's defensive ability.

Although Green has many black marks, eye pokes, punches, and a foul mouth, he's a completely repulsive character. But as I said before, if your own team has such a number one character, it won't be too popular.

If you think darker, if Wang Chong doesn't want to meet Green on the court in the future, he could enjoy a defense similar to James' and let the Bulls select Green and hide him. It would only take two or three years to eliminate Green, making this person completely disappear from the league.

Originally, Draymond Green was a typical system player. If he hadn't been on a special team like the Warriors, at best, he would have been a defensive leader like Bowen, Tony Allen, and Beverley.

After talking about Draymond Green, let's talk about Khris Middleton.

As two second-round picks in 2012, Middleton is much more adaptable than Draymond Green.

Middleton, who is 2.01 meters tall and serves as a small forward, is a standard shooting forward. His career field goal percentage can reach 46%, and his three-point shooting percentage is 38.8%. He has averaged stable contributions per game for several consecutive years with the Bucks, averaging 20+5+5.

But the problem is that the Bulls currently have a lot of talent at the forward position. In addition to Wang Chong, they also have Jimmy Butler and Middleton, both players who need a certain amount of time to develop before they can showcase their skills. One player is enough.

Considering Butler's growth and height, he should take priority over Middleton.

Therefore, in general, Wang Chong is more inclined to choose Draymond Green.

——The draft went as scheduled and wasn't very different from the original historical process. Without Paul, the Hornets consistently secured the first pick and selected Anthony Davis, the "brow brother."

Among the top players in the draft, Damian Lillard was selected by the Trail Blazers, and Bradley Beal was also selected by the Wizards.

These two teams' selections slightly differed from the original, but they still selected their favorite players. After all, 2012 is also recognized as a weak draft year. The level of other players is quite different. It's really hard to say if they are good or bad before officially logging into the NBA to play.

Each team can only decide on their player candidates based on their own needs and the results of their trial workouts.

The Bulls successfully acquired Draymond Green in the second round of the draft. Although it was only a second-round pick, the Bulls' actions still puzzled many teams in the league.

There's no other reason. The Bulls already have a lot of players in the forward position. Why would they still want to hoard a 2.01-meter forward?

No way, the Bulls have made too many brilliant moves in the draft over the years. Every player they select, whether in the first or second round, later shows off their skills and outstanding talents.

This forced the other teams to pay special attention to the Bulls' draft.

But the Bulls selected Draymond Green, and they couldn't understand why, even if they wanted to ruin themselves.

Draymond Green couldn't understand either, but that didn't stop him from getting excited.

After the draft, when interviewed by journalists, Draymond Green enthusiastically said that he greatly admired and liked the Bulls and that he felt honored to join the Bulls and play. He would definitely work hard to enter the rotation and help the Bulls win the championship, adding bricks and tiles, etc.

Of course, no one will care whether a second-round player can do it or not. Let's wait until he can actually perform.

After the draft, the free market begins.

End of this chapter

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