The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Su Wan first had his team find some players in China, then called Kobe and said, "You don't have plans to play in other leagues, do you?"

Kobe asked right back, "What do you want to do?"

"I've put together my own team in the CBA, man. Since the NBA isn't starting anyway, why not come play with me in the CBA for a bit? When the NBA resumes, we'll head back."

Kobe was somewhat tempted.

Previously, he didn't want to play in other leagues because he looked down on them.

But teaming up with Su Wan to "beat down" the competition interested him.

Then Su Wan called Wade, "Buddy, I've set up a CBA team, if you're free, why not come play in China for a couple of days!"

Wade didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.

Next were Zach Randolph, Little O'Neal, Marc Gasol...

And of course, there was Artest, that rascal.

Among the others, Jimmy Butler and Thomas actually wanted to go, but Su Wan felt they weren't good enough, so he didn't bring them along.

Stephen Curry was in the middle of adjusting his shooting, not suitable for matches, so Su Wan didn't take him along either, letting him focus on his adjustments with Grover.

Su Wan didn't sign any contracts with them, instead, once in Shanghai, he rented presidential suites at a five-star hotel near the gym for two months, and that was their pay.

At first, when the domestic media found out that the CBA had really created a special new team for Su Wan, they praised the CBA's senior management for finally being flexible.

But when they learned that Su Wan was bringing a load of League All-Stars back to play in the CBA, not only the fans went crazy, the media went crazy, even the CBA leaders went crazy.

What kind of wave would this stir up in China?

Chinese fans have never been so eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new CBA season as they are now.

After the news was released, Su Wan didn't need to make contact, as various stadiums reached out to sign a two-year contract and became the home venue for the Dreamers Team for the new season.

With much anticipation, the schedule for the new CBA season was announced.

The first game was against last season's champions, Guangdong Hongyuan, in Shanghai.

It was Guangdong's "fourth consecutive championship."

But the "defending champions" of the CBA felt a tingling of their scalps as they looked at the newly formed opposing team.

For the fans on the sidelines, however, it was no different from celebrating the New Year.

Su Wan, Kobe, Wade, Zach Randolph...

This was a lineup not even an NBA team could put together, and now it was appearing on a CBA court. What more could be said?

"Brother Su" is awesome!

There's no need to say more about the game. It was pure domination.

The Dreamers didn't have any tactics, just various 1-on-1 plays, but just with these superstars' individual skills, Guangdong Hongyuan was blown away.

If Su Wan and the others hadn't sat down on the bench early, the final score difference might have been over 50 points.

The game caused a huge stir the next day, trending on Weibo hot search with various entries.

Let's just say this:

The fervor of one game topped an entire season's fervor for the League.

After three or four such heavily publicized games, the time came to November.

The representatives of labor and management were finally in a hurry.

They each made concessions, and on November 26th, after 15 hours of negotiations, labor and management finally announced an agreement to end the grueling 149-day shutdown.

The new season would officially kick off on December 25th, with the free market and training camps opening on December 9th.

Seeing this news, Su Wan and others immediately left China and returned to their respective cities.

Domestic fans felt a tremendous sense of loss, but for those CBA teams that had faced the Dreamers Team and those about to face them, the nightmarish time was finally over.

Su Wan went back to New York and first met with Stephen Curry to inquire about his progress.

Learning that he was doing well was a relief.

This time...

Stephen Curry shouldn't have to sit out the season due to ankle injuries again, right?

"Well, Su Wan was aware that he had done everything he could. If Stephen Curry were to experience another season-ending injury, then it would be destiny, and he would be powerless to change that."

December 9th.

The League officially opened the free agency market.

Donnie Walsh immediately offered a contract of about $8 million, planning to sign with Battier.

However, Battier chose to sign with the Heat Team for $5 million.

When Su Wan learned of this news, he called Battier, "Buddy, can you tell me what you were thinking?"

Battier said, "The New York Knicks do not lack wings. I want to join a team that can assure me more playing time, and... I don't want people to think I betrayed the Spurs because I wanted to join New York. It's just that I really couldn't stand it!"

What else could Su Wan say?

"Good luck, Shawn!"

But looking at it, Battier really seemed out of place in this League.

This man was too upright!

Donnie Walsh was sorry he couldn't seal the deal.

Then he began his performance.

First, he brought Boris Dior to New York with a 3-year, $12 million contract, Su Wan's former teammate.

Next, he made a trade that shocked the world:

Ray Allen's contract for the season was a player option. Originally, he had chosen to exercise the player option to stay in Boston. But this time, he opted out of the contract to enter the free agency market.

The moment the news came out, Donnie Walsh made contact with Ray Allen and successfully brought him to the New York Knicks with a 3-year contract worth $18 million!—Since they didn't have enough salary to sign Ray Allen, New York traded away Felton.

The last transaction, Walsh picked up Kwame Brown from the free agency market at a minimum salary.

With that, the New York Knicks' lineup for the new season became:

"Point Guard: Stephen Curry, Thomas;

Two: Su Wan, Ray Allen, Jimmy Butler;

Small Forward: Artest, Vince Carter, Paul George;

Power Forward: Danilo Gallinari, Boris Dior;

Five: Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown."

12-man roster, and this time the lineup was very reasonable.

Every position had strong fighting power.

The New York media was full of anticipation for the new season.

The external media placed the New York Knicks in the top three of the new season's power rankings.

And just at this time, the management of the Hornets made a move, placing "Hornet King" Chris Paul on the trading block.

When this news spread across the League, it drove everyone wild.

As the current "best active point guard" in the League without a doubt, Chris Paul was considered a cornerstone by every general manager, and everyone had their eyes on this hot property.

Suddenly, media reports emerged that Chris Paul was infinitely close to Los Angeles.

Whether it was the Clippers or the Lakers, the leaker did not provide accurate information.

The Los Angeles media was exceedingly excited, thinking...

It would be the Lakers!

In Kobe's last season before retirement, Old Bass wanted to make a final push, assembling a luxury "battleship!"

There was precedent for such a thing, like the very example from '04...

Amidst all the speculation and discussion, explosive news came out of Los Angeles:

The Lakers traded Paul Gasol and a first-round pick to get Chris Paul from the Hornets.

This meant that the new season's Lakers would boast a lineup with Chris Paul alongside Yao Ming and Kobe.

After this trade, the Lakers quickly made another move, signing Odom back with a $2 million contract...

This lineup suddenly went back to '07, only this time with the addition of Chris Paul and Ariza!