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The 2016 NBA Draft, as usual, took place on June 24th at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn, New York.
This year's draft conference can be described as highly anticipated, especially attracting the attention of Chinese fans across the ocean.
The reason is simple: there are two Chinese players participating in the draft this year, namely Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin.
These two players, representing the strength of the new generation from China, are the most promising players to make it into the NBA and establish themselves since Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, and Mengke Bateer. Among them, Zhou Qi is the most eye-catching, as his static talent is quite remarkable, standing at 2.17 meters tall with an astonishing wingspan of 2.33 meters, which rivals that of Rudy Gobert.
Chinese fans were hoping that the Lakers would select Zhou Qi in the draft, so that Zhou Qi and Wang Chong could form the Huaguo Twin Stars in the Lakers.
As the draft progressed, Chinese fans also got what they wanted.
The Lakers' 16th overall pick in the first round had been involved in trade talks with Klay Thompson, and the exchange sent Thompson to the Warriors. Meanwhile, their second-round pick was lower on the list.
Initially, Wang Chong thought that the Lakers wouldn't have the chance to select Zhou Qi. After all, in the original timeline, the Rockets used the 13th pick in the second round to choose Zhou Qi. In this timeline, the Rockets' second-round pick was even higher.
But what Wang Chong didn't expect was that the Rockets didn't select Zhou Qi. Instead, they used their 7th pick in the second round to choose forward Patrick McCaw.
As a result, Zhou Qi's draft selection fell all the way to the Lakers' second-round pick.
Seeing this situation, Wang Chong didn't hesitate and directly chose Zhou Qi.
When you think about it, it's not surprising.
Zhou Qi initially joined the Rockets largely due to Yao Ming's behind-the-scenes influence. Despite his excellent static talent, Zhou Qi struggled in terms of confrontation ability and aggressiveness, which made him undervalued by NBA scouts.
The Rockets signed Zhou Qi more to give a face to Yao Ming and to see if Zhou Qi could surprise them on the court.
But the result, according to scouts, was that Zhou Qi's thin arms and legs couldn't withstand the high-intensity confrontation of the NBA, and he only played 19 games in two years with the Rockets, averaging 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
Wang Chong's selection of Zhou Qi, of course, is rooted in the same idea as Yao Ming's.
Although Zhou Qi had the sense that he couldn't help Adou, he was desperate because, in the future, by 2024, Zhou Qi might be the only one who could truly see the entire Chinese men's basketball team, along with player Li Kaier.
Wang Chong had the idea of doing something for the Chinese men's basketball team, which is why he asked the Lakers to sign Zhou Qi, intending to personally supervise his daily training and growth.
If Zhou Qi couldn't rise up in the NBA and had to be transferred to become a Polish center in the future, then Wang Chong would have no other choice, but at least he tried.
Of course, this also relates to the fact that there aren't many potential players in the 16-year-olds who could pick up the slack and fill the gaps.
There were two main players at the bottom of the draft who could play: one was Pascal Siakam, who was the 27th pick in the first round, and the other was Malcolm Brogdon, who was the 6th pick in the second round.
Neither of these players had a high draft selection, but the problem was that the Lakers still didn't have a pick at the top.
Wang Chong's past methods of turning stones into gold had made other teams unwilling to trade picks to his team unless the Lakers were willing to pay much more than the market price.
Thus, the only gain for the Los Angeles Lakers in this draft was Zhou Qi.
The mandatory military service has ended, and the free agency market opens in early July.
The 2016 free agency market can be described as a superstar spectacle because too many players who had signed 1+1 contracts with their teams in recent years were now eligible to opt out and become free agents, including Wang Chong, James, and Durant. Given the current situation, the likelihood of this happening was extremely high.
In addition to these three, Wade from the Heat, Howard, Andre Drummond from the Pistons, Bradley Beal from the Wizards, Al Horford from the Hawks, and others were also out of contract.
The free agency market was buzzing.
Lakers fans were optimistic about the prospects for their team in free agency.
First of all, Wang Chong was expected to renew his contract with the Lakers, which was certain.
With Wang Chong's contract renewal confirmed with a max salary, the Lakers would also be able to free up considerable cap space due to the expiration of Kobe Bryant's $25 million contract, enough to sign a top-tier superstar with a max salary.
In this case, Lakers fans even entertained the idea of Kobe Bryant retiring directly.
This season, Kobe Bryant had shown that he was no longer capable of adapting to the NBA's high-intensity gameplay, with his shooting percentage and overall efficiency significantly dropping. Some even thought that if Kobe Bryant wasn't holding the team back, those $25 million could be used to acquire an All-Star caliber player, and the Lakers could challenge the Bulls for the championship.
Given Kobe's status, if he renewed his contract with the Lakers, even if he couldn't be an effective contributor on the court anymore, he would still receive a contract worth around $10 million.
However, in this scenario, the Lakers wouldn't be able to cut other star players in free agency.
These thoughts reached a critical point after local Los Angeles media published a prediction of potential offseason additions for the Lakers.
In the media's report, the Lakers had enough cap space to sign any player in free agency, and the top choice was, of course, Celtics star Kevin Durant.
Having been with the Celtics for many years, Durant had never seen any real hope of competing for a championship, especially after Wang Chong left for the West, which essentially made the East the domain of the Bulls, leaving Durant feeling hopeless.
Over the past year, Boston reporters repeatedly asked Durant about his plans when his contract expired, but they never received a definitive answer from him about staying.
It was clear that he hadn't won a championship, which made Durant frustrated.
If he wanted to compete with the Bulls in the East, joining the Lakers and playing alongside Wang Chong was a shortcut to winning a title.
Wang Chong + Durant?
It wasn't too far-fetched, and Lakers fans couldn't help but think about it.
What about Bryant? Who? The name rings a bell.
So, did the Lakers have a plan? Absolutely.
Building superstars had always been a tradition for the Lakers, from the early trio of Chamberlain, West, and Elgin Baylor, to the later Magic and Sky Hook combinations, then the O'Neal-Kobe Lakers F4, and now, even if they combined Wang Chong and Durant as the max scorers, it wouldn't be a big deal.
After the Lakers management saw this opportunity, they immediately reached out to Wang Chong.
There was no choice; due to the contract restrictions Wang Chong had, the Lakers' management needed his approval if they wanted to execute any reinforcement operation.
And Wang Chong was a bit bored when he heard this suggestion.
"Isn't this just a remake of the Five-Star Warriors?"
With Durant, it would be easy to compete for a championship.
To be honest, the Lakers' unbroken championship run in recent years had made Wang Chong a little bored, and the final series with the Bulls this year finally sparked his interest.
But Wang Chong had a much better impression of Durant than James. At least Durant's playing style wasn't as dominant as James's, and his schemes were completely different from James's. Durant was more like a kid who hadn't grown up.
After thinking about it, Wang Chong responded to the Lakers management:
"First, I don't care whether Durant comes or not, it doesn't make much difference to me. I won't take the initiative to recruit him, but I won't oppose it if you want to sign him, you can handle it yourself."
"Second, I promised Kobe Bryant that I would help him win another championship before he retires, so Kobe Bryant will definitely continue with the Lakers this season. The contract size is a matter between you and Kobe. If you want to sign Durant, whether Kobe Bryant and Durant reduce their salaries also depends on you."
"Third, the current Lakers roster has many potential players, and if Durant joins, it will to some extent affect the development of the young players due to ball-sharing. So if he comes, Durant can only sign a 1+1 contract."
As soon as Wang Chong laid out these three conditions, the Lakers management was left speechless.
No mistake, this was a moment of true pride.
After all, Durant was the only top scorer who could slightly keep up with Wang Chong's pace of scoring in recent years, and was recognized as a superstar among the top five in the league.
Listening to Wang Chong's tone, the Lakers management could sense his slight displeasure.
But Wang Chong really didn't care, because as long as the Lakers maintained their current core, Wang Chong, Klay Thompson, and Jokic, who could grow into stars in one or two years, would dominate the league again. Did they really need Durant to complete the team?
Wang Chong was actually looking forward to Durant joining another team and forming a super team to rival the Bulls, as it would bring him some new excitement.
With Wang Chong's approval, the Lakers began to reach out to Durant.
Before doing that, they had to talk to Kobe, as Kobe, who was determined to play for one more year, also needed to renew his contract.
From Kobe's perspective, of course, he hoped Durant would join, as the stronger the Lakers were, the better his chances of winning the sixth championship before retiring.
At this point in time, Kobe Bryant no longer cared about the ball, the status of the team leader, or anything like that.
The loss in the finals this time had made him clearly realize that he was aging. Even though his personality was obsessive and he refused to admit defeat, he had to face reality.
So Kobe's current idea was that as long as he could win the sixth championship and not be a benchwarmer who couldn't even get on the court, that would be better than O'Neal's role in winning a sixth championship with Wang Chong's team during his twilight years.
Regarding the contract extension, Kobe Bryant also showed great generosity. The Lakers management could first negotiate with Durant, and once the deal was finalized, they could pay him according to the remaining cap space.
For Kobe, who had accumulated $340 million over his career, money was not a problem, and there wasn't much of a difference between $10 million and a few million to him.
Thus, things began to unfold in a way Wang Chong didn't expect.
A few days later, Wang Chong received news from the Lakers management that Durant had agreed to join the Lakers and was willing to take a pay cut, signing a 1+1 contract worth $50 million with the Lakers, with an average annual salary of $25 million.
Durant was truly willing to accept the pay cut to join the Lakers, and this pay cut was not a small amount—it was close to $10 million in total.
It seemed that he really wanted to win a championship to the point of obsession.
Wang Chong finally understood a bit why the Five-Star Warriors could form in the first place.
But with Durant arriving, the Lakers' championship hopes for the upcoming season were no longer in doubt.
Since free agency opened, there has been no major movement in the league, but the behind-the-scenes commotion is well-known.
On July 7th, the first major move in the league occurred with a contract extension.
James opted out and re-signed with the Bulls for two years and $58 million, with an average annual salary of $29 million.
James stayed with the Bulls, maintaining their current championship-winning lineup. His contract extension was still a salary reduction, as at James's age, a max contract extension would be worth around $61 million for two years.
Bulls fans were still happy with James's extension, even though James had taken the FMVP from Curry in the finals. It was undeniable that without James, they really wouldn't be able to compete with the Lakers led by Wang Chong.
After James extended his contract with the Bulls, the team remained the strongest championship contender for the next season and had the resources to compete with the Lakers.
Two days after James's extension, Wang Chong also announced that he would opt out of his contract and sign his first long-term contract with the Lakers, with an average annual salary of $35 million over four years, an absolute max contract.
This was still the situation with the Lakers not having bird rights; otherwise, this contract would have been even larger.
Wang Chong's four-year extension with the Lakers relieved the fans of the Lakers from anxiety.
No matter what reinforcements the team could bring in, whether they could sign stars like Durant, as long as Wang Chong was there, they would always be one of the favorites to win the championship.
The new broadcasting deal came into effect, causing the team salary cap to skyrocket, and huge contracts kept appearing.
Before Wang Chong and James, the Grizzlies reached an agreement with their point guard Mike Conley on a 5-year, $153 million extension, making Conley's contract the largest in NBA history, although this contract was for $30.6 million per year on average, which was less than Wang Chong's $35 million per year. However, the contract was one year longer, making the total value greater than Wang Chong's.
All teams in the league were constantly signing and renewing contracts, and incredibly high contracts were being made.
And it was in this critical moment when the true depth charges arrived.
After the star of the Boston Celtics announced that he would opt out of his contract and become a free agent, he reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers to join them for $50 million over two years, to join Wang Chong in their quest for the championship next season.
As soon as this news was announced, it immediately caused a huge shock across the league!
And when James saw the news, he couldn't help but feel black in front of him, almost bursting into old blood.
"The ... the league is going to collapse!"
End of this chapter
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