Chapter 1021
Damn Basketball Reason? No, it's a Wonderful Basketball Reason!
"The trade was abruptly halted due to basketball reasons."
The league issued this announcement urgently.
Of course, this time it wasn't Stern who stepped forward, since the league hadn't made any mistakes and didn't need Stern to personally take the blame.
It was Xiao Hua who came out. Whether he took on this lousy job voluntarily to redeem himself or whether Stern deliberately assigned it to him to vent his anger, no one knows.
Even WOJ shouldn't be criticized for this.
When people reported the news at the time, they used words like "suspected," "about to be reached," "Dron" or "heading to Dallas."
Who told the fans to take it so seriously? Who told your boss to come out himself? Who told both teams to lose their composure? And who told the fans to start popping champagne at halftime?
The league didn't let you pop champagne and celebrate early.
He brought it on himself.
Awkward, aren't you? Don't blame us.
Even this time, when the league stated that there were sufficient reasons for this 'basketball reason'.
The Hornets' sale is nearing completion, and the new owner is a big fan of Deron Williams, specifically requesting that this cornerstone player be kept on the team.
What can you do if the future owner doesn't want to sell?
We have no choice but to accept it.
Of course, the above is a rational perspective.
In fact, very few people are able to remain rational.
Especially when it involves top stars like LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki, plus Mark Cuban, the league's most eccentric owner, it's even harder for people to remain rational.
He unleashed a torrent of angry curses!
The league, Adam Silver, Stern, the Hornets' general manager, the new owner whose existence is unknown, Wojnarowski, and even fans of Deron Williams and LeBron James all threw mud at each other and launched a barrage of attacks.
In short, after this 'basketball reason' emerged, the entire media landscape descended into chaos. It felt like a world war.
Everyone went crazy, venting their anger and opinions wildly.
And at this point, what about Lin Tian's suspension at the beginning?
Who still remembers!
It has long been forgotten by everyone.
Even Lin Tian himself didn't expect Stern to cause such a big incident, and he admired him.
Is this old man really that daring?
And what's more, this damn basketball-related reason is actually because of me?
Is this the butterfly effect?
Lin Tian, who found it quite exciting and fun, even made a special phone call to Stern.
"If you had told me earlier that there was this kind of fun, I wouldn't have made things difficult for you! How exciting! When is the next one? Let me know in advance!"
"Get lost!" Stern's voice carried a hint of weariness. "It has nothing to do with you, it's just a fucking coincidence! A damn coincidence! FUXX!"
"Damn WOJ, who knows who gave him the information? This would never have come out in the first place!"
"And that idiot Cuban! FUXX! I'm going to fine him to death this time! He's definitely going to start ranting, come on, if he rants I'll give him a ticket, FUXX! I'm so angry!"
"And Deron Williams and LeBron James, those two bastards are just meddling in the fun!"
"Won't it be exposed? Just joining in the fun?" Upon hearing this, Lin Tian understood!
This was originally a negotiation between the two teams. Although there might be some rumors circulating, there are at least 80 or 100 such rumors every year, and they won't affect the overall situation at all.
But WOJ spoke with too much certainty this time, and Cuban's behavior of announcing the trade before it was finalized put the league and both parties in a very difficult position.
Stern's tone suggests that the league doesn't want the Hornets to trade Deron Williams. Whether it's because they're unhappy with the Mavericks' offer or because they want to retain a top star so that new buyers can use Williams as a selling point to make more money when they buy a team.
In short, following the original procedure, the two sides negotiated, and when the negotiations were almost complete, the Hornets asked the league if they could sell at that price.
If the league says it can't be sold, then the deal is off.
After that, nothing much happened except for rumors that a deal was close to being reached and that Deron Williams almost went to the Mavericks.
That kind of news has absolutely no impact.
But after WOJ and his group did this, the league had to step in to defend them and also had to act as the bad guy and veto the trade.
The fans' resentment is bound to grow stronger.
This time, the league really can't avoid it; they're going to get a lot of flak from the fans.
Of course, the league can't do anything about the fans, and they can't tell them to shut up.
But the league has ways to deal with others, right?
After the trade was rejected, Cuban launched into a tirade, publicly calling the league a bunch of damn pigs, a bunch of damn maggots, utterly useless and corrupt—in short, a string of insane profanities.
He also took the opportunity to extend his warm greetings to all the female relatives within Stern's three generations, doing so in a very affectionate manner.
Then, Stern fined Cuban $25 for unauthorized contact with players from other teams, illegal recruitment, and verbal abuse!
This huge fine is the largest ever imposed on a team's management in NBA history!
At the same time, the league actually produced some evidence to prove that the Mavericks had unlawful private contact with Deron Williams before the trade was completed.
Of course, while these so-called pieces of evidence are all true, if the alliance were to take it seriously and really search for them, it wouldn't be a problem to find a hundred or two similar pieces of evidence throughout the entire alliance.
If Stern's own call records with Lin Tian and many others were exposed, it would raise a series of questions and raise irregularities.
There are far too many people who violate the rules, but these kinds of clandestine contacts are all within the league's jurisdiction.
But ultimately, the reason why unspoken rules are unspoken rules is precisely because they cannot be openly discussed.
However, after such a hefty fine, the swap between Deron Williams and Terry has become a thing of the past and is unlikely to happen again.
The deal has completely fallen through.
But the impact of this event goes beyond that.
It's not just about the fans' anger and the league's public relations crisis.
On the Mavericks' side, Terry, who was extremely loyal to the team and even willing to be relegated to play as the sixth man, felt betrayed by the team. He directly stated that he would not play a single game for the team again, another self-declaration, saying that he would leave the team indefinitely for personal reasons.
Then, at this time, no one else on the Mavericks publicly expressed the concern that Terry should have shown.
Especially James, after being caught by the media again, didn't say anything like "Come back, we need you, let's talk," but instead directly wished Terry good luck.
The meaning behind those words is all too clear.
There are conflicts within the Mavericks, and they must be quite serious and obvious!
No wonder they were in such a hurry to make a trade at this time. No wonder James welcomed Deron Williams directly after learning about the trade, instead of saying anything like a farewell or expressing his reluctance to part with Terry.
These two don't get along!
We absolutely will not compromise.
As for why the two don't get along and what caused their conflict, there are many different opinions and countless guesses.
Outrageous, logical, wildly imaginative, and utterly nonsensical news, rumors, and gossip have flooded the entire internet.
As for the final truth, perhaps no one can say for sure or explain it anymore.
While the Mavericks are facing internal strife, the Hornets aren't faring much better.
Deron Williams' attitude after the suspected trade also broke the hearts of fans. The more fans loved Deron Williams, the worse and more painful the feeling of being betrayed became.
Some even started burning Deron Williams' jersey. This former darling of New Orleans, the core player who led the team to the Western Conference Finals, is now the most unpopular person in the city. In the Hornets' first home game after the rumors, fans booed Williams relentlessly, a frenzied chorus of boos.
The people of New Orleans have never booed so wildly, not even at chicken wings, and now they are venting their deepest disgust and anger on Deron Williams.
Being betrayed is always painful.
而德隆也没让球迷们失望，他用一个15投4中，9分3篮板5助攻4失误告诉球迷：你们嘘的没错。
As for the Mavericks, the fans' reactions were quite the opposite. The fans, who were eager for the championship, paid the highest tribute to Terry. Even though Terry didn't come to the American Airlines Arena, the entire arena would roar "We want Jerry!" whenever there was a timeout.
It's worth mentioning that these fans are likely the same group that went wild celebrating after learning Deron Williams was coming a couple of days ago.
Fans can be quite realistic sometimes.
The Mavericks also performed poorly in this game. The entire team was distracted by the fans' shouts and the recent controversy, and they lost the game as well.
Both the Hornets and the Mavericks have become losers in this turmoil, and their internal problems are destined to grow bigger and more obvious.
No one knows how they will solve their problems this season or in the future, but one thing is certain: their trades will definitely continue! It's just unknown how these two teams will choose to make changes to overcome the current crisis.
The Hornets are doing alright; they're about to change owners, so they obviously don't care much about performance. At worst, Deron Williams will get booed a bit, which might even cure his urinary incontinence.
But the Mavericks are different. They are aiming for the championship. Even if the rest of the team can unite and not be affected, the loss of a top shooter with a big heart like Terry is a huge blow, and they will definitely be further away from the championship.
No one on this Mavericks team can fill the void left by Terry's departure. His firepower is top-notch, even among the bench players in the entire league.
The Hornets' problems can be addressed gradually; there's no rush. At least we can wait until the team is sold before making any decisions.
But the Mavericks' problem is that if they want to contend for the championship this season, they must get everything sorted out before the trade deadline.
Otherwise, they should wait until next season to talk about the championship. No one can win a championship when there is serious infighting within the team.
"I love basketball for this reason! I fucking love basketball for this reason! It's the best crap in the world!"
After the storm had mostly passed, and after fans and players in the league had discussed it many times, and after Lin Tian's suspension had long since ended and he had played two more games, Kobe suddenly let out an incredibly excited roar during a team practice.
"Are you an idiot?" Lin Tian looked at Kobe incredulously. "Don't you have internet at home? Or do you never participate in your teammates' chats in the locker room? Or do you actually not understand English at all?"
"We've been talking for a week, we've already started discussing the next topic, and now you're finally telling me about basketball reasons?"
Lin Tian's mockery of Kobe was heartfelt.
It's all in the past, so what's this guy cheering for? Even if his reflexes are incredibly strong, and even if he's lived a life completely disconnected from the internet, you can't be this much worse, right?
"No, of course I knew what you guys were talking about," Kobe said excitedly. "But I don't know why, I was just happy, just joyful!"
"I just think it's funny that someone is unlucky because of this situation. And look, Deron is definitely going to be traded again. He can't stay with the Hornets anymore. Suddenly the Mavericks are missing a super sixth man, and their roster is no longer complete."
Isn't this interesting?
Lin Tian looked at this guy who had suddenly fallen into a frenzy and found it utterly incomprehensible.
The timing is wrong too. If it were December 9, 2011, and Kobe suddenly had this brilliant idea, I'd say you, Kobe, had a brainwave exchange with a Kobe from a parallel universe, and were therefore gloating and overjoyed.
But what is this now?
It's already January, how can your brainwaves be off for a month and then suddenly match up again?
That's unreasonable.
However, Kobe was an irrational person to begin with, so the Lakers players didn't think there was anything wrong with him when he did such strange things.
This is Kobe at his most normal.
Apart from……
Except that this guy is laughing a little too happily right now.
Even Lin Tian, who was overjoyed, was worried that he would collapse.
Wait, does this guy really enjoy gloating?
Kobe's belated realization did not affect the Lakers' team atmosphere or their preparations for the upcoming games, well, it can't be said that it had no impact at all.
For example, in tonight's game, Kobe was obviously a little too excited, taking a crazy 47 shots, but only making 17 in the end, resulting in an astonishing 30 misses in a single game!
This game, with Kobe's 30 iron balls, is enough to go down in history.
As for the result of the game, the Lakers naturally lost.
At the post-game press conference, Lin Tian, unusually, seriously answered Kobe's questions.
"That's how scorers are. They might make 40 of 47 shots, or they might make 17 of 47. What matters isn't how many shots they miss, but whether they're afraid and whether they stop."
"Kobe wasn't afraid, and he didn't stop. I'm glad that's what a true scorer should do."
"I'd rather my teammates go 0 for 30 than stop after going 0 for 5. I'll pass the ball to my guys whenever I have the chance. They just need to be bold and go for it. Don't be afraid, I've got you covered!"
"That's how the game was tonight. Kobe was always brave. He was willing to keep shooting, and he had a lot of great opportunities. His choices and playing style were no different from before. It's just that he made the shots on other occasions, but tonight he missed them all."
"I'm a point guard, I need to pass the ball to the guys around me who have opportunities, that's all."
"What if it were the playoffs? What if it were a Game 7? Would you still let Kobe shoot like that?" The reporter, unwilling to give up, immediately asked another question, hoping to get a complete answer to his doubts.
"If Kobe had made 6 of 22 shots in the first half, I would have strangled him in the locker room. You wouldn't have seen him in the second half. I wouldn't have allowed him to live to see the second half."
Lin Tian's humor drew laughter from the reporters, and this loss obviously wouldn't have any serious consequences for the Lakers.
They are now under no pressure regarding their record.
Because the Mavericks have been playing terribly lately.
The team lost not only its leading scorer off the bench, but also its second ball-handler. After Terry left the team, James was the only reliable ball-handler. Once James was off the court, the team's offense immediately became a mess.
Neither Barea nor Stevenson possessed the ability to organize the team. One was a pure attacker, and the other was a pure 3D player; they simply lacked this inherent attribute.
Under these circumstances, the Mavericks naturally embarked on a run with a rather poor winning percentage.
All head coach Johnson can do is increase James' playing time to ensure the team's winning percentage, while constantly urging management to make trades quickly.
Since Terry isn't coming back, then he shouldn't come back at all.
Finding a suitable substitute as soon as possible is the most important thing.
But this is easier said than done, especially now that Terry has completely fallen out with the team and refuses to communicate, which has brought his trade value to rock bottom.
After all, who would want to trust a troublemaker? What if this guy causes trouble again at his new team?
Not to mention that everyone knows the Mavericks are eager to trade Terry, so they're all desperately trying to drive down the price. If the Mavericks still want to make a fair trade and sell Terry for a good price at this point, they're just dreaming.
What the Mavericks can do now is try to find someone who isn't so ruthless or overly aggressive in the trade, and minimize their losses.
The Mavericks had a terrible record, and the teams below them, starting from third place, were completely locked in a fierce battle with no one able to stand out. The Lakers, who were first in the West, were becoming more and more secure. By February, everyone was surprised to find that the Lakers had a four-game lead over the second-place team.
At this point in the season, this advantage is almost unassailable.
As February arrived, the pressure and tension surrounding each team finally eased somewhat.
The highly anticipated All-Star Game is finally here! (End of Chapter)