Before the end of the free market, Sun Hao finished his vacation and returned to Los Angeles.

As soon as he arrived in Los Angeles, Kupchek sent him another good news.

Carter is willing to renew his contract with the Lakers, and he is a salary cut.

Although Carter performed poorly last season, he was still a quasi-All-Star player the previous season.

His value and market conditions still have 8 million to 10 million.

But the price of his final renewal of the Lakers was 4 million yuan per year, and the total contract value was 12 million yuan for 3 years!

This is like buying something, and you will get a 50% discount!

Sun Hao was a little surprised.

But understanding can be understood.

Carter has not yet won the championship in his career, so competing for the championship will be his biggest goal in his next career.

In the past, he had mostly contacted other championship teams in this free market, but in the end he found that the Lakers had the most opportunities.

"He doesn't want to leave Los Angeles in this way."

Kupchek also told Sun Hao another reason why Carter chose to stay in the team with a salary cut.

The stars in the last century were all backbone. Although Carter carried the team on his shoulders when the Lakers were at the darkest time, this dark period also shows that his Lakers career was a very failed.

Especially since Sun Hao came back last season, his performance has been very bad, giving people the feeling that he has been dragging his legs.

If he chooses to leave at this time, this Lakers' career will become the biggest black spot in his career.

So he doesn't want something like that to happen.

Of course, there is another point, Yao Ming's joining.

Yao Ming's joining has greatly increased the Lakers' strength, and they have the strength to wrestle the Warriors and the Knicks. Staying at this time is the wisest choice.

After Carter also chose to renew his contract, the Lakers' roster for the new season has become very fulfilling.

Point Guard: Knight, Billups, Thomas Jr.

Scoreback: Sun Hao, Jimmy Butler

Little Former: Carter, Rudy Fernandez, Bathir

Big Former: Millsap, Bertans, Draymond Green

Center: Yao Ming, Jason Smith, Kyle O'Quinn

This lineup only requires signing another defender, or a 14-man lineup is enough to enter the season.

And what you can see is that because the Lakers have many rosters, there will be many people rushing to the end of the quota.

The free market is approaching, and the signing of other people is gradually settled.

Curry and the Warriors reached a five-year maximum salary renewal.

Because he corrected his efforts in advance, he did not suffer major injuries. At the same time, because of Sun Hao's departure and his own outstanding performance last season, the "big child labor" in Curry's history will not appear.

But this may be the correct way to open your career.

While renewing the contract, Curry also renewed McGrady's minimum salary, and then signed veteran O'Neal Jr. from the free market.

The Warriors retained the core lineup of the dynasty before and had some reinforcements. They now have a great chance to strive for four consecutive championships based on the dynasty!

That was something that Sun Hao and O'Neal wanted to accomplish but ultimately failed!

At this point, the free market freezing period has come to an end.

The day after the freezing period ended, multiple signings were officially reached, including the Lakers' three-party transaction.

Yao Ming officially joins the Lakers!

Just the next day, the Lakers held a press conference with Yao Ming joining.

Although this press conference was held earlier than usual, there were still many reporters on the scene.

I have said before that the media have long wanted to know the details of Yao Ming joining the Lakers, but they have no way to do so.

Now that the official press conference has finally been held, they will naturally not miss it.

In addition to Yao Ming, there were also Buss Jr., Kupchek, Harris, and Sun Hao.

Before the press conference began, Kupchek showed the fans Yao Ming's Lakers No. 11 jersey.

The Lakers have many retired jersey numbers, but they do not include No. 11.

Moreover, this jersey is extra large, so the efficiency is also OK.

Yao Ming showed it with his jersey first, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and it was obvious that he was in a good mood after making the decision.

After the jersey was displayed, Buss Jr., Kupchek and Harris all said some welcome words, and then the reporter asked questions.

Yao Ming's performance in front of the media is somewhat similar to Sun Hao, both of which are more realistic and have a hint of unique humor.

For example, when the reporter asked Yao Ming a slightly sensitive topic.

"There is a saying among fans now that your combination with Sun is the combination of the first center and the first person, which makes the NBA lose its suspense. What do you think of this statement?"

This problem had already appeared before the free market began, and it was also one of the must-have problems for journalists.

And it is not easy to answer this, because if the answer is yes, it looks very pretentious, and if the answer is no, it looks very unstable.

Yao Ming's answer is:

“Does fans from the Bay Area and New York include this?”

A rhetorical question, and just this sentence, has already made the reporters below laugh.

Smart people never answer questions only yes or no.

And this is not a way to avoid it.

Because this rhetorical question is another way, if you ask this, do other championship teams know?

It's a rhetorical question, but it's actually an answer.

Because if the NBA really loses suspense, then other teams should be lying down and rushing to play with each other.

But the reality is obviously not the case.

This answer can also give Los Angeles fans the most intuitive understanding of Yao Ming’s temper off the court.

To be honest, this personality... is very popular!

Sun Hao is so popular among Americans. In addition to his personal football skills, he also has a humorous personality.

Yao Ming is exactly the same!

Because of Yao Ming's personality, the atmosphere of the press conference has become extremely relaxed.

However, in a relaxed atmosphere, a reporter asked a question that was not only sensitive but also very provocative.

“Reggie Miller once said that if Jordan called to recruit him, he would say 'fxk.tempt' to Jordan. Have you ever called you?"

As soon as this question was asked, there was a stir below.

This is too direct, just pointing at Yao Ming's nose and saying that he is too spineless compared to Miller.

Yao Ming was also stunned at this time.

Wisdom is only useful among civilized people. As the saying goes, "A scholar can't explain it clearly when encountering a soldier." If the other party directly criticizes, wisdom will not work.

At this time, Sun Hao took the initiative to bring the microphone to him.

The Lakers are his team, Los Angeles is his territory, and Yao Ming is his friend and new teammate. In this case, he has to stand up no matter what.

"A month ago, you said that Yao was injured and couldn't do it. If the Wizards renewed their contract, he would ruin the team's future. Why did he be the No. 1 center in the league again when he arrived in Los Angeles? He is Michael Miller again?"

Sun Hao, directly retorted.

And this is also the reason why he was not in a hurry to respond to the outside world before.

You are the ones who say Yao Ming is no longer able to do it, but you are the ones who say Yao Ming is the number one center who can't come to Los Angeles now.

You have the final say whether it works or not. You will be happy to see others be the uncrowned king for the rest of their lives?!

Before the reporter could respond, Sun Hao immediately said the next sentence.

"Many people say how successful I was last season and set so many records. Some even say that last season was my season, but everyone knows that the championship last season was not the Lakers, but the Warriors. Is this called success?"

After these two consecutive sentences, Sun Hao took the initiative in his hands.

"No, this is not success, this is frustration."

Sun Hao asked and answered by himself, and after answering, he turned to look at Yao Ming.

"Yao is the same. He keeps the Wizards in the championship ranks for many years but has never succeeded. Our combination is not a combination of two first-persons, nor is it a combination of Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan. We are just two frustrated people who are walking together for the championship."

Yao Ming said he was a little heartbroken because his name as "King of Sanya" was really painful, but he still nodded.

Because what Sun Hao said was the truth.

Sun Hao hasn't finished speaking yet.
To be continued...