It can be said that it was the mask incident that made Gilbert successful. Affected by the mask incident, the incomes of many companies and ordinary people across the country were seriously affected. They had to borrow part of their cash in the form of mortgage loans to make a living. This made Gilbert

Gilbert's mortgage company business grew exponentially, making money every day.

However, in this time and space, I don’t know whether it is because of the concept of parallel time and space or the butterfly effect caused by Wang Feng’s time travel. The mask incident did not happen. Therefore, Gilbert’s current net worth is still several billion dollars, and his net worth has skyrocketed in another time and space.

Nearly ten times as many Cavaliers bosses are there, a huge gap.

In this case, he is naturally more eager for more money-making opportunities.

Wang Feng's return to the Cavaliers will not only bring a lot of attention and advertising endorsements from China to his team, but more importantly, it is also an opportunity for his mortgage company to enter China.

As the world's second largest economy, China's market is extremely vast and is still developing at a very high speed.

Many American companies have made a lot of money in China, including the NBA and the Houston Rockets, which once owned Dayao.

In the past four years, the Los Angeles Lakers have also made a lot of money in China because of Wang Feng.

Making money is even more important to Gilbert, a businessman, than winning the team's championship.

The reason why he spent huge sums of money to build a championship team for James to compete for the championship was partly because of his love for the team, but more importantly, he knew that once he brought an NBA to Cleveland, a city that had never had a championship,

A championship will bring huge benefits to him and his team.

All of this directly determines that Gilbert's attitude towards Wang Feng is no less than his treatment of James.

During the banquet, Gilbert very enthusiastically introduced Wang Feng to his family and some of the celebrities attending the meeting, and his words all showed the importance he attached to Wang Feng.

Wang Feng was well aware of Gilbert's thoughts and accepted it calmly.

With his current status in the world, he deserves to be treated like this by the owner of any team.

Wang Feng also knew that while Gilbert showed his kindness to him, he also had some selfish motives in it. The minds of capitalists are always much more delicate and lively than ordinary people.

As long as these little thoughts do not prevent Wang Feng from completing his goal, which is the system upgrade task, then he will turn a blind eye and not bother to care.

…

After meeting a series of Cavaliers figures including the general manager, head coach, and team owner, Wang Feng soon made an appointment for a meal with the team's only star player, Kevin Love.

Wang Feng still feels pretty good about Love.

When he was with the Cavaliers, Love was an approachable star who didn't fight for anything. This was one of the main reasons why he had the worst statistics among the Big Three.

During this Olympics, Love took the initiative to greet Wang Feng despite the pressure from his coach and teammates, which also made Wang Feng have a favorable impression of Love.

Of course, the most important thing is Love's strength.

Although Love's performance last season can be described as poor, he was always injured and stopped, and his competitive state was also quite worrying. In more than 30 games, he averaged only 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

According to statistics, outsiders believe that Love is dead.

After all, when inside players like Love reach the age of 33 or close to 34, most of their competitive status will decline significantly.

But Love's final performance in the 2021-22 season surprised everyone.

In another time and space, Love, who was persuaded by the coaching staff to serve as a substitute, played 74 games in the new season, starting only 4 of them. With an average of 22.5 minutes per game, he could contribute 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, with a shooting percentage of 43.

%, and the three-point shooting percentage is as high as 39.2%, becoming the main scorer on the Cavaliers' bench.

This fully proves that Love still has some strength, it just needs to be seen how to use it.

…

"I didn't expect that you actually beat us and won the Olympic gold medal..." At the dinner table, Love smiled bitterly and shook his head. "You haven't seen the atmosphere in the locker room after the game. It felt like a dead person.

Same."

"Maybe it's because I know you and I will be teammates in the new season. No one talked to me on the way back. I even regret participating in this Olympics."

Listening to Love's complaint, Wang Feng also smiled. "Who told you to come over and say hello to me during the opening ceremony? Some people saw it and took it to heart."

"What does that have to do with it? Just saying hello doesn't mean that I will let off steam on the court." Love said angrily: "We are all colleagues playing in the same league. Even if there is a competitive relationship, it won't be like this.

"

Saying that, Le Fu shook his head and didn't want to mention it again.

This trip to the Olympics, especially the final, was a bad experience for him. When playing against the Chinese men's basketball team in the final, Love did not appear on the court at all. He sat on the bench the whole time. I don't know if it was because of it.

Popovich was worried that Love would betray Wang Feng.

"Forget it, let's not talk! Wang, what is your goal for the new season? Lead the Cavaliers back to the playoffs?"

Love finally asked the question he was more concerned about.

He feels that if a player with Wang Feng's character chooses to join a team at the bottom of the league like the Cavaliers, he must have his own ideas and purposes.

"Of course not." Wang Feng shook his head and did not hide Love's thoughts. "My goal in the first year after coming to the Cavaliers is to at least win the Eastern Conference championship. If the goal is achieved, I can consider competing for the championship in the second year.

Champion."

"East...Eastern champion?"

Although he was mentally prepared, Croft was still shocked by Wang Feng's casual words and opened his mouth wide.

Wang Feng’s appetite must be too big!

Is the Eastern Conference championship so easy to win?

The current Eastern Conference is not the same period when James won the Eastern Conference championship for eight consecutive years and reached the finals.

The environment in which the West is strong and the East is weak has changed significantly in recent years. Although in recent years, the championship is still monopolized by the Western Conference or the Warriors and Lakers, the Eastern Conference is currently full of powerful teams.

The Brooklyn Nets have three top superstars in Durant, Irving, and George.

The Milwaukee Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, a new-generation super striker second only to Wang Feng.

The Philadelphia 76ers have the dual core of James Harden + Joel Embiid and a number of capable players.

And in recent years, under the leadership of famous young coach Brad Stevens, the Boston Celtics have always maintained good competitiveness.

These four teams are currently the four strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.

If Wang Feng is still with the Los Angeles Lakers, he can still compete with them in terms of lineup depth.

But now Wang Feng plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Apart from Wang Feng, there is no All-Star in the team. There is not even a player who averaged more than 15 points per game last season.

With such a Cavaliers, how can Wang Feng lead his team to win the Eastern Conference championship?

A miracle like that in the Olympic finals would be overwhelming if it happened once or twice. The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven series. It is difficult for just one player to win the series.

, the overall strength of the team is indispensable.

"Wang, there is something I still want to ask your thoughts on." Love showed a slightly tangled look. "Some time ago, the coaching staff had talked to me, and they hope that I will serve as a rotation substitute in the new season.

"

"You also know that my condition was not good last season. The reason why the Cavaliers were at the bottom was directly related to my performance."

"If it is for the team's victory, I don't think it is completely unacceptable to accept the role of substitute..."

Hearing the declining Love in his voice, Wang Feng shook his head slightly.

"Kevin (Love), you don't have to worry about this issue. I have already thought about the Cavaliers' lineup for the new season. You are the team's starting center and you have very important tactical and strategic significance."

"What?" Le Fu was stunned, and then his eyes burst into surprise. "Is this true?"

After all, he is a five-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA player. Love, who is less than 34 years old, is still in his prime. If possible, who would be willing to become a substitute rotation player during this period?

"Of course it's true."

Wang Feng was not kidding.

In the 21-22 season, Love's three-point shooting percentage was as high as 39%, and he averaged 2.5 three-pointers per game. He was the most accurate among all interior players in the league!

At the same time, Love can still grab 7.2 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. According to this efficiency, if the average playing time reaches more than 30 minutes per game, Love's rebounds per game can still be maintained at more than 10.

What are the requirements for inside players in the small ball era?

He can protect the basket and grab rebounds, has a certain mid-to-long-range shooting ability, and can create enough space for the team.

Love meets these conditions perfectly. Wouldn't it be a waste to let him play as a substitute?

When Wang Feng was with the Lakers, the team's unbeatable center was Brook Lopez.

Lopez's frame-protecting ability and rebounding are not very good, his pace is slow, and his ability to help defend smaller players is also poor.

But even so, he is still the starting center of the Lakers, and his annual salary of 4 million has been called a high-quality contract with high quality and low price by the media more than once.

If Wang Feng hadn't foresighted the Lakers to sign Lopez first, Lopez would have been able to get a contract with an annual salary of US$13 million after moving to the Bucks.

Why is an insider who averages just over 10 points per game and averages less than 5 rebounds per game in many cases so popular? It’s because Lopez’s shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line is close to 35%, which can pull down the perimeter and create space for Antetokounmpo to attract opponents.

Defensive player inside.

What Lopez can do, Love can do, and even better. Why can't Love start?

In Wang Feng's view, in another time and space, it was a helpless move for Love to serve as a substitute. The Cavaliers did not have top outside players who could take advantage of Love's range, but it was too much for a player with an annual salary of 28 million to serve as a substitute.

Wasted.

"Just rest assured, you are the starting center of the Cavaliers, that's what I said." Wang Feng said bluntly to Love: "I have discussed this matter with the head coach before, and he has no objections.

"
To be continued...