The competition in the NBA is everywhere, as economic interests grow larger, there are open and covert struggles all around, and commercial factors often become an important consideration.
Like this time, when the Trail Blazers successfully signed Sabonis, they faced opposition from many teams, arguing how the Trail Blazers, clearly over the salary cap, could still sign free agents?
The Trail Blazers’ reasoning was that Sabonis was previously a player for the Trail Blazers, and although he left the Trail Blazers in the past four years, he did not sign with any other NBA team.
Therefore, the Trail Blazers still hold Sabonis’s Bird rights, allowing them to sign him despite being over the cap, not subject to the salary cap restrictions.
This explanation faced protests from many teams, including the Bulls, with Jerry Krause and others taking their complaints all the way to David Stern in New York.
The result was that David Stern said the labor agreement indeed did not specify this aspect in detail, and it would be added to a memorandum to be improved in future labor negotiations.
And then? There was no follow-up, the signing of Sabonis by the Trail Blazers was naturally let go, as it was mentioned it would be improved in the future.
Without consent, Sabonis’s return was unstoppable.
Stern allowed Sabonis’s return, firstly for commercial reasons, to strengthen the Trail Blazers, making their meeting with the Bulls in the finals explode the viewership ratings.
Secondly, of course, it was to fulfill a promise, as the unrest among agent groups before the big labor talks was calmed under the efforts of Gan Guoyang, and no super contracts were born.
Young players led by Kevin Garnett gained excessive benefits, but overall it was within controllable and understandable limits, stabilizing and prospering the NBA free market.
So, David Stern naturally had to make some compromises and concessions, not pursuing the loopholes in the labor agreement exploited by the Trail Blazers.
There are also transactions like those involving Mu Lin and Brellock, which, upon closer examination, have certain flaws.
But the league office did not investigate further, quickly approving and passing the transactions, allowing the Trail Blazers to form a new lineup.
The Trail Blazers’ "cheating" behavior caused dissatisfaction among many teams, but anyone familiar with the four-consecutive-championship Trail Blazers knows how important this Lithuanian giant is to Ah Gan.
As Ah Gan’s shadow warrior, Gan Guoyang is the strongest with Sabonis by his side.
Not to mention, the Trail Blazers also sequentially acquired Mu Lin and Brellock.
Mu Lin filled the Trail Blazers’ problem on the forward line, as they had always lacked a shooter and organizer on the wing.
While Brellock provided crucial defensive backcourt presence and long-range shooting.
Brellock was selected for the second defensive team this season, and he is the best point guard in the league at defending pick-and-rolls.
This was undoubtedly aimed at John Stockton because the Trail Blazers’ perimeter was embarrassed by Stockton in the West Finals.
The Hawks let go of Brellock mainly because of his low offensive efficiency, as his two-point shooting percentage hovered around 45%.
The Hawks were too weak offensively and needed a better scorer and a reliable young player at the two guard position.
Van Exel and Alon Magee happened to meet the Hawks’ needs, and trading one Brellock for two starters seemed worthwhile for the Hawks.
Of course, more importantly, was Brellock’s own will; he wanted to come to the Trail Blazers, hoping to strive for a Championship Ring.
With a backcourt, forward, and center comprising three seasoned veterans, the new season for the Trail Blazers is full of anticipation.
Conversely, young players like Kobe and Little O’Neal were considered "the wrong choice."
"If the Trail Blazers hadn’t drafted them in ’96, this year’s finals would be Trail Blazers vs. Bulls."
"The Trail Blazers made timely corrections, and the veterans could piece together a championship roster. The Trail Blazers should revise their strategy for the new season."
"High school players are disappointing; beyond trying to look cool and sell shoes, their success factors in basketball are unseen on the court."
Similar criticisms repeatedly appeared in print media and news programs, especially after Kobe participated in this year’s summer league.
Rick Carlisle, as the coach of the Lakers’ summer league team, took Kobe and some young players to compete, asking Kobe to play more as a team.
But Kobe didn’t listen to Carlisle’s advice, unleashing his repressed individual play desire during the summer league.
With his superior physique, skills beyond his peers, and experience accumulated over a season, Kobe swept the summer league.
He averaged 33 points, 11 rebounds, and... 1.8 assists per game; this guy didn’t want to pass the ball at all, only wanting to play solo with the ball.
Although the Trail Blazers won most of the games, Carlisle was unsatisfied with Kobe’s solitary demeanor.
He thought Kobe would have major changes after the lesson from the Western Conference Finals this summer, but unexpectedly, he acted on his own.
Carlisle didn’t openly criticize Kobe, as the Trail Blazers traditionally have a rule against criticizing teammates in public.
However, Carlisle still reported Kobe’s situation truthfully to the coaching staff and management, giving his evaluation: "He still plays the same as before, this is a guy who doesn’t know how to repent."
After the summer league ended, Kobe continued to follow Adidas’s arrangements, doing sneaker promotional activities in Europe, China, Los Angeles, Portland, and other places.
He also continued to study economy courses and Italian language at the University of Portland to complete his academics.
On a day in August, Adidas announced the signing of Lakers’ number 1 small forward Tracy McGrady.