In order to retain their own Bird rights, Jas and Bosh both chose to join the Heat through a sign-and-trade, for which the Heat sent out a number of first-round draft picks.
anwhile, in order to keep Haslem, with Haslem agreeing to take a pay cut, The Big Three all took salary reductions, finally signing a six-year contract worth 1.1 billion with the Heat (with a player option starting from the fourth year).
At the sa ti, they signed Mike Miller with the mid-level exception in the free agency market, and also signed veterans like Ilgauskas, Juwan Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, and Eric Dampier.
At this point, what Hansen knew of Heat’s Three Giants had officially taken shape.
On paper, this Heat team was a notch stronger than last season’s Cavaliers, it’s hard to know how they could lose.
Grizzlies also saw so signings in the free-agent market.
What surprised Hansen was, even after trading for him, the Grizzlies still used their mid-level exception to sign Tony Allen to a three-year contract worth 9.7 million.
However, just like when the Mavericks signed O’Neal and still traded with the Bobcats for Tyson Chandler as Hansen had predicted, it was all double insurance.
Both he and O’Neal were players with injury risks.
With that, the Grizzlies’ periter defense could be said to have greatly improved compared to last season.
It was then that Swift arrived in mphis.
She had returned the United States in mid-July and went back to New York for a rest afterwards.
Hansen arranged for Rondo to pick her up from the airport first and let her rest in the hotel for a while; he would go there after the training.
However, what he hadn’t anticipated was that Rondo brought Swift to the training gym.
As a result, while Hansen was practicing on the court, Swift watched him intently with her chin propped on her hands.
The feeling was strange because this was a private training session and he was shirtless throughout.
When there was a break in training, he quickly went to put on his jersey.
"I asked you to take Taylor to the hotel first to rest, didn’t I?" Hansen approached Rondo, looking at him with confusion.
"I wanted to co. I’ve seen a lot of NBA gas but never an NBA player’s training. I was curious," Swift said, standing up.
Swift, one of the few tall female celebrities, at a height of 1.8 ters, was taller than Rondo and only a bit shorter than Hansen.
"Don’t let affect your training," Swift pointed at Hansen’s jersey.
That was her way of saying he could continue to train shirtless.
Hansen nodded, quickly instructing Rondo to get sothing for Swift to eat and drink, and then returned to the court to continue training.
Of course, he was wearing his jersey.
From the corner of his eye, he saw that Swift was already eating popcorn and chatting with Rondo, and he felt at ease to continue his training.
When the training ended, it was almost an hour later.
"Sorry for making you wait." Grover was very strict about the training, and he had agreed to follow Grover’s instructions diligently.
"The popcorn he bought was really good," Swift didn’t mind at all.
Hansen then had a deeper understanding of Swift; she was probably a foodie.
"Let’s go find a place to make a cake!" But what Swift said next surprised Hansen.
Find a place to make a cake?
He thought Swift had brought a ready-made cake with her.
"Of course, cakes taste better when freshly made," Swift guessed his thoughts through his expression and said with a smile.
"I need to take a shower first." Hansen’s third training session had ended, and he had ample ti in the evening.
"Wait, indulge in a small wish."
Hansen looked at Swift, puzzled.
Swift pointed at the basketball hoop.
Turns out, she wanted to dunk.
Like expressed in "Slam Dunk," for most people, the most attractive aspect of basketball is dunking.
Although Swift was quite tall, as a woman, it was impossible for her to dunk on her own.
Thus, she needed Hansen’s help.
How?
Ever seen an adult help a child dunk? Of course, by lifting them high.
Hansen grabbed Swift by the waist and lifted her off the ground in one smooth motion.
Swift was 1.8 ters tall and weighed about 65 kilograms, so she had a good, healthy physique.
The lift seed effortless for Hansen.
It was a small showcase of the training results he had achieved with Grover.
Swift, laughing, completed a dunk in mid-air, and when Hansen set her down, she raised her hands and excitedly high-fived him to celebrate.
For a mont, Hansen felt the day’s fatigue vanish.
After fulfilling Swift’s small wish, Hansen had Rondo arrange everything, and after he showered, he drove Swift to the cake shop.
The cake shop was near Hansen’s residence and usually wasn’t very busy. When they arrived, a "Closed Today" sign hung on the door, and Rondo was there, greeting them with a smile.
A bit of money could save a lot of trouble.
Once inside the cake shop, Swift quickly got to work.
Under Swift’s direction, Hansen started assisting.
The cake made in the shop that day must have had the highest labor cost ever.
While baking, Hansen observed Swift in her elent again.
Like when Hansen first t her, he thought Swift looked more like the girl next door than a goddess.
But when she was engaged in what she loved, whether it was past photo shoots or now baking, she had a charm that was incredibly captivating.
After the flurry of activity, they placed the cake in the oven, and both sat down, looking at each other and unable to stop smiling.
Both of their faces were dusted with flour after that busy session.
"Is this your way of blowing off steam?" Hansen couldn’t help but ask, curious.
Unexpectedly, Swift shook her head,
"This is my hobby; cakes made by others just don’t taste right."
Hansen nodded with a smile, realizing his previous judgnt was correct—Swift was indeed a foodie.
"What about your hobbies?" Swift asked, curious about Hansen.
Hobbies?
That question stumped Hansen.
If you asked him before he crossed over, he had many hobbies: playing video gas, basketball, karaoke with friends, even traveling to see the vast landscapes of his holand.
But after crossing over, wanting no regrets in this life, his days had been filled with basketball.
Of course, if fishing, previously used to relieve stress, counted, then it could be considered a hobby.
Watching Hansen’s silent contemplation, Swift stood up, dampened a towel, and ca over to wipe the flour from his face.
Without a way to relieve stress or personal hobbies, she wondered what kind of life Hansen was living.
The atmosphere was close and sowhat charged with unspoken tension.
Hansen’s body was tense; his breathing had quickened.
Since starting training with Grover, to maintain the quality of his training, he had been abstaining.
It indeed kept him spirited every day, but as his physical condition improved, it beca sowhat harder to control.
This was the reason many athletes abstained to enhance performance yet sotis lost control during competitions.
It had nothing to do with the mind and more to do with physical responses.
Fortunately, having been through two lifetis, Hansen had decent self-control, and considering Swift a friend while reacting to her felt shafully inappropriate.
He distracted himself by thinking of other things, slowly steadying his breathing.
But just then, he felt sothing approaching him.
When he looked up, a soft kiss landed on him.
A wave of sweetness.
—Divider—
The Bird rights allow a team to re-sign its player for up to five years with an annual salary increase of up to 10 percent, exceeding the salary cap, after the contract expires. anwhile, other league teams can only offer up to a four-year contract with a maximum annual raise of 8 percent, without breaking the salary cap.
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