"I can’t promise you right away, but I think it should be possible."
Ferry’s response stunned Hansen.
He couldn’t help but be curious about what instructions Ferry had received from Jas.
"Han, can we talk about so things that we’ll forget once we leave this room?" Ferry continued.
Hansen nodded, perhaps the answer to the question was in the following conversation.
"Do you think there’s a high chance that LeBron will leave Cleveland if he can’t win the championship this year?"
Although Hansen had prepared himself, Ferry’s words still caught him off guard.
"100%." Since it’s a forget-at-the-door conversation, he had no reservations.
"Yes, I think so too, of course, this is just my personal opinion," Ferry added a layer of protection for himself,
"Also, from my personal perspective, I think he has fought for this team for seven years and has done enough for the fans of this team and this city."
It was clear that the relationship between Ferry and Jas was more than just general manager and player.
Of course, what Hansen didn’t know was that Ferry and Jas both ca to the Cavaliers the sa year, and they had weathered the storms of the Cavaliers together.
"But if he chooses to leave, he will find it very difficult to beco a legend. As the Chosen One, he would have to leave as a failure."
Ferry was still reflecting, while Hansen couldn’t help but laugh again.
The Chosen One was supposed to be a symbol, but now it had beco shackles, how ridiculous.
"So, he needs that championship," Ferry said bluntly because he saw from Hansen’s attitude that it wouldn’t be so easy to keep him.
"That’s what he needs, not ," Hansen was equally blunt.
Winning a championship in his rookie season would have been great, but after all he had been through, he had no interest in "helping LeBron win a championship."
Ferry glanced at Thomas, and from Thomas’ previous questions, it seed that Hansen was more concerned about opportunities and room for growth than about winning the championship.
He then turned his attention back to Hansen: "But you need the stage, don’t you?"
"What I can tell you is that if there is a trade, the team will definitely send you to the West, but it will be to a bottom-dwelling team."
What Ferry was talking about was the bottom-dwelling team, the kind that Thomas had ntioned earlier.
Clearly, Hansen’s performance in the practice ga today had made the Cavaliers wary of him.
"You know how important the playoff stage is for a rookie, it’s where they can really make a na for themselves."
Is there really that much difference in ability between players as people imagine?
Take Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph and San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan, for example, you don’t think they are comparable, but many tis they can explode against each other.
That’s the importance of the stage, Duncan appears in the playoffs year after year, but Randolph has only been in the playoffs once in his career, giving people the impression that he’s just stats-padding on a bad team.
There are many such examples, like Pierce and Big Gasol, although they could barely lead their teams into the playoffs, they were the type without any real impact. However, as they made it to the finals and even won championships, their status in the League skyrocketed.
That’s the stage, for most players, it’s not the championship ring that attracts them, but the subsequent economic benefits that stage can bring.
Champion players signing new contracts usually get a substantial increase.
Hansen had to start thinking.
Going to a bottom-dwelling team, he would get more opportunities and be able to put up better numbers, there was no doubt about that.
But this was no different from why "Hansen" had chosen to go to Barry University in the first place.
He talked big, and no one paid attention; he put up great numbers, and the data was considered aningless; to earn even a bit of hate value, he had to rack his brains.
But staying with the Cavaliers, he could easily earn hate value and, moreover, the team could give him everything he wanted.
The only problem was Jas.
"I won’t try to foster a relationship with LeBron off the court, I’ll only maintain professionalism on the court," Hansen stated.
"No problem."
"At the press conference, I can choose to refuse to answer questions related to LeBron," those questions Windhorst asked were really nauseating.
"That’s entirely your prerogative."
"If targeted incidents continue, or your promises are not fulfilled, I will still request a trade."
"Your concerns will not happen again."
Hansen also paused because he knew that no matter what he said, Ferry would agree.
At that mont, Thomas nodded at Hansen.
His initial thought was to help Hansen gain more rights.
However, Hansen didn’t nod right away because he thought of sothing else.
He would set those conditions based on the premise that he would only be teammates with Jas for one season, for as a transmigrator, he knew that Jas was about to leave Cleveland.
But if the Cavaliers won the championship, would Jas still leave?
Theoretically, Nike was behind Jas, and Nike needed him to move to a big city to enhance his personal influence.
But it was hard to rule out the possibility that Jas might stay.
For instance, signing a short contract and trying to fight for the championship with the Cavaliers one more ti, if he failed and then left, that would be truly "having no regrets about this city."
That was very possible because Jas’s team had always been creating such a persona for him.
But that result was not what Hansen wanted.
"I have one final request."
"Tell ," Ferry said with joy on his face, for he knew he was close to completing the task Jas had left him.
"If LeBron decides to stay next sumr, I’ll request a trade, and it has to be to the team of my choice."
Ferry was stunned for a mont but quickly understood.
Hansen was not an Arican, so his thinking was different from Aricans. He wouldn’t say, like Jas did, that everything in the past was a misunderstanding for the sake of interest.
Jas’s actions had stayed with Hansen, so the only thing that made Hansen make his decision was the stage he ntioned.
"Okay," Ferry agreed after so thought.
It wasn’t just because Jas said, "I need this year’s championship," but also because of Hansen’s character.
If the Cavaliers didn’t win the championship and Jas left, Hansen’s character could be the new focus of the team’s developnt, especially since he was backed by the East Market.
If the Cavaliers won the championship and Jas stayed, he could totally trade for another or more players willing to follow Jas. Especially since if they won, Hansen’s trade value would rise further.
"Empty promises an nothing." Hansen didn’t trust the integrity of these NBA general managers. As a transmigrator, he knew too many instances of broken verbal agreents.
"And what do you want?" Ferry asked.
"Write it down in black and white. If the team can’t keep their promise by then, I’ll choose to expose everything that happened at today’s practice match and the agreent we reached to the dia. You know I can do it."
Ferry was stunned. He didn’t expect a rookie like Hansen to be so ticulous.
He couldn’t help but glance outside the room. Carrell had said he was adjusting equipnt earlier—did adjusting equipnt take so much ti?
"This has never happened before," Ferry said with a troubled expression when he turned back.
"Then today will be the start," Hansen said with a firm attitude.
"Fine!" Ferry finally agreed, clenching his teeth. He had to complete the task given by Jas no matter what.
So, the two who were chatting just monts ago had soone bring over paper and a pen, writing up a written agreent.
The gist was that Ferry would ensure Hansen’s promised team status, and in a year, if Jas chose to stay, he would trade him to his desired destination.
After signing the contract, Hansen asked Carrell to go ahead, and he went upstairs with Ferry.
Ferry didn’t take Hansen directly back to the training hall but to the general manager’s office.
After signaling for Hansen to wait at the door, he went in.
Before long, he ca out again, followed by Jas.
"I think I owe you an apology first. We’ve had so misunderstandings," Jas said to Hansen with a smile.
The classic "misunderstanding."
Hansen was also smiling, with a hint of playfulness in his eyes.
Because he thought of the scene where Jas knelt down on the Celtics’ ho court.
Nike probably didn’t expect their "Chosen One" to be soone who could "bend and stretch."
After leaving the general manager’s office, Hansen went back to the locker room. He reeked and needed to take a shower and change clothes.
By this ti, the Cavaliers’ people had long dispersed. However, when Hansen entered the locker room, he saw soone.
"Dante, what are you still doing here?" Hansen was sowhat surprised to see Conningham.
"I just saw Ferry taking you to the general manager’s office," Conningham said as he stood up, his face showing reluctance. "Are you really leaving?"
Hansen shook his head.
"Not leaving?" Conningham was overjoyed for a mont but then reined in his emotions. "They still refuse to let you go?"
"Dante, wait for to shower first, then let’s go have dinner and talk slowly." The locker room was obviously not the place to discuss these things.
After showering, the two went to a café and found a private room. Hansen told Conningham the ins and outs of everything, except for so details that he couldn’t share.
He had nothing to hide from Conningham.
"My relationship with him is now like Kobe and O’Neal in the Lakers’ later periods," Hansen finally used a vivid example.
Essentially, NBA players share a colleague relationship—the majority of what fans believe is just what the League needs to propagate. The classic example is the Rockets’ "MM duo"; in fact, Yao and McGrady’s relationship was pretty average.
A façade of harmony, right?
What does it matter if they can’t stand each other, or ultimately if they can’t win the championship? As long as the stage is big enough.
"Damn, that’s badass!" However, Conningham’s focus wasn’t on that.
Hansen beats up Jas and then Jas apologizes to him? And the Cavaliers are willingly offering him a team position?!
That’s just unbelievably crazy!
Thinking back on Hansen’s performance on the court and his trash talk that could go down in history, he silently made a decision.
Hansen, as the boss—he was solidly behind him!
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