"Good luck then," Hansen finally wished Ross well.
For Hansen, he had already surpassed Jordan, and whatever he achieved in the latter part of his career was simply adding to an already successful sports career.
Similarly, for Ross, after following the Cavaliers to win a championship, even if he retired now, his career would have no regrets.
So going back to reunite with Thibodeau and rekindle the ntor-student relationship would make up for the regrets of past failures.
Moreover, Ross said he wanted to join the Timberwolves, which reminded Hansen of Ross’s 50-point ga night.
So this might not be a bad thing for Ross.
After staying in Cleveland for two days, Hansen went to New York, where he began eting with teams he wanted to et in a rented manor.
Thomas already had requests from 29 teams — yes, 29, including the Pelicans’ eting application. Hansen only needed to give Thomas the eting list.
The teams on this eting list included: New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, 76ers, Bulls, Warriors, Heat Team, Kings.
Hansen hadn’t made a formal decision yet, but once this list was announced, the entire social dia exploded.
Indeed, the few rumors previously leaked by the dia were reliable, and Hansen was indeed going to the big city teams.
This also made Hansen’s motive to leave Cleveland seem more reasonable.
After all, it’s natural for players to yearn for large cities, and what’s more, Hansen’s comrcial value could only be fully developed in big cities.
However, so fans were truly unexpected.
For example, the Celtics, did Hansen think his previous career struggles were too tough, so he wanted to team up with Durant for an easy mode?
And the key is that this ans going to Durant’s team, which lacks face!
And consider the Bulls, a team printed with Jordan’s totem; no matter how great Hansen’s achievents, they’d be seen as overshadowed by Jordan.
Even look at the Warriors; if Hansen joins the Warriors, they’d beco the Galaxy Warriors instead of the Universe Warriors!
The real League finale!
In comparison, while the Heat Team was also surprising, it thrilled their fans instantly.
Because Hansen had stopped them from winning so many championships, now you’re telling Hansen might bring them a championship?
And for the Kings fans, the Kings were the only team in the etings not located in a big city.
Although they knew this sowhat related to Ajalee, getting Hansen would finally give this long-decayed team a chance to revive.
Of course, the happiest were still the two New York teams because Hansen chose New York as the eting location; was it an indication that his most desired city was New York?
Hansen’s eting news was released on the morning of July 1, and he received negative fan reactions on the night of July 1.
People thought he wanted to team up with Durant or go to the Warriors to end the League, but with a bit of thought, they’d know that’s impossible.
However, there are too many who don’t think, and they naturally beco tools for Hansen to generate negative reactions.
As for Boston and Bay Area fans, Hansen couldn’t possibly go there, so they needn’t worry too much.
On July 2, the second day of free agency, Hansen officially started his etings.
Each team got half a day, just right to finish up by the last day of the freeze period and then make the final decision.
The first team to get a eting was the Brooklyn Nets.
The new owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Cai Zhongxin, and the team’s new general manager, Marks, were both present at the eting.
As a Chinese-Canadian and chair of Alibaba’s board, Cai’s Chinese was excellent, ensuring seamless communication with Hansen.
Their reasons to persuade Hansen to join the Nets focused mainly on comrcial operations and enhancing the team’s strength.
New York had two teams, the New York Knicks monopolizing New York’s fan resources over the years while being poorly managed and ineffective.
With the Nets moving to Brooklyn District in New York, they had the chance to compete with, or even replace, the New York Knicks if they perford well.
After all, the League’s draft wasn’t held in Madison Square Garden anymore but in the Nets’ ho court, Barclays Center.
Furthermore, with young players and draft picks in hand, the Nets could build a competitive team around Hansen.
The eting went very well, and after it, Cai expressed to reporters his confidence in Hansen joining the Brooklyn Nets.
This imdiately excited New York fans.
While in the United States, fandom typically passed from father to son, parents being New York Knicks fans ant the children were likely Knicks fans too.
However, Dolan was simply too inept, disappointing people again and again.
And Dolan would never sell the money-making Knicks, so that disappointnt was, in so sense, despair.
If Hansen could join the Brooklyn Nets, they were quite willing to spend to watch gas at Barclays.
Sorry, Dad, my heart supports the New York Knicks, but my body leans toward the Brooklyn Nets.
The second team to get a eting was the Clippers.
The Clippers’ situation was worse than the Nets’; even though Ballr was the owner now, the Clippers had very few fans in Los Angeles.
The Lakers and Celtics, with their glorious past, had much more steadfast fans than New York.
Even if Hansen joined the Clippers, it would be very tough to turn Lakers fans into Clippers fans.
However, Ballr emphasized unlimited investnt for fans, and Hansen could imdiately feel his passion for basketball.
It wasn’t just treating basketball as a re business tool but a genuine, deep-seated love for the ga.
That was a major reason why Hansen initially considered the Clippers his first choice.
Because such an owner was rare in the League.
"I can’t confirm that Han will 100% join the Clippers, but I’m confident it’s at least 90%,"
Ballr said confidently to the dia after eting with Hansen.
This energized the few Clippers fans while making the Los Angeles Lakers fans apprehensive since the Clippers and Lakers were crosstown rivals.
Then, Hansen t the third team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers’ group was quite luxurious; "Magic" Johnson and even Kobe showed up, indicating the Lakers’ utmost seriousness.
During their conversation with Hansen, he thought of one phrase: MLGA.
Make the Lakers Great Again.
It’s worth noting that in terms of Hansen’s specific comrcial operations, the Lakers were much more refined.
From dia to advertisents, from movies to peripheral products, leveraging Hollywood, the Lakers were absolutely professional in comrcial operations.
After the eting, Kobe expressed his views to the dia on behalf of the Lakers.
"If anyone can lead the Lakers’ revival, it must be Hansen."
After Kobe’s remarks, everyone started to realize sothing was amiss.
It felt off!
Every team appeared confident after eting Hansen, creating more confusion than when Durant was making his decisions years ago.
And this situation would inevitably lead to a negative impact: no matter where Hansen chose to go, fans of the teams he didn’t choose would later furiously deride him.
In a way, Hansen’s grand and confusing maneuver was reminiscent of the backlash Jas faced during his infamous decision years ago.
This was later confird as even the subsequent eting teams, including the Celtics and Warriors, believed they had a decent chance of signing Hansen.
Finally, on July 6, the day before the free-agent freeze period ended, Hansen t with the last team, the Kings.
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