Chapter 31 A Hometown Basketball

A simple phrase, "hometown basketball," instantly ignited social media.

With Durant sidelined due to an offseason injury, LeBron James had become the trendsetter on Twitter.

The previous "brotherhood basketball" had been a topic of discussion among fans for years and had even become a new term. Now, "hometown basketball" clearly had the momentum to replace it!

"Tang, you're a wizard! I've never been more excited. I finally have a chance to win a championship!"

Tang Tian also received a text message from Irving.

He had half-guessed and told Irving that he would have a strong player in the summer, and it had come true.

"Enjoy it."

Tang Tian replied to Irving.

Now James had returned to the Cavaliers just like in history. The only question was whether Irving's relationship with him would develop the same way as it did historically.

But truthfully, he had been paying attention to the free agent market all along.

You could even say that he was the first person to guess this outcome.

If Bosh had stayed, the Big Three, with their championship from last season, would still have had a chance to stay together.

But with Bosh leaving, the Heat were basically in a dead end.

Speaking of which, James really had some kind of metaphysics to him. When he left the Cavaliers before, he left behind a mess.

Now that he had left the Heat, the Heat were another mess.

Even in history, his second departure from the Cavaliers also left them...

Like many fans, he also felt sorry for Wade.

Wade was probably the one most hurt by this series of events.

Wade was heartbroken, while Riley was furious.

He was nicknamed "The Godfather," with everything under his control.

He single-handedly created the Big Three. Although the process was a bit bumpy, they ultimately won the championship.

But now, Bosh and James had abandoned him one after another!

He picked up his phone, hesitated, and instead of calling James, he slammed it onto the ground.

"Crack!"

The phone shattered into pieces, but his anger didn't dissipate.

In this situation, he couldn't really go to James to argue, and he couldn't even vent in front of the media.

The interests involved were too great, and James had brought a championship to the Heat. Other than channeling his inner Little Shuai and smashing a phone, he could only suffer in silence.

This wasn't just a disgrace to his management career, but the biggest humiliation of his entire life!

He quickly called his assistant to his office and told him to strengthen contact with Anthony.

James had left, and Anthony would most likely leave too. Now they had to make one last gamble.

"Tell him the Heat will meet all his demands."

Riley instructed before the assistant left.

James' departure had cost him his biggest bargaining chip, and now empty promises were his only hope.

"Go quickly!"

Seeing the assistant looking at the shattered phone on the floor, he scolded.

The assistant snapped out of it, nodded repeatedly, and hurried out of the office.

Seeing the assistant leave, he sat down in his office chair and thought about calling Wade on the landline, arranging a time to meet with him.

After hanging up the phone, he stared blankly out the window.

He didn't know when it started, but Miami, usually sunny, had turned cloudy.

Clouds were gathering, and a storm seemed imminent.

More than an hour later, a drizzle began to fall outside the window.

Riley sat there for more than an hour.

"Tap, tap~"

There was a knock on the door.

It was the assistant, and his face looked a little flustered.

Riley's heart skipped a beat when he saw this.

"Anthony, he... has decided to return to the Knicks."

"Slap!"

Riley's hand, which had been raised, fell onto the desk, and he slumped back in his chair.

"Rumble!"

A bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a loud clap of thunder.

The drizzle instantly turned into a downpour.

It was over, everything was really over...

Bosh was gone, James had run off, and Anthony wasn't coming either.

The Heat had just won the championship last season, but now, like the Mavericks in 2012, they had gone straight from being championship contenders to a non-playoff team.

And unlike the Mavericks, Cuban had at least made his own choices. They had been directly relegated...

The eyes that usually sparkled with shrewdness were now full of despair.

He didn't look like a genius at all, but a complete fool!

For a moment, he thought of three years ago.

The Heat had originally had the chance to draft Tang Tian. If they had Tang Tian, they would have won three championships.

Even if James left, they would still have Tang Tian!

But now, everything was gone.

He was truly isolated and helpless, with nothing left!

At this moment, another bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, the thunder continued, and the rain continued to pour.

"Wade! Wade!"

In his despair, he thought of the only person left.

Dwyane Wade was his last hope.

Riley met with Wade at a cafe in Miami.

Riley's original plan was to discuss matters with Bosh and Wade after securing James.

He wanted to persuade Wade to take a pay cut, after all, Wade was getting older and he was a player the Heat had drafted themselves.

But now, the free market had basically settled, and there were no useful superstars left to sign. Wade was the last one.

Wade was also being recruited by the Bulls and Nuggets, but he ultimately accepted Riley's max offer.

This had to do with his personality. He was the kind of person who valued relationships and was loyal.

The next day, the league exploded with another series of news.

James attended a sponsor's event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and his close friend Varejao attended the event with him.

James gave an interview at the event, his first since returning to the Cavaliers.

"I'm very happy to be back in Cleveland. It's incredible, and I'll bring the championship experience from Miami back to my hometown,"

James said.

Following this news, the Knicks officially announced that they had reached a five-year, $120 million extension with Anthony.

This was the largest extension Anthony could get in free agency.

Not to be outdone, the Heat announced that they had reached a three-year, $72 million max extension with team cornerstone Wade.

It is worth mentioning that this was Wade's first max contract of his career.

With these three signings finalized, this year's seismic free agency finally came to an end for the time being.

This was arguably the most turbulent free agency in the past decade, even more exaggerated than when the Heat formed the Big Three.

James, Bosh, Howard... these All-Stars had all changed teams.

The Cavaliers, Heat, Lakers, Knicks... the strength of these teams had all undergone tremendous changes.

The balance of power in the East and West had been broken.

The Spurs, with the addition of Gasol, stood alone among the Western powerhouses, but in the East, the Cavaliers had a great chance of replacing the Heat's previous position.