The Clippers' victory not only did not make each team give up their hope of competing for the championship, on the contrary, the experience of this young team inspired many teams to strive for the first place with the courage and confidence.
In just three years, the Clippers won the championship in the 2012 season, heralding the beginning of a new era.
Since 1999, after Michael Jordan retired, the league has entered the Great Western era. Western teams have won 10 championships in 13 seasons.
These 10 championships were divided between the three teams of the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks, especially the Spurs and Lakers, with 9 championships and 11 finals.
The Clippers' victory broke the monopoly of these three teams on the Western Conference championship. The young tycoons in the Western Conference saw the dawn of a new era.
The Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks are still very strong, but the aging of Kobe, Duncan and Nowitzki is inevitable.
The Golden State Warriors' operations in the draft and free market have fired the first shot at the emerging team.
After the Warriors ushered in a new owner, the entire team began a comprehensive overhaul.
Change the team logo, change the LOGO, change the management, change the new head coach, and change the new strategic thinking.
The whole team has a new look from top to bottom, vowing to wash away the weak status of the team for decades and become the new powerhouse in the Western Conference.
They won Lillard in the draft, traded Rubio to get Harris Barnes, signed Jeremy Lin in the free market, and they also traded for Andrew Bogut at the center position.
Quietly, the Warriors have completed their rebuild and become a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference.
The Thunder, another young team in the Western Conference, used draft picks to continue to strengthen. At the same time, they signed Derek Fisher and renewed Eric Gordon immediately after the free market opened.
The Clippers' backcourt consisted of an old man and a young man. Two players who had made outstanding contributions in the playoffs and regular season were just let go by the Clippers.
The Lakers originally wanted to win Fisher. After all, Kobe really couldn't win the championship without Fisher.
But the Thunder offered a higher salary, so Fisher naturally went to Oklahoma City.
In addition to the Thunder and Warriors, teams such as the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Suns, Mavericks, and Spurs are all eager to try out the free trade market, hoping to further strengthen their teams.
The Spurs and Mavericks hope to stabilize their powerful positions, while teams with little historical record like the Grizzlies and Nuggets very much hope to occupy a place in the new era.
After all, in the first decade of the 21st century, the teams in the Western Conference were suppressed so miserably by the Lakers that there was no hope or room for improvement.
As for the new championship Clippers? In people's eyes, such a young championship team is more or less unstable.
Although professional coaches and players all feel vaguely that the Clippers' potential is astonishing and terrifying.
However, many media and experts are not aware of this. Instead, they believe that the Clippers are too young and rely too much on shooting. Once they are targeted in the new season, they are likely to fall.
ESPN published an article with the title "Is the Clippers Era Coming?" "This question expresses the current doubts of the entire league about the Clippers and the floating state of people's hearts.
Generally speaking, when there are super strong teams in the league and small and medium-sized teams have no hope of winning the championship, except for a few that can challenge, most teams' trading and draft strategies will tend to be conservative and long-term.
Once the world changes and the collapse of the dynasty is in its final stages, each team will often seize the opportunity to rise up and strive to achieve some results in the chaotic situation. It is naturally the best to steal a championship.
A typical example is the Heat in the summer of 2005, which saw the Lakers dynasty fall apart and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant break up.
Pat Riley took advantage of this opportunity to win over O'Neal, and the Sharks traveled east, and then in 2006, they won a championship under controversial circumstances.
That year, both the Lakers and Spurs failed to enter the finals (they had monopolized the game for 6 years before). Facing the inexperienced Mavericks, the Heat had the last laugh.
Immediately afterwards, the Heat fell apart, the Heat rebuilt, and immediately after the Lakers and Celtics rose from the ground, the Heat once again waited for the opportunity.
In 2010, the era of the Lakers and Celtics came to an end, and the 2003 generation entered the free market. The Heat once again had an opportunity and urged the formation of the 2003 Big Three.
It's a pity that Pat Riley, a wily and scheming man, fell short of the plan. He didn't expect that Min Congda would interfere with his plan and mess up his plan.
The Mavericks won what may be the last championship of the old era, and the new era beckons to many managers.
Riley watched the Clippers rise rapidly and win the 2012 championship, while the Heat failed for two consecutive years.
They couldn't even get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. They suffered from the Cavaliers for two consecutive years and had no power to resist.
The combination of Bosh + Wade is enough to ensure that they are ranked among the top three in the Eastern Conference, but James is only 28 years old. If they are still unable to surpass James and the Cavaliers, then all the Heat's efforts in recent years will be in vain.
After the free market opened in July, the Heat have been looking for reinforcement opportunities and strive to compete with the Cavaliers in the new season.
Pat Riley and his front office staff are busy all the time, but in many cases, when it comes to transactions and reinforcements, being busy may not be useful. You have to wait for the opportunity.
In the free market, those big fish basically find owners quickly.
Veterans like Duncan and Garnett naturally stay where they are.
There are currently two biggest fish on the free market, and their next homes have not yet been determined.
One is Suns veteran and MVP Steve Nash.
In fact, Nash is no longer a big fish, after all, he is 38 years old.
After his final highlight performance in 2010, his performance declined sharply in the 11 and 12 seasons.
But point guard is a position that gets better with age. Jason Kidd also won the championship at the age of 38 and played an important role.
Many strong teams have shown interest in Nash, including the Heat.
The Heat very much hope to have an excellent player at the 1st position to control the situation.
Looking back on the showdown between the Cavaliers and the playoffs, the Heat's defense is actually better than the Cavaliers.
But the Heat's offense relies too much on Wade and Bosh, and Gay can't play the role of glue at all.
The three of them don't cooperate much in the offense, and they can't achieve the effect of 1+1+1 greater than 3.
Even if Odom is brought on the bench, the effect is still not significant enough. Odom's condition is obviously not as good as it was during the Lakers period.
But with just one Nash, the Heat can be completely transformed? Obviously not, after all, Nash is 38 years old.
Therefore, the Heat set their sights on another real big fish: the Orlando Magic's super center, Dwight Howard.
After reaching the Finals in 2009, Howard thought he would usher in his own era.
In the summer of 2009, he strengthened his offensive training and practiced mid-range shooting and rebound shooting.
In the new season, Howard showed off his new skills in the game, indicating that he is going to do something big in the new season.
The regular season went smoothly, but in the playoffs they encountered the aging Big Three, but they received a blow and were easily eliminated 2:4.
The loss to the Celtics made the Magic and Howard realize that they were lucky to reach the Finals in 2009.
If Kevin Garnett is healthy, there is no way they can get past the Celtics.
In the 11th and 12th seasons, Howard began to suffer from injuries, and his relationship with the Magic became increasingly tense.
Seeing that he might not be able to make a difference in Orlando, Howard was ready to leave the Magic.
In the middle of the 2011 and 2012 seasons, there were rumors that Howard was going to be traded, but they were eventually dropped.
By this summer, Howard will become a free agent, and the possibility of him staying with the Magic is slim.
The Magic are ready to rebuild and they will enter a new cycle.
In terms of historical record, the Magic are not the worst. They have reached the Finals twice.
But in terms of snake-playing ability, the Magic are definitely very strong. They really know how to play magic and are very good at causing bad relations with their own stars.
For the Heat, if they can have Howard, they will have a huge advantage over the Cavaliers and James.
The problem is how the Heat can complete this deal. In Riley's view, this is not a big problem.
Time blinked to August, and the news in the free market was quiet. No big news happened throughout July.
And on August 1st, two blockbuster trade news instantly detonated the NBA free market.
As expected, the news of this transaction came from a well-known NBA whistleblower, a famous black man, Smart-Min’s lifelong enemy, and the Batman of the NBA press—NBA-batman.
He posted a brief tweet at 12 noon on August 1: The Heat will trade for Dwight Howard and Steve Nash.
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and one short sentence made fans and the media go crazy.
The phone lines at the Heat's office were buzzing with inquiries from reporters.
The Heat quickly gave an official reply: They will acquire Howard through a four-party deal involving the Spurs, Nuggets, Magic, and 76ers. The specific transaction plan will be released after approval by the league office. At the same time, the Heat have reached a deal with the Suns. The Heat will send Chalmers and two future draft picks in exchange for Steve Nash, who will join Howard, Bosh, and Wade to form the Miami Galaxy Battleship.
The Heat's reply made the NBA public opinion circle excited, and the big news everyone was waiting for finally came.
The league has once again entered an arms race, and the Heat's winning odds have climbed all the way to first place, successfully surpassing the Lakers and Cavaliers.
The defending champion Clippers are still ranked fourth, which shows that their strength is still not recognized and is considered to be a flash in the pan.
On August 2, the league office approved trade applications between the Heat, Spurs, Nuggets, Magic, 76ers, and the Heat and Suns.
In this five-party deal, the Heat sent Gay and draft picks to get Howard, the Spurs got Gay and sent Richard Jefferson, the Nuggets got Iguodala, and sent Wilson Chandler and others. The Magic sent Howard and received Richard Jefferson, Chandler and a large number of draft picks.
Of course, this extremely complex five-party transaction still has many specific details, including a series of exchanges such as cash, trading exceptions, draft rights, and signing rights.
But these details are no longer important. The most important thing is that the Heat got Howard and Nash, and the Big Four of the South Coast were born.
On the same day, Los Angeles was quiet. The Clippers team had been silent for more than a month. After the draft, the Clippers completed several contract extensions.
Min Congda retained Harden with a four-year, 58 million contract, plus Anthony Davis' No. 1 pick contract and Curry's maximum salary contract. The Clippers' contract amount has crossed the luxury tax line and entered the league. The first highest salary, they will have to pay a large amount of luxury tax next year.
Min Congda doesn't care, and neither does the new boss Shelly Sterling. Her trust in Min Congda is about the same as her ex-husband.
Of course, Min Congda used his insider to know about the Heat's deal one step ahead. He was very happy about this. Finally, a Galaxy battleship came out to dominate the league!
Howard + Bosh + Wade + Nash, such a luxurious lineup, how can other teams give a shit? The Clippers will definitely not be their opponents.
As long as the Clippers don't win the championship, Min Congda's bankruptcy plan can proceed smoothly.
After all, the Clippers' super project, the new arena is already under intensive preparation and construction will start next year!
The progress of project preparations has been greatly accelerated because of the Clippers' championship, and the employer has provided money much faster.
Once construction begins, the new arena will become the first sports facility in NBA history to be built entirely with private capital.
In the past, all NBA arenas were led or participated in municipal projects. After all, such large-scale projects are difficult to complete with private capital alone.
But Min Congda had a heart to bankrupt the Clippers. He started from scratch and turned the impossible into possible. He won the Great Western Forum. Starting from the personal network of the Great Western Forum, he opened up all aspects bit by bit and won the championship with the Clippers. Under the catalytic effect of the project, the two work fronts of municipal relations and fund preparation have achieved comprehensive victory, and the start of the project has been scheduled.
To be honest, after everything was decided, Min Congda still admired himself a little.
When people have a goal that they must accomplish, they will really burst out with huge energy.
Of course, what Min Congda has to worry about now is no longer the matter of financial preparations, but after the Clippers win the championship, is there too much money coming from all parties?
Among other things, the naming rights of this super arena have attracted a lot of competition. Big companies in the Bay Area such as JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. all hope to name this new arena, and the naming rights It cost easily hundreds of millions of dollars, which made Min Congda frightened.
If you give me such money, why should I lose my fortune? If the price is raised a little higher, the cost can be earned back!
Therefore, faced with the high naming rights fees from various companies, Min Congda was unwilling to use the naming rights of these well-known companies despite all objections.
In fact, he really wants to choose a Chinese company to name the arena.
Firstly, he himself is Chinese, secondly, Chinese sponsors don’t have that much money, and thirdly, it may inspire the Americans’ rebellious psychology and stop coming to watch football games here in the future.
Min Congda set his sights on the well-known condiment manufacturer "Laoganma". After some negotiations and desperate protests from the Clippers management, this cooperation unfortunately did not succeed.
Subsequently, after relevant Chinese companies learned that the Clippers had opened up domestic naming rights, a group of large companies with overseas businesses came to the door one after another, hoping to obtain the naming rights of the arena.
After some screening, Min Congda designated the title sponsor of the new arena: Huawei.
(End of chapter)
