Although there are 30 teams pursuing Zhao Chen on the surface, Zhao Chen only gave two teams a chance.
One is the Lakers and the other is the Thunder.
The Thunder is Zhao Chen's home team, and there is a certain affection for him.
There are familiar teammates, Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka, Adams and other powerful players.
As long as Zhao Chen stays in the Thunder, it is not a dream to win three consecutive championships and establish a dynasty.
Zhao Chen has reason to believe that in the next few seasons, if he encounters super warriors, he will definitely be able to suppress them!
Because the teammates around Zhao Chen are still in their prime, and some are even still in their growth stage.
With these personnel configurations and his continuous improvement, Durant has not yet gone to the Warriors.
The Thunder are a proper dynasty team.
This is the future that Zhao Chen can foresee.
On the other hand, the Lakers are Zhao Chen's favorite team. He has watched the Lakers and Rockets games since he was a child, and has extra emotional factors for the Lakers and Kobe.
The current situation of the Lakers is that core Kobe Bryant was seriously injured, resulting in a serious decline in form. Except for Kobe, no one on the team has trade value.
They are known as the team that will compete for the top pick in the next few years.
In Zhao Chen's impression, the Lakers experienced a long period of dormancy in their previous lives. It was not until Kobe Bryant retired in 2016, James arrived in 2018, and Anthony Davis joined in 2019 to help the Lakers win the championship again that they truly completed their rise.
More importantly, Kobe's accident made Zhao Chen feel full of regret.
Moreover, the Lakers are full of waste and waiting for improvement.
The choice Zhao Chen made was actually to choose a dynasty or to choose the unknown.
It's like looking for a job. One option is to be a civil servant and you can see the future. The other option is to start a business, which involves big risks but also has greater rewards.
.....
The Thunder management has been busy with the draft during this period, and they did not communicate much with Zhao Chen.
In this regard, they did not do enough to show the sincerity of the Lakers.
The autonomy that the Lakers can give is impossible for the Thunder to give.
Zhao Chen can also feel that if he stays with the Thunder, his status and role next season will not be any different from last season.
After thinking and communicating, Zhao Chen finally decided to challenge the unknown.
Zhao Chen's goal is no longer just a championship, but to truly achieve himself.
The current Zhao Chen has different goals from the Zhao Chen who just returned from time travel.
Zhao Chen hopes to become the true number one basketball player!
Choosing the Lakers is also a basketball decision.
"By the way, in addition to exercising power, I also hope that you will make concessions on the contract."
"You say! We can do our best to provide the maximum salary." Jim Bass replied.
"In terms of amount, the maximum salary is basic, the contract is 1+1, and there is a player option in the second year." Zhao Chen said.
Obviously, Zhao Chen ignored the verbal guarantee, and he also hoped to use the contract to restrict the management.
If the Lakers fail to meet his requirements, he can also threaten the management at any time.
In his previous life, Zhao Chen had seen too many situations where super giants were dissatisfied with the team during the contract period and became passive because the contract period was too long.
Sign once a year, with options every year.
As long as you have absolute strength, you can control your own destiny.
A long-term contract gives a sense of security, but Zhao Chen's sense of security comes from understanding and controlling himself.
He will not worry about the impact of status and injuries like other players.
"No problem." Jim Bass nodded immediately.
Even if Zhao Chen comes to the Lakers for one year, it will be enough!
As long as he comes to Los Angeles for one year, Jim Bass feels confident to keep Zhao Chen for the second and third years. This is the charm of Los Angeles.
"Zhao, welcome to join the Lakers." Kobe hugged Zhao Chen with a smile.
Although Kobe didn't want to admit that his condition was declining, the facts told him that he would never return to his peak.
If he still wants a championship, he needs a young superstar like Zhao Chen to help him.
"Hey, I'm happy to be your teammate." Zhao Chen also said.
Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss are all smiles.
After finalizing the verbal intention to join, the atmosphere instantly became lively.
Jim Bass got the champagne from nowhere, and everyone toasted directly here.
Of course, during the exchange, Zhao Chen did not forget important matters. He wrote down all the players that the Lakers needed to select in the draft.
As long as these players are selected, Zhao Chen will actually sign.
Otherwise, without any potential new stars, Zhao Chen would be in a bit of a miserable situation with a bunch of CBA foreign aid-level players.
Zhao Chen doesn't want to be a lone hero.
The draft is just an appetizer. Zhao Chen still has some operations to follow. He hopes that the future of the team is under his control.
Zhao Chen treats the Lakers as a 2K game dynasty to build a team.
His advantage is his vision.
He knows which players have potential and strength...
All he needs to do is lead them to see if there is a different future.
After coming out of the hotel meeting and returning to the hotel room, Zhao Chen felt excited just thinking about it, and he also found it fun.
If he chooses to stay with the Thunder, he won't have this sense of expectation.
Seeing the joy on Zhao Chen's face, Enna asked: "Is it decided?"
"Well, it's decided!" Zhao Chen nodded.
"Yeah, welcome to my lake, I finally see you and the volute join forces." Enna waved her fist excitedly.
"So you're not a Thunder fan." Zhao Chen said fiercely.
"Hehe, before I became a Thunder fan, I was always a Lakers fan." Enna said playfully, showing her little fangs.
"Little girl, you've got a sudden change of heart. Just watch." Zhao Chen pushed Enna down on the bed.
Little ass raised...
"Brother Chen, please be merciful." Enna turned her head and looked at Zhao Chen pitifully.
Where did Zhao Chen get the provocation and pounced on...
...........
Early the next morning.
Enna followed several of her little sisters to attend Kobe's meeting.
Zhao Chen was busy with work in the hotel.
Zhao Chen first called Aaron Mintz to inform him of his choice and asked him to follow up on the subsequent signing preparations.
Zhao Chen and the Lakers cannot make an official announcement yet.
You have to wait until the free market opens on July 1 to officially sign.
But on July 1st, it was just a matter of process, and everything needed to be negotiated in advance.
After hanging up the phone from Aaron Mintz, Zhao Chen called Westbrook.
This is what Zhao Chen and Westbrook promised.
No matter what decision Zhao Chen makes, Zhao Chen will clearly inform Westbrook.
On the phone.
Westbrook was silent for a while after learning about Zhao Chen's choice.
For Westbrook, Zhao Chen is not only a teammate, but also a brother.
After a long period of silence, Westbrook expressed his support for Zhao Chen's choice.
As a brother, Westbrook understands Zhao Chen's troubles and understands Zhao Chen's thoughts.
He was not angry, but rationally analyzed the future of going to the Lakers with Zhao Chen.
"Zhao, if your contract is only for one year, I really hope you will suffer some hardships, and then come back in despair to win the championship with us after one year, haha." Westbrook joked.
After winning the championship, Westbrook's mentality became relatively broad-minded.
After winning the championship, the media has been writing that the Thunder would not have a championship without Zhao Chen.
Westbrook's status was originally lower than Zhao Chen and Durant, but he also had the arrogance of being the boss.
Faced with such remarks, I don't care once or twice, but if it happens more times, I will become a little concerned about it.
At this time, Westbrook heard Zhao Chen's choice, and he actually breathed a sigh of relief. This was also his chance to prove himself again.
Even without Zhao Chen, he can still win the championship!
"Hey, if we meet as teammates in the future, I will beat you up." Zhao Chen said.
"It's still uncertain who will blow. If I hadn't given the ball to you, would you have that FMVP? Dream on, that thing will be taken away by me." Westbrook joked with Zhao Chen.
The two joked with each other a few more times and agreed to meet for dinner when they returned to Oklahoma City.
Even though they are brothers, they are also competitors!
Neither of them are convinced of each other!
A championship can change a lot.
Zhao Chen believes that if he leaves the team without winning the championship, he and Westbrook will be friends.
But now that I have won the championship, my attitude is completely different.
Westbrook is more likely to beat him.
Zhao Chen's choice is also partly based on the hope of getting rid of the influence of Durant and Westbrook and relying on his own strength to build a championship team.
Winning the Thunder title feels like standing on the shoulders of giants to pick fruits. The foundation is so good that Zhao Chen feels that such work would be boring and repetitive.
