"Whether you admit it or not, you can no longer play like you did in the Magic, and other teams will no longer give you the same treatment as you did in the Magic." These words made Howard unable to refute.
When he came to Los Angeles, Kobe was the core of the Lakers. Even though he was the league's number one center at the time, as for the Rockets, if the Rockets really regarded Howard as their core, he would not be in this situation now.
Furthermore, Howard refused to admit it, but in fact he knew very well in his heart that he was no longer at his peak and no longer the number one center in the league.
"Dwight, I sincerely invite you to come to the Lakers. I invite you to come to the Lakers to help me. I invite you to fight for the championship together." Li Hao extended the invitation for the third time.
"Championship? God, Li, you have to know that the Lakers haven't made the playoffs for several seasons." Howard looked at Li Hao speechlessly.
"If you are willing to come to the Lakers, I will be with you. Don't you think the team can't make the playoffs?" Howard will not refute, because to refute is to deny himself.
"Besides, the Lakers didn't just introduce you as a player," Li Hao continued.
"Who else are the Lakers planning to introduce?" Howard asked curiously.
"It's a secret, but I can guarantee you that he is an All-Star player," Li Hao said.
"You didn't lie to me?" Howard was a little moved.
Li Hao's strength has been recognized by the entire league, and Howard is also very confident in himself. If he adds another All-Star player, he will be a proper Big Three.
"If I wanted to lie to you, I wouldn't have said those words at the beginning. Wouldn't it be better if I coaxed you and tricked you into signing a contract? And I can tell that the possibility of us signing him is very high." In Li Hao's heart, signing Wade is far simpler than Howard. What he lacks is respect, and Li Hao and the Lakers will give him enough respect.
"I'd rather you coax me," Howard complained silently in his heart.
"But there is a major premise, you must make changes," Li Hao said immediately.
Howard hesitated again after hearing this.
In fact, this is not Howard's fault, because he has been trained as a core by the Magic since he entered the league, and later he did become the core of the Magic and became the league's number one center.
"Dwight, let me say one last thing. Do you want to seize the peak of your career and finally compete for the championship for your tail, or do you want to waste a few more years and finally take the veteran's minimum salary to go to a team that may win the championship and beg for a championship?"
………………………………………….
Howard was quite dissatisfied with this meal, and he was even a little absent-minded when they parted at the end.
"What if Howard refuses?" Kobe couldn't help but ask on the way home.
"That can only allow Mickey to implement Plan B," Li Hao said.
"What Plan B?" Kobe asked curiously.
"You should know that Mitch has always favored the Kings center." Kobe certainly knew that the president and general manager had always wanted to introduce Cousins.
"I don't think Plan B is reliable." Kobe immediately shook his head.
Because Kobe knows very well that with Cousins' current worth, the price the Lakers have to pay to bring him back to Los Angeles will definitely be very high, and may even cost the Lakers money.
Li Hao and Kobe went home while chatting. On the other side, when they returned to the hotel, Howard immediately called his agent.
"Dwight, do you want to hear the truth?" After hearing Howard's exclusive message, the agent on the other end of the phone pondered for a long time before speaking.
Howard's first agent was Dan Fagan. This agent should be familiar to Chinese fans because he is also Yi Jianlian's agent in the United States.
However, Howard terminated his contract with Dan Fagan in February this year, and then signed a contract with Perry Rogers. Perry Rogers is only a famous person in the agent circle. O'Neal is a player of Perry Rogers. Even if he retires now The two are still in a cooperative relationship.
"Come on, Perry, I want to hear the truth," Howard said.
"Players must make changes when they reach a certain age. This is inevitable for no one, and he has reached that age now.
At this point in time," Perry Rogers said.
"I dare say this about the teams that are currently interested in you. They may sound nice, but they will definitely not really focus on you," Rogers continued.
"So Perry, are the Lakers really a good choice?" Howard seemed a little unwilling.
"If what Li said is true, then the Lakers are indeed a very good choice. Dwight, the championship is very important for the evaluation of a player." In Perry Rogers' view, the Lakers with Li Hao already have a basic foundation. There, if there are really All-Star level players plus Howard, then the Lakers next season will be really worth looking forward to.
"One more thing, Dwight, Li is a Chinese player, and your current sneaker contract is also from China." In 2014, Howard signed a four-year contract with Peak.
"Yao" Howard immediately thought of Yao Ming. The Yao Ming effect is very famous in the NBA.
"Yes, if you really join the Lakers, your off-court commercial value will be greatly improved." Well, after hearing this, Howard felt further relaxed.
No one doesn't like money, especially Howard.
"Perry, I need to think about it." Although the balance in Howard's mind had tilted, he was still unwilling to face reality for a while.
"Okay, think about it carefully, no matter what decision you make, I will stand by your side," Rogers said.
………………………………………………………………….
The next day, Li Hao had a phone call with Kupchak and told him about his meeting with Howard.
"Then wait and see, hoping to get a satisfactory answer," Kupchak said.
"By the way, Lee, can you come over to my place tomorrow?" Kupchak changed the subject.
"Is something wrong?" Li Hao asked.
"That's it, the team's new head coach has been decided, and I want you to meet him." The Lakers fired Scott immediately at the end of the season.
"Okay, I'll go there tomorrow at noon." In fact, the media in Los Angeles reported a lot about the Lakers head coach, but Li Hao didn't pay attention to it.
Besides, Li Hao already knew who it was: "Can you tell me who it is?"
"Luke Walton" Li Hao's butterfly wings did not change the selection of the Lakers' new head coach.
"See you tomorrow, Mickey." Although Luke Walton is not the best choice, for the current Li Hao and the Lakers, Luke Walton is actually a pretty good choice.
Luke Walton studied under Cole. Cole's tactics in the Warriors are based on Curry. Li Hao can do everything Curry can do, and Li Hao can do what Curry can't do.
For example, dunking.
