There is no airtight wall in the world. As the Timberwolves management was looking for deals, the news that Thomas was going to be sent away quickly spread. Not only that, internal staff of the Timberwolves also broke the news to the outside world, mentioning that the team wanted to trade back Zhao Feiyang.
For a time, public opinion was in an uproar.
The first to react were Cleveland fans.
At first, many people had no feelings for Zhao Feiyang, and even thought that he was not a superstar as everyone expected. But after LeBron left and Zhao Feiyang led the team to consecutive victories, the fans' attitude towards him began to change.
Cleveland fans have experienced too much in the past few years, so they know better than anyone what a team without LeBron is like.
Even though there are All-Star players like Kevin Love and even some members of the finals team, in fact, the team's cohesion is not worth mentioning at all.
Everything is supported by LeBron.
After he left the team, the Cavaliers were still a team that had little ability to compete for the championship or even make the playoffs.
Zhao Feiyang has been very good at holding up this mess after LeBron left. Now he has led the team to a 6-game winning streak. The ability he has shown is no less than Kyrie Irving, and can even be said to be better than Irving. .
The team needs an "offensive knife", but the premise is that it can achieve a record, otherwise the existence of the "offensive knife" is of little significance.
"Oh! Damn it! The ridiculous Minneapolis people finally reacted! They stupid guys! They actually chose to trade a player like Zhao in the first place. I really don't know how they got him with their brains... ..”
"Man upstairs, you are wrong! The previous management team of the Timberwolves was good, but the problem is the new team of the Timberwolves! It is said that everything was carried out under the instruction of boss Locke... This guy knows nothing about basketball, that’s why he did such a stupid thing..."
"The Timberwolves are already so stupid anyway! Why not trade players like Zach and Adrian? The team doesn't mind taking over all these young people..."
"You guys are smarter than monkeys! But now they have woken up, otherwise they wouldn't want to take Zhao back..."
"You want Zhao back? Are you kidding me? Unless the Cavaliers management has shit in their brains, it is impossible to do something so stupid..."
It wasn't just Cavaliers fans who started taunting, but fans in other cities as well.
Those who gloated the most were undoubtedly the Auckland City fans.
"Damn it! When I found out these guys were going to send him away, I was so excited. Originally, the Warriors' biggest obstacle in the Western Conference was the Timberwolves, and now they actually gave away their super core... God! What kind of brain can come up with such a wonderful operation?"
"I put my words here and put them up as evidence. Without Zhao, the Timberwolves can't beat us! Just wait and see! This year's Western Conference championship is still ours..."
"Objectively speaking, the Timberwolves this season are indeed very strong. They have already reached the first place in the Western Conference... These guys have become better than before after several years of hard work! And in our team, Draymond The guys like Kevin are still quarreling... Fortunately, Zhao was sent away by them!"
"Trading Zhao for Thomas and a first-round pick? Plus an aging Dwayne? What does Locke, the owner of the Timberwolves, do? He doesn't open a casino, right? If so, I feel like this guy He should be bankrupt in a few years..."
After being ridiculed by the outside world, the Timberwolves fans were completely angry. They concentrated their firepower and directed all their dissatisfaction at general manager John Daniel and boss Locke. They spouted all kinds of sarcasm, as if they wanted to completely drown them with saliva.
"God! Why are these two stupid guys ours? Damn it! I beg you to get out of Minneapolis, okay?"
"How could Taylor sell the team to a guy like this? Come on! Lock, can't you buy another team? Whatever you choose, don't become a troublemaker and destroy our championship team..."
"I opposed trading Zhao at the beginning, but have you seen the result now? What will happen to Isaiah in exchange? Unless the team wins this season, I will never buy a ticket to watch the game again. ..."
While the outside world was in an uproar, the distressed Timberwolves management finally sent Thomas away.
They successfully traded with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The first-round pick and Thomas were sent away in exchange for two newcomers that many fans had never heard of. One is Chris, a freshman, and Brewer is a sophomore, one playing the three position and the other playing the one position.
Among them, Chris was the 30th pick in the first round of this draft, the last one in the first round, averaging 2.1 points per game.
Brewer was a second-round pick in the last draft, ranked third in the second round, but his performance was actually not as good as Chriss. Averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Objectively speaking, this transaction is simply not cost-effective at all.
But at this time, public opinion was too strong in attacking the Timberwolves management, and Thomas was also crazy after learning that he was leaving, and even expressed some opinions in public to express his dissatisfaction with the team management.
All these actions forced the management team headed by general manager Daniel to not care so much and just wanted to send Thomas away as soon as possible.
The only gratifying thing is that although external public opinion is so exaggerated, the team has not been affected by these.
The Timberwolves still maintained their previous stable state and continued to win in the Western Conference. This allowed the management team to maintain the last bit of dignity.
After all, no matter how they operate, the team's foundation is still there. Even if its vitality is seriously injured, it still has the ability to compete with the Warriors at this stage.
Not long after the Timberwolves officially completed the deal, the NBA trade deadline arrived. At the same time, the NBA’s annual All-Star Weekend is coming again.
The venue for this All-Star Game was moved to Los Angeles.
The team selection method is the same as before. Fans vote to select the captains of the two teams, and then the captains select the shortlisted players.
As a veteran player, Zhao Feiyang no longer pays much attention to such a festival. At this time, after leading the Cavaliers to six consecutive victories, he finally faced another powerful opponent.
This opponent is none other than the Cavaliers' old enemy, the Golden State Warriors.
