CHAPTER 1270: CHAPTER 402: AFTER LU BU’S DEATH, ANYONE CAN SLAY LU BU

Gary Payton’s pride is being consumed bit by bit.

Deciding to join Roger’s team was the first step in giving up his pride, and agreeing to a backup role was the second step.

And that was his final bottom line.

He was willing to be Roger’s teammate, even willing to play as a substitute.

But that didn’t mean he was willing to be Roger’s dog.

So he refused the training, refused this camp that seemed more like it was meant to showcase Roger’s prestige.

The next day after Roger arrived at the camp, he didn’t go to talk to Gary Payton, not even bothering to contact him.

Roger had become friends with many people; he never thought he and Gary Payton could have that kind of relationship.

Roger certainly wouldn’t try to persuade him. If Gary Payton didn’t cooperate, it was easy to handle—just cut him.

After all, it’s just a one-year veteran minimum contract, cutting him won’t affect the team’s future at all.

The cruelty of competitive sports is just like this. Each year, during the short time from the start of preseason to the start of the regular season, hundreds of players are cut. Teams sign many players during the offseason, but only a few make it to the final roster.

These hundreds might include high school super talents or once very successful veterans. No matter who you are, if you’re not strong enough, you’ll be eliminated in this competition.

For someone like Gary Payton, who hasn’t figured out the situation, being cut once would teach him a lesson.

Roger once told Dominique Wilkins, and now it applies to Gary Payton: "You need me, I don’t need you."

Of course, Roger wouldn’t immediately have the team cut him.

If he remains like this during the preseason camp and games, Roger will have the team take decisive action.

This Golden State Warriors team is unprecedentedly united, and Roger won’t allow any bad apples to spoil it.

As for Gary Payton’s presence or absence, the Kings don’t care at all.

In the following days, Gary Payton didn’t show up at the camp.

Roger didn’t mention him at all, as if they were strangers.

Roger indeed had no intention to bother with the "Gloves," fully immersed in the joy of Matt Barnes’ significant improvement.

In the training camp, Roger found that Matt Barnes’ three-point shooting was vastly different from last season, frequently hitting threes even in scrimmages.

Moreover, his movements were smarter, more cunning. Last season, as solely a defensive player, he is now expanding his impact on offense.

Of course, Matt Barnes’ three-point consistency is not yet comparable to serious shooters.

But at least he’s a threat in open positions.

Besides, Roger’s old teammate Kurt Thomas also made tremendous improvement in shooting.

Back in Atlanta, Kurt Thomas and Big Ben were practically the rim inspectors at Philips Arena.

Their free throws tested Lenny Wilkens’ patience and the rim’s durability.

But now, Kurt Thomas surprisingly developed a mid-range shot. Like Barnes, you can’t expect Kurt Thomas’ mid-range to be on the level of Stoudemire or Dirk.

But at least he’s a threat in open positions now; you can’t just easily leave him open.

I have to say, Daniel Gilbert really found LBJ a bunch of reliable partners.

Next season, the Cavaliers’ expected starters are LBJ, Larry Hughes, AK47, Kurt Thomas, and Big Z.

This is a starting lineup almost without flaws on defense, much stronger than the original timeline’s Cavaliers 1.0.

A small detail: the Larry Hughes in the original timeline was no longer the healthy Larry Hughes when he transferred to the Cavaliers, but now, this Larry Hughes has no injury history. When paired with the Chosen One, he will still have the quality of a first-team defensive guard.

Not to mention the team also acquired defensive stalwarts like AK47 and Kurt Thomas.

During breaks, Roger would jokingly say to Kurt Thomas: "Congratulations Kurt, you get another chance to play in the finals."

But Kurt Thomas just shook his head: "If you were leading this Cavaliers team, we might make it to the Finals. But LBJ? First, we have to make the playoffs."

"Daring, you shouldn’t doubt an emperor!"

"An emperor who’s never played in the playoffs?"

"Don’t say that Kurt, you have a mid-range shot now, do you know what that means? It means next season, you’ll have many chances in the final seconds to close out games. LBJ will find you, he’s very unselfish, and that’s his biggest difference from other star players."

"I thank him for that!" Kurt Thomas called out jokingly.

In a joyful atmosphere, Roger’s private training camp quickly came to an end. There’s just one week before the new media day begins.

During this time, Gary Payton seemed to be lost to the world, having no contact with anyone on the team.

It looks like he won’t be filling the gap left by Cattino Mobley’s departure.

But even so, major mainstream media outlets still gave Golden State Warriors a lot of credit in their predictions.

They all think the Golden State Warriors can defend their title, and Roger will establish his third career dynasty in the Bay Area.

Bill Simmons gave his reason in a column: "The Warriors’ roster is still very complete, as long as the foundation of Roger + Amar’e doesn’t move, the Warriors are the team closest to the championship."