CHAPTER 673: CHAPTER 325: DURANT’S DECISION

On the second day after finishing the Songbor horse race, Hansen flew back to Cleveland.

Along with Jokic, he considered going to Serbia a reward for himself after winning the championship.

Having already declared the new dynasty boldly, he needed to focus on preparing for the new season.

By then, it was early July, and the NBA’s new free agency market had opened before that.

This year’s free agency should be the most lively since 2014.

Just on the Heat Team side, Durant, Wade, and Deng’s contracts were all expiring simultaneously, and Big Gasol also opted out of his contract’s final year option.

James also opted out of his player option when the free agency began.

Additionally, there were the Raptors’ Derozan, the Hawks’ Howard, the Celtics’ Horford, the Wizards’ Bill, the Pistons’ "Drummond," the Timberwolves’ Whiteside, and others considered capable of altering a team’s strength.

Of course, the most crucial figure is Durant.

James left social media earlier, and nobody knew his thoughts at the moment, but from a business perspective, he had no reason to leave Los Angeles, especially after Kobe’s retirement, allowing him to rightfully become the new face of the Lakers.

However, Durant’s chances of staying were almost negligible; his decision could even directly alter the league’s landscape.

Many news reports had already been released.

The Rockets were doing everything they could to handle Chris Bosh’s contract, intending to create enough salary space to sign Durant.

The Celtics were also firing on all cylinders since Horford’s contract ended, so they had no salary cap issues and were trying various methods to lure Durant.

Even Ray Allen, who had conflicts with the Celtics in the past and hadn’t played for a year, publicly expressed that he would choose to make a return for one more year if Durant joined.

On the Spurs side, Popovich was also vigorously persuading Durant to join.

According to Popovich’s plan, Duncan would choose to play for minimum wage for another year if Durant joined.

Then, the Spurs’ starting lineup would be Parker, Green, Durant, Leonard, Alderich, with Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the bench.

This would be a roster that decides the championship during offseason.

The Warriors were also actively moving; last season’s Western Conference Finals performance of Harrison Barnes was terrible, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer. If they could sign Durant as a replacement, they would create an epic team.

Even the Lakers were striving, relieving salary space due to Kobe’s retirement, which could allow them to sign Durant with a bit of maneuvering.

A combination of Durant and James, along with Love and a bunch of role players, would be the most formidable presence in the league.

Though Durant didn’t stage a live decision announcement like James did in 2010, his decision had an even greater impact than James’s back then.

Even other players, including James, were awaiting Durant’s decision.

Of course, Hansen knew that absent any surprises, Durant would still go to the Warriors.

The Cavaliers had already started their summer maneuvers.

But when the free agency started earlier, they faced a major issue.

JR directly demanded a four-year $60 million contract.

At the time of Hansen’s contract renewal, this amount was close to a max contract.

But this year, the new broadcasting contract took effect, pushing the max contract for players directly to the era of $20 million.

With limited free agents, and the league’s salary floor or "poverty line" restricting the market, there was a shortage in player supply.

For example, Allen Crabbe signed a four-year $75 million contract with the Blazers, with last season’s average stats of 10.3 points and 2.7 rebounds.

Then Solomon Hill switched from the Pacers to the Pelicans for four years $52 million, averaging only 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds.

There’s also Rudy Guy signing a four-year $64 million renewal with the Kings, and Biyombo landed a four-year $72 million contract with the Magic; the Hornets offered Batum a five-year $120 million deal, marking this summer as an era rife with overvalued contracts.

JR ultimately signed a four-year $56 million contract with the Cavaliers.

This time, Griffin didn’t seek Hansen’s opinion for JR’s renewal because just like last year with TT’s renewal, Hansen’s stance remained unchanged.

The Cavaliers retained JR, but Mo Williams reached a two-year $12 million deal with the Blazers and left.

For Williams, his return to the Cavaliers was due to better opportunities offered by the team, ultimately aiming to bolster his value for a larger contract. Now that he had taken the championship and fulfilled his aspirations, he was, of course, seeking a larger contract.

Moreover, the Cavaliers secured Cunningham with a four-year $30 million contract.

Different from JR, after Cunningham received the offer from the Pacers, Griffin directly chose to match it.

Among the Cavaliers, the closest relationship to Hansen was Cunningham, leaving no room for hesitation.

On the evening of Hansen’s return to Cleveland, Griffin came to him.

Someone wanted to come to Cleveland.

The reason Griffin sought Hansen alone was because that person was Deron Williams.