lcionline Chapter 347 Joining a Team That Has Never Won a Championship
Chapter 347 Joining a Team That Has Never Won a Championship
After President Pu and the others left, Art Mayor said to Jia Fei, "You definitely won't be going back to Thunder!"
Jia Fei smiled slightly and nodded: "Yes."
"Joining the Thunder is worse than joining the Hornets!" Art Mayork added.
“That’s right!” Jia Fei’s smile continued.
"Jia, to be honest, do you have a favorite team?" Art Mayork asked curiously.
Jia Fei shook his head: "I don't have a specific direction yet. But I have a list in my mind of which teams I won't go to."
"Let me guess!" Art Mayork perked up. "Cavaliers, Warriors, Thunder, Hornets, Rockets!"
Jia Fei smiled and nodded: "All right!"
Art Mayork chuckled, "Having followed you for so long, I understand your thoughts to some extent."
“Yes, so Kemba doesn’t understand me as well as you do! If it were you, you wouldn’t invite me to join the Hornets, because I would never go!” Jia Fei’s eyes became deep.
Art Mayork chuckled and scratched his head: "I don't think you'll go. Kemba probably knows that too. He probably just really wants to play on your team!"
"Maybe, but being on the same team doesn't necessarily mean being with the Hornets. Under Jordan's leadership, this team has no future. His judgment is really terrible!" Jia Fei joked.
"Jia, will you stay with the Eagles?" Art Mayork asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Not absolutely, the chances of them staying are less than 3%." Jia Fei didn't seem to be joking at all.
“Then there are far fewer teams left in this league that you can join!” Art Mayork said.
"Yeah, I won't be going to the Celtics or the Heat either!" Jia Fei added.
"Why? Both of these teams have won championships and have a winning culture!" Art Mayork asked, puzzled.
"I simply don't want to play under Ainge and Riley! It's that simple! Artest, I can also tell you something else, I'm thinking of joining a team that hasn't won a championship yet!" Jia Fei said mysteriously.
"A team that has never won a championship? Why? Do you want to be the first in the team's history?" Art Mayork was even more surprised.
Jia Fei smiled and nodded: "The Lakers and Celtics have too many rich ancestors. Even if I help them win the championship, I won't even be in the top 5 in team history. It would be a bit like me being a mercenary if I went there. But it would be different if I went to a team that hasn't won a championship yet. If I can help this team win the championship, I will be the core player of the first championship and will definitely become an extremely important part of the team's history!"
Art Mayork thought Jia Fei's idea was truly unique and ambitious. Of course, winning a championship with a historically strong team in a major market is relatively easier, but winning with a team that has never won one before will be much more difficult. However, conversely, once they do win, the significance is entirely different.
The significance of winning the team's first championship followed by another championship in the team's history is completely different!
Art Mayork pulled out his phone and started checking which teams hadn't won a championship yet. After a while, he excitedly exclaimed, "Nets, Nuggets, Clippers, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Magic, Pacers, Suns, Jazz—nine teams in total!"
Jia Fei nodded.
Art Mayork exclaimed in surprise, "My God, there are still so many teams that haven't won a championship yet. The number of NBA championships really shows a huge disparity between rich and poor teams!"
"The NBA isn't absolutely fair either! If you play for the Lakers or Celtics, you have a higher chance of winning a championship than if you play for other teams. That's an indisputable fact. There's only one Spurs in the NBA!" Jia Fei said slowly.
Art Mayork seemed very excited: "Ja, I really want to go with you to a team that has never won a championship and try to win their first title in history!"
"Alright, Art, let's go and make something of ourselves!" Jia Fei suddenly became a bit childish, but sometimes people do need to have some ideas, even if those ideas seem childish and strange to many people.
In the following days, Jia Fei met with recruitment teams in Atlanta. The Rockets sent Morey and new coach JB, the Heat sent Pat Riley and head coach Spoelstra, the Celtics sent president Ainge and head coach Stevens, the Lakers sent general manager Kubchak, the Raptors sent general manager Ujiri and head coach Dwane Casey, and the Clippers were personally invited by owner Steve Ballmer…
With so many recruitment teams, Jia Fei met with each one as if they were clients. He could have easily delegated this task to his agent, but he wanted to do it himself. He wanted to see the sincerity of the other teams, and some things could only be felt in person.
Jia Fei presented his conditions to each recruitment team. His first condition was that he would only accept a maximum salary; he was willing to accept a pay cut or any bonus or team option. His second condition was that the team he joined could not continue to tank and needed to strive for a championship.
These two conditions aren't demanding, and the recruitment teams generally indicated they could meet them. In fact, they're not difficult to meet. Given Jia Fei's status, not offering him a max contract is quite efficient. This is an era where players like Beal are pursuing max contracts; why wouldn't a two-time league MVP offer a max contract? As for the second condition, after acquiring a top-tier star like Jia Fei, you definitely need to produce results. Why would you even bother acquiring him if you wanted to tank? It would be a waste.
Of all the recruitment teams, the one that surprised Jia Fei the most was not the Lakers, nor the Suns, or any other team, but the Clippers.
The Lakers' reasons for recruiting him are very compelling: the Purple and Gold, a historic powerhouse, is located in Los Angeles, the "City of Angels," Jia Fei's hometown; and Kobe Bryant, arguably the second-best shooting guard in history, is about to retire, allowing for a perfect succession.
Kupchak believes that if Jia Fei is mentally sound, joining the Lakers is the best choice. Who wouldn't want to go to a big city? Which wing player wouldn't want to receive personal instruction from Kobe? Wouldn't it be appealing to cultivate a "hometown basketball" image?
Although the Lakers have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, it doesn't mean they're used to tanking. As long as a superstar arrives, the team can immediately enter championship mode. This powerhouse team has never been one to develop superstars; they simply acquire big names in free agency or through trades – it's that straightforward.
Moreover, the Lakers have accumulated a lot of high draft picks by missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. They also have many talented young players on their roster. As soon as Jia Fei arrives, these young assets will immediately be converted into star players who can contribute immediately, and the team can take off right away!
Jia Fei had no doubt about the Lakers' determination to win the championship. This powerhouse team wouldn't keep tanking forever; it was about time to go all in. But he didn't want to play his hometown basketball here. Even if he had to, there were other teams in Los Angeles besides the Lakers.