NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 753 Winning the Championship Requires a Cost-Effective Contract

The Running Man is already 38 years old. Nobody believes that a 38-year-old Running Man can give his all on the defensive end. However, he is becoming more and more cunning on the offensive end, and he is getting better and better at fast breaks and stealing wins, but his strong attacks are getting worse and worse.

Of course, at the same age of 38, the Running Man member is in better shape than Jordan, that's beyond doubt. Although the concept of "super teams" didn't exist in Jordan's era, he was incredibly lucky to have a historically great second option like Pippen by his side.

In this game, the expressionless guy, one of the Big Three, still didn't play. Even the head coach didn't know if he would play or not; only his own people knew. He's a typical example of someone who takes secrecy to the extreme. If he were to do underground work, he'd be an absolute master. He looks like a simpleton, but he's actually incredibly good at keeping secrets.

The Lakers made a mess of things again in the offseason... It's not really that Pelinka was inactive, but rather that the Big Three ate up almost all the salary cap space. Without touching the Big Three, the room for maneuver was extremely limited. You can't keep saying he's focused on the buyout market and minimum-salary players; if you don't have cap space, how can you expect big-name free agents?

Fortunately, the Clippers now have their own home arena, which means the Lakers don't have to watch the Clippers' championship banner presentation ceremony at their home arena, which is a good thing in some ways.

That night, the Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome, was packed with people, with every seat filled.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was excitedly in the stands, personally attending this important moment.

When the championship banner bearing the words "2022" was raised above the arena, the arena welcomed its fifth championship banner.

The championship banner was raised over the stadium, and the crowd immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause!

"We are the champions!" The fans shouted in unison.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Clippers have dominated the NBA for the past five years, winning five consecutive championships.

Before the season started, the Clippers were already considered by the media to be the biggest favorites to win the championship. In the recently concluded offseason, although they lost Kelly and Grant, their championship framework was preserved. They added two rookies with good immediate impact and potential, and re-signed several core players. Their championship window is still very long.

Their biggest asset in winning the championship was Jia Fei!

Jia Fei has just turned 30 and is in excellent form. He will lead the team to a six-peat!

Apart from the Celtics of yesteryear, no team has ever achieved six consecutive championships, and the Clippers will attempt to accomplish this almost impossible task.

Watching Jia Fei and his teammates don their championship rings again, Anthony Davis on the opposing Lakers team was filled with envy. Both the "Running Man" and "Stone Face" had already won championships, but he hadn't. He was already 29 years old, and if he didn't win a championship soon, it would become increasingly difficult for him to obtain a championship ring in his career.

The lineups for both teams have been announced.

For the Clippers, Grant Williams will continue to start as expected!

Grant Williams was thrilled. Tonight, he not only won a championship ring but also continued to start. He knew he would be the starting forward for the championship team, which made him feel that his efforts over the past three years had not been in vain.

He had secretly made up his mind to perform well tonight and give that 38-year-old man who loved to run away and called himself the emperor a good beating in front of 20,000 fans.

After the game started, the Clippers showcased their defensive prowess as a championship team. Grant Williams was incredibly effective on the court; he could defend heavy forwards one-on-one, switch onto guards, and guard centers—a true all-rounder on the wing.

Previously, the Clippers lacked a strong forward in their starting lineup. Their forwards were all tall and slender, with exceptional talent, but not particularly good at physical battles. His addition perfectly fills this gap.

Grant Williams can guard both the fast break and Anthony Davis, making him a versatile defender on the wing. The team's second unit is also full of energy, with Jaden McDaniels showcasing the potential of a 3-and-D forward, demonstrating excellent defense, shooting ability, and ball-handling skills.

Brunson demonstrated why he's worth a $1.2 million contract; his ball-handling and playmaking abilities are starter-level, he exudes ease, and his true strength seems unfathomable…

The Lakers were thrashed by the Clippers. As long as Anthony Davis and Steve Nash were out of the game, the Lakers couldn't hold on. But the two of them can't play the whole game without rest. So the two teams' strengths were clearly not on the same level.

Ultimately, the Clippers dominated the Lakers throughout the game, easily defeating them and securing a winning start to the season.

Jia Fei's performance was normal, with 30+10+10+3+2. Such data is not even considered excellent for him. People have become accustomed to his excellence, and the threshold is too high. His average data can no longer arouse any emotional fluctuations among them.

The Clippers avoided a "milestone tragedy" in their season opener against the Pistons. This game boosted confidence in their title defense, especially given Grant Williams' outstanding performance in the starting lineup. Furthermore, Jaden McDaniels off the bench exceeded expectations. The presence of these two players suggests that the loss of Grant and Kelly has had a negligible impact on the Clippers.

While Grant and Lee Kyle are indeed stronger overall than Grant Williams and Jaden McDaniels, the former two combined cost the Clippers $4000 million per year, while the latter two only cost around $1000 million. In terms of on-court impact, the latter two are currently slightly weaker overall, but they are better suited to playing alongside superstars than the former two, and they are also younger with untapped potential.

Jia Fei not only needs to consider the team's present but also its future. Clearly, Grant Williams and Jaden McDaniels are better suited to the team's future. Their combined annual salary is only slightly over $1000 million, but their on-court impact is equivalent to $3000 million. The Clippers are bound to benefit from their rookie bonuses.

A championship team needs at least one over-the-top contract, and the Clippers clearly have quite a few. Grant Williams and Jaden McDaniels' contracts exemplify this, and if you look at a longer timeframe, Brunson and Bridges' contracts are similar. And then there's Hartenstein's bargain-basement contract.

On October 23, the Clippers played against the Kings on the road.

Another easy, high-scoring victory, the Clippers have achieved their first winning streak of the season!

The aircraft carrier sets sail again! Last season, the Clippers achieved an NBA-best record of 80 wins and 2 losses. Although it will be difficult for them to break that record this season, the signals they are giving indicate that their record this season will definitely not be bad!

The Clippers' excellent form is bad news for teams aiming for the championship; everyone is waiting for the carrier to sink, but it hasn't happened yet.