A day later, the three-team trade between the Heat, Cavaliers, and Pacers was officially sealed.
The Heat sent out Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Kapono, a 2008 first-round pick, and a 2009 second-round pick.
The Cavaliers sent out Larry Hughes, Eric Snow, a 2007 first-round pick, and a 2008 second-round pick.
The Pacers, in turn, sent Jermaine O'Neal and Fred Jones.
After the deal, Jermaine O'Neal and Jones would don Heat jerseys. Shaq O'Neal and Kapono would be sporting Cavaliers colors. Meanwhile, Hughes and Snow were headed to Indianapolis, and the Pacers would receive a total of four draft picks from the Heat and Cavaliers.
In this three-way trade, Riley finally got rid of Shaq, who had become a "salary burden" for the Heat, and brought in another O'Neal, Jermaine, who was in his prime. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, swapped Hughes, who didn't quite click with LeBron, and a "pass-first" guard for the former league's top center and a sharpshooter from beyond the arc. The Pacers got exactly what they wanted: draft picks.
From every angle, this looked like a win-win-win situation for all three teams. However, after sending off Hughes and Snow, Zack was curious: were the Cavaliers planning to have his good buddy, LeBron, play point guard next season? Sure, with both Shaq and Big Z in the paint, they could theoretically dominate any opponent in the East, but at guard, could the Cavs really rely on their newly drafted Gibson and Damon Jones?
Zack's curiosity was satisfied two days later.
"Breaking news! The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks have officially reached a trade agreement. The Cavaliers will send Damon Jones, a 2009 first-round pick, and a 2010 second-round pick in exchange for the Bucks' Mo Williams."
While it's always been tough for the Cavs to make big moves because Cleveland isn't exactly a huge market, you've got to hand it to their front office. Feeling LeBron's recent worries, they absolutely racked their brains to bring the "Chosen One" a guard who could genuinely click with him. What's more, the Cavaliers pulled off this trade at a crucial time. In just another year, Williams was set to really shine due to his growth and increased playing time, which would have made acquiring him far more difficult for the Cavs.
Mo Williams was an offensive guard who, in his prime, could consistently drop around 18 points per game next to LeBron with a true shooting percentage of nearly 59%. He wasn't afraid to take big shots and was skilled at creating his own offense. Without a doubt, Williams was a true right-hand man for LeBron during his first stint with the Cavaliers. In fact, LeBron still missed him so much that he brought him back for the 2015-16 season.
Shortly after this three-team trade, the Pacers decided to waive Snow. The Cavaliers' front office immediately pivoted, reaching a verbal agreement with Snow to offer him a veteran minimum contract in a month. The Cavs skillfully exploited a loophole in the league rules at the time, before the "Big Z rule" came into effect, which allowed bought-out free agents to re-sign with any team after a month, free from previous trade restrictions.
The Cavaliers' front office has really outdone themselves this summer. Especially after signing Donyell Marshall with their mid-level exception in free agency, their roster now boasts familiar "King's Guards" like Shaquille O'Neal, Big Z, Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejão, Mo Williams, Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson, Marshall, and Snow. This is a formidable "King's Royal Guard" that possesses absolute dominance in the Eastern Conference.
This also subtly put some pressure on Zack. Would Zack, the flag-bearer of the post-Jordan NBA era, still feel pressure? Of course, he would. The difficulty of the schedule in the East and West is incomparable. So, if LeBron, backed by this "King's Royal Guard," somehow led the Cavaliers to the top spot in the East (Note ①), then Zack would have to lead the Warriors to an even better record to ensure the clueless league wouldn't hand the regular season MVP to his good buddy. In the current Western Conference, this would be an incredibly tough mission.
Especially in mid-July, after the Nuggets completed several trades, making them the eighth Western Conference team Zack had previously predicted to contend for a championship, Carmelo Anthony's repeated pressure this summer also put the Nuggets' management under immense strain during this incredibly wild offseason.
On the 15th, the Nuggets and the Hawks, who were desperately searching for a center, reached a trade agreement. After this trade with the Hawks, Al Harrington would now wear a Nuggets jersey, while Marcus Camby was headed to the Atlanta Hawks. Harrington, who had originally wanted to play for the Pacers after the 2005-06 season and learn from Bird, had to abandon his dream of becoming a "black bird" this time around because Bird decided to rebuild early. Plus, with the Nuggets interested, Harrington didn't hesitate to agree to the Hawks' sign-and-trade deal to acquire Camby. In this trade, the Nuggets essentially swapped Camby's salary space for a quasi-star forward with three-point range who could play both forward spots, significantly bolstering their frontcourt. The Hawks also felt like they got a steal. Knowing Harrington was set on leaving, they successfully acquired a shot-blocking center whose average blocks per game in the 2005-06 season were second only to Zack.
Next, to strengthen their guard line, the Nuggets, just as Zack remembered, essentially "robbed" the New Orleans Hornets. They sent Howard Eisley and two 2007 second-round picks (one from another team) to New Orleans in exchange for the infamous "J.R. Smith," often called the "nerve knife." Earlier, when Warriors GM Mullin heard the Hornets were interested in trading Smith, he also inquired. But as it turned out, the Hornets' genius front office was only interested in the Nuggets' offer, citing Eisley's expiring contract, which was worth around $6 million annually. Unfortunately, this was a price the Warriors couldn't match. After all, under Mullin's careful management since he took over, where would the Warriors find an expiring contract worth $6 million? The Hornets were willing to make the trade if Mullin agreed to send out Murphy. But Murphy's sharpshooting was crucial for the Warriors' high-post internal screen offense. Plus, Murphy was already showing shades of "Laimbeer the Second," so Mullin would never agree to the Hornets' audacious demands.
After bringing in two key players for the Nuggets, the persuasion team led by George Karl successfully convinced former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, who was born in Denver. Karl was anxious because his team failed to make the playoffs last season. Originally, to bolster the point guard position, the Nuggets would have traded with the Philadelphia 76ers in December of this year to acquire four-time scoring champion Allen Iverson and bring him to Denver to play alongside Anthony. But now, Karl couldn't wait for Iverson and the 76ers' management to completely fall out. Karl's personality was always known for being rough and wild. A coach like him was bound to be even more eager than Anthony when it came to the Nuggets needing reinforcements.
However, despite Billups being swayed by the Nuggets' persuasion team led by Karl, the Pistons weren't keen on the trade proposal the Nuggets offered them. Unless...
"Ben [Wallace] has always wanted a max contract, but due to financial constraints, we haven't been able to give it to him. If you're willing to do a sign-and-trade with us and compensate us with draft picks, we'll push for this trade to happen."
As a four-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wallace was originally set to accept a four-year, $60 million offer from the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 2006. Since Wallace would turn 32 two months after signing that contract, many experts at the time believed it was an offer that could easily become a bad contract in the future. The Nuggets' front office generally agreed with these experts. But with the Pistons' management unwilling to budge, and with Karl and Anthony constantly pressuring them, the Nuggets reluctantly agreed to the trade.
According to the agreement between the Pistons and the Nuggets, the Pistons would send Ben Wallace and former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups via sign-and-trade in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, Eduardo Nájera, Voshon Lenard, and the Nuggets' two future first-round picks. To complete this trade, the Nuggets even paid a heavier price than when they acquired Iverson in Zack's memory. Lenard, a former Three-Point Contest champion sent by the Nuggets in this trade, had already considered retirement; once the trade was finalized, the Pistons could simply waive him under the "Allan Houston rule," and his salary wouldn't count against the Pistons' salary cap. As for Andre Miller, the original "Mok's" of the NBA, he was only put on the trade block because his style didn't fit Karl. As a point guard who could post up and was skilled at playmaking, Miller's current trade value was undoubtedly underestimated.
However, after completing this trade, the Nuggets' overall strength undeniably saw a qualitative leap. Even if they paid more in assets and took on Ben Wallace's large contract, which had a high chance of becoming an albatross. This was because Billups not only fit Karl's system better, but also, the deeply motivated Billups, who desperately wanted to play for his hometown team, was also a point guard who could keep Anthony in line and focused on playing.
With Smith and Harrington also joining, Karl's tactical approach for the new season would become even more stratified... the Nuggets had truly joined the impending chaos in the Western Conference.
And what about the Pistons? While doing a favor for their veteran player Ben Wallace, they also acquired Miller, a highly cost-effective point guard, successfully freed up salary cap space, and gained two draft picks from the Nuggets. After this trade, the Pistons were still an Eastern Conference powerhouse. As for how much their competitiveness would decline due to Billups' departure, that would only depend on whether Miller could integrate into their tactical system.
On July 18th, with the assistance of Tim Grover, Zack officially kicked off his summer special training. This summer, the crazy offseason, largely influenced by him, had truly ignited his fighting spirit. Zack desperately wanted to become stronger and eagerly hoped to gain the power to crush everything after his training.
"After a season of adaptation as a rookie, I think your body is fully prepared."
Under Grover's plan, Zack was set to add 3 kilograms of muscle this summer. Since Zack would be representing the ASIAN men's basketball team in the FIBA World Championship in Japan this summer, this 3 kg muscle gain plan would be divided into two phases: before the World Championship and after it. After this muscle gain, Zack, who was already an unstoppable tank, would undoubtedly be clad in a new layer of armor. Moreover, thanks to the passive effect of his [Air Swine] badge, this new armor wouldn't cause him any negative side effects typically associated with muscle gain, such as impaired coordination or flexibility.
Previously, when the [Air Swine] badge returned the lost attributes due to his weight, Zack had already calculated that in the [Summit] system's visualized data, his current attributes would only gradually be negatively affected by muscle gain if he exceeded 125 kilograms. This was truly incredible, as it meant Zack would always possess far superior coordination and flexibility compared to players of similar height and weight.
Furthermore, after the World Championship and this summer's tour, Zack planned to host a training camp in Oakland, based on Grover's suggestion. Grover was surprised that the young Zack was already thinking about his post-retirement life, so to prevent Zack from having a "troubled later life," Grover, drawing from his own experience, offered his advice.
"You can invite some well-known players from college and high school to train with you. Believe me, these young players won't refuse the chance to train with the face of the NBA."
"What's in it for me?"
"You'll be their guide into the NBA, and those among them who are grateful will be eternally thankful."
Zack felt Grover's advice sounded pretty good, especially after he saw the list Grover handed him. Just imagining the chance to easily beat up those unripened NBA stars, Zack couldn't help but get excited. Zack made up his mind that he would arrange countless cameras to record every moment of him dominating those future NBA stars. Did Zack need those grateful young players to be eternally thankful to him? Of course not. He just wanted to take advantage of the fact that those future NBA stars hadn't entered the league yet to thoroughly back them down and completely crush their basketball dreams.
On the 21st, the Warriors signed Adonal Foyle in the free agency market, who they had traded to Indiana last year in the Artest deal. As the Warriors' all-time leading shot-blocker, Foyle was selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 1997 draft. Before being traded, he had played nine seasons for the Warriors; in short, he was a player with "Warriors blood." Although his 978 career blocks for the Warriors before the trade were surely going to be surpassed by Zack in the future, Mullin had been eyeing this former Warriors big man with "bloodline" because he was an excellent low-post defender, especially since Seattle had already assembled their impressive twin towers in the paint. Foyle himself was very excited to return to the Warriors. On the day he signed a veteran minimum contract with the Warriors, Foyle tearfully declared, "I live and die a Warrior! I'm so grateful the team didn't forget about me after winning the championship!" This summer, "the prodigal son returns home" has become a popular topic of conversation in the NBA offseason. It remains to be seen which "prodigal son" will have the most perfect ending.
On the 22nd and 23rd, the Heat successively signed DeShawn Stevenson and Trevor Ariza in the free agency market. The former was a fully unrestricted free agent, historically known for "slaughtering the Shituoling" with the Mavericks in the 2010-11 season. But in fact, since developing his three-point shot, Stevenson has always been an excellent defensive wing 3-and-D player. As for the latter? As a restricted free agent, since the Magic didn't match the Heat's final offer for Ariza, Ariza would join the Heat next season.
Not winning the championship in 2006... a reluctant Riley had quietly completed a blood transfusion for the Heat. And Zack only hoped Riley would intensify his efforts. A stronger Heat team would undoubtedly thoroughly disrupt the Eastern Conference landscape, indirectly blocking LeBron from leading his "King's Royal Guard" to dominate the East. As the saying goes, you fear your brother suffering, but you also fear him driving a Range Rover. With the West already in a chaotic mess, Zack naturally hoped the strong teams in the East would put more pressure on his good buddy. Otherwise, as Anthony said... how could LeBron understand the hardships his brothers in the West were enduring?
In fact, even though the Nuggets' management's operations this summer could only be described as divine, privately, Anthony was still dissatisfied with the Nuggets' roster. Zack felt that his experience of winning the championship in his rookie season had clearly given his brothers an unprecedented and intense stimulus. According to ESPN, Wade suffered from nightmares almost daily at the Las Vegas training camp. "This is absolutely the most painful experience of my life. I want to forget it, but it's just deeply etched into my mind."
The Cavaliers' front office's outstanding performance this summer, despite their best efforts, also failed to alleviate LeBron's anxiety. "I don't want to answer any questions about the Warriors winning the championship, because I've answered countless times that I'm proud of my brother Zack. Oh, you want to ask my thoughts on The Godfather? Uh-huh... Anyway, that was a very exciting movie." (Note ②)
Among Zack's brothers, only Paul seemed relatively calm at the moment. According to The Salt Lake City Tribune, before reporting to the Las Vegas training camp, Paul even took a keen interest in traveling to Illinois to help veteran coach Jerry Sloan with farm work for several days. "I don't have much opinion on the Western Conference this new season... my purpose in playing basketball is to compete with masters, so the stronger the overall competitiveness of the West, the happier I'll be."
Even the craziest offseason will eventually return to quiet. In early August, after completing the first phase of muscle gain, Zack, who had participated in a new shoe launch event in Shanghai, immediately rushed to Japan and rendezvoused with the ASIAN men's basketball team, who had been waiting for him. Yao Ming, who was traded to the SuperSonics in the draft, seemed in much better spirits than during the "Derby" games before. However, on the day the ASIAN men's basketball team assembled, Zack noticed that the gaze of all the players, including Yao Ming, towards him was different from before. Last year at the Asian Championship, he was just the second ASIAN top pick selected by the Warriors. But now, he was the undisputed number one player in the NBA. Zack knew very well that at this moment, he was not only facing the high hopes and expectations of his teammates. Because, speaking from his own experience, the expectations of domestic fans for the men's basketball team's World Championship journey this year had probably already soared to the heavens.
Undoubtedly, this expectation from ASIAN fans had, in fact, transformed into a crown whose true weight only Zack knew