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The Lakers won the championship, which, in itself, fulfilled the expectations of most fans. After all, the Lakers have the best lineup in the history of the league, and even in the history of the NBA, so it would be strange if this kind of lineup didn't win the championship. Wang Chong was named FMVP in the finals, winning his ninth championship of his career and claiming the FMVP trophy for the eighth time.
In fact, for Wang Chong, the number of FMVP trophies doesn't matter anymore, as he is already the player with the most FMVP trophies in NBA history, having surpassed Jordan, who has six FMVPs, and now sits in first place historically.
On the other hand, Durant is quite anxious about winning an FMVP. After all, he already has an MVP, but what he is missing now is a championship and an FMVP.
By the end of the finals, it was clear that Durant was eager for the FMVP, and his shooting frequency on the court was much higher.
However, one thing to note is that although Wang Chong no longer cares about the number of FMVPs, he still isn't willing to let Durant take one, after all, this is something that Curry experienced.
Up to now, for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 championships with the Warriors, whether it was Curry or Durant being the leader is still a topic of endless debate. Even though Curry later won his fourth championship and earned an FMVP, the discussion hasn't fully closed.
To put it plainly, the two seasons are not identical, and Durant played an essential role.
But there's no way around it; this is a fact. Without Durant during those two consecutive championships, it's hard to say whether they would have won consistently. Not to mention the Rockets in the West, who almost threatened the Warriors' five-star lineup, and the Finals against the Cavaliers, which were unpredictable. After all, the strongest Curry-led 15-16 Warriors couldn't win, so why do people think Curry's performance in the next two years, when his performance clearly declined, was enough to lead the team as the main player?
Although Wang Chong felt that with the honors he had already accumulated, even if Durant were allowed to win the FMVP, no one would question him as Curry was questioned. But still, Wang Chong didn't give Durant the opportunity to win it.
When compared to scoring, Durant, who was once a growing template for Wang Chong, is now completely incomparable to him.
And even though Durant felt a bit disappointed for not securing the FMVP, he must have been happier because, in the end, he won the championship as he desired, which is the most important thing.
For a basketball player of his level, whether or not he has a championship is extremely significant, as it will directly determine his future historical standing after retirement, even if the championship he won was as the second-best player on the team and not the main core.
But now that he has won the championship, Durant faces a choice about where to go from here.
Last season, Durant, who played for the Lakers, didn't play very happily. After all, as the second option on the team, he always had to defer to Wang Chong, which was completely different from when he was the leader of the Celtics in the past.
But it doesn't matter what was said, after all, Green wasn't in the Warriors' championship lineup to push Durant out for a big contract. Although Durant's arrival had changed Green from a starter to a bench player, Green's status with the Lakers was much lower than with the Warriors. So, the Lakers couldn't exactly say they won championships before Durant joined.
Overall, Durant has been doing well with the Lakers and, of course, wants to stay with the Lakers next season to win another championship, and ideally, win three consecutive championships before leaving, so that, even without an FMVP, his historical standing would improve due to the three consecutive championships dynasty.
But after the season, Durant called the Lakers' management through his agent, expressing his desire to opt out of the contract and re-sign a 1+1 deal, but the response he received from the Lakers' management was not ideal.
Although the Lakers didn't explicitly say it, they communicated openly and subtly that if Durant wanted to stay and continue playing, he should exercise the player option in his current 1+1 contract. If he opted out, the team had no intention of renewing his contract.
Durant was shocked.
Although the Lakers' words were polite, what they really meant was: If you want to keep playing, stay; if not, leave.
What the hell is this? He's a superstar in the league, and his strength can be ranked among the top five, but they are treating him like this?
For a while, Durant felt deeply humiliated, and the Lakers treated him like a bully.
But when the angry Durant wanted to opt out of the contract and leave the Lakers desperately, he calmed down forcibly and thought about it.
If he opts out of his contract this season and tests the free-agent waters, where could his next home be?
At this point, looking across the entire NBA, the only teams that could pose a real threat to the Lakers are the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs. The rest of the teams still wouldn't have the chance to compete against the Lakers, even if they added Durant.
As long as they can't beat the Lakers, then there's no such thing as winning the championship.
Although the Lakers' attitude made Durant very angry, what mattered most to him was the championship.
Moreover, the Lakers didn't say they wouldn't let him play, they just didn't want him to opt out of the contract and re-sign for a larger contract that would occupy the team's salary cap space.
When Durant thought about it, it started to make sense.
He even took the initiative to show his favor to the Lakers through his agent, saying that if necessary, he would be willing to opt out of the contract and accept a pay cut to help the Lakers strengthen the team by freeing up some salary cap space.
When the Lakers' general manager heard the news, he was stunned.
When Durant first said he wanted to opt out of the contract and re-sign, he was willing to accept a pay cut, even though he might get a higher salary, it could allow Durant to stay on the team long-term. The Lakers never mentioned three consecutive championships, or even five consecutive championships, being very possible, after all, this was a combination of Wang Chong + Durant.
It was Wang Chong who truly rejected this proposal, although it was hard for Wang Chong to understand, but the Lakers' management didn't dare provoke this player, who might be the greatest ball player in NBA history, so they politely declined.
Unexpectedly, the Lakers were so angry with Durant, and yet Durant wasn't angry at all. In fact, he even expressed his willingness to take a pay cut.
According to information revealed by Durant's agent, Durant is willing to accept a total salary reduction of up to 10 million, which is no small amount.
At this point, his admiration for Wang Chong had reached the point where he would throw himself on the ground.
No wonder the previous management of the Bulls and the Cavaliers let Wang Chong play; it seemed that the general manager had no face, but the team truly reaped the benefits. If this was not satisfactory, it was purely envy of Wang Chong's talent.
End of this chapter
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