Chapter 74 Harris's Shock
After completing the deal, the Cardinal was not idle either, and brought Ainge to Los Angeles.

He wants to meet Kobe!
Although the Lakers have sent the Shark away at this time, he still wants to give it a try!
After all, Kobe almost wore the Celtics jersey.

just in case……

Kobe's home in Los Angeles.

After Kobe, Red Cardinal and Ainge sat down, Kobe spoke first.

"Mr. Auerbach and Manager Danny, I know why you are here today, but I am not going to the Celtics!"

Kobe didn't hide anything and spoke his mind directly.

This is Kobe today.

Kobe during this period was indeed immature.

Otherwise, he wouldn't say something like 'Shaq did that too'.

Such a player is the most simple-minded, so he rejected the Cardinal directly in person.

There was no change in the Cardinal's or Angie's expressions.

Both of them are old foxes, and the Lakers have already sent away the Shark, which obviously meets Kobe's conditions for staying.

It's normal for Kobe to want to stay with the Lakers.

But since Kobe was willing to meet with the two of them, it proved one thing.

The Celtics still have a chance!

The cardinal smiled.

"Kobe, don't jump to conclusions. I want to know what conditions the Lakers gave you to keep you?"

"I will be the boss of the Lakers next. Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and others are also very talented. When they grow up, Mr. Buss also promised me that he would recruit players for me."

Kobe was also very straightforward and directly stated the Lakers' commitment.

Kobe did not mention the contract because he and the Cardinal knew very well how much contract the Lakers could offer, and the Celtics would definitely not be worse!

"Is that all? Kobe."

Hearing the cardinal's words, Kobe was stunned and asked, "Mr. Auerbach, isn't this enough?"

"Recently, because of Lin Yu, I often read some books from China. There is an interesting phrase in it, called 'painting cakes to satisfy hunger'."

"The promises the Lakers are making to you right now are all empty promises to me. What is promised is never real."

"I'm not going to talk about whether Caron Butler and Lamar Odom can become outstanding players, or even All-Star players."

"I know the Lakers have a lot of assets right now. After all, they traded for Shaq."

"Normally speaking, there is no problem in trading an All-Star player, but are you sure there is a team willing to trade him?"

Wanting to trade and being able to trade are two different concepts.

Many fans, as "cloud general managers", often imagine their home team trading a certain star.

There are several issues involved here.

First of all, will the other team make a trade?

It doesn't mean that if you can afford the chips, the other party will definitely sell.

All-Star players will leave unless they want to leave or the team wants to play badly.

Otherwise, most teams, especially those in small markets, will not easily sell All-Star players.

why?
Because All-Star players are a guarantee of box office success!

After all, the NBA is a commercial league, and many teams have never thought about competing for the championship.

The most typical example is the current Clippers. Under the leadership of current owner Sterling, the Clippers are just a ticket-selling team.

Championship?
nonexistent.

This is also why many stars often go out to recruit stars from other teams. If they have no intention, it will be useless no matter how much chips you offer.

After hearing what the cardinal said, Kobe frowned slightly, and it was obvious that he understood what the cardinal meant.

Seeing this, the cardinal's smile curved even further.

"In terms of the future, do you think Lamar Odom and Caron Butler can compare to Lin Yu, Luol Deng, Okur and others?"

"The Celtics have Paul. You've played against him before, so you should know that Paul is an excellent small forward."

"Michael can win a championship with Scottie, you and Paul, plus Lin Yu, the Celtics have many talented rookies."

"In terms of the future, the Celtics are truly brilliant, and don't you think, Kobe, you are too far away from Shaq?"

Too far!?
Kobe looked at the cardinal in confusion, not understanding what the cardinal meant.

Red explained, "Shaq went to the Heat and you stayed with the Lakers and you only played twice a season."

"Do you care about winning or losing in the regular season, Kobe?"

"I guess for you, you'd rather beat Shaq in the playoffs?"

"I won't say whether the Lakers can make it to the finals. Are you sure the Heat can make it to the finals? Don't forget that the Pistons have the Big Five in the East!"

The Pistons!

Hearing these four words, Kobe's face darkened significantly.

Facing the Pistons' Big Five in the finals, Kobe had a disastrous performance.

系列赛场均22.6分4.4助攻2.8篮板，投篮命中率38.1%，三分球命中率17.4%。

Given this performance, there is nothing wrong with calling it a disaster.

Although the league is preparing to cancel the handcheck rule, it has not yet officially confirmed the cancellation.

Although Kobe didn't want to admit it, he really felt that Shaq alone couldn't deal with the Pistons' Big Five.

As for Wade...

Last season, he was just a shooting guard who averaged 16.2 points per game. Kobe really didn't think that Shaq and Wade could defeat the Pistons.

"If I tell you that you come to the Celtics, I can't guarantee that I can beat the Pistons, but I can help you beat Shaq!"

"Except for Lin Yu, I can even trade Luol Deng for someone who can fight immediately."

Kobe didn't say anything, but his eyes kept flickering, and he was obviously thinking.

For a moment, the house fell into deathly silence.

After a while, Kobe slowly said, "I have one last question. If I go to the Celtics, who will be the core, me or Lin Yu?"

The cardinal heard Kobe's words and did not answer immediately.

He was hesitating, and finally, the cardinal said with difficulty: "I can let you be the core for a few years, but the future of the Celtics is Lin Yu, and the core of the Celtics in the future will only be Lin Yu!"

When Kobe heard this, his brows frowned involuntarily.

It can only be Lin Yu...

Kobe squeezed out Shark for the position of team leader.

He is very satisfied with what the Cardinal said, but if the Celtics can't give Kobe the core position...

Angie really wanted to speak at this time. According to his idea, he should trick Kobe into coming first!
As long as I can fool them, everything will be fine.

"I think Mr. Auerbach knows my answer even if I don't tell him."

The cardinal said nothing, but stood up and left with Angie.

Kobe looked at the background of the cardinal, his eyes flashed with fighting spirit, and he said to himself: "Lin Yu, what kind of player are you?
Since Auerbach can reject me for you, I want to fight you even more!"

(End of this chapter)