The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

In terms of data, compared to the original career total of 9,247 points and 4,494 total rebounds.

This time, Yao Ming scored over 10,000 points in total, with a total of 13,254 points and rebounds exceeding 5,000, reaching 5,167!

Su Wan, upon hearing the news, immediately texted Yao Ming and also congratulated him on Twitter.

The Lakers also issued a statement wishing Yao Ming well.

When asked if the Lakers would retire Yao Ming's jersey, General Manager Kupchek said, "We are inclined to complete this matter!"

After all, from 2007 to 2010, the Lakers reached the finals 4 times, with Yao Ming being the absolute core 3 times, helping the team to win the championship in 2008.

Therefore, even though his time with the Lakers was a bit short, only 5 years in service.

But considering his entire career only lasted 10 years, he dedicated half of it to the Lakers.

No matter the contribution or achievements, even for an established team like the Lakers, they cannot ignore it.

Su Wan also believes that the Lakers should retire Yao Ming's jersey: "If it weren't for Yao Ming, the 2008 championship would have gone to the Celtics..."

And as Yao Ming retired, the Lakers also obtained a $12 million "injury exception" which they can use. This is enough for them to trade for a superstar.

It just remains to be seen what kind of player the Lakers will use this "exception" to trade for.

Right now, finding a good inside player is indeed difficult.

Just look at the New York Knicks.

And now it is not even the start of the free agency period; even if a team wants to trade its inside players, it requires trade chips, not something a "exception" can easily fix.

However, considering that robbery, especially of inside players, has always been their forte, people are curious about what the Lakers' next move will be.

The Lakers have remained silent for now.

This has led to their ranking not being very high in the eyes of major media, with most placing them around 6th to 8th. Even without Yao Ming, the team still has Kobe and Chris Paul.

Their competitiveness is evident.

Of course...

Given the Lakers' goals, they naturally cannot be satisfied with just being around 6th to 8th.

Because this means the Lakers will stop at the semifinals...

Many media outlets believe that the Lakers will make a significant trade before December.

Additionally, the Heat Team is ranked by most media between 7th to 10th.

Similar to the Lakers' ranking, but when putting these two teams together, it feels like these media are more optimistic about the Lakers.

This shows how much the failure of the "Heat's Big Three" to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the past two years has affected the reputation of Chris Bosh and Dwayne.

Another reason is...

The decline in Dwayne's performance last year has caused doubts about this team's combat power among outsiders.

The Pacers are ranked around 2nd to 4th place.

Most media believe they will continue strong in the new season, becoming a seed team in the Eastern Conference.

The reason lies in their smooth transition.

Many media expect the new season's Pacers to be led by Leonard as the absolute core, completing a thorough power shift.

In the eyes of the media, the Thunder Team is similarly ranked in the top 4 in the new season.

Many media believe James Harden's departure will not have a severe impact on the team. In their view, Monta Ellis's arrival can completely replace the role of James Harden's absence.

More importantly, Kevin Durant and Westbrook now have more room to play.

Additionally, reports suggest Kevin Durant specifically enhanced his core strength training in the summer. Recent photos show he has indeed bulked up significantly.

Given Kevin Durant's technical characteristics, enhancing strength is challenging.

Firstly, his weight cannot be too high; otherwise, with his playstyle, it would easily lead to excessive physical fitness consumption. Moreover, if his build becomes too bulky, it will affect his coordination.

Therefore...

Kevin Durant must control his weight while enhancing core strength.

This is a highly time-consuming and labor-intensive task!

This summer, Kevin Durant has done nothing else but fully devote himself to this...

What motivates him is that "dark moment" in the finals!

He absolutely will not allow himself to face Su Wan so vulnerably again!

Another team ranked relatively high in the Western Conference is...

Minnesota Timberwolves!

Most media think they are roughly between the 3rd to 8th teams in the league.

The main reason being, during this period, many established strong teams in the league have fallen.

This includes the Mavericks and Spurs, both established teams.

Mark Cuban has gone crazy wanting to buy, buy, buy, but the current Mavericks are too old, beyond even being described as "old cars," for players with some aspirations overlook such teams. Additionally, Dallas is a notoriously prejudiced place, so average black players are unwilling to seek trouble in Dallas when contract sizes are about the same.

The Spurs are in a similar situation. During the summer, there were rumors of the Spurs planning to rebuild, and Tim Duncan wanting to retire, but as the new season comes, these rumors have not been confirmed.