The 2007-08 NBA season was officially over. Until his trainer, Tim Grover, cleared him for high-intensity training, Zack was stuck with a boring off-season and had to settle for just watching the remaining NBA playoff games.
In another Western Conference Semifinal, the Lakers also went through a grueling Game 7 before finally overcoming the Mavericks, who had a new coach. After watching that game, Zack felt that this Mavericks team, led by Mike Woodson, was just one more "sweeping" center – someone stronger than Ian Mahinmi – away from being truly complete. Under Woodson's guidance, Dirk Nowitzki put up absurd stats in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Lakers: an average of 34.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.
This made Zack feel that his previous assessment of Kevin Garnett might have been a bit too hasty. Because "Nowitzki the King"'s playoff performance this year definitely qualified him as a contender for the league's second-best power forward. Unfortunately, the Mavericks ultimately fell at Staples Center. Nowitzki's 36 points and 8 rebounds in Game 7 sadly went to waste.
After the game, "Crying Dirk" said with red eyes, "Mike (Woodson) is a great coach. I let him down." Everyone knows that Larry Brown is infamous in the NBA for throwing his players under the bus. So, the question now was: as his protégé, would Woodson follow suit and pin the team's elimination on Nowitzki, especially with the star player willing to take the blame?
Just as Larry Brown disliked three-pointers, Woodson was completely obsessed with them. On the night the Mavericks were eliminated, Woodson, who had repeatedly gone against his mentor's old teachings, said: "Dirk never let me down. He's a man of iron will! It was my poor in-game adjustments that led to us losing Game 7. I'm willing to accept any criticism, but if any of you dare to blame Dirk, I won't hesitate to shoot you!"
Zack wasn't sure how to describe this rebellious student of Larry Brown. But he was sure of one thing: with Woodson's staunch support, it was only a matter of time before Nowitzki shed his "German Gummy Bear" label.
The Lakers would meet the SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals. This year's Eastern Conference Finals would be between the Celtics and the Magic.
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The Celtics had a scare in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, narrowly eliminating the Bobcats (who Barkley had said were "worse than sht" before the regular season) with a 4-3 series win. The Celtics' biggest weakness this year was their point guard position. Plus, Al Horford still needed time to develop. So, facing the Bobcats' frequent "1-2" and "4-5" pick-and-rolls initiated by Brandon Roy and Zach Randolph, the Celtics were at their wits' end at times. However, the more experienced Celtics still easily defeated the Bobcats in Game 7, who had hoped to achieve a better result to honor Jordan's three ribs, unfortunately broken by Ron Artest.
A few days later, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals officially began.
It turns out Zack's prediction for this year's Western Conference Finals was spot on. Ray Allen shot an incredible 50% from three-point range in this series. Kobe, who had to handle both offense and defense in the games, clearly hadn't mastered the art of picking his spots and conserving energy.
"Why don't the Lakers use other players to guard 'Ray-Ray'? Wouldn't that help Kobe's energy a lot?" Zack's personal assistant, Evans, asked curiously while watching the Western Conference Finals with him.
Zack chuckled. "Because Kobe Bryant is the most foolish basketball player in the world."
Would the "foolish" Kobe choose to avoid confronting Ray Allen? The answer was clearly no. So, the 21st-century version of "Miller torturing Jordan" appeared in this year's Western Conference Finals. Ray Allen just ran, and Kobe just chased. Ray Allen looked trapped, but then he'd get free and swish a three-pointer.
Although Kobe's averages of 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in this Western Conference Finals were far superior to Ray Allen's 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, just as Zack had predicted, as long as Ray Allen was accurate enough, the SuperSonics could indirectly offset most of the points Kobe created for the Lakers with his difficult shots.
Even before the Western Conference Finals began, SuperSonics head coach Rick Carlisle had calculated the strategy for this series. And with Ray Allen meeting Carlisle's expectations, it was now time for "Full Power KG" to shine. On the court, Kevin Garnett, who had been brutalized by Zack for seven whole games, unleashed all his pent-up frustration on Pau Gasol. "Oh, he's the Spanish legendary big man, right? Pau Gasol, huh?"
"How frustrated must Kevin have been from playing you?" Evans asked, surprised, watching Garnett constantly turn up the intensity on Pau Gasol on TV.
Zack thought for a moment, then said, "I have always shown Kevin Garnett the utmost respect."
In this Western Conference Finals, Garnett's excellent performance of 21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals completely suppressed Pau Gasol, who could only manage 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block for the Lakers.
And then... in Carlisle's strategic plan, the SuperSonics' biggest advantage against this Lakers team, Yao Ming, confidently strode towards a currently inexperienced and technically lacking... Marc Gasol, with a slightly embarrassed grin.
In terms of weight, Marc Gasol could certainly hold his own against Yao Ming. However, with Pau Gasol's financial support, Marc, who bought out his contract with his European team to enter the NBA a year early, clearly lacked the experience to contend with a super center like Yao Ming. This was a completely one-sided massacre, with no suspense. Whenever Yao Ming posted up in the low block, the Lakers could only watch Marc get beaten up.
The immense firepower provided by Ray Allen and Mike Bibby on the perimeter, combined with Garnett's spacing ability and Posey's role as a corner shooter, made it difficult for the Lakers to double-team and limit Yao Ming.
"No wonder you were always the one guarding 'Big Yao' in previous games against the SuperSonics," Evans remarked, watching Marc Gasol get absolutely dominated by Yao Ming on the court.
Unlike the Lakers, the Warriors didn't worry about being unable to collect enough "tolls" from the increasingly unstoppable Yao Ming because Zack had extensive experience countering him. That's right, the best way to handle Yao Ming in his prime was to wear down his stamina to keep his scoring for the SuperSonics within a controllable range. But before Marc Gasol could gain enough experience from getting beaten up, this young Spanish big man had to follow the objective laws of basketball and pay his tuition first.
Ultimately, the SuperSonics swept aside the Lakers 4-2, securing their ticket to the NBA Finals as expected. Kobe's explosive performances in Games 3 and 5 only managed to delay the SuperSonics' advancement. But until the Gasol brothers evolved further, Kobe clearly had to patiently wait for the Lakers' championship window to open.
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The SuperSonics successfully advanced to the Finals. On the other side, the Celtics once again endured a Game 7 before barely eliminating the Magic. Stan Van Gundy's "one star, four shooters" strategy had been incredibly effective in this year's playoffs. Furthermore, the presence of Stephen Jackson gave this Magic team some reliable scoring in half-court sets.
Of course, the main reason for the Celtics' difficult journey to the Finals was that Doc Rivers, the coach later dubbed "the Head Coach with the Pig's Head," was currently the biggest weakness of this Celtics team.
The two "Green Teams" successfully met in the Finals. Compared to last year, this star-studded Finals had far more intrigue and suspense. Both the SuperSonics and the Celtics were very skilled at half-court offense. The only difference was that this Celtics team was more like last year's SuperSonics.
The turning point of this Finals series came in Game 4. The explosion of "White Chocolate" Mike Bibby allowed the SuperSonics to take a 3-1 lead over the Celtics after the first four games. In an era where no team had ever come back from a 1-3 deficit in the Finals, a 3-1 lead for the SuperSonics virtually guaranteed them this year's championship.
Bibby, who was long past his prime, had always thought of himself as a weakness on the team, aside from Posey. But alas... Delonte West, who hadn't yet been promoted to "Emperor Regent," had to chase Ray Allen around the court?
If Ray Allen's performance in the Western Conference Finals was fueled by his deep-seated hatred for Kobe, allowing him to create space for the SuperSonics' twin towers, then in the Finals, the Celtics were forced to imitate the Warriors by having a point guard stick to Ray Allen because Vince Carter was never known for his defense, especially chasing off-ball. Keep in mind, this Celtics team just lacked in-game adjustments. But "Pig Head" Rivers, with a massive brain trust behind him, still knew how to deploy his troops.
Without a doubt, Bibby's recurring playoff outbursts this season were due to the exceptionally favorable offensive environment he was given on the court. In Game 5, the Celtics rallied with tenacious defense to win a game. Then, in Game 6... the SuperSonics, with incredible momentum back at KeyArena, completely killed any suspense about the championship's destination.
The SuperSonics, whose last championship dated back twenty-nine years, had the trophy personally lifted by team owner Howard Schultz – a trophy that would undoubtedly change the SuperSonics' history. Schultz knew that this championship trophy would mean the state government would greenlight his ambitious new arena plan. In Schultz's eyes, merely renovating KeyArena was no longer enough to satisfy the team's ambitions. He planned to build a brand-new arena for this team, which had sent all of Seattle into a frenzy, within five years.
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The question of whether Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett, or Ray Allen would win the FMVP became the most anticipated topic during the awards ceremony. If you only looked at the stats, Yao Ming undoubtedly had the advantage. In the Finals, facing the relatively easier-to-handle Al Horford, Yao Ming averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks for the SuperSonics.
But in terms of overall court contribution, the SuperSonics' journey to the end also relied heavily on Kevin Garnett, who averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in the Finals. It's true that compared to the Western Conference Finals, Ray Allen's statistics inevitably dipped to 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the Finals due to West's suffocating defense. However, considering that Ray Allen had found his "roots" with the SuperSonics through his long tenure and this championship, it would also be a popular choice among fans if the league decided to award him the FMVP.
Ultimately, Yao Ming won this year's Finals MVP by a narrow margin, defeating Kevin Garnett, who was seemingly fated to miss out on the award. Zack believed Garnett's loss in the FMVP voting was likely due to Adidas's unwillingness to spend money promoting him after noticing Garnett's flirtation with Anta. Throughout the Finals, Garnett's dedicated effort and sacrifice for the team, if not for Yao Ming repeatedly mentioning it in his acceptance speech, you'd almost get the illusion that Garnett was suppressed by Tim Duncan for six games if you only looked at the box scores without watching the games. But if you actually watched the games, you'd realize that a preoccupied Duncan only had better statistical numbers because the Celtics gave him more offensive emphasis.
Furthermore, Ray Allen, who was eliminated early from the FMVP consideration, was also linked to Nike's reluctance to strongly push this consistently lukewarm shooting guard. As a player with his own "AJ" signature shoe, Nike could certainly create hype for Ray Allen. But compared to the more deserving Yao Ming for FMVP, Nike knew very well that strongly pushing Ray Allen in an era where Nike didn't yet completely monopolize the NBA would not only be rejected by David Stern, but it might also provoke Kobe Bryant, the "mastermind" of the "Anti-ZackAlliance."
So, after all considerations, Yao Ming, with a slightly superior on-court performance, became the second player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP. Yao Ming was undoubtedly overjoyed to be named FMVP. However, Zack, who always spoke his mind, later jokingly grumbled about Yao Ming: "That shameless trophy thief!"
"Hehe, I knew you'd be jealous of my FMVP trophy."
"Brother Yao, is there a possibility that I was already FMVP before you were?"
"Stop with that nonsense! If you're so brave, let's go play some video games and PK!"
"..."
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The SuperSonics' championship, twenty-nine years in the making, brought a perfect end to the 2007-08 NBA season. Next, all NBA teams shifted their focus to the upcoming 2008 NBA Draft.
The Warriors didn't have a first-round pick this year, and their second-round pick was relatively late. After receiving the list of available players from Chris Mullin, Zack completely lost interest in this year's draft. Although the Pacers were willing to offer the Warriors a second-round pick around the 40th spot, Zack had no interest in Goran Dragic, who would likely be available at that pick, if his memory served him right. Historically, Dragic took five to six seasons to transform into the star guard Zack remembered.
Of course, if the Warriors were willing to give Dragic ample development time, they could potentially shorten his growth period to three to four seasons. But for a Warriors team desperate to return to its peak, why would they waste such valuable time on a young player full of unknowns? Besides, if the Warriors only drafted Dragic to play him off the bench, wasn't the current Stephen Jackson stronger than early-career Dragic?
However, having nothing to do with the draft didn't mean the Warriors had no focus. The main reason Zack lacked the patience to wait for Dragic to develop was that two-time regular season MVP Steve Nash had already agreed to join the Warriors.
The only problem was, to acquire Nash, the Warriors had to prepare their trade assets. Although Nash had a player option this summer, the Warriors currently lacked sufficient cap space to absorb Nash's contract. Therefore, a sign-and-trade was the only way for the Warriors to acquire him.
Steve Kerr didn't make an outrageous offer to Nash, who was determined to leave Phoenix. But after looking at the Warriors' roster, Kerr hoped the Warriors would involve a third party to complete the trade. Kerr knew that Mullin wouldn't give him the players he wanted from the Warriors' roster, so only by bringing in a third party could the trade even be discussed. Mullin strongly agreed with Kerr.
However, after checking around the league, Mullin suddenly fell into deep thought. There was indeed a team willing to join this three-team trade.
"Modern sports medicine is very advanced. I believe a torn ACL won't prevent Baron from returning to his peak. He's a two-time champion. If you can complete a sign-and-trade with us, we will offer him a high-salary, long-term contract that matches Steve Nash's." On the phone, Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor said to Mullin.
Undoubtedly, from every perspective, the Clippers, who had stepped forward voluntarily, were "good samaritans" in every sense of the word. First, Nash, who was preparing to opt out of his contract for a sign-and-trade to join the Warriors, would likely earn around ten million dollars annually for the next few years. Originally, to absorb Nash's contract, Mullin had considered sending out Mike Dunleavy or Troy Murphy to match salaries. But now... with the Clippers stepping up, the Warriors only needed to offer Baron Davis a roughly equivalent salary to acquire Nash through a three-team trade.
However, this three-team trade currently presented two problems that Mullin had to solve. The first was that Zack had promised Davis a spot on the team in the future. The second problem was that by acquiring Nash this way, the Warriors would inevitably have to pay the luxury tax earlier than expected.
After all, Mullin had originally planned to use Murphy or Dunleavy to match salaries. In that scenario, Nash's salary would occupy the cap space previously held by Murphy and Dunleavy. And Davis? In fact, before the "good samaritan" Baylor approached him, Mullin had already prepared to offer Davis a mid-level exception contract after his ACL tear. This meant that if the Warriors went through with the trade as the Clippers requested, Nash's roughly ten-million-dollar annual contract would replace the mid-level contract Mullin intended to offer Davis.
Mullin knew this could be the final straw that broke the Warriors' salary cap. Don't forget, the Warriors hadn't yet extended Zack's contract. Therefore, if the Warriors had to pay the luxury tax before extending Zack, Mullin naturally had to wonder if team owner Chris Cohan would approve such a move.
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Before the draft, Baron Davis, upon learning that the Clippers were willing to offer him ten million dollars annually and the chance to play in Los Angeles, immediately sought out Zack: "Brother, listen to me, I simply cannot refuse this fat contract. You have to understand, I'm an old veteran who's torn his ACL. Honestly, during my recovery, I did think more than once about returning and challenging for a championship with you, but..."
"The cruel, harsh reality ultimately crushed my ideals!"
"Cruel, harsh reality, my ass, Baron!" At that moment, seeing the faint "dollar signs" in Davis's eyes, Zack knew that Davis's soul had been completely lured away by Elgin Baylor's utterly outrageous offer. Zack understood that even if it were him, he would likely make the same choice as Davis. After all, getting a ten-million-dollar salary after tearing an ACL... Davis would probably be laughing in his sleep.
So, seeing what was on Davis's mind, Zack didn't try to force him to stay. Instead, he patted Davis on the shoulder and said, "Rest in peace, Baron. I'll personally write your epitaph after you leave."
Davis looked touched and said, "If I could, I'd want you to engrave 'The Messiah's Only Lieutenant' on my epitaph."
The cruel, harsh reality had indeed killed Baron Davis's Warriors career.
And as for the team having to pay the luxury tax early next season... Chris Cohan, who desperately wanted to tell Mullin "NO," ultimately succumbed to an even more brutal reality.
"The Messiah said if we don't accept this three-team trade, he'll put himself on the trading block this summer."
"He has no right to trade himself! He's not this team's general manager, nor is he this team's president!"
"In a sense, his power is probably even greater than the general manager's and president's."
"Chris, if we agree to this trade, will he agree to re-sign with us?"
"My dear owner, I believe as long as this trade goes through, the Messiah will be very happy to sign that early extension."
"This is a threat! He's absolutely threatening us!"
A threat? So what if it's a threat? Facing the extremely assertive Zack, Cohan realized he couldn't wait any longer. If he truly waited until the Warriors' market value peaked before selling the team, he feared he might lose everything. So, while nodding in agreement to the trade, Cohan also made plans to sell the team early. In Cohan's opinion, if he could officially complete the sale of the team in 2009, even if he still had to pay a certain amount of luxury tax for the team, that amount would be within his acceptable range.
"This is ridiculous. I'm being forced to sell the team by my own star player?" Cohan, who chose to compromise with Zack that day, thought to himself with immense sadness.