The Alliance Is Suspended and Wang Chong's Honeymoon Trip

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When Jimmy Butler stepped onto the stage, his mind was still spinning, and he felt as though he were in a dream.

Did the Chicago Bulls really select him themselves? How could this be? Is this reasonable?

Leaving aside the various reasons why Butler was not optimistic about his prospects according to the league scouts, the Bulls already have Wang Chong, who is recognized as the greatest small forward in history. Becoming Wang Chong's backup? Does Wang Chong even need a backup?

At least in recent years, Wang Chong has maintained nearly perfect attendance, with his average playing time per game remaining remarkably stable, usually over 38 minutes.

In a 46-minute game, Wang Chong played 38 minutes as the small forward, leaving only about 8 minutes for the backup small forward. If you can find a backup to fill in, is it necessary to waste a first-round pick on one?

Moreover, the Bulls had never tested Butler before the draft, so why suddenly decide to select him?

The confused Butler still seemed bewildered. After stepping onto the stage, he shook Stern's hand. As he looked at the camera with a stiff smile, Butler still couldn't make sense of the situation. He walked off the stage, and his manager eagerly greeted him with an excited expression on his face.

"Jimmy! We're set! The Bulls management just called me. They said Wang Chong values your potential and picked you, and the Bulls are going to train you as a key player! I'm excited. You'll be Wang Chong's right-hand man!"

Butler's mouth dropped open. In just a few minutes, everything that seemed illogical now felt like a dream.

Could he really be that lucky? How could he be favored by Wang Chong?

——

The Bulls used the 30th overall pick in the first round to select Jimmy Butler, which attracted attention from other teams in the league. Although, in general, Butler was not viewed as a player with significant potential, and given the Bulls already had the number one small forward in history, Wang Chong, it seemed unlikely Butler would have much of a chance.

But the Bulls' draft performance in recent years had been so impressive that teams needed to be cautious.

Starting with the second-round pick of Monta Ellis, the Bulls had been making excellent draft choices every year, consistently picking up players with great skills.

Gasol, Curry, Millsap... each of these players made other teams envious.

Therefore, when the Bulls selected Butler, everyone couldn't help but wonder if this was another high-quality player who could become an All-Star in the future. Teams with selections near the Bulls regretted not picking Butler earlier. After the top ten picks, there wasn't much of a difference between the first and second-round selections, and these teams were kicking themselves for not grabbing Butler first.

But the Bulls kept things so secretive that they hadn't even invited Butler for a workout before the draft. Who would have thought they would play it like this?

Such a move could only be executed by a time traveler like Wang Chong, who had the ability to foresee the future.

By successfully acquiring Butler in the first round, the Bulls achieved their ultimate goal for this draft. The team still had a second-round pick, which was closer to the middle-lower ranges. This pick wouldn't reach the top second-round picks of 2011, such as Bojan Bogdanovic (the first pick of the second round) and Chandler Parsons (the eighth pick of the second round).

But following his principle of "don't waste picks," Wang Chong decided to use this second-round pick to select Isaiah Thomas, who was expected to go 30th in the second round, the final pick of the draft.

Thomas, nicknamed "The 175 Most Powerful Man in the World," has undeniable strength and immediate impact potential. In his first season in the league, he averaged 11.5 points and 4 assists per game and was named to the second team of rookies.

In his third season, Isaiah Thomas became the centerpiece of the Sacramento Kings' perimeter offense, averaging 20.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

Thomas' peak period came with the Boston Celtics. In his two brief seasons with the Celtics, Thomas delivered a performance that embarrassed defenders across the league, especially in the 2016-2017 season. He averaged 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game during the regular season, ranking third in the league in scoring and leading the Celtics to the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Unfortunately, despite his incredible strength, Thomas' height would always be a fatal flaw limiting his ceiling.

At 1.75 meters, his height is considered too short in the NBA, making him an even more pronounced defensive liability than Curry. The Celtics had to rely on a team-wide defensive system to cover for his shortcomings on the defensive end.

And in the playoffs, under high pressure and ultra-high intensity matchups, Thomas' efficiency value dropped significantly compared to the regular season, and he simply couldn't win games based on his individual skills.

The most important issue was that, as the cornerstone of his career, once his speed and explosiveness were compromised by injuries, his effectiveness would drop drastically.

Nonetheless, Isaiah Thomas' success story will remain one of the league's great stories, inspiring basketball fans of average height and showing them that even smaller players can dominate the league.

However, when measured against the standards of a superstar or a key player on a championship-winning team, Thomas would not qualify.

With Curry already in place, the Bulls didn't actually need Thomas. A defensive liability like him could disrupt the entire defensive system of the team, wouldn't it?

But after all, the Bulls still had a second-round pick, so they couldn't let it go to waste. In Wang Chong's opinion, there was no problem with this selection; it could be considered a backup plan for a rainy day.

The 2011-2012 season was a challenging one. If the Bulls were indeed like the original 2011-2012 season, with both of their main shooting guards, Curry and Billups, sidelined by injuries, Thomas could at least provide some support. This was better than scrambling to find a point guard on the free market when the time came.

——

Jimmy Butler, Isaiah Thomas.

The Bulls made two attempts in the draft to select these two players, leaving many experts completely baffled. What is the Bulls' draft strategy? What they really need right now are small forwards and point guards. Why would they choose these players?

However, given that the selections of these two players weren't high picks, it's assumed that the Bulls didn't have any grand expectations for them, and they might just fill out the bench once selected.

The draft ended successfully, but the mood in the league was uneasy.

What the league was about to mark on July 1 was not the opening of the free-agent market. Many players whose contracts had expired were entering the free-agent market, hoping to secure big contracts and make a lot of money.

On July 1, 2011, the old NBA labor agreement officially expired, and the new labor agreement could not be settled after several rounds of negotiations. The players' union representatives held final talks with the employer representatives. If the negotiations failed to reach an agreement, the NBA would enter an official lockout period, and no one knew when the season would resume.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. There had been four lockouts in NBA history, the most recent being in 1998. It was also due to the failure to unify the collective bargaining agreement, and the league was suspended for nearly half a year, directly affecting the 1998-99 season. Each team only played 50 games that season.

This time, the lockout became even more severe, with many rumors circulating that the NBA might even dissolve, leaving the more than 400 professional athletes in the league without jobs and without basketball to play.

Soon, July 1 arrived. After three hours of negotiations, labor and management still couldn't reach a unified opinion. The negotiations ultimately failed, and the league officially entered a lockout period.

During the lockout, teams were prohibited from contacting players, and players could not use the various facilities of their teams.

The tense and solemn atmosphere caused many players to feel uneasy and worried about losing their jobs due to the lockout.

At the same time, basketball leagues overseas were preparing to start. The European League, the Turkish League, and even the CBA in China were mobilizing to attract NBA stars to play in their leagues, even if it was only for half a season or more. Even playing a few games to promote their respective leagues was something that was completely impossible before the NBA suspended operations.

As the league's most well-known superstar, Wang Chong, along with his Chinese identity, soon received invitations from many CBA teams. Some teams were even willing to pay extremely high appearance fees just for Wang Chong to play for them during the NBA lockout. They promised to release him as soon as the lockout ended.

But Wang Chong wasn't interested in this.

He was essentially a top-tier player now. He could even intimidate the ultimate BOSS at will. It was really pointless to return to the rookie area and intimidate others. Also, the salary the CBA team could offer wasn't enough for Wang Chong, who was now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It wasn't even close.

More importantly, Wang Chong saw the league suspension as a rare opportunity for an extended vacation.

From the beginning of the lockout on July 1 until it ended on November 26, the five-month lockout was definitely a long vacation.

It was a unique opportunity, and Wang Chong planned to take full advantage of this long break to officially complete his wedding with Jessica.

It had been almost a year since their engagement last summer, and it was time to finally get married.

Since this year, Jessica's movie dates had been fewer and fewer. It wasn't that she had become irrelevant, but after landing the role of Black Widow in Marvel, Jessica's exposure had skyrocketed. She would remain the most popular Hollywood star as long as she played the role well for the next ten years.

This allowed Jessica to not be as busy.

From the second half of 2010 to 2011, the only project Jessica was focused on was filming Avengers: Endgame. The team would finish shooting in August. The rest was just computer-generated special effects production, and then she would wait for its release in mid-2012 to shock the world with Marvel's superhero saga.

In other words, Jessica would be free in early August. After the wedding, they would also be able to go on their honeymoon trip, which was simply wonderful.

But unlike Wang Chong, who knew how the story would unfold, the other players in the league were in a state of panic.

Players who had been completely isolated from their teams due to the lockout had three main options:

Some went to play overseas. The European League, Turkish League, and CBA saw NBA players arriving. Most contracts signed by these players with foreign teams were of the kind that would end as soon as the NBA lockout was over, allowing them to return to the league. They played in these leagues during the lockout to stay active and earn money.

Some players opted to do private events and invited other players to participate.

The last group of players, those more stable like Wang Chong, had no interest in playing overseas or participating in wildball private events. They completely disappeared during the lockout, clearly confident that the lockout would end soon.

In any case, July 2011, with no free agent market opening, no re-signings, and no player signings, marked one of the quietest and least active years in the league's recent history.

With no news, time passed so quickly that most fans quickly forgot about the NBA. Without any major topics, fans simply stopped caring about the league's affairs.

By September, the silence was finally broken with big news that shook both the entertainment and sports circles across the United States.

The famous celebrity couple, basketball superstar Wang Chong, and American actress Jessica Alba, had completed their wedding in Florida.

Although both were prominent figures in their respective industries and extremely famous, the wedding was held discreetly, with only close family members and friends from the industry invited.

After the wedding, the two publicly announced their marriage on social media, sharing wedding photos.

Wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, Jessica looked as stunning as an angel descending from heaven. This made countless male fans envious and jealous of Wang Chong for marrying someone so incredibly beautiful.

Their honeymoon trip had already begun.

Their first stop was China.

Although they had already held a wedding in the United States, Wang Chong still needed to have a Chinese wedding upon returning to China. As an authentic Chinese person, Wang Chong had to register his marriage in China and see a special limited version of their Chinese wedding. Jessica wearing traditional outfits such as a cheongsam, Hanfu, or Xiuhe suit with Wang Chong would certainly be a sight to behold.

However, Wang Chong and Jessica didn't stay in China for long. This honeymoon trip, although both had time off, naturally took them to the most beautiful places in the world.

Maldives, Bali, Europe... From September to November, the two traveled together to the most romantic places in the world. Their honeymoon agenda was full until the end of November.

At this point, although the league's collective bargaining negotiations had still not reached an agreement, the players' union, representing the labor side, was clearly growing impatient.

End of this chapter

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