On June 30, Link and Rachel, who had just celebrated their 27th birthday a few days ago, left Memphis and officially started their long-planned trip to Europe.

Of course, the world will not stop turning just because Link left Memphis.

The day they left was exactly the day when the NBA free agent market was restless. All teams were ready to spend a lot of cash and were ready to squander wildly in the next few days.

As the new TV broadcast agreement is about to take effect, the league's salary cap will increase by at least 30% next year. Each team has more operational space, so the bosses will naturally not miss this opportunity to spend money on the championship.

At noon on June 30, not long after Link boarded the plane, Kevin Durant suddenly announced that he would jump out of his last-year contract with the Thunder and enter the free agent market.

At the beginning, no one took it seriously. Because jumping out of the contract does not necessarily mean that they will definitely leave.

James also jumped out of the contract this summer, but as we all know, he just wanted to sign a new contract with the Cavaliers at a higher price.

Now that the league's salary cap is soaring, Durant jumped out of the contract to seek higher salaries, it is not difficult to understand.

However, in an afternoon, Durant said in an interview with reporters, "I jumped out of the contract and wanted to find a new belonging. I love Oklahoma, I love the fans and teammates there. But I think it's time for my career to make some changes."

As soon as Durant said this, the entire league seemed to be shocked.

Kevin Durant, considered to be the superstar of the same level as the overlords such as Link and James in the league, suddenly announced that he wanted to leave the Thunder!

In an instant, the entire public opinion and the free agent market exploded.

Now, there are definitely many teams re-planning their summer signing order. Among the 29 teams except the Thunder, at least half of them have turned Durant into their number one target!

In an instant, the news that Jimmy Butler decided to leave the Grizzlies dropped.

Compared to Butler, people naturally care more about Durant's belonging.

"Kevin is undoubtedly disappointed that the Thunder failed to make the playoffs this year."

"This is the tragedy of the small football market. They finally cultivated a superstar, but they couldn't let him live here."

"There is nothing sad or sad. The Oklahoma City Thunder did not seize the opportunity to win the championship, nor did their management work hard for the championship. I was not surprised that Durant wanted to leave."

Experts from all walks of life have their own opinions, and everyone is trying to analyze Durant's mental journey. On the Internet, the number of posts or updates of Durant's next home is incredibly high.

Bill Simmons did not participate in this farce. Fans are looking forward to him writing an analytical article to analyze Durant's future ownership and the future direction of his career.

As someone who knows the NBA very thoroughly, Bill Simmons' prediction and analysis "hit rate" is often very high.

But Simmons was slow to act and just posted a message on his social media.

"Finally, Kevin Durant's popularity surpassed Link. He finally experienced the feeling of being the overlord of the league and made headlines. Unfortunately, it was in this way. I have nothing to say at this moment. Anyway, the answer will be revealed in a few days."

Simmons is obviously indifferent to such things. Durant's incident can only explain one problem - Link's existence has accelerated the growth of the "grouping" atmosphere.

Because it turns out that you can't beat Link alone. Even if you don't have to fight with a group, you may not be able to beat Link after joining you.

If other stars want to gain a place in this era, they must unite and fight against the enemy together.

Simmons shook his head. It seemed that this situation had never happened in NBA history.

Because a certain player is too strong, several other powerful players have to join forces to keep warm...

Durant's decision, in fact, reflects Link's greatness from the side.

With this idea, it is actually not difficult to predict Durant's belonging. How many teams are there in the entire league that are so powerful that Durant has the opportunity to defeat Link after joining?

The news that Durant is preparing to find out has become the topic of conversation among fans in the past two days, and it also makes the wait for fans in the past two days no longer so painful.

As time entered July, the first day after the free agent market officially opened, fans witnessed what it means to spend money like flowing water.

Just 24 hours after the free agent market opened, the entire league spent a total of US$1.5 billion!

The consumption is so large that it is jaw-dropping.

Link's arch rival Draymond Green became the first nouveau riche after the free agent market opened. He earned only $910,000 last season, and immediately signed a five-year, $85 million long contract with the Warriors this year! In the new season, he will receive a salary of $17 million!

There is no doubt that Green's performance last season made him turn a big comeback. In the future, the story of the NBA second round pick counterattack will be added to the name of Draymond Green.

After that, "Brother Than Brow" Anthony Davis signed the highest single deal with the Pelicans with a $145 million contract in NBA history.

Although the Pelicans had no power to fight back in front of the Grizzlies that just passed, Davis still chose to continue to settle in the Pelicans. He is still young and he and this team still have a lot of room for growth, so they don’t have to worry.

The Cavaliers are the most expensive to trade on the first day. If you want to stabilize the championship lineup, you will definitely have to pay a price.

They first offered Love a five-year contract worth $110 million, ensuring the structure of the Big Three. Then, they offered Tristan Thompson a five-year contract worth $80 million. This means that the Cavaliers have invested a full $190 million in power forward position alone!

Next, they took action again and reached a four-year, $40 million contract with Shampoo. Within one day, the Cavaliers spent $230 million, which was really shocking.

Of course, this is not the end. This is just the first day of the Cavaliers. Then the Cavaliers have to renew their contracts with important players such as James and J.R. Smith. The new highest-paid lineup in NBA history may appear at any time.

Cleveland needs a championship, and this belief has penetrated into the Cavaliers' bones. In order to achieve the goal, he is willing to spend no matter how much money he spends.

In addition, even role players such as Jeff Green and Asik have received contracts of tens of millions. The rise in the league's salary cap has made this year's free agent market full of US dollar bills.

The first day of the transfer market was so exciting, and in the next few days, explosive transfers emerged one after another.

Wade stayed in Miami for 20 million a year, the Pistons left Reggie Jackson for 80 million in five years, and Aldridge joined the Spurs for 80 million in four years! San Antonio's "double German combination" was just formed, and it was considered the Grizzlies' biggest opponent in the West.

Of course, there were also a lot of news about the Grizzlies during this period. However, what sadly made Grizzlies fans was that most of the transfers of the Grizzlies were related to leaving.

The passionate Australian defender Delavidova was poached by the Cavaliers for 5 million in one year. Whiteside, who scored a fortune in the Grizzlies, directly signed a four-year exaggerated contract worth 88 million US dollars with the Heat!

Pat Riley didn't want to waste any potential stock, he saw full potential in Whiteside. So he directly won it at a price close to the maximum salary. There is no doubt that he regarded Whiteside as the core of the Heat's post-Big Three Heat era.

As the proposer of the theory of "polycoccalosis", Pat Riley really knows the current situation of the Grizzlies.

After winning the championship, the Grizzlies players' value will soar, and Grizzlies players will also want to get more opportunities to perform.

This makes it difficult for the Grizzlies to keep everyone. For example, Whiteside's contract worth $88 million, judging from the current lineup structure of the Grizzlies, they can't get such a price. You should know that Aldridge has only been joining the Spurs for 4 years and only 80 million!

And in the Heat, Pat Riley can also guarantee Whiteside's core position, while in the Grizzlies he can only play as a substitute.

Although Whiteside also has feelings for the Grizzlies and likes the leader Link very much. But as a person who once couldn't even beat CBA, now he suddenly has an exaggerated $88 million and core position in front of him, and Whiteside has no choice at all.

So he packed his bags and bid farewell to his rebirth place, and the Grizzly Bear hurts the general again!

After Whiteside, Jimmy Butler officially signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. Although fans were already mentally prepared for Butler's departure. But when he really signed the names on the contracts of other teams, the fans were still a little sad.

95 million in five years, like Whiteside, Butler received a core treatment. This is the second player who has left the Grizzlies and has been trained by other teams as cores.

People couldn't help but sigh how strong the Grizzlies were last season! The two players at the core level of the team building can only help Link!

Afterwards, Azelley, whose playing time dropped sharply last season, also chose to leave. He joined the Trail Blazers, hoping to prove himself again in Portland.

At this point, the Grizzlies are in their prime, which is in their year of playing. Most of the remaining players are either too young or too old.

Fortunately, Mark Gasol readily signed the contract extension with a 5-year price of 90 million yuan, stayed in Memphis, and continued to guard the Grizzlies' inside. The news of Gasol's contract renewal is the only good news for the Grizzlies since the free agent market opened.

At this time, it was already mid-July. While the NBA alliance was undergoing annual changes, Link and Rachel had already arrived at the most important stop of their European journey - Italy.

Link also pays attention to the Grizzlies news every day, but he is powerless to do anything about transfers.

And he had long expected that more people would leave after Butler.

So, when things really happen, it's not that uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Gasol's decision to stay in Memphis gave Link a little comfort.
Chapter completed!