The Spurs, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Rockets, and Mavericks—the Southwest Division would be even more brutal in the new season than it was last season.

The Spurs' signing once again stirred up a storm in the free market.

At the same time, Carmelo Anthony, unwilling to be lonely, announced that he had narrowed down his choices to the Heat, Bulls, and Knicks.

At this point, most people had a general idea of the situation in the free market.

Basically, Anthony's decision would determine James' decision.

News of the Heat and Anthony's connection also frequently came from Woj.

The possibility of a new generation of brothers playing basketball together was very high.

Just then, other signing news from the league broke out one after another.

LaMarcus Aldridge rejected the Trail Blazers' five-year, $108 million early renewal contract. He would execute the last year of his contract option and test the free agent market next summer.

Paul Pierce signed with the Wizards for two years and $11 million.

Kyrie Irving signed a five-year, $90 million early renewal contract with the Cavaliers.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had a conversation on the plane, but Wade didn't know James' current choice.

Carmelo Anthony announced that the Bulls were out, and he would choose between the Knicks and the Heat.

……

While news continued to emerge in the free market, information about two other veterans also attracted attention.

Ray Allen, after winning the championship with the team, although he had no plans to retire, announced that he would no longer play in the NBA next season.

Obviously, after winning his second championship with the Heat, Gentleman Ray's career was nearing completion.

Almost at the same time, Steve Nash also announced his retirement on Twitter, officially ending his professional career.

A two-time MVP winner, the Son of Wind, a man with his own system, failed to win a championship at the end of his career and retired from the NBA stage with a hint of regret.

While fans sighed and lamented, they inevitably lamented the successive end of the batch of stars from the beginning of the century.

Time unknowingly came to July 12th, and the door to the free market was coming to its final end.

"LeBron, are you sure?"

In James' private residence, Rich Paul asked James for the final confirmation.

James nodded.

Seeing James' action, Paul took out his phone and sent a message to the staff at Sports Illustrated who had been waiting.

After sending the message, he took a deep breath, then stood up and hugged James.

"This will be a new beginning."

Paul said.

James smiled and nodded.

The outside world thought that he had been waiting for Anthony's decision, but that was not entirely the case.

He was waiting for Riley, or rather, he was giving Riley a chance.

If the Heat could build a sufficiently competitive lineup, he would still choose to stay.

But Riley hadn't done anything except wait for him until now, which made him finally make up his mind.

He had been a supporting role for so many years, and he finally became the protagonist again this year. He didn't want to experience that kind of life again.

So he made a choice, and as Paul said, it would be a new beginning.

An hour later, Sports Illustrated released exclusive information.

The content of the message was simple, but it was more explosive than any previous message.

James confirmed his return to the Cavaliers.

Subsequently, James confirmed this news through his Instagram.

Woj also followed up with a report that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and James, James' agent Rich Paul, met in Miami last week, their meeting lasted for four hours and they finalized James' return.

James is expected to sign a four-year, $88 million contract with the Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers will "meet all of James' requests."

The release of this news also triggered a series of events.

As James' close friend, Wade didn't learn of James' final decision until this time.

"We became friends when we first entered the league and have built a very close relationship over the past four years. For me, whether from a personal or professional perspective, the cooperation between the two of us has always been so special."

"LeBron made the right decision for himself and his family, because home is where your heart belongs. I know this is not an easy decision to make, and I support him returning to his hometown."

"As a friend and teammate, I am sad to see my brother LeBron leave the team."

"But as an organization, as a team, I am very happy that we have completed the goal we set when we signed together. We are champions."

Wade issued a statement in which he wished James well, but from the lines of the statement, one could feel his sadness and disappointment.

For Flash, as a good friend, leaving was not completely unacceptable; what was unacceptable was leaving without telling me in advance.

At the same time in Cleveland, the fans who had gathered outside James' mansion to burn or tear James' jersey once again came here.

Many of them were wearing torn jerseys, cheering and celebrating here.

After James left, the Cavaliers got three lottery picks, but at present, there are still no signs of rising.

James' return is undoubtedly the biggest reinforcement, which is even more valuable than those three lottery picks.

Just like the NBA is a business field, there are no eternal enemies and friends, most fans are also fickle.

An hour after that, Mike Miller followed in James' footsteps and joined the Cavaliers.

Charles Barkley, one of the TNT Big Three, also quickly made a statement.

"From now on, I am a lifelong James fan, this goes beyond the scope of basketball."

Barkley then said that he had been in the NBA for 30 years, and James leaving the Heat and returning to the Cavaliers was the most exciting thing for him.

Social media even crashed at one point afterward, and the fans' discussion reached an unprecedented peak.

"Damn, this is more explosive than Bosh going to the Rockets, you said you would bring more championships to Miami, and now it's gone?"

"My eyes are going blind, this is the first time I've seen a team's core player leave immediately after winning the championship!"

"I don't understand, I really don't understand, this is unreasonable!"

"Not to be an armchair strategist, I actually guessed this ending after Bosh left. The Heat have been silent in the free market, the Heat's strength has declined greatly and they are no longer championship favorites, LeBron has no reason to go back."

"Now that you say that, it seems like it's true, James is not only a player, but also a businessman!"

"I feel so bad for Wade, his statement, as his closest friend and teammate, he only knew this news just like us..."

"I treat you as my best friend, but you treat me as an ordinary friend?"

"But the Cavaliers are not good either, Irving is okay, but besides Irving, there's the worst lottery pick, Bennett, and a rookie, Wiggins?"

"Don't worry, Gilbert said he will meet all of LeBron's requests, there will definitely be follow-up trades."

"Tsk tsk, brother basketball is over, is this hometown basketball?"

……

ps: I made some changes to chapter 557, adding Bosh's part. I had written that part before, but because it was on my notebook when I went to Hangzhou, it was missed when uploading, so I added it back. Everyone, please go back and read it again.