The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 390 - 198: Complete Falling Out

Chapter 390: Chapter 198: Complete Falling Out

Su Wan also saw Shaquille O’Neal shouting at LeBron James.

Truth be told, ever since their falling-out, this was one of the rare times Su Wan found him pleasing to the eye.

The next day when reporters asked Su Wan what he thought about the Cavaliers’ "Four-game winning streak," he didn’t forget to throw in a jab: "To be honest, I’m not at all surprised. That’s LeBron James for you. You know how he can win a championship? It’s by joining a team that can win without him!"

Those words became the next day’s headlines in many media outlets.

Barkley had only two words to describe Su Wan’s comments:

Too harsh! ƒrēeNovelFire.com

The New York Times believed that LeBron had once again reached a crossroads in his career.

LeBron could no longer hold back. He was acutely aware that he had messed up.

He had to make a comeback as soon as possible!

When Mike Brown got the news of LeBron’s decision to return, he announced it immediately in front of the Cavaliers players.

Apart from Vallejo, everyone else was exchanging confused glances.

They were playing pretty well now.

Whether it was Gibson, Channing Frye, or Quentin Richardson, they all had more opportunities to play.

Who wouldn’t want more shots, better stats?

With LeBron’s return, their shot prioritization would undoubtedly decrease.

So their attitudes were ambiguous.

Shaquille O’Neal looked at Mike Brown with a skeptical face: "Are you sure LeBron is really better? Isn’t this just a forced comeback because we’re playing so well and there’s so much external doubt about him?"

Mike Brown didn’t latch on to his comment, simply stating, "LeBron’s return is good for the entire Cavaliers!"

But all he got was a snort of derision from Shaquille O’Neal.

He observed everyone’s reaction, barring Vallejo the "lapdog"; everyone else’s attitude was unclear, indicating they too weren’t welcoming LeBron’s return.

Obviously, everyone had played the "protagonist" during the recent Four-game winning streak and had enjoyed it, but going back to the days of running strategies centered around LeBron all the time, they were somewhat resentful.

Interesting!

Shaquille O’Neal thought it might be a good idea to try to stir the emotions in the team a bit more, and also let LeBron see the result of his forced comeback.

Hmm...

Although Mike Brown had denied that LeBron James’s return was forced, Shaquille O’Neal, who had come up with his own drama in his mind, already thought so.

After this power struggle, he believed the entire Cavaliers would be his domain!

Of course, then it would be a life or death battle with LeBron.

Most likely, he would be sent away.

However, Shaquille O’Neal had always been aware of this possibility.

Even if he were to be sent away, public opinion was on his side.

He was the Absolute Core who led the Cavaliers to a "Four-game winning streak" without LeBron, proving he still had the talent and thus a market. He could still hope to go to a championship-contending team.

That was much better than being a scapegoat thrown out of Cleveland after being LeBron’s pick-and-roll partner in a "major defeat," right?

If he had won the championship with the Heat Team before Kobe, he would not have been so aggressive.

But now...

He absolutely could not fall into such a scenario; he had to ensure he still had market competitiveness.

LeBron, you forced my hand!

The next morning, as soon as LeBron appeared in the locker room, Shaquille O’Neal sized him up and said mockingly: "You didn’t really need to rush back, LeBron. As I said, we can fill in your absence!"

LeBron didn’t give him the cold shoulder like before but smiled and said: "I’m fully recovered now, Shaquille. You’ve done well recently, truly deserving as the first player to win three consecutive championships after Michael. Your dominance is undeniable, and that’s something that won’t change no matter how much time passes!"

When LeBron said this, not only Shaquille O’Neal, but also the others in the locker room showed surprise, as if they didn’t know LeBron, some even going so far as to doubt they’d heard correctly.

Shaquille O’Neal, who had been on edge, just snorted coldly and didn’t compete further with him.

But LeBron’s "abnormal" behavior did not end there. During the subsequent media interview, he was full of praise for Shaquille O’Neal: "That’s Shaquille, that’s his dominance. No one should underestimate this Cavaliers team, even without me. With him here, the Cavaliers are a strong team!"

The reporters took these words to Shaquille O’Neal.

The "Shark" was a bit lost with all the praise.

Then a familiar reporter asked him: "Don’t you think LeBron’s current attitude is familiar?"

Shaquille: "What?"

"Doesn’t it remind you of when you first came to the Cavaliers and talked about him?"

"!!!"

Shaquille O’Neal suddenly realized.

That’s true!

It used to be him lavishing praise on LeBron to the media.

Now it was LeBron praising him to high heaven.

Is he trying to extend an olive branch to me?

There was a flicker of contemplation in Shaquille’s eyes.

If LeBron kept sending submissive signals to the outside world, he wouldn’t be able to keep bashing him in the media.

In that case, LeBron would acquire the image of a "weakling."

Public opinion tends to favor the "weak."

The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)𝒆bnov(𝒆)l