Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 626 - 213: The Path to Becoming a God, The World as an Enemy! (Second update, begging for monthly votes!)

The Warriors easily defeated the Supersonic on the road, and as the new year of January arrived and the main players regained their form, the Warriors unknowingly climbed to the top of the West in the standings.

This season, the Warriors' three main competitors in the West — the Mavericks, Lakers, and Supersonic — all chose to conserve their strength in the regular season.

This made the competition in the West this year far less intense than in the East.

Although it sounds incredible, this season's NBA indeed feels like the East is strong while the West is weak.

Furthermore, major powerhouses in the East are still actively seeking to strengthen their teams before the trade deadline.

After the painful lesson of the Christmas battle, the Knicks have fully realized their severe imbalance in offense and defense.

If they can't solve this problem before the playoffs, the Knicks, despite their trio and James dominating in the regular season, are doomed not to go far.

And Ginobili's outstanding performance after his return from injury prompted the Celtics to make up their mind to trade Carter.

This summer, Al Horford will be entering a contract year.

To retain this promising young center, the Celtics must clear salary space in advance.

Now that the cost-effective Ginobili has proven he can replace Carter, the Celtics' GM, Angie, must find ways to avoid the Celtics suffering excessive luxury tax penalties next season.

In addition, led by Wade, Anthony, and Bosh, the Heat, after an initial period of adjustment, are also eager to trade for a defensive fighter capable of contending with Qin Yue.

With the precedent of James being scored 101 points by Qin Yue, both Anthony and Wade, who know Bosh's defensive capabilities well, are unwilling to see Bosh repeat James' mistake.

It must be said that last year's Christmas battle not only shattered James but also caused all teams aiming for the championship to suffer from a severe "Messiah phobia."

In mid-January, the Warriors visited Salt Lake City to challenge the Jazz.

That evening, Qin Yue responded to the challenge letter Paul previously gave him with an outstanding performance of 51 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 blocks.

"I still prefer your defiant look from before, Chris." After the game, looking at the despondent Paul, Qin Yue smiled and said, "Where did the Chris Paul who always had 'never say die' on his lips go?"

Faced with Qin Yue's post-game mockery, if it were the usual times, Paul would have had to throw a few cannon fists at Qin Yue no matter what he said.

However, as Carlos Boozer put on his second career backstab last summer, which greatly weakened the Jazz's combat strength this season, Paul no longer has the mood to mess around with Qin Yue now.

Boozer's backstab was fatal to this Jazz team.

Since Boozer had promised the Jazz front office early on that he would renew his contract with the team, when Boozer finally decided to sign with the Pacers, the heartbreak that Cavaliers owner Gand experienced from being duped by Boozer is akin to the sadness felt by the Jazz front office last summer.

"Will you stay with the Warriors until you retire?" Paul suddenly asked, looking up at Qin Yue.

Qin Yue nodded without hesitation, "For now, I think I will end my career in Oakland."

Though Qin Yue is never bound by that cursed loyalty.

But having developed a sense of belonging in Oakland, under the support of the fans, teammates, management, and even the team's owner, he really couldn't find any reason to leave the Warriors.

However, looking at Paul in front of him, Qin Yue realized that the other party was clearly having thoughts of wanting to change environments to continue his career.

"You're my best brother, we started fighting together since college, so there are some things I can only tell you." After mulling for a few seconds, Paul said, "To be honest, I have told Coach Jerry Sloan and the Jazz front office, hoping they can put me on the shelf."

If Boozer had kept his word, Paul would likely have stayed until his current contract expired even if the Jazz's competitiveness couldn't compare to other teams.

But now...

Boozer's departure not only made the Jazz front office feel betrayed but also forced Paul to seriously consider whether he needed to switch to a more competitive team to elevate his career.

"What did Coach Jerry Sloan and the Jazz front office say to you?" Qin Yue asked curiously.

Paul replied, "The old man is very happy that I can speak openly with him, but he hopes I can finish this season and wait until summer when the team finds a more suitable trade target to leave."

"What's your own opinion?"

"Since the old man said so, I'll definitely stick it out and finish the season, but..."

"But what?"

"Until now, I don't even know if my decision to leave the Jazz is right."

Paul's current hesitation stems from the careful nurturing Jerry Sloan has given him over the past few seasons.

Under Sloan's tactical system, Paul has averaged "20+10" as a superstar guard for three consecutive seasons.

Paul knows very well the kind of emotions Sloan has poured into him during his development.

Therefore, as he truly makes up his mind to leave, Paul instead becomes entangled in his feelings.

"I can't help you there." Qin Yue said, "You know, Chris, I'm most likely going to retire with the Warriors."