Zhan s hypocrisy made Wei Shao roll his eyes: I can t stand this kind of hypocrisy

In the book "Hollywood Ending: LeBron's Lakers' Dreams and Drama," there is a passage that tells the story of Westbrook's complete break with James.

Chapter 1: Indifferent Wei Shao

This story begins in the summer of 2022. The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a disastrous season. The Westbrook trade has become a complete failure, and head coach Vogel has lost his job. The recriminations within the team intensified. Everyone insists that this deal was someone else's idea, and everyone understands that if the Lakers want to move forward, they must send Wei Shao away. The problem is, his massive contract makes him nearly impossible to trade. Meanwhile, new head coach Ham has the heavy responsibility of finding a way for LeBron and Westbrook to coexist. However, he never expected that a visit from Hollywood superstar Will Smith would make this task almost impossible.

At the beginning of July, the first game of the Lakers Summer League team was about to start in a few minutes. James strolled into the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas surrounded by his security team. His arrival instantly ignited the entire stadium. Fans raised their mobile phones and photographers swarmed around. Players, coaches and front office staff gathered around the court stopped by to say hello.

A staff member guided LeBron to a seat near the baseline. Throughout the first half, new teammates like Thomas Bryant and Toscano Anderson stopped by to pay their respects. The same goes for Hamm, Pelinka and Rambis. During the second half, Horton Tucker also came over to say hello. Sitting on the opposite end of the court was Russell Westbrook.

He saw LeBron walking into the arena before the game, but he didn't move at all. As the game entered the final minutes of the second quarter, Wei Shao got up from his seat and left directly, never to return.

This scene became a hot topic of discussion that night. I still remember that in the summer league a year ago, LeBron and Wei Shao entered the arena together and sat next to each other and chatted happily. This "zero interaction" formed a sharp contrast and became a hot topic among commentators. It also caused concerns within the team's new coaching staff.

"We knew ultimately we had to bring Westbrook off the bench because the situation wasn't right," a member of the Lakers coaching staff said. "But when we saw this that night, we thought, 'Shit, these two guys don't even talk to each other anymore. ' "

Chapter 2: James' stumbling block

The trigger seemed to be the recent rumors involving Kyrie Irving. At the time, Irving was entering the final year of his contract with the Nets (a $36.9 million player option) and wanted an extension. However, the Nets are unwilling to hand over tens of millions in guaranteed contracts to a player who has missed a large number of games since joining Brooklyn for reasons such as refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and promoting anti-Semitic movies on social media. Realizing he had no future in Brooklyn, Irving requested a trade. News leaked in late June, with multiple outlets reporting that the Lakers were one of Irving's preferred destinations and that LeBron wanted a reunion.

Negotiations between the Lakers and Nets failed to make progress. Pelinka has never shown any real interest in Irving. Even if he was interested, the Nets have no intention of taking Westbrook. Irving eventually exercised his player option to stay with the Nets, but by then the damage had been done. Due to the NBA's salary matching rules, the only way for the Lakers to get Irving is to trade Westbrook. Wei Shao knows it, and he also knows that LeBron understands it too. That means no matter what LeBron says in public, the reality is clear: He's pushing the Lakers to move Westbrook.

The Lakers started the new season in mid-October and lost to the Warriors 123-109 in the first game. Two days later, in the home opener, Westbrook made all 11 shots and the Lakers lost to the Clippers 103-97. At the post-game press conference, when asked what he thought of his performance, Wesbruck replied: "Pretty good. Played hard. That's all that's required." Three days later, on a Sunday afternoon, the Lakers returned home to face the Trail Blazers. This time, the first win of the season is within reach.

With 36 seconds left in the game, the Lakers only led by 1 point, and Westbrook advanced with the ball. Instead of wasting time, he made a direct mid-range shot from the right wing. The ball bounced out of the frame. Anthony Davis and LeBron, who were watching this scene from the wings, both turned their palms upward, showing their anger. The Lakers ultimately lost 104-106 and suffered their third consecutive loss of the season.

After the game, a reporter asked LeBron about the team's "shot selection" at critical moments.

"I feel like this interview is trying to guide me into saying something. I can see that 'Westbrook' is all you can think about right now," James said. "You can write all about Russell and talk about him all you want, but I'm not here to do that. I'm not going to do that. I've said it over and over again. That's not who I am."

Westbrook didn't buy what James said. To him, this is just the latest example of LeBron saying one thing and doing another. "People are saying, 'Let Russell be Russell,'" he told reporters the previous December, "and I don't think anybody understands what that means. I think people are just saying it." It was an obvious jab at LeBron, and Westbrook reiterated it after the season when asked about LeBron's repeated use of the phrase.

Wei Shao knows LeBron's reputation. He's seen every instance where LeBron seemed to mean what he said. Like the time LeBron claimed that "The Godfather" was his favorite movie, but fumbled when asked to say a line during a press conference..

Another time he took "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" to a media event, but stumbled when asked about his biggest takeaway. In another interview, he claimed that on the night that Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, he had predicted that Kobe would score 70 points. This statement was widely ridiculed and became a popular meme. LeBron's reputation as a "truth-maker" is so well-known that it is ridiculed even in the supposedly safe conversation spaces he has created.

"They said you could make it up, " Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey told LeBron on a November 2022 episode of "The Shop," produced by LeBron and Maverick Carter's media company.

In Westbrook's view, this is LeBron's true nature. And he'd had enough.

Chapter 3: The final look

Two days after losing to the Trail Blazers, the Lakers returned to the training facility for training. Pelinka informed the players that a special guest would be visiting. He created a project called the "Genius Series", which will invite celebrities from all walks of life such as "The Rock" Johnson, Kendrick Lamar, and Elon Musk to speak to the team. On this day, he invited an A-list star: Will Smith, just six months after he slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards.

The team gathered in the video room to review the game against the Trail Blazers. Hamm was strict with the team and pointed out various mistakes that led to an 0-3 start. After the review, Pelinka came over. He's already given Smith a tour of the training ground and Jenny Buss' office. Pelinka entered the meeting room and told the players that Smith was coming to meet with them.

As Pelinka and Ham left to pick up Smith, LeBron, who was sitting in the middle row, stood up.

"You go deal with these things. " James said.

Then he rushed out the back door and left.

"Damn, " Davis said.

He also stood up and followed LeBron out.

The remaining players were stunned, sitting there looking at each other, at a loss. "We were like, 'Yo, what the fuck is going on?'" one person who witnessed it recalled.

Then Wei Shao stood up.

"So, let's all go?" he asked.

"No, Russell, " said Beverley, who just joined the Lakers in the summer and has a flamboyant style, "we have to stay. "

Wei Shao didn't understand. "What do you mean? " he asked.

"Those two guys can do whatever they want," Beverly said. "They've won a championship. "

As the two argued back and forth, other players in the room understood what Westbrook was thinking: As a nine-time All-Star, former MVP, and future Hall of Famer, why should there be a difference between him and those two?

Pelinka came in again.

"Is everyone ready? " he asked.

"We're not done yet, " Beverly said. "We need five minutes. "

A few minutes later, Ham re-entered and sat down silently at the front of the room, while Wei Shao and Beverly were still arguing. Then he stood up and walked out the same door LeBron and Davis had left. Soon after, Hamm returned with two stars. Then, Ham left the table again to pick up Pelinka and Smith.

When they all returned, Smith was greeted with smiles and high-fives. Smith spoke to the players about his new film "12 Years a Slave." He talked about overcoming adversity. He also made a few jokes and poked fun at the team. He then opened up time for questions.

LeBron was the first to speak. He said he had a problem. Smith answered. Then LeBron asked a second question. Then came the third, fourth, fifth... He asked endlessly, extending the originally planned 30-minute event to nearly an hour.

"The person who was trying to run away before is now quoting movie lines and reviewing this guy's entire life story, " one person present recalled thinking at the time. Westbrook sat in the third row, poking at a bowl of fruit, watching in disbelief, shaking his head and rolling his eyes every time LeBron spoke.

"I hate that fake thing," Westbrook told a teammate afterward as the Lakers gathered for a family photo. "I just can't do it. "

The next afternoon, the Lakers posted this photo on social media. In the picture, James is smiling, while Wei Shao's face is expressionless.