Almighty Coach

Calabi didn't know he was traded until he saw the media reports.

Calabi could feel that he was completely ignored, but he was used to it. The 35-year-old has completely fallen out of the team's rotation last season. Even in garbage time, the head coach is unwilling to give him too many opportunities to play, but chooses to train the team's rookies. Throughout the season, he only played 24 games.

Calabi was also brilliant when he was young. He is 2.11 meters tall and has a wingspan of 2.29 meters. Such excellent physical conditions seem to tell the world that he was born for basketball.

Calabi entered the NBA as the No. 2 pick, and in just two years, he won the NBA's block leader. Although he has never been an All-Star, he has won four blocked shots in his career, one best defensive player, two best defensive first teams, and two best defensive second teams. But judging from these honors, Calabi is definitely one of the best penalty area defenders in the NBA.

Calabi has a certain scoring ability and can even shoot three-pointers, but because of his excellent defensive ability in the penalty area, he has never gotten enough shots in his career, and his average data per game has always been Keep it around 10+10.

As an inside player, his weight is relatively light. He is only 235 pounds, or 107 kilograms. Many forward players are stronger than him. For this reason, he will be more prone to injuries, which makes his brilliant career great. discount.

But it is precisely because of his light weight that Calabi's movements are flexible and quick. With his excellent wingspan, he can switch defenses against smaller players and quickly make up defenses. These characteristics are very suitable for the current small ball era. The premise is that Karabi is five years younger.

The physical degradation of big basketball players is much more serious than that of small players. Five years ago, Calabi won the NBA's block leader, but now he only has height, wingspan and the richness accumulated in many years of competition. Due to experience and age, his body is no longer agile, and it is impossible for him to jump like when he was young. In addition, he is not the kind of strong insider, so let a blue-collar serve as a meat shield under the basket. , are somewhat incompetent.

The Nuggets gave Calabi a five-year 55 million contract, which was almost the last pension contract in his career for the 32-year-old Calabi. It's just that Calabi's physical degradation exceeded the Nuggets' expectations, and as he grew older, frequent injuries also made Calabi's strength continue to be discounted, and he was eventually excluded from the rotation.

Now Calabi still has a two-year contract of 23 million yuan. This amount is actually not very high, but for a player who can't play and can only sit on the sidelines and watch the drinking fountains, 23 million in two years is really worth it. It's a rubbish contract.

Calabi also knows that this is his pension contract, so now he doesn't plan to compete with young lads for playing opportunities. As long as he can hang around with peace of mind, finish receiving this pension contract, and then retire from the NBA, he will be done. Satisfied.

...

After the transaction happened, Calabi's agent contacted him as soon as possible.

"The Nuggets actually traded you to the Clippers. There was no news about it before. I only found out about this news after reading the news." The agent complained.

"I only found out from the news. The team hasn't contacted me yet." Calabi paused, and then said: "I'm hesitating now, should I go to Los Angeles to report."

"The transaction has already taken place, and you have no right to refuse." The broker said.

"No, I mean, is there any need for me to go to Los Angeles to report." Calabi sighed a little depressed: "I think the Clippers will cut me, I just read the Clippers roster, There's 17 already, which means they'll have to cut two, and it'll be mine."

"It's possible. Ronnie and the Clippers had already fallen out because of the contract extension, so the Clippers traded Ronnie for a draft pick. And your current contract has no trade options. Value. You still have two years left on your contract. Even if you want to help the team clear the salary space, you have to wait another year. Instead of doing this, it is really better to just lay off you." The agent did not save Calabi any face .

"I'm just waiting for the news that the Clippers are laying me off. I originally thought about playing for another two years and retiring, but now it seems that I don't even have to play this season, so I'm going to retire early." In Calabi's words Full of helplessness.

After finishing the phone call with his agent, Calabi sat alone in the living room, recalling the glorious moments in his career, as if saying goodbye to basketball.

The phone rang suddenly. It was an unfamiliar phone number. Karabi didn't think about it, but chose to answer it habitually.

"Excuse me, is it Karabi?" the other party asked.

"Yes, I'm Calabi, who are you?" Calabi asked calmly.

"I'm Dai Li, the head coach of the Clippers. I think you know me?" the other party said.

Karabi was startled.

"It's the head coach of the Clippers, Dai Li. Is he going to personally notify me of my dismissal?" Calabi thought to himself.

However, Dai Li on the other end of the phone said, "I think you already know that you were traded to the Clippers, so I want to ask, when will you come to Los Angeles to report?"

"Reporting in Los Angeles?" Calabi was surprised again.

"Listen to this, don't the Clippers plan to lay me off?" Carabi realized this.

Dai Li went on to say, "If possible, I hope you can come to Los Angeles earlier. I have formulated a training plan for you, which may help you regain your youthful state."

...

"From November this year to April next year, there are a total of six months of regular season. The playoffs will end in June next year. That is to say, a team starts from the beginning of the season to the end of the playoffs. , a total of eight months of competition."

Dai Li wrote down the number "8" on the paper while speaking.

"According to the calculation formula of the age reduction card, if the duration is eight months, the age needs to be five years old. Karabi is 35 years old this year, and the age reduction is five years old, which is the physical level of 30 years old. If I remember correctly, five years ago Calabi is still the NBA's shot-blocking king!"

Thinking of this, Dai Li couldn't help laughing.

For other teams, the current Calabi can't run fast or jump high and is often injured. He is indeed a useless person, but if Li Dai uses the age reduction card for Calabi to make his body five years younger, then Calabi is still He was at his peak, and he was still the feared "blocker king" in that restricted area.

"In the trade with the Nuggets, everyone thought I was getting a first-round pick, but in fact, Calabi was my biggest gain!"