Bishop of the Devil

At ten o'clock in the morning on the 21st, Richard and Jordan got their names for this expansion draft.

There are a total of twenty-nine teams on the list, and each team has several players who are not protected by the protected list. Richard and the others can select these players as players for their new pirate team.

In the entire history of the NBA, including this Pirates expansion draft, there have been a total of 11 expansion drafts.

With the development of history, naturally the rules of each expansion draft are changing.

The rules of this expansion draft have changed a lot. In terms of the number of players selected by the Pirates, there are at least 14 and at most 29!

The reason for the maximum number of 29 is very simple, because there are currently only 29 teams in the league except for the new Pirates. Each team can only choose one unprotected player, so the natural upper limit is 29.

Each team can create a protection list that can protect up to eight players. Of course, if a certain team is a tough guy and doesn't protect a single player, that's not impossible.

Anyway, the upper limit is eight and the lower limit is none.

Unrestricted free agents are not eligible to be selected, such as Clark. Even if the Pistons do not protect him, the Buccaneers cannot select him.

This may also be the reason why the Pistons did not renew Clark's contract in advance.

If Clark renews his contract in advance, he is not a completely free agent now, and the Pistons will have to waste a protected spot to protect him.

There are too many powerful newcomers in the Pistons, and any protected spot is extremely precious to them.

…

What kind of players will be put on the protection list? In fact, this does not mean that players who are strong will definitely be protected.

Some players are quite good, but the contract price is high and the price-performance ratio is not high. In this case, the team will deliberately not protect them and try to let the new army choose them and get rid of this low-cost-effective contract.

If a team's eight spots on the protected list are not enough, there is also a solution.

They can use draft picks, cash or other conditions such as transfers in exchange for the Bobcats to select a certain player or not select a certain player.

For example, the Pistons have a lot of cost-effective players in their team. They may give away draft picks or cash compensation in order to prevent the new team from selecting a certain player.

For example, the Kings can offer chips to let the Pistons choose Rahim, who is currently not cost-effective, and get rid of Rahim's contract...

Anyway, there are quite a lot of things in this army expansion draft. If a shrewd boss operates properly, it is possible to obtain great benefits from this army expansion draft.

"Li, these lists cannot be leaked. If you are caught, there will be a fine of one million US dollars!" Jordan said with a frown.

Richard nodded, there was indeed such a rule in the expansion draft.

The team's protected list cannot be leaked, and violators will be fined one million US dollars.

This is also the purpose of the league to protect players' emotions. If players see that they are not on the protection list, they will definitely be quite dissatisfied.

"Don't worry, Michael, my mouth is much tighter than yours." Richard said with a smile as he stared at the list.

That's a fine of one million US dollars. He would only leak this list if he was full.

Holding the list in their hands, Richard and Jordan studied it carefully.

"This is the Boston Celtics' list. They only protected seven players." Jordan counted Green Kai's protection list and said to Richard.

Richard nodded. The number of players that Green Kai currently has on the protection list is not that many. Pierce, Billups, Perkins and others are all on this protection list.

Although Green Kai has a plan to change the lineup, the value of these protected players is quite good. Even if they are not needed by Green Kai, they can still be exchanged for high-value chips.

"Chucky Atkins? Stewart? LaFrentz?"

"The quality of the Celtics' unprotected players is quite good. It's a pity that our children can choose a player."

Jordan recited the names of three players. In his opinion, these three players seemed to be quite good. After all, they were picked up for free. To be able to get such a grade is already quite impressive.

"Don't worry, Michael, we don't need to make a decision too early on this matter. Let's take a look later." Richard waved his hand, signaling Jordan to calm down.

The value of the three players on Green Kai's side may be quite good in Jordan's opinion, but in Richard's opinion, they are just cannon fodder. Even if they are taken over, they will definitely play the role of patron saint of the water fountain in the end...

Next is the Nets' list. The troika of Kenyon Martin, Kidd and Jefferson must be on the protection list.

And in the exposed list, Richard suddenly saw the name of kidney fighter Mourning...

Richard hesitated for a moment, should he choose Mourning? !

He has the means to bring Mourning back to the top, and if he really takes it, it doesn't seem impossible.

The key is that Mourning's contract is quite cheap now. His maximum salary contract ended in 2003. Last season, the contract he signed with the Nets only had an annual salary of about 5 million...

Winning such a contract is not a big deal.

What Richard didn't expect was that Jordan on the side sneered.

"The Nets management had a good idea and actually exposed Mourning. They didn't think we would take Mourning, right? This is something only a fool would do!"

"Michael, please be quiet, I'm thinking..." Richard's balls ached, and Jordan rambled on to the side, disrupting his thoughts.

…

Richard pulled a piece of paper from his side and solemnly wrote Nets - Mourning on it.

Jordan opened his eyes wide and looked at Richard in disbelief.

He never expected that Richard seemed to really fall in love with Mourning!

Is he a fool?

Mourning's annual salary of five million is indeed not much, but with this money, it is better to sign new players. Facts have proved that Mourning is almost useless.

Although he was shocked, Jordan still remained rational and didn't say much.

It's just the beginning now, maybe Richard won't want Mourning in the end.

Next up is the New York Knicks.

The Knicks are a very strange team, having directly put their two highest-paid players on the exposed list.

Alan Houston and Penny Hardaway…

This is a strategy used in the army expansion draft, in an attempt to scare away the new army with high salary.

Richard smiled and threw away the Knicks' list without bothering to look at it.

"Lee, Houston's strength is good. If we win, we can increase our outside firepower..."

Richard waved his hand, not bothering to explain to Jordan, and continued to look at the 76ers' roster.

The 76ers' roster does not have so many tricks, and some fringe players are exposed. Among them, Richard also saw Aaron McGee's name...

When Richard first entered the NBA, he sold Aaron McGee, who seemed to have good potential, for a good price.

Now eight years have passed, and Aaron McGee has not produced any decent statistics. I am afraid that he will retire in the next two years.

Next, the Raptors' Alvin Williams was recorded by Richard.

This is purely a result of choosing a bigger player from a short player. Alvin is a thin shooting guard with average strength, but the price/performance ratio is pretty good.

If he were a really cost-effective player, he would definitely not be exposed.

After the Raptors, it's time to go to Jordan's old club, the Bulls.

Jordan's eyes immediately lit up because he saw Pippen's name.

After Pippen left the Rockets, he returned to the Bulls to retire.

In addition to Pippen, the Bulls' exposed list also includes Antonio Davis, the former All-Star starting center in the 2001 Eastern Conference.

The reason why the Bulls exposed him is naturally because his price/performance ratio is not high enough.

"It's a pity. Davis is actually pretty good. We can take him and use him as an inside core first, but I'm more inclined to take Pippen." Jordan said with a smile.

"Why don't you just make a list, and then we will compare it and see which players will be selected in the end." Richard didn't want to listen to Jordan nagging on the side, so he asked him to make a list too.

…

What Jordan didn't expect was that Richard didn't seem to be interested in either Pippen or Davis and didn't record their names.

After the Bulls are the Cavaliers and Pacers. The Cavaliers' exposed list includes Jason Kapono, who is a well-known three-point shooter.

Richard added it to his list without hesitation.

Then James Jones of the Pacers was also included on the list. This was the backup small forward during the Suns' peak period, and his strength was pretty good.

As expected, the Magic put Grant Hill on the exposed list.

This actually made Richard hesitate a little. If Hill recovers his health, it would be great and his strength is quite strong.

But the salary was a bit too high, leaving Richard undecided.

Just put Hill's name on the list first and wait until it's over.

Stackhouse on the Wizards' side was exposed.

After the battle between the Pistons and Trail Blazers last season, Stackhouse was sold to the Wizards...

Now the Wizards don't like him very much, and they don't protect him at all.

Although Stackhouse's price/performance ratio is pretty good, Richard has no intention of buying it.

In the next few teams, Richard didn't see any players that stood out.

Until the Los Angeles Clippers, the Clippers' exposed list was quite rich, including Bobby Simmons and Matt Barnes.

Bobby Simmons has good abilities. He is a rookie who entered the league in 2001. He has played for three seasons and is not showing off. However, Richard remembers that Simmons will have a very obvious breakthrough next season.

He averages about 16+6 per game...

It was precisely because of this data that he won a big contract. After the contract was signed, he directly transformed into Chandler Parsons.

As for Matt Barnes, Richard will definitely not be familiar with him anymore...

After much deliberation, Richard chose Simmons.

In fact, whether they choose Barnes or Simmons, they will definitely be traded in the end. Simmons will break out next season and is a high-quality bargaining chip for transactions.

In this expansion draft, if at least 14 players are not required to be selected, Richard may actually end up selecting only five or six players with relatively high trade value.