Bishop of the Devil

Facing such a sincere apology from the gentleman thief, Richard was speechless for a moment.

"Old man, I know exactly what you Suns want."

"You want Nash. You want Nash to join your Suns after this contract ends."

"I can tell you directly that I will not interfere in the team selection of my players, even if they want to join my enemy team."

"For example, Kirilenko is a good example. You don't have to worry about this."

"If you are sorry to us pirates because of this, there is no need at all."

D'Antoni on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, thinking about the players who had gone out under Richard, it seemed that Richard rarely interfered in their team selection.

Generally speaking, when a team chooses a team, it must consider many aspects and be affected by many aspects.

Among them, the brokerage company he signs with will have a big impact.

At present, about half of the West Lafayette players are signed by Golden Dragon's agency, and they really have the ability to influence players' team selection.

Everyone knows that Richard and Huang Jinlong wear the same pair of pants. They are like Siamese twins. It is obvious that Richard must have a great say in this agency.

But when Kirilenko joined the Jazz, Richard did not dissuade him.

This is enough to prove that Richard will not rashly influence players' team selection.

The premise is that the player's choice is really beneficial to their future development. Otherwise, Richard may still give a warning.

"Lee, are you sure? Are you willing to let Nash leave the Pistons?" D'Antoni asked with a frown.

Upon hearing this, Richard immediately became happy. Speaking of it, his feelings for the Pistons were actually not too deep.

To date, Richard has coached four teams.

The ones with the deepest feelings must be the Trail Blazers. It was the most glorious and glorious period since Richard traveled through time.

Next is the Purdue University Boilermakers, a team Richard has devoted a lot of effort to build from scratch into a super powerhouse that has won five consecutive NCAA championships bit by bit.

Then, I'm afraid it's the new pirate team now. Although it hasn't been long, just a few months, this team's surname is Li, and half of them are surnamed Li, just like their own children.

The Pistons' importance in Richard's heart can only be ranked last...

Besides, even if Richard wants to take care of the Pistons, it's not easy to take care of him. Doesn't Dumas give up any face?

The general manager is doing a good job, but if you, Richard, are always here to point fingers, Dumas will definitely feel uncomfortable.

During the offseason, the Pistons gave Clark a maximum salary contract. When this season is over, if they want to keep Nash, they will definitely give Nash a maximum salary.

But after Yao Ming finishes this season, he can start to renew his contract in advance. I am afraid that the Pistons will 100% give priority to Yao Ming.

Of course, it is not impossible not to renew Yao Ming's contract in advance, but then, when Yao Ming's four-year rookie contract ends, they will risk losing Yao Ming.

The Pistons management is absolutely unwilling to take this kind of risk.

With two consecutive FMVP wins, Yao Ming is already a presence in the league comparable to O'Neal. If such a powerful insider were to let go, Davidson would be so angry that he would kill someone.

Nash is certainly very powerful, but his style is not particularly suitable for the Pistons' half-court style.

If he leaves, the Pistons can still find a replacement in the league.

If nothing else, at least Billups' role in a team like the Pistons won't be much worse than Nash's.

"I'm quite sure that this incident will not affect our friendship."

"In fact, if I were the management of your Suns team, I might have already started contacting the Pistons to get Nash first." Richard said with a smile at D'Antoni.

D'Antoni was speechless. Why didn't they contact the Pistons? But the Pistons refused to agree. They wanted to retain the championship lineup and strive for three consecutive championships.

Besides, the Suns don't have much bargaining chips here. The only high-value bargaining chip that D'Antoni is willing to take out is Okur.

But what the Pistons lack the most are inside players. Excluding the combination of Yao and Ke, they still have more than three high-quality rookie inside players on the team. How can they take a fancy to Okur.

"Billups might be able to help you, old man."

After that, Richard smiled and hung up the phone...

D'Antoni frowned, Billups? !

Could it be that Richard suggested that the Suns contact Green Kai and then rope in the Pistons for a three-way trade?

like……

This thing is a bit reliable, and it seems to have a good chance of success.

Billups is suitable for a team that plays a half-court style. If he is allowed to play fast breaks, it does not mean that he cannot play, but the effect will definitely not be as good as Nash or Kidd.

Last season, I heard that Green Kai general manager Anji had the idea of ​​​​selling Billups or Pierce. Although it was not really put on the shelves, people in the small circle knew about it.

But with Pierce's heroic performance in the playoffs last season, it is obvious that it is impossible to sell Pierce. The league's number one small forward will only be sold if he is full.

In this way, it is estimated that Anji will have the idea of ​​​​selling Billups.

"A three-way trade between our Okur, Billups from the Celtics, and Nash from the Pistons?"

"Let's try it first. God bless, I hope this deal can succeed!" D'Antoni prayed silently in his heart.

If this deal can go through, then he has a hunch that this Suns team will really start to rise, and it is not impossible to even defeat the Spurs and reach the finals this season.

Thinking of the possibility of reaching the finals or even winning the championship, D'Antoni, a coach with little qualifications, was shaking with excitement at this moment.

He really wanted to call Richard again and thank him for his advice.

This advice is worth its weight in gold!

…

About a month later, Richard was officially suspended.

During the suspension period, there was no work for Richard to do within the team, so he was quite happy to relax.

It's time to take advantage of this time to spend some time with Tiana.

There is no way to know the gender of the child at the moment, but the doctor also gave good news, that is, the triplets definitely did not run away.

Since they are triplets, they can still give birth to a big fat boy no matter what.

Thinking that when his son becomes an adult, he must have gathered together a super giant suit, and he must have saved a lot of powerful props.

By then, I am afraid that I will be able to personally transform my son into a basketball emperor-level superstar.

It's very touching to think about it, father and son are on the same stage, working together to compete in the NBA.

Um? Aren't these the Rivers father and son...

…

The expected date of delivery is early June next year, which is almost the beginning of the offseason.

Thinking that after this season is over, he can become a father, Richard felt excited.

…

With the Pirates being suspended in large numbers, one can imagine their record.

In the eight games Milicic was suspended, the Buccaneers only won one game.

In the next two games before Richard came back, the Pirates embarrassingly lost all of them.

In other words, from the beginning of the season to now, the Pirates have played a total of thirteen games and have only won three games.

If we keep playing like this, I'm afraid Richard won't even have to use the poor man's version of the lucky dice in this year's draft...

As long as the team's record is guaranteed to be the worst in the league, the bottom line is the fourth overall pick.

And Chris Paul happens to be the fourth pick. In front of him are Australia's No. 1 pick Bogut, North Carolina's Marvin Williams, and De Xiaopang, who eats and sleeps to beat Paul.

There is no doubt that if the 2005 draft is rearranged, Paul will undoubtedly be the No. 1 pick.

As for De Xiaopang, who beats Paul while eating and sleeping, although he is not weak in strength, compared to Paul, he is definitely a bit inferior...

So no matter what pick Richard gets, as long as it's the top four picks, Paul will definitely be chosen.

The Pirates' current poor record is actually not a bad thing for them. If it continues, Richard will at least be 100% sure of getting Paul.

Then find a way to get a draft pick around the middle of the first round, plus the second-round pick that comes with it, and acquire three high-quality players in the 2005 draft, and the Pirates' lineup will basically be formed.