Bishop of the Devil

Roy made 4 of 11 three-pointers in the first half, and 3 of 8 in the second half. He made 7 of 19 three-pointers in the game, which is not a high shooting rate.

However, the two-point shooting rate was good, 3 of 4 two-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws, so Roy scored 31 points tonight.

In total, Roy took a total of 23 shots tonight and scored 31 points. This offensive efficiency actually made Richard extremely satisfied.

As for Oden and Paul, Richard gave them enough playing time.

O'Neal played 25 minutes tonight, and Oden came on for the remaining 23 minutes, scoring 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The goal of Oden's intermediate god-making mission is the best sixth man and the king of shooting percentage.

This king of hit rate is not too difficult for Oden. Richard told him to take as many shots as possible to increase his hit rate when he encounters a weak opponent. When encountering an insider like Kaman who has something on hand, , try to take as few shots as possible and focus on rebounding and defense.

Oden scored less tonight, only a measly eight points, but his shooting percentage was scary, 4 of 5!

As for the honor of the Best Sixth Man, Richard thought that if Oden can finally play around 14+8+1 as a substitute this season, he will almost be able to secure the Best Sixth Man award.

…

As for Paul, Richard did not influence him and let him play according to his normal rhythm and how to play.

The only thing Richard did was to increase Paul's playing time so that he could get as much data as possible.

Last season Paul's average playing time was about 30 minutes per game, but this season Richard's average playing time increased to 35 minutes.

Rondo has no dissatisfaction, after all, he knows Richard's little secret, that is, Paul will be traded at the end of this season.

As for the third point guard Sun Yue, it is even less likely that he will be dissatisfied...

Sun Yue is not the kind of player who is particularly aggressive. In this regard, he may not be as good as Yi Jianlian.

To put it bluntly, he is just muddling through. As long as he can gain a foothold in the NBA and get a guaranteed contract, he will be relatively satisfied.

He is quite clear about the current situation of the Buccaneers. Even if there are Paul and Rondo in front of him, he will never have a chance to shine.

At the moment, he feels that the only thing he has to do is to endure the loneliness and endure it...

Although he was selected with the 29th overall pick, he was still a first-round pick and signed a four-year standard contract with the Buccaneers.

After the four-year contract has passed, as long as he doesn't commit suicide and doesn't open his mouth, Richard will definitely renew his contract, although there is a high possibility that it will be a basic salary...

But even if it is a basic salary, being able to continue to hang out in the NBA is better than returning to China to play.

The fame of playing in the NBA is completely different from playing in China. This allows Sun Yue to get a lot of off-court endorsement contracts, and he can earn more than playing in China.

Now the goal Sun Yue has set for himself is to endure it as long as possible until the day he succeeds.

Even if you don't make it to retirement, then you won't be at a loss anyway...

…

After the game, Richard led the team back to the hotel.

The extent of Brand's injury is not clear yet. It is estimated that the Clippers will officially announce the injury tomorrow, and I will not go over and cause trouble tonight.

But after returning to the hotel, Richard learned another piece of bad news.

There was also a game between the Kings and the Heat tonight. Rahim fractured his tibia in this game and his injury was extremely serious!

Richard sighed, today is really an unlucky day, two West Lafayette players suffered serious injuries in a row.

Although the extent of Brand's injury is unknown, Richard has a hunch that he will most likely be reimbursed for the season.

And Rahim is even worse...

If Richard remembers correctly, Raheem retired after this season.

He and Brand were in similar situations. They both suffered serious injuries after playing a few games at the start of the season, which later led to reimbursement for the season.

Brand can return to the league after recovering from injury, but Raheem is not so lucky. He faces the possibility of completely withdrawing from the league.

…

The next last away game was against the Golden State Warriors led by Nelson.

Naturally, the result was an easy win. The Warriors have indeed been prosperous for a while after the Mavericks. However, due to the limitations of the lineup, they have never been able to rush to the top half of the Western Conference. This season, the situation may be even worse. Might not even make the playoffs.

…

After the start of the season, the Pirates played seven games and maintained a complete victory.

If you just win the first seven games, although it is difficult to achieve this, such a start can happen every few years.

The key now is that the Buccaneers beat their opponents every game, which is pretty remarkable.

Watching the Pirates' games, you can't see any anxiety at all. The Pirates are in an absolute lead in every game, and the only thing their opponents can do is to prevent themselves from losing so miserably.

…

Richard is naturally quite satisfied with such an opening record, but these seven opponents are relatively weak, and the game that can truly test the Pirates' gold content has not yet appeared.

Just after leading the team back to Charlotte, Richard heard a piece of news that made him overjoyed.

Kings ready to buy out Raheem's contract...

Rahim's injury has been identified. Not only will he be reimbursed for the season, but even if he returns from injury, it will definitely be difficult to play his previous state.

Before Rahim was injured, he had already become a substitute for the Kings. In this case, the Kings buying out Rahim's contract is the best option.

After the news came out that the Kings were preparing to buy out Rahim, Richard was also watching to see if any team was interested in Rahim.

The result is very sad, and no team has expressed its willingness to accept Rahim.

Rahim has basically no value left now. He is a strong offensive and defensive player. In recent years, his condition has declined sharply, and he can no longer even perform his good offense.

Now that he is suffering from this kind of injury, how can any team be interested in him?

Richard immediately called Rahim. The reason was simple. He wanted to sign Rahim and take Rahim to taste the championship.

Raheem can be said to be one of the first West Lafayette players. He and Richard entered the league at the same time.

From a talented super rookie power forward, to the current situation where no one cares about him, Richard is a little sad about Raheem's experience.

But now it's better, I have the conditions to accept Rahim, and I can also give Rahim an extra championship ring.

"Man, how are things going with the Kings management?" Richard called Raheem to ask about the situation.

"The situation is not good, the buyout amount they are willing to give is too small..." Rahim said with a wry smile.

Richard nodded. Rahim joined the Kings in 2005. The contract he signed with the Kings at that time was 32 million for five years, which was considered a relatively cheap contract.

At present, this contract has only been implemented for less than three years. This season and the next two seasons, the Kings still have to pay Rahim's salary.

If there hadn't been the previous "Alan Houston Law", Rahim wouldn't have been as distressed as he is now. He could have refused the King's buyout request.

The so-called Alan Houston Law is a rule on buyouts introduced by the league in the summer of 2005.

Any team has the right to forcefully buy out the contract of any player on the team. This is the main content of the Alan Houston Law.

In other words, before this rule was introduced, teams did not have the right to unilaterally buy out player contracts. Now they have the right to compulsory buyout because of this rule.

However, even if they have the right to compulsory buyout, the Kings still want to have a good talk with Rahim. They hope to avoid a full buyout and want Rahim to lower his price...

Rahim is not a fool, so of course he cannot agree. You are going to ruin my career, and I still have to save money for you? There is no such thing as a good thing.

As a result, the buyout matter reached a deadlock.

"Well, let's end it soon."

"After you are done with the king, call me and join the team at any time. Man, we will fight side by side again." Richard said with a smile.

Rahim was startled. Can he join the team at any time?

He didn't react for a while, but after a moment of sluggishness, he understood what Richard meant.

"Coach, are you saying that I can join the Pirates?" Rahim couldn't conceal his excitement in his tone.

He is very aware of his current strength and it is almost impossible for a team to sign him.

And now Richard has extended an olive branch to him, which means that he will soon have the opportunity to taste the championship!

In the eyes of the outside world, the Buccaneers' chances of winning the championship were too great. When Rahim learned that the Kings wanted to buy him out, he wondered if he could join the Buccaneers and get a championship ring before he retired. .

But he was too embarrassed to talk to Richard about this matter. Now that Richard took the initiative to speak, Rahim was extremely excited.

"Don't worry, coach, I will solve it as soon as possible."

…

After hanging up the phone with Rahim, Richard breathed a sigh of relief. His old brother was going to play for him again. This feeling was simply wonderful.

Although Rahim will basically not contribute much on the court now, Richard does not expect Rahim to lead the team to win. He just wants to fulfill his original promise.

When they can't survive in the league, Richard will always have a place for them here.