Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

October 8th.

The entire offseason is finally coming to an end, and the preseason games of each team are about to begin, and Li Shengli left his hometown and went to report to the Dallas Mavericks in Texas.

Speaking of which, the history of the Mavericks can be traced back to the 1980s. Because the city of Dallas has a large population base and a broad fan market, it was originally regarded as a potential team by the league. However, since the 1990s... the Mavericks have been miserable. , occupying the last place in the Western Conference regular season for consecutive years, and even ranked last in the last two seasons.

From this point of view, Stern's lottery pick is still very friendly to weak teams. The Mavericks have also accumulated some wealth in two years. Otherwise, they would not have the capital to trade Li Shengli. As soon as this news came out... the whole league Everyone was excited, because the dynasty that Jazz had just established was directly disintegrated.

It is also for this reason that the Jazz fans who received the news found it difficult to accept and cursed endlessly. On the contrary, the fans of the Dallas Mavericks were quite excited, but there is one thing to say...Salt Lake City is a small town, but this piece of cake is basically The Jazz are eating, and Dallas, a place with a mixed fan market, has to grab the cake. However, the performance of the Dallas Mavericks since the team was founded is poor. No one wants to watch a team that always loses, so the Mavericks are basically in the same position. In a state of eating dirt.

As a result, the entire league was enthusiastically discussing the whereabouts of Li Shengli. When discussing the Mavericks' results for the new season, the host Dallas side was not so lively. The local media briefly reported about three or two big cats and kittens, and only a small number of them were reported. A handful of die-hard fans publicly expressed their welcome.

After all, there are still too many choices in this city, and most people's thoughts are still... You Mavericks lose every day, why should you let me spend money to watch a terrible game? !

Therefore, not only the Mavericks management, die-hard fans, but also league officials represented by Stern hope that Li Shengli can save Dallas, and his performance next season is still very important.

…

It was already past noon when they arrived in Dallas. Curry and Crotty had arrived in the morning, so they waited at the airport for a while. The three brothers went to report together, and the Mavericks also showed enough concern. Solemnly, the team's new general manager Toby Knight and coach Dick Motta personally welcomed him.

If you really want to say it, today's Mavericks, from the management to the head coach to the players, is simply like being reborn in the rookie village. Except for a few old people from the original team, they are all the same. They are new faces, so there is no question of who welcomes whom, but rather... welcome each other.

After the routine physical examination, the three brothers also chose their jersey numbers. Li Shengli's number 33 remained unchanged, Curry and Crotty were still No. 30 and No. 25, and after that, Dick Motta led the three of them for a meeting. Meeting with teammates.

…

"Here he comes, Li...here he comes!"

"Oh shit, I never thought I'd get to play with him one day!"

"Excitement or fear?"

"All of them, after all, this guy is too crazy, the most evil person in the league..."

"Oh my god, can't you lower your voice? This is no longer the previous team. Think about this guy's fighting ability. If you are worried about him, then..."

At this time, Dick Motta led Li Shengli, Curry, and Crotty over, and the old man of the Mavericks whispered to each other for a few words, the focus of which was Li Shengli, the well-known 'super villain'.

"Guys, welcome our new teammates, Li Shengli, Dell Curry and John Crotty!" Even though Dick is the newly appointed coach, his identity is still here, and the players cannot leave him behind. They all expressed their welcome to Li Shengli, and the three Li Shengli brothers also stood in the middle of their new teammates, listening to coach Dick's lecture.

"Okay, all our team members are here, let me say a few words."

"Ahem... In the future, I believe that everyone will establish a deep friendship with each other. We are teammates and even friends. We all have the same goal, which is to fight for the Dallas Mavericks. And under the current situation, everyone is also Everyone knows that we are a team that has been at the bottom of the league for several consecutive seasons, but I also have reason to believe that the new season will be our best chance to take off..."

You know, Dick Motta is not a novice coach. On the contrary, he started his coaching career in the 1968-69 season, from the Chicago Bulls to the Washington Bullets. However, his coaching results were relatively embarrassing. Niu is just an assistant coach.

Fortunately, Quinn Buckner was dismissed successfully last season, so he had the opportunity to become a regular. Compared with the players, his desire for team performance as a head coach has reached its peak, and he also wants to compete with Jerry Sloan. Become a champion coach as well.

Summarize the past and look forward to the future!

Dick spent more than ten minutes using these eight-character mantras. When Li Shengli and the others almost fell asleep, he finally made his concluding remarks.

"Okay, that's all I have to say! It's getting late today, everyone can get to know each other. And... don't be late for tomorrow's training camp. I think you all should know the importance of this matter."

…

Finally finished?

Li Shengli and Curry were relieved, but Crotty listened to the whole process expressionlessly and showed amazing perseverance. As soon as they heard Dick saying that the gang was about to break up... the group immediately became friendly, chatting in twos and threes, and getting to know each other. one time.

The Mavericks gave away two of their core members, and to put it bluntly, the rest are just a bunch of stragglers. Not to mention first-rate members, even second-rate members have to wait a little longer, so everyone's focus is naturally... a super player who has already achieved results. Giant center Li Shengli and Jason Kidd, who joined as the second pick in the draft, happened to look at each other.

Jason Kidd looked at Li Shengli and said that it was impossible not to beat the drum in his heart. After all, this big brother is really bad.

He has only been playing in the NBA for two years, and he has injured a lot of players. Unfortunately, this big brother is not a full-time brawler like Old Oakley. His dominance in the penalty area is incredible, and he will blast whoever he catches.

Even though both of them were ranked second in the draft, in the final analysis Kidd is still a rookie, so he cannot and cannot be compared with Li Shengli.

Kidd looked at Li Shengli, and Li Shengli also looked at Kidd.

Compared with his former teammate Stockton, Kidd is about ten centimeters taller than Stockton and his body is stronger. Although there is no data reference in the NBA, he was still eye-catching during the NCAA period. In the season, he can average 13 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 3.8 steals per game.

…

"Hello, Li, it's a pleasure to be your teammate!" Kidd was the first to speak. It would be fine if he didn't speak. He was really afraid of being missed by the big brother Li Shengli. After all, in the three-point land of the NBA, seniority is still important, and It was for this reason that Jordan was beaten by Thomas in the All-Star Game.

"Hello, Kidd, me too!" Li Shengli replied in a friendly manner. It was the first time that the two of them got to know each other formally. After that, they exchanged a few words and stopped communicating.

It's not that I don't want to talk more, it's just that there's really nothing to talk about.

Li Shengli's character is naturally slow-tempered, so he can't reply... You are Xiao Ji, right?

As for Kidd's fear of over-talking, there will be plenty of time in the future anyway, so there is no need to be too attentive now. After all, that would be too embarrassing.

…

Thus, the first day of Brother Li Shengli's trip to Dallas ended.

It is worth mentioning that after the team broke up... because the time to finalize the transaction was postponed too late, I left the base camp and the brothers didn't have a place to stay, so they could only stay in a hotel temporarily for the past few days.

This situation is relatively common for players. When Li Shengli first arrived in the Hornets, he stayed at Curry's house for a month. Jason Kidd seemed to have encountered the same dilemma and was pulled by the enthusiastic Curry. The four of them walked out of the arena together, preparing to find a place to stay.