Guard With a Knife

"I don't even know what to say? This isn't the first time I've won this trophy. I thought I would be excited, but... I wasn't."

The Duke received the MVP trophy and then gave this unique acceptance speech.

"I don't even know where to put it. I don't have the habit of collecting trophies. As everyone knows, I won too many trophies of all kinds during my student days. This to me is the equivalent of I ranked first in the school again in the final exam... This is nothing surprising. "

The Duke ended his speech without even thanking the team, thanking the fans and thanking his family in a standard way.

But... it still made the fans in the audience restless and excited. They expressed their joy and excitement with great passion. This was their seventeenth championship trophy and the only sweep in history. They have every reason to believe that the 18th, 19th and 20th trophies will come soon. After all, the Duke is still so young, he is not even married yet.

After the grand ceremony, the Duke originally planned to run away immediately.

However, colleagues in the Lakers' public relations department tried hard to talk things over, and finally they managed to get him to attend the post-game press conference.

After all, as the biggest protagonist in the finals, he has won the finals MVP for three consecutive years. If you don't attend the post-game press conference, not only those reporters, but also the newly appointed Adam Silver will collapse.

When the Duke came to the post-match press conference holding the two trophies, the reporters at the scene couldn't suppress their applause and cheered like a fan meeting.

Facing the greatest Finals performance in NBA history, they couldn't remain calm at all.

At this time, it’s time to praise and sing praises, because you can’t find a greater basketball star on this earth than Duke Snoopy.

However, the Duke seemed very calm.

When reporters asked him what he thought of this series, he even stretched: "Honestly, I didn't think it was such a great achievement, I just completed my job. Then next, I will I have a very fulfilling and long vacation. This summer, I have no plans to do commercial promotions around the world, nor do I plan to go on tour, nor do I have any plans to star in a movie.”

"I am already rich enough. My annual established income can fully cover my loan, and my assets are still increasing rapidly. I must stop and enjoy life."

The Duke sounded like a successful old entrepreneur.

But in fact, he is only 24 years old.

This is what makes people depressed.

Snoopy has obviously achieved achievements that are beyond the reach of ordinary people in all aspects, but he is still only 24 years old. And his book wealth can already reach the global Forbes rankings. As he said, no matter from which aspect, he can enjoy life.

The reporter from ESPN tried hard to bring the topic back to basketball from retirement. He hoped that the Duke would comment on his opponent.

"I must emphasize that they are very strong opponents. The game is not as disparate as the big score shows. The first three games were actually very anxious. If they were not careful, they were leading 3-0. But we caught opportunities, and our penalty area performance did play a key role. If it weren't for Whiteside, Milicic, Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill, we might even have to wait until the seventh game. Win or lose!"

The Duke elaborated his point of view very seriously.

This made ESPN reporters subconsciously extend the topic to the recent Miami scandal. "So, what do you think of the recent news between the Miami Heat and Dwight Howard? If Dwight Howard ends up joining Miami, what impact do you think they will have on the Los Angeles Lakers next season?"

"If the Miami Heat join hands with Dwight Howard, their strength will definitely be greatly improved. Dwight can make up for the Heat's final shortcomings. At least in the East, it will be difficult for any other team to threaten them."

The Duke said calmly. He didn't feel threatened at all.

This prompted the reporter to quickly ask: "So, do you think the Heat will pose a threat to you next season?"

"No! Because we will continue to improve. The stronger our opponents will only make us stronger!" Duge said seriously.

"So, L.A. is going to respond by signing a superstar this offseason?"

"No, we are a budget-conscious club. Our goal is to drop another five million in salary next season. Since Ron Artest's huge eight million contract expires, we will basically achieve this goal easily. After all, our signing salary for the new season will not exceed four million."

The Duke said seriously.

His serious words made the reporters at the scene look at each other: Are the Lakers a budget-conscious club? The goal for the new season is to reduce salary space by 5 million? What's going on? Other teams in the league are engaged in an arms race. Are you swimming against the current?

Well…actually.

Mr. Kupchak has recently begun working on deals. He plans to trade point guard Steve Blake. Although this guy is a good and cheap point guard, the Lakers don't need Steve Blake's salary space of up to 4 million US dollars now. .

Therefore, they plan to exchange it for some draft picks and cash.

In addition, Jordan Hill is playing quite well this season. He averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in the playoffs. He is a rare inside talent. If it is traded for draft picks, there will definitely be a rush of people outside, and it will definitely be a waste to make a lottery pick.

If Carlos Boozer's contract can be redeemed, then the Lakers will be really awesome.

However, Boozer is the Duke's man after all. Now he's averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. It's hard to call him a completely junk contract. But the price/performance ratio is definitely the lowest among the Lakers. The trade value is quite bad, unless you get Whiteside, maybe someone else will take over. But what a good and cheap contract Whiteside is. The Lakers are not willing to let go. Now they are already thinking about renewing the contract with Whiteside in advance.

Kupchak is now acting like Grandet is in charge.

It’s best not to spend money, but it’s even better to make some money.

Anyway...the Duke is standing here, and the championship trophy is also placed here. Those veterans who want to have a good time, hurry up and call to make an appointment!

Later in the press conference, the Duke finally talked about personal issues.

“I’m going to spend the whole summer spending time with the people that matter to me.”

This sentence triggered gossip in all the media: So, the important person is Daphne?

"you guess?"

Snoopy left the scene in suspense and left the scene gracefully. I even forgot to win the Finals MVP trophy.

This also shows once again that the Duke doesn't care about this stuff at all.

He has already won it twice, what else is new?

…

About fifty minutes later, Miami's Dwyane Wade finally walked into the room. He pursed his lips and summed up why they failed with a very frustrated expression. And they will continue to move forward and work hard for the championship trophy.

This is undoubtedly the most difficult press conference for The Flash.

They ended the 2012-13 season with a score of zero to four, and continued to exist as the villain to highlight the majesty of the Duke.

Fortunately, today's reporters are gentle enough and do not rub salt into the wounds or add insult to injury.

After all, it already takes a lot of courage for The Flash to appear here.

It's like... LeBron James would never have had the courage to step up and take on that responsibility.

This was a far cry from the first time he had hoisted the Eastern Conference championship trophy ten days earlier in Miami.

…

The Duke didn't care at all who Miami finally sent to announce that the season ended in failure. After leaving the arena, he went directly to Daphne, and the two went home together, and then began to live as a married couple without shame or impatience.

Daphne has an unimaginable interest in this matter, which even gives Doug a headache: she is indeed a woman who was struck by lightning.

And the thing he couldn't figure out the most was...why Daphne wanted to be a mother so much.

Doesn't she enjoy the world between two people at all? Do you have to create a child to destroy the balance between the couple?

However, despite all the criticism, Duggar still acted to support him.

He didn't have much confidence in this either. In the past, when he was with other duchess, he had occasionally slipped through the net, but they never came to fruition. He believes that the time has not yet come.

And when the Duke and Daphne were planning which tropical island to fly to for swimming this summer, the major media had already begun to praise Duke Snoopy as never before.

Their praise was so high that it even exceeded that of Michael Jordan back then.

This is Adam Xiao Hua's first fire after taking office. He wants to create a god!

He knows... David Stern relied on Michael Jordan's success to soar and turn the NBA into the most profitable business league in the United States. So now...it's time to start the second peak.

He wants to use Duke Snoop's huge influence to take the NBA to the next level.

And his second priority is...supporting grouping!

When he learned that Dwight Howard was flirting with the Miami Heat, he showed a completely different reaction than David Stern.

David Stern will never allow the phenomenon of grouping to happen, especially this kind of peak grouping. This can be seen from the fact that he vetoed Paul's trade in the name of basketball.

However, Adam Silver is different. He doesn't care about the balance of power in the league. In his opinion, a few super strong teams are enough to continue to expand the influence of the NBA... This is very consistent with the Law of 28.

So...as long as they are in love with each other, he will definitely support the peak team-up.

…

The Duke returned to Los Angeles after a half-month tour of Europe with Daphne.

At this time, the relationship between Miami and Dwight Howard was basically fully established, which made the Florida media quite excited, sweeping away the haze of being swept away before. It seems that with Howard signing the four-year, $89 million maximum salary contract that has been exposed, he will be the championship soon.

Their joy was exactly the same as the summer of 2010.

Of course, this also attracted criticism from many experts. No one likes this kind of strong team that sticks together at the top.

Morey, the general manager of the Rockets who lost Howard in the competition, even said sourly: "When a team gathers three TOP5 superstars and a TOP10 super player, this team will definitely become a disaster for the entire league! I have never seen the NBA's No. 1 small forward and the NBA's No. 1 center on the same team at the same time." Such sour arguments are always ridiculed by the Miami media as being unable to afford to lose. However, it must be admitted that the vast majority of public opinion is against this kind of superstar peak group. Therefore, more and more people hope that the Duke can kill them again. Of course, everyone also thinks that if the Lakers do not strengthen their lineup during the offseason. The result will definitely not be optimistic. After all, the Big Three and the Big Four are completely different concepts. The most important thing is that the Lakers' elderly travel group is one year older. By next summer, they will never be able to achieve the results they did this summer. After returning to Los Angeles, Kupchak reported his report card to Doug as soon as possible. "Shawn Marion passed our test and is willing to accept a veteran minimum salary. There are also some veterans, but we are still waiting and watching."

"Antawn Jamison decided to retire. He has already won the championship ring he has always dreamed of. This just makes room for Stephen Jackson."

"In addition, there is a guard who is in his prime who wants to sign a one-year minimum salary with us. He is Nick Young. Do you think we can give him this contract?"

"Also, we have reached an agreement with the Bucks. We will use Jordan Hill and Steve Blake to trade their expiring contracts, some cash, and their draft picks...if they can pick up the Giannis we want in the draft!"

Kupchak's reporting work was done very well.

Doug nodded and encouraged Kupchak: "These works are very well done. The salary reduction work we expected was completed perfectly." Then, he gave specific instructions: "Shawn Marion can be signed. Nick Young can also be signed. Although this kid is not smart, he can well supplement Kobe's declining strength. As for the draft, you have to continue to follow up, and it is best to get a first-round pick. I doubt that the Bucks' draft pick may not be able to get this monster from Greece." Uh... Kupchak has always had something to say in his heart, but he finally asked: "Do you really think that the little guy named Giannis is so good? In my opinion, he only has physical fitness and may not be able to play well." "No, I think he will be the next core of the Lakers. The biggest task this summer is to get him!" Doug gave a death order: "The chips are not just Jordan Hill and Blake, anyone can be exchanged. Do you understand?" Good! Kupchak quickly agreed. Although he had doubts in his heart, he firmly believed in the vision of the Duke. …… [Ask for monthly tickets at the end of the month. The current number is 1090 votes. If I can reach 1280 votes before 12:00, I will immediately update another chapter with 4,000 words! Please, everyone. This is the last month. Let’s make a strong push. 】