I’m Really Playing Basketball

After the 2008 Olympics, Chen Xiao stayed in the country for a little over a month. After winning the local Olympics, as the biggest star of the Olympics, Chen Xiao undoubtedly became the biggest favorite in the country.

CCTV media, Jiangsu Province media, Hong Kong and Macao media, it can be said that Chen Xiao received invitations from all over the country.

As the most influential star in the Chinese sports industry, there are some things that Chen Xiao can’t just do if he doesn’t want to. He bears the love of so many people, and he needs to make his own contribution to this love, otherwise he would be too selfish .

Of course, although such a national run is a bit tiring, but the love of the audience can be felt everywhere, which is quite happy for Chen Xiao.

In short, after traveling around the country, it was already September 28th when Chen Xiao returned to the United States.

The Bobcats' opening game of this season is to play against the Cavaliers on October 30. There is only about a month left, and the Bobcats' training camp has already started.

As the leader of the Chinese team, although Chen Xiao has not returned to the team for a long time, the Bobcats' training camp is still going on in an orderly manner under the leadership of Joe.

I have to say that Boss Qiao has done a great job this summer.

This summer, Joe's biggest job is to clean up the team's players and make room for five players, including Rose, the Lopez brothers, DeAndre Jordan, and Roy Hibbert, who can sign them.

In order to sign these five people, Jordan needs to trade away several fringe players on the team.

In the end, Joe boss sent Francisco Garcia and Jarrett Jack and Gortat to the Pacers, in exchange for the Bobcats for a top three protected first-round pick and cash for the Pacers in the future.

This deal is a win-win for both the Pacers and the Bobcats. The Pacers got the players Larry Bird wanted. The Bobcats' Joe boss can be regarded as repaying the favor Larry Bird gave to Chris Webber.

If Larry Bird had held onto Webber's handle and cut him off, the Bobcats might not have won the championship.

For these three players, their value is certainly not just a first-round pick protected by the top three. Blind people can see that Gortat, Jack and Garcia are very good.

Garcia is the kind of high-quality 3D that can defend and shoot that the league lacks most. Garcia is worth a first-round pick, or even a lottery. After all, Garcia was originally selected by Jordan with the 21st pick.

Gortat and Jack are also worth a fringe to mid-lottery pick.

If you give away three high-quality chips like this and get two lottery tickets, there is no problem at all.

But the Pacers got it in exchange for a lottery ticket, and it was a protected lottery ticket.

This is a loss for Bobcat and Boss Qiao.

On the surface, this is the case, but in fact, Boss Qiao has made money. Favors are always a 'hidden danger'. When Da Bird asks for it, it is the most uncomfortable. Yes, losses are also earned.

It's like using these three people in exchange for Webber's one-year usage rights + a lottery pick.

Therefore, after completing this transaction, Boss Qiao is really debt-free, and finally there is no 'handle' in the hands of others.

In addition, Fischenko, who was selected by the Bobcats with the 28th overall pick in the first round last year, was sent to the Jazz by Joe in exchange for a second-round pick.

This is also a loss-making transaction. On the surface, it is so, but in fact it is still profitable for Boss Qiao.

His son Jordan Jr. is now in the hands of the Jazz as a 'hostage', in the hands of Sloan. Sloan and the Jazz want Feshenko, but Boss Joe 'dare not' not to give it.

Just kidding, the main reason is that Feshenko did not play well in the Bobcats and has no value. Since the Jazz and Sloan think he can still be saved, let's save it.

On October 1, 2008, Chen Xiao rested for three days after returning to the United States and arrived at the Bobcats training camp on time.

In the training camp, Chen Xiao also met familiar teammates.

Matt Barnes, Bynum, Granger, Ilyasova, Roy, Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, Battier, Lowry, Rose, Lopez, Lopez, DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert.

There are a total of fourteen teammates, plus Chen Xiao, the Bobcats team has a total of 15 people.

In addition to these 15 official players, the Bobcats also have an informal player, and that is Livingston.

When Chen Xiao left during the offseason, he told Jordan that if possible, he would give Livingston a Development League contract.

Save Livingston's job in the NBA and leave him with the last dignity and hope.

However, Livingston rejected it in the end.

Livingston did not choose to sign such an informal contract with the Bobcats. For a former super genius and little magician like him, such a contract is not what he wants.

He only wants a formal contract from the NBA, whether it is guaranteed or not, he only wants a formal contract from the NBA.

Jordan and Chen Xiao also understand this. After all, Livingston was indeed popular back then.

Although Livingston did not accept Chen Xiao and Jordan's arrangement, he accepted Jordan and Chen Xiao's kindness. He did not sign a contract with the Bobcats, but he stayed with the Bobcats to continue training.

This is also a very good thing for Livingston. At least, he still has a family.

Otherwise, if he wants to continue training, he may have to return to his alma mater and his hometown.

For him, who didn't do well in the NBA, going back to his alma mater or his hometown to train was definitely a torture.

Now Livingston is training hard to find the feeling he lost without playing games in the past year. When he regains the feeling, he will leave Charlotte to try out with other NBA teams to look for opportunities.

Historically, this opportunity was begged to Wade by his agent, who was also Wade's agent, and was given to him by the Heat.

Now, Livingston should no longer feel that this opportunity was given to him.

After talking about the changes of the Bobcats throughout the offseason, let’s talk about some major changes in the entire NBA this offseason.

For this offseason, the biggest change is of course the ownership of Allen Iverson, the biggest free agent this offseason.

The Nuggets had a bad relationship between head coach George Karl and Anthony, the boss. Karl hoped that Iverson could step up and take over the team leader's position. Iverson refused. Iverson didn't want to let his brother down. He and fan Anthony didn't want to offend the head coach George Karl who valued him very much, so Iverson chose neutrality, or escape, in the fight between the two.

With one year left on his contract with the Nuggets, he implemented the player option in advance and gave up his contract worth more than $20 million next year to become a free agent.

The 33-year-old Iverson is the league's MVP and one of the most popular stars in the NBA. In addition, he is still at his peak. He averaged 26.5 points and 7 assists per game with the Nuggets last season and shot 46% from the field. With such data and performance, to be honest, it is difficult for any team to refuse.

After all, Iverson now seems to be at the peak of his strength, his shooting is more accurate, and he is more team-oriented. Moreover, the contract requirements are not large, and he can sign for a mid-level salary.

Who can say no to such a player who wants to be popular, capable, and seems to have great leadership qualities?

So after Iverson jumped out of his contract, the Heat, Nets, Lakers, Raptors, Cavaliers, Spurs and other super teams offered Iverson an olive branch.

In the end, Iverson chose the defending champion Heat among these teams.

Iverson wants a championship now, and the Heat are the defending champions. The three leading players on this team, Yao Ming, Wade and Chris Bosh, all seem to be reaching their peak.

In this case, the Heat seem to be the most promising team to win the championship and the team closest to the championship.

Although the overall strength of the Lakers is stronger, this team has not yet blended in well, and whether it can blend in well is still unknown.

In short, Iverson finally chose the Heat, and after getting Iverson, the Heat seemed really invincible.

In particular, the Lakers, the most powerful team, seemed to be in civil strife. After Artest came, Baron Davis found that he had lost his position in the team and wanted to leave.

But Baron Davis was reluctant to part with his Bird Rights and wanted to sign first and then trade. This made the Lakers feel like they were in a mess during the offseason.

But in the end, after the Los Angeles Lakers did not keep Baron Davis, who wanted to leave, they could only send Baron Davis to the Pistons in exchange for Billups.

The entire NBA knows that Pistons general manager Joe Dumars is crazy about young guard Stuckey, and Stuckey and Billups have a big conflict. When the two can only choose one, Dumars Maas ultimately chose Stuckey.

Historically, at this time Billups was forced away by Stuckey and went to the Nuggets. The Nuggets and Pistons exchanged Iverson and Billups.

But in this time and space, Iverson has a good relationship with Anthony, and he chose to opt out of the contract, so naturally he cannot exchange with Billups.

In this case, there are not many teams that can provide the Pistons with swap opportunities, and the Lakers' Baron Davis is indeed a very suitable player.

The 29-year-old Baron Davis is a player averaging close to 22+8 per game and is undoubtedly an All-Star player.

Under the pressure of having to send Billups away immediately, the Pistons have no reason not to trade with the Lakers.

In the end, the Lakers lost something and gained something. When they lost Baron Davis and had to trade Baron Davis, the Lakers did not expect that Billups was forced to look like that in the Pistons.

For the Lakers, although Baron Davis is very good, Billups is obviously more suitable for the Lakers and more suitable for Phil Jackson's requirements.

Billups, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, Gasol, Odom, Nate Robinson and others.

The Lakers, who were originally in some internal strife, have once again become the most powerful team in the entire league.

In short, the Lakers got Billups who is more suitable for them, while the Heat got their own answer at the point guard line. For a time, the two teams that were originally the strongest teams in the NBA became complementary to each other. Stronger.

For a time, the entire NBA felt a little stressed.

So here’s the problem. Chen Xiao remembered that during the Diamond Cup, Manu said that he was leaving the Magic.

Why hasn't he left the Magic yet?

Did Manu deliberately lie to him in order to win the game, mess with his mentality?

Why is there no movement in magic now?

Did Manu lie to Chen Xiao on purpose?

of course not!

Just when Chen Xiao returned to the Bobcats training camp and trained hard with his teammates, he was getting used to it.

At this time, in Orlando and San Antonio, Magic general manager Otis Smith and Spurs general manager Buford were still having a fierce confrontation.

In fact, the two have been competing from mid-July to now, which is almost three months ago. From the end of the season to the beginning of the season, they have been competing.

Why is it so intense?

There was no way, this deal was too huge, and they had no choice but to make the two of them so crazy.

After all, in this deal, two new superstars, Howard and Arenas, are involved. At the same time, Duncan, one of the greatest players in NBA history, and powerful factions such as Parker and Ginobili are involved. player of.

"Otis, if we don't pull Hamilton into this deal, we can't send Arenas and Dwight Howard to the Magic. Since you want them, you should know their value. We should also know their value to us, we just signed them with a maximum salary, do you think we provide them with a maximum salary to increase their transaction value?"

Facing Buford's questioning voice, Smith gritted his teeth. It's been three months, and the Spurs really haven't let up at all.

He got the news from the gossip that Popovich wanted to welcome Duncan back. In addition, Arenas and Howard were interested in leaving after losing in the finals again, so he came to the Spurs for a deal immediately.

But, who would have thought that Popovich wanted Duncan, but Buford seemed not to!

The problem is stuck here.

If the Spurs desperately need Duncan, then he and the Magic can take advantage of the opportunity to rob him, just like they robbed Duncan from the Spurs.

However, in the past three months, his confrontation with Buford has been made by him. He urgently needs Arenas and Howard, while the Spurs are not so urgent for Duncan.

Originally, this deal should have been beneficial to him, but now, it seemed to have become detrimental to them.

However, he still had to stick to the bottom line, otherwise, he knew very well that this would be a bottomless pit.

"Hamilton is very important to us, we can't add Hamilton to the deal, but you're right, we are all tired of this endless leveling, although we can't send Hamilton to the Spurs, but..."

On October 8, 2008, before the preseason game between the Bobcats and the Magic at home, Chen Xiao was still saying hello to good friends Duncan, Ginobili, Prince and Hamilton. The hall suddenly exploded.

"The Spurs and the Magic completed a deal. The Spurs sent Arenas and Howard to the Orlando Magic, and brought Duncan back from the Magic, as well as Ginobili, Parker, and Prince!"

"..."

Jordan finished speaking excitedly, and Chen Xiao was stunned.