I’m Really Playing Basketball

It's February, and the most important thing in the entire NBA is of course this year's NBA All-Star Weekend.

Although many people complain about the All-Star Weekend every year because it is not exciting enough and not as good-looking as before, fans always complain about it and continue to watch it year after year.

Especially the All-Star Game during All-Star Weekend.

Because the NBA is in its golden age now, although whether you can watch the All-Star Game is another matter, it is really difficult for players to be selected for the All-Star Game.

Countless stars from the Eastern and Western Conferences have rarely been selected even once in their entire careers.

Even if they have All-Star ability, there are really many players who cannot be selected for the All-Star Game.

One of the more famous ones is Mike Beasley, the third-generation Three Eagles boss at Marquette University. This Pacers star has never been selected to any All-Star in his career for so many years.

Beasley is now 34 years old and working hard to become the first All-Star in his career.

You know, Beasley is almost considered by fans and experts to be a player comparable to a superstar.

In fact, Beasley's offense is that of a superstar-level player, but because his defense is so terrible, he is not considered a real superstar. His performance in the NBA playoffs is also mediocre, and he has never broken through the first round in his career. If he can Breaking through the first round, even if he has defensive problems, he will be recognized as a superstar.

A player with superstar level strength has never been selected as an All-Star in his career. This is probably the case in this era.

There is no precedent for this in the entire history of the NBA.

However, this also has a lot to do with Beasley's unlucky situation.

Throughout his career, what kind of gods have the Eastern Conference's forwards been like?

In the early days, there were Chen Xiao, James, Durant, Stoudemire, Anthony and other players.

After Chen Xiao left, Stoudemire left, Anthony and Westbrook had a falling out, Antetokounmpo emerged again, and James and Durant have always been in the game.

Let's put it this way, although the All-Stars are now only divided into the backcourt and the frontcourt, the small forward is not the only position in the frontcourt.

In the East, the competition for small forwards is not only disappointing, but also for power forwards and centers.

In short, in an All-Star game, there are 12 players in the Eastern Conference, usually five in the backcourt and seven in the frontcourt. To be honest, except for James, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Gao Bo, and Oden, In addition to the five players who are almost certain to be selected, even the 76ers' head player Embiid is actually competing with other Eastern frontcourt stars for the remaining two positions.

It is actually very understandable that Beasley cannot compete with these people.

Especially this season, due to the rise of the Nets, Ingram and Drummond have joined the competition.

What makes people even more desperate is that Chen Xiao has returned from the West and is now playing in the frontcourt.

After this calculation, in fact, in the entire Eastern Conference, there are really not enough frontcourt positions.

At the very least, no matter how strong Beasley is and is still recognized as a superstar, it may be difficult for him to compete for an All-Star spot.

And this is where the entire East becomes desperate.

Stars are indeed very eager for All-Stars.

It is precisely because of this that every February, the entire NBA media will frantically hype the All-Star Game roster to see who has become the biggest loser.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game roster.

In the East, the five starters are in the frontcourt, with the vote leader Chen Xiao, Durant, and Gao Bo, and the backcourt is Curry and Rose.

The five starters in the West are the frontcourt, the vote leader Zhou Qi, Jokic, Leonard, and the backcourt are Doncic and Morant.

There are 7 substitute players on the Eastern side, Antetokounmpo, James, Zach LaVine, Ingram, Oden, James Harden, and Westbrook.

There are seven substitute players in the West, Paul George, Siakam, Trae Young, Jimmy Butler, Alexander, Alexander, and Devin Booker.

Let's just put it this way: There are really a bunch of undrafted superstars in the East and West.

For example, Embiid, Beasley, DeRozan in the East, Griffin, Chris Paul, Towns, etc. in the West.

So much so that basketball star Drummond, who was very resentful about not being selected for the All-Star Game, finally turned his resentment into reality after seeing the list of players from the Eastern and Western Conferences who were absent from the All-Star Game listed in the media. It became a pity.

So far this season, the Nets have a very good record. Before the start of the All-Star Weekend, the Nets had a record of 45 wins and 14 losses. This record ranked third in the Eastern Conference, second only to the Celtics with 52 wins and 7 losses. Behind the Milwaukee Bucks and the 50-9 Heat, they are ranked third in the Eastern Conference.

If you count the entire league, it only ranks fifth in the league behind the Lakers, who also have 50 wins and 9 losses, and the Warriors, who have 48 wins and 11 losses.

It is precisely because of such a record that Drummond, who has averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds per game so far this season, actually has expectations of going further.

But in the end, Drummond was not able to change his fate and enter the All-Star Game, and to be honest, he was far from it.

In the fan voting stage, he was ranked sixth in the frontcourt. This is already the closest result in his career to the All-Star game.

After all, he defeated Embiid in this year's voting.

However, no matter who he beats, when he cannot enter the All-Star Game through voting, it means that he has no chance of the All-Star Game.

Even in the discussion of superstars who were not selected for the All-Star Game, his name was not included.

He is not quite qualified yet.

However, with the arrival of the All-Star Weekend, the discussion of missing out on the All-Star Game has come to an end, but the core of the player transaction has Drummond's name, and he is also the protagonist.

Because of their excellent performance in the first half of the season, the two Nets players, Drummond and Bruce Brown, performed very well.

Both of them showed very good offensive and defensive abilities and good potential.

I won’t talk about Drummond, but let’s talk about Bruce Brown. So far this season, he has averaged 14 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. As a forward and guard swingman, he is the starter of the Nets this season. The second position can average 1.6 three-pointers per game, and the shooting rate is as high as 42%. It can be said that from a statistical point of view, he is simply a perfect 3D player.

Many Nets fans even feel that the Nets should not list trading him as an option for the team, and feel that the team still has a place for him.

After all, he was a player in 1996, he is only 26 years old this year, and the four-year, 30 million contract he signed with the team the year before was not large. In this case, this player is definitely a high-quality asset for a team.

And with such excellent 3D strength, he seems to be a very suitable player for Chen Xiao.

Therefore, as the trade deadline approaches, the entire trading market becomes confusing for a while.

To be honest, the NBA trade market at the beginning of this year was actually very active. What was the reason?

Of course, it's because Kobe's son, Kobe Jr., will participate in the NBA draft this year. This player has been the number one player in the United States since middle school. He can be said to be a young player at the level of the nation's chosen son. His reputation is much greater than that of Xiao Chen last year.

Under such circumstances, many teams in the league are actually changing directions this season to make things worse for Xiao Chen.

Many teams want to be bad, but many stars don't necessarily want to be bad.

For example, New York Knicks star Westbrook is very unhappy with the Knicks' poor behavior this season.

The team is failing, but Westbrook is daring to fight and fight hard. This season he just led the Knicks to the edge of the playoffs, and he also made it to the All-Star Game.

To be honest, this actually makes the Knicks management very unhappy.

Westbrook is also 34 years old this year. Although he still has a strong fighting capacity at this age, the Knicks have nothing wrong in thinking about their future, right?

There is indeed no problem with this. Can't Westbrook tolerate such a season?

But for Westbrook, he really doesn't want to endure it. His age has come and he still wants a championship. Although the hope is slim, he still wants to try. At the same time, from the bottom of his heart, he doesn't want to be with little Kobe. Continue to grow. You will be 35 years old after this season. How can you help young Kobe grow up?

In this case, Westbrook will of course confront the team directly.

The Knicks are also very uncomfortable with this. Due to Westbrook's age and playing style, the transaction value is almost zero. In addition, coupled with his large contract, no one wants him without a first-round pick.

However, his historical status in the Knicks is still very high. If the team really wants to trade him, the fans will definitely fight with the management.

Even the fans support Westbrook's choice to dare to fight and fight.

The entire NBA says Kobe Bryant is good, but the Knicks will definitely be able to get Kobe Bryant?

You also don’t think about how many teams have failed this season.

Can the Knicks beat other teams with their bad performance?

It can only be said that there are too many teams that have failed this season.

There are many teams like the Knicks that are not decisive.

For example, another team in the Eastern Conference that is neither up nor down, the Pacers.

With Beasley and Love, the Pacers' management is actually in trouble this season.

But Beasley and Love are unwilling because they both want to be in the All-Stars. Both of them have never been in the All-Stars in their careers.

In this case, one of the two people is 34 and the other is 34 and a half years old. Although the two of them are in good condition for the All-Stars and have good professionalism, no matter how good the condition of the two is, , the peak of his career is actually only one or two years.

Under such circumstances, how can one be willing to waste a year with the team?

After missing the All-Star Game again this time, the two Pacers stars almost gave up completely, and at the same time they also had huge conflicts with the team.

Like Westbrook's relationship with the Knicks, Beasley and Love also had similar conflicts and conflicts with the Pacers.

Both felt that the Pacers were holding them back.

As for the Pacers, they feel that considering that the two of them have been with the Pacers throughout their careers and are two of the greatest stars in the history of the Pacers, they are willing to give them most of the season to compete in the All-Star Game. The failure of the All-Star Game is your own fault. How can you blame the team for not supporting you?

For the Pacers, in order to support you, the team has fallen far behind other teams in terms of performance.

Therefore, because of Kobe Bryant and his poor performance, the entire NBA is now like a powder keg in the trading market.

In fact, not everyone in these bad teams really wants Kobe Bryant.

Let's put it this way, Kobe Bryant said when Kobe Bryant entered UCLA that the Lakers could pay any price for Kobe Bryant.

The reason why Kobe is willing to be a head coach in the NBA is because he wants to coach Kobe in his career.

In this case, if these teams get the No. 1 pick, they can directly rob the Lakers.

The Lakers have a lot of high-quality assets.

Not to mention Leonard and Paul George, the two older superstars.

Just talk about Jokic and Siakam, two superstars in their prime.

The team also has Lowe, a player who has shown great potential.

It can be said that the Lakers have a lot of resources that can be robbed.

Many teams actually have this idea.

Regarding the thoughts of Kobe Bryant and these teams, the Nets don't have so many thoughts.

Because it is impossible for the Nets to get Kobe Bryant, although Chen Xiao knows very well how strong Kobe Bryant is.

This second-generation star that he and Kobe have cultivated needs talent, skills, and fighting spirit. It is no problem at all to say that he is the chosen one like James, Oden, and Durant.

If possible, it would be absolutely perfect to get him and Xiao Chen to partner in the backcourt.

But, you can’t get it.

Therefore, the Nets are now focusing on the trade market after the All-Star break.

The trading market will close immediately after this year's All-Star Weekend.

The Nets discussion is finally over. What was discussed?

Of course there can only be one question between Joe Harris and Bruce Brown.

In the end, with the approval of Chen Xiao and Kidd, they chose to keep Bruce Brown.

It can only be said that Bruce Brown has improved too much this season.

Joe Harris has better three-point ability, better shooting, and poor defense. It seems that he is well suited to Chen Xiao on the offensive end.

Bruce Brown used to be a poor shooter, but this season suddenly exploded, and it seems easy to suddenly fade again, but his defense is very good, and his off-ball offense and defense are also good. If he can maintain his offensive ability, he will definitely be better than Joe Harry. A more suitable player.

The key is whether Bruce Brown can maintain this level and perform at this level in the playoffs.

Many people in the Nets management believe that Joe Harris can have stable output in the playoffs, and Bruce Brown is very mysterious.

Therefore, most people in the Nets management hope to choose Joe Harris to stay on the team.

But, in the end, Chen Xiao and Kidd decided to keep Bruce Brown. There was no way, the Nets' defense was too poor.

Players like Bruce Brown who can attack and defend three-pointers are hard to find in the entire league.

If the Nets can qualify for one, they really can't just give it away like this.

As for whether the future will suddenly become unstable, that is a matter for the future.

At the very least, now he is really suitable for Chen Xiao and the Nets.

And more importantly, Joe Harris's contract is bigger, 80 million in four years. This big contract is really big. Of course, Joe Harris's performance is worth it.

Although the Nets did not make the playoffs in the previous two seasons, Joe Harris' three-point shooting percentages were as high as 48 and 47.5% respectively, and he averaged more than three three-pointers per game. In the first two seasons, he played on the team. When starting, you average about 48% shooting and 15 points per game. Even if it were you, you would give such a big contract.

If he can defend, he can even compete for the maximum salary.

As for the issue of not proving themselves in the playoffs, let's put it this way. Several of the top players who received the maximum salary in the Eastern Conference have proven themselves in the playoffs.

Joe Harris's performance with the Nets in the previous two seasons was almost exactly the same as Michael Porter Jr.'s performance with the Warriors.

And because Michael Porter Jr. is defensive, the Nuggets are willing to give him a maximum salary contract.

Therefore, although Joe Harris was given a four-year, 80 million contract, many Nets management believed that the team made money.

Joe Harris, who returned to the bench this season, is also performing very well, averaging 12 points per game, still shooting 47% from three-point range, and still averaging 3 three-pointers per game.

Therefore, Joe Harris has proven his ability and performance in the regular season for three consecutive seasons.

Therefore, when the Nets decided to send Joe Harris away instead of Bruce Brown, it attracted even more attention.

It can only be said that the three-point shot in this era is indeed too important, and Joe Harris's performance on the three-point line in the past three seasons is really great.

Although he won't be a star because of his defense, he is a very good role player.

So much so that even the Bucks, Lakers, Heat, Warriors and other super teams in the league came to inquire about the price.

In short, the two players the Nets want to trade during this trading period, Drummond and Joe Harris, are both very high-quality assets.

Naturally, these two people received a lot of quotes.

Westbrook of the Knicks.

Pick Lillard and McCollum of the Trail Blazers at will.

The Pacers can choose Beasley and Love at will, or even pack everything.

You can choose Jimmy Butler or Dwight Howard from the Spurs, or even package them together.

etc……

These teams are the teams in the league that are not so determined to perform poorly this season.

It's easy to guess what they are thinking. The players they put on the shelves for trade are all players of an older age and with large contracts. If they can exchange for perfect Jigsaw players and get Kobe Bryant, then the team will be able to win immediately. Take off immediately like the Mavericks getting Doncic and the Thunder getting Trae Young.

How nice it would be to get out of a big contract and be able to rebuild right away.

It is precisely because of this that the Nets' threshold has been crossed.

But in the end, the Nets sent Joe Harris and Drummond from the Spurs in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Aldridge, who returned this season after announcing his retirement.

At the same time, the Nets reached an agreement with Beasley, who had terminated his contract with the Pacers, and signed a half-season minimum salary contract.

At this point, the Nets, who had crossed the threshold, completed the final reinforcements of this season.

Although it may not be perfect, it is at least better than the random operations in the summer for reinforcement.

As for the pursuit of perfection, this is really impossible. Although Drummond and Joe Harris are high-quality assets, their upper limits are also very obvious. It is impossible to exchange for superstars under the age of 30. You can only look for them above. .

And Jimmy Butler is already the most suitable one that can be found.

After all, Jimmy Butler is Chen Xiao's student, and Chen Xiao still knows him well. Although no one in the Spurs can suppress this thorn in the pursuit of success because of Popovich's retirement, which has led to many internal problems in the Spurs, but in the Spurs The prickly Jimmy Butler will definitely look different next to Chen Xiao.

Compared with Lillard and others, Jimmy Butler, who is good at both offense and defense and has explosive mental attributes, is a good match for the Nets.

Coupled with Beasley, who peacefully terminated his contract with the Pacers, Chen Xiao can finally play center again in the Nets.

By the way, Beasley was also Chen Xiao's younger brother and student back then. Back then, Beasley always regarded Chen Xiao as his boss.

After he fell out with the Pacers and terminated his contract, many teams contacted him. In the end, Beasley chose Chen Xiao's Nets without any hesitation.

It can only be said that for Beasley, even if he does not become an All-Star or win a championship after joining the Nets, as long as he plays on the same team as Chen Xiao for a few seasons, his career will be considered complete.

What's interesting is that the third generation of Marquette's Three Eagles, except for Curry Jr. who followed his father Curry Sr. in the Bobcats, Jimmy Butler and Beasley are all together again in the Nets.