legendary point guard

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The entire city of Cleveland is excited about the big deal made by the team's front office. After being depressed about last season's Eastern Conference finals, they are now watching their competitors strengthen one by one.

Cavaliers fans are even worried that the team will not be able to enter the Eastern Conference Finals next season. However, at this time, the original rumors turned out to be true. Although the 5-year, 50 million contract is indeed not small, it is compared to the Orlando Magic giving an older player.

Chauncey Billups' five-year offer of 60 million Cavaliers fans is already very satisfying.

After all, Mike Bibby is almost two years younger than Billups. Some Cleveland media even compared Mike Bibby with Billups, directly praising the decision of the Cavaliers management and also implicitly satirizing the Orlando Magic for giving a 31-year-old

A five-year contract for a young man is unreasonable.

As for the team's reinforcements, LeBron James is in a good mood: "Mike is a great player. I watched him play before he entered the league. I think his arrival will make us stronger. I am very excited about it."

I can’t wait for the start of the new season. I think next season will be very interesting, and of course it will be even more exciting for the fans.”

James was also confident when reporters asked about the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic who defeated him last season: "Yes, there was still a gap between us and them last season, so we lost the game, but now I think the whole of Cleveland is

I have full confidence that we will prove ourselves in the new season. I respect every opponent but I will defeat them with my teammates."

James' confidence is also a true reflection of the people in Cleveland. Everyone knows that if nothing happens, next season the Eastern Conference will be dominated by the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. Even the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat will compete for supremacy.

Reinforcements can be completed.

Compared with the big moves of the three teams in the East, it seems that only the Houston Rockets are working hard for the championship in the West. The big move in the offseason is undoubtedly the signing of Rashard Lewis and the somewhat redundant Shane Battier from the Magic.

Acquired Tony Barty and an extremely valuable top-five protected draft pick.

But after it was confirmed that Mike Bibby had also left Sacramento for Cleveland, one can imagine Daryl Morey's mood.

Without Artest and Mike Bibby, the Kings will completely enter a rebuilding phase. The best way to rebuild is to hoard draft picks and try to select potential rookies with high picks. Although the 2007 draft has just passed,

But the quality of the 2008 draft is still widely optimistic.

There is almost no doubt that the Kings will mess up, so as long as nothing happens, the Kings are very likely to finish in the bottom five in the league, which will very likely invalidate the protected draft pick obtained by the Rockets.

"No way, this is something we didn't expect, but when it comes to it we can only accept it. In addition to Tony Barty, we also need to strengthen the inside. Although Luis Scola is good, that is limited to his offense.

." Morey said to his assistant.

"Mickey Moore and Eddie Griffin are our new targets. We have given an offer of 9 million over three years."

"Are they two the same?" the assistant asked cautiously.

"Of course, do we need more? We are about to exceed the luxury tax. Although we can continue to strengthen, it is best to save as much as possible. Don't you understand this principle? Go ahead! I guess there are many teams watching.

The two of them." Morey waved his hand and said.

The assistant nodded and immediately left Morey's office and sent offers to the agents of Mickey Moore and Eddie Griffin.

"Just sign another one, and then Steve Francis returns. Everything is perfect. Next season belongs to the Rockets, and it belongs to me, Daryl Morey!" Morey shook his fist.

However, as Morey said, there are many people targeting Mickey Moore and Eddie Griffin, especially Mickey Moore.

Mickey Moore, who played for the New Jersey Nets last season, performed very well, averaging nearly 10 points and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes per game. More importantly, Mickey Moore's shooting percentage was as high as 60%.

With such a performance, it is basically no surprise that Mickey Moore can get a mid-level contract offer. It is conceivable that the Rockets' offer will not impress Mickey Moore at all.

Mickey Moore's agent came to Boston when the Rockets made an offer to him, and what he was about to meet was Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.

Although the team got two superstars, Garnett and Ray Allen, for these two superstars, the Celtics gave away almost all the players on the team who could play, and at the same time, they had more draft picks.

It was delivered three years later.

What's even more fatal is that the annual salaries of the three superstars directly make it difficult for the team to strengthen. Although the team signed James Posey for 30 million in five years, the starting annual salary in the first year of this contract is only

3.15 million, this arrangement is to allow the team to use as much salary space as possible to make minor repairs and make up for the loss.

At this moment, he made an appointment with Mickey Moore's agent in order to get Mickey Moore, a center who is not expensive but has decent abilities.

Although Mickey Moore's worth is there, after all, the team cannot survive without a center. Even though the team still has Kendrick Perkins.

However, the offer given by Danny Ainge also failed to impress Mickey Moore. In the end, the two parties failed to negotiate successfully, but Danny Ainge's appointment was caught by reporters, and soon the Celtics wanted Mickey Moore.

The news spread.

The Big Three have already frightened many teams, not to mention that the team continues to strengthen. Mickey Moore's agent failed to negotiate with the Celtics in the morning and received an offer from his old club, the New Jersey Nets, in the afternoon.

In the end, Mickey Moore weighed and chose a three-year, 15 million contract to stay with his old club, which made Danny Ainge very depressed.

There are not many good inside players on the free market. Although Eddie Griffin performed well last season, that is, when Garnett was absent, among the few inside players left, Eddie Griffin performed well last season, that is, when Garnett was absent.

Griffin has become the target of everyone's pursuit. Even though there are so many negative news about Eddie Griffin, it makes those teams who are trying to strengthen the team's interior willing to give it a try.

Eddie Griffin suddenly became popular. But Eddie Griffin's agent, Brig, who should have been happy, was not happy at all.

"Eddie, do you really want to go to Orlando? You have to know that Orlando can give you much less." Eddie Griffin's agent, Brig, kindly advised him. In his opinion, Griffin's choice was too much.

Failed.

You must know that Eddie Griffin is not very old. He is only 26 years old this year. Generally, players of this age choose teams either for position or money.

However, now the Orlando Magic neither have many positions nor have more money than other teams. As an agent, Briger really does not want Griffin to go to the Orlando Magic.

"No, where do I want to go? There are my brothers there. There I can predict that I will be happy. I don't want to go anywhere else." Eddie Griffin shook his head and rejected the agent.

He also knows that many teams are interested in him. This includes his old team, the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, which also has the Big Three, and the San Antonio Spurs in the West.

Without exception, these three teams have the potential to compete for the championship, but the same thing is that the annual salary of these three teams is not high, and the annual salary offered by the Orlando Magic is only higher than that of the Spurs among all offers.

But the Orlando Magic's offer is only 7.5 million for three years, but the only advantage is that it has player options in the final year.

Brigg also tried to persuade Griffin to give up choosing the Orlando Magic, but Eddie Griffin was determined to choose the Magic. For Eddie Griffin, the money was not important, what was important was that the Magic had

Lin Sen.

After so many years since he came to this league as a talented player, he has slowly become a cancer in the eyes of countless teams. His former reputation as a genius is gone forever. Only he himself knows why.

That's due to character.

Griffin, who prefers to be on the inside, seems completely inconsistent with everything he does, but it is precisely because of his character that he has no friends and that makes him use drugs and marijuana to numb himself. And Linsen has been him for so many years

He is the only friend he can be close to, so he wants to go to magic.

Brigg reluctantly gave up trying to convince Griffin. He had already made up his mind to give up on Griffin when his contract expired. This would bring him a lot of headaches, not to mention the fact that he still had money to earn.

Shaking his head, Brig left Griffin's house and called Otis Smith.

"Yes, Eddie agreed to Orlando's offer. I hope he can show his strength in Orlando." Brig said in a stiff tone.

Otis Smith on the other end of the phone didn't care how bad his tone was. What he cared about was that the team could sign Eddie Griffin. Before that, he was already prepared to raise the price. Of course he did.

Everything was done to make Lin Sen feel at ease. I have to say that this shows how much Magic attaches importance to Lin Sen.

That night, the Orlando Magic's official website officially announced that it had reached a three-year contract extension with Eddie Griffin, a free agent who played for the Timberwolves last season. However, the Magic did not announce the specific contents of Eddie Griffin's contract.

The release of this news once again made the powerful players in the East and West feel depressed, especially Danny Ainge. He had just set his target from Mickey Moore to Eddie Griffin, but within half a day he saw Eddie.

.Griffin became a Magic Man.

Although Eddie Griffin has a lot of negative news, last season, Eddie Griffin averaged 7.6 points per game for the Timberwolves, while also grabbing 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Dwight Howard, Darko Milicic, Chris Webber, Marcin Gortat, and Eddie Griffin will undoubtedly occupy the main playing time of the Magic in the new season. This deal was also rejected

Most see it as the final piece of the Orlando Magic's championship puzzle.

At the small forward position, Ron Artest, Sean Battier, and Grant Hill can all play. At the same time, Artest can also serve as shooting guard or even swing to the power forward position, and Sean.

Battier can also swing from small forward to power forward.

On the back line, the Magic's starters for the new season are undoubtedly Chauncey Billups and Lin Sen, plus Eddie Jones, Devin Brown and Carlos Arroyo on the bench. The entire team's lineup is basically complete.

, the only regret is that there is no authentic shooting guard.

The 13-person roster for the season has been basically confirmed, and everyone from fans to other front office staff believe that the Orlando Magic's reinforcements are almost over.

"Nel, my old friend, do you know who I am?"

Nel Orshu was confused when he picked up the phone. How could he know who was on the other end of the phone?

"I know you don't know who I am. I'm Otis."

"Otis?" Nell Olshu frowned for a moment. Otis Smith had been signing and trading continuously just over a week after the trade market started this summer. Suddenly the team was stronger than last season.

Quality improvement.

His team wanted to pursue Steve Francis, who was about to be bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, and even offered a five-year, 25 million mid-level contract, but was rejected.

The team has done nothing so far throughout the summer, and the core of the team, Elton Brand, even underwent surgery after a serious injury, and even if he returns, it will not be until the middle of next season or even longer.

Brand's injury also means that the Clippers' hope of returning to the playoffs next season has become slim again. He is considering whether to rebuild the team or strengthen it first and wait for Brand's return, while taking advantage of next season.

There will be a lot of potential for salary space in the future.

"I didn't expect you to call. Your Orlando business is very popular recently, why do you want to take care of me?" Nell Olshu didn't think Otis Smith called him to establish friendship.

"Of course, I heard that Sean's injury is very serious, and you have no point guard except Sam, so I wanted to ask if you want one?"

"What, are you going to give me Wood or Chauncey?" Nel Olshu joked.

"Nel, you are joking. Although Kenyon and Carlos were our substitutes last season, their abilities are still quite good. They just lack the opportunity to start, and their annual salary is not big. Kenyon wants to jump out.

contract, but I persuaded him. Of course, this premise is that you need him, of course Carlos or Devin will do." Otis Smith's tone sounded very generous.

Neil Olshu is a quick analyst. Although he knows that Otis Smith definitely has no good intentions, after thinking about it, there are no players in his team worthy of the Magic's concern, and Otis Smith said

The performance of the three defenders last season was indeed remarkable, and the only real point guard on the Clippers' defense line next season is the alien Sam Cassell, who is about to turn 37.

Although Sam Cassel was in good form last season, he has shown signs of aging and has suffered more injuries. It is simply unrealistic to expect Sam Cassel to play a full season and be in good form.

Recently, the team has also been contacting veteran Brevin Knight, who was waived by the Charlotte Bobcats, but Knight's height is too short, only 1.78. In addition, the team also looked at Denver. The Nuggets last season

’s main point guard Steve Black, but it was impossible for Black to win without a full mid-level contract, which made Nel Olshu reluctant.

"What, who do you like?"

"Sam, I know he played well last season. But considering his age, I believe he will no longer be in your future plans, how about? You give me Sam and I can give you Devin and Ken.

Young or Devin and Carlos, or even Carlos and Kenyon. You can make money with any of the multiple choices. You also know that it is not easy to do our job. You have to face the pressure of the boss at the top and the pressure from the boss at the bottom.

The pressure from the team boss." Otis Smith's tone suddenly became aggrieved.

"You also know that our boss is similar to your boss. He has been unimaginably generous this year, but Wood Lin named Eddie Griffin and Sam Cassel. You also saw that we

We just signed Eddie Griffin, do you know how much it cost us?"

Before Nel Olshu, who had resonated in his heart, could express his guess, Otis Smith continued: "12 million in three years, how can such a troublesome player be worth so much money, but there is no way

Ah, Wood asked for it by name. Do you think I can disagree? You have also seen that the strength of our insiders is actually very good, but there is no way to satisfy him and he can only compete with other teams. In the end, he won it with such an offer.

, do you think it's easy? Now that he still wants Sam, I can only come and beg you, even if I am taken advantage of and killed by you, there is nothing I can do."

Neil Olshu also understands Otis Smith very well, because the owner of the Clippers is much stingier than the owner of the Magic and is recognized as the stingiest person in the league, although he also knows that Otis Smith is pretending.

, but after careful analysis, after all, Sam Casal only has one year left on his contract, and it is difficult to say what his status will be next season, but the Magic can provide two good immediate players.

After thinking about it carefully, Nel Olshu felt that this deal could be done, but he did not intend to agree immediately: "I need to discuss it with the coach, but basically we will agree to send Sam to Orlando."

Otis Smith breathed a sigh of relief when he received Nel Olshu's answer. Although Sam Cassel was older, he still had some strength. More importantly, he could teach Lin Sen many things. This was the most important thing.

important.

As for Devin Brown, Kenyon Dulin and even Carlos Arroyo, they were not originally part of the team's plan. One of the three was destined to be enough to become a part of the team's rotation.

"Sign another veteran inside player and we'll have everything done this summer." Otis Smith said with a smile to Stan Van Gundy in front of him.

And next to Stan Van Gundy stood another person, and this person was Jeff Van Gundy, the head coach of the Houston Rockets last season.

Jeff Van Gundy will become his brother Stan Van Gundy's assistant coach next season, which is also the penultimate piece of the Magic's last four puzzles next season.

With a terrifying coaching staff and a terrifying player lineup, Otis Smith looked at the computer screen with firm eyes. The computer desktop was the O'Brien Cup!