NBA: Start with 2 billion, buy the Knicks

Chapter 273: Big changes in the free market, who can't sit still first, Warcraft or the Knicks?

"What? Did I hear correctly?"

Here, all the Knicks except Yao Ming are a bit confused.

After all, he came later, so he doesn't know much about Jiang Chao's naturalization at the beginning of last season.

But in fact, Turk Drew and assistant coach Clifford all know something about the Knicks' recruitment of Howard.

At the beginning of the season, Jiang Chao and Howard were bickering, and Sean Marks would go to Sparks to chat from time to time when the Magic were losing.

In addition, Carter is bound to leave the Magic now, and the Sparks didn't even make it to the Eastern Conference finals this year, so it seems reasonable to leave the Magic.

Even Sparks fans found good reasons for Howard, especially since James left his hometown team so easily. Howard has done enough for the Magic.

Compared to the Cavaliers, the Magic's management is completely incompetent. At the beginning of last season, it was simply stupid to send away Turk Drew, who paired best with Howard!!

And the Magic don't have many team members, because the Magic management has a tradition of sending away big centers, and it was a great idea not to give O'Neal a maximum salary back then...

Jiang Chao and Dayao said in Mandarin:

"Really, the Heat got the No. 1 pick in 2003, so I have to get the No. 1 pick in 2004, haha."

"Haha, okay, with him here, we are invincible inside."

Speaking of the No. 1 pick, the giant Yao also straightened his chest. Who is not the No. 1 pick? I, the No. 1 pick in 2002, haven't spoken yet.

In fact, he was a little unhappy at first. What did he want from Howard? In his opinion, Howard was a center who was not serious about playing basketball and played with rough skills. When he met Howard, he basically abused him every time he met him.

But then I thought about it, with him and Howard being the only heavy-tank centers on the team, he could get a lot of rest time. After all, he is almost 30 years old, and it is impossible for him to be as full-time as he was with the Rockets in previous years.

So it seems that the combination of the two top centers is a good choice?

And although Yao can guard against him, Howard's defensive area is extremely strong. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010. He is simply not too strong!!

So what Yao Ming said about being invincible is really not an exaggeration. If the Knicks play against the Twin Towers, the other side will have no way to play. The two of them will just keep grabbing rebounds and tip-ins in the paint and that's it!

Don’t even think about breaking through against the breakthrough team on the opposite side!

"Don't be too sad, Brother Yao. You have to obey the old age and consider your own health. Don't worry, I will let you play comfortably."

Jiang Chao was worried that Dayao would think too much, so he patted his back and said with a smile.

"I don't know how. My dream now is just to win the championship, and everything else is just a cloud."

"Well, listen carefully to Dr. Carter, we will make a comeback next season!"

While Curry, Harden and other players were having passionate discussions, Jiang Chao had already taken Sean Marks and others to the conference room for a meeting.

No one on the court is in the mood to play anymore. Just kidding, it’s Howard!

Ibaka and Beverley were jumping up and down, okay?

No. 1 pick in 2004, All-Star starter from 2007-10, 2008 Slam Dunk Contest champion, Defensive Player of the Year twice in a row, All-NBA Team for 3 consecutive years, All-Defensive Team 3 times, rebounding champion for 3 years, and two consecutive games in the first two seasons.

Second block king!!!

The number one center currently in service!!

Who else??

And now there is no need to distinguish who is the first or second center in the league, the former first center is also on the team!!

"Do you think the boss can really get it?" Curry ate some popcorn off the court.

Mills: "There is enough space. It just depends on whether he comes and whether the Magic wants to match the offer or something."

Matthews was a little excited. The Sparks are their insider idols:

"I guess I have to pay a price, otherwise the price will be very high! It is said that James has considered joining forces with him."

Turk Drew:

"You guys, stop guessing. Let me tell you directly. As long as he and I are here, there will be no problem in winning the Eastern Conference Finals next year."

Oku: "Wow, you're an agent, you're taking credit for yourself, right? We're useless, right?"

Turk Drew immediately became frightened in front of his eldest brother:

"I was wrong, wrong, I still have to rely on you!"

Harden: "If nothing else, if Howard really comes, I will give him 5 lobs per game, no, 10 times!!!"

"I would rather not score than watch Howard dunk!"

"The talent in our team has exploded!! Two top picks!"

"I'm different. I like to give to Yao. In the previous intra-squad training match with the national team, Yao could catch the ball and dunk. It felt so good!"

Yao Ming smiled shyly, and Yi Jianlian smiled non-stop next to him:

"Wow, we're not bad this year either!"

In fact, Yi Jianlian is a bit shy. If we really talk about combinations, my Great Wall combination is not strong??

Who is not a lottery?

When it comes to ranking, Yi Jianlian is in the top five on the team.

"Shh! Keep a low profile. Don't spread the word. If it spreads, someone will cut it off!" David Lee said.

"Okay! Keep a low profile! Just pretend you don't know!"

"Heaven knows and earth knows, you know and I know. Let's wait until the boss has figured it out before we tell our friends!"

"I've already finished writing my welcome tweet."

"Put it in the draft box!"

"I'm posting this in the group chat. Let's see if what I wrote is emotional. Maybe Howard will show mercy and be dunked by me during the training game!"

…

While the players are working out at the training ground, the management is working intensively on specific matters.

To put it simply, there are still many procedures and troubles to implement, and various negotiation arrangements are required.

James' decision took 32 days. It won't be that simple for the Knicks to want Howard.

Assistant coach Clifford looked at the training hall filled with laughter, frowned and asked Jiang Chao:

"Boss, what should I do if they don't train seriously?"

Jiang Chao smiled and said:

"I just want them to relax. You are really strict. You can't wind them up all the time."

Clifford is really fierce, making Beverly the first person to cry. People in the team call him the devil's military trainer, and he will also be an important part of recruiting Warcraft.

In fact, the players are now talking about the prosperous scene after Howard's arrival because he told them in advance.

Just let them stop thinking about Heat James and be happy, so that their living and training conditions will be better in the future.

…

The meeting starts.

Turk Drew, who was training underneath, was also invited to come up for discussion.

As the Heat recruit new players.

The Knicks' offseason wait-and-see is officially over.

Other teams are probably done waiting and watching, and now it’s the calm before the storm.

Sean Marks first asked Downey Jr. to say a message about Howard, that is, to find out who his opponents are.

The first one is the knight.

That is, the follow-up version of James Man.

The Cavaliers actually knew from the beginning that James was leaving, because if a star player doesn't talk to you about contract extension, it means he is no longer in his heart.

In order to minimize the loss, the Cavaliers have long proposed signing with the Magic first and then trading for Howard.

It is also the most famous trade plan in the history of NBA for LeBron James. Both parties added nothing, it was just a one-way exchange.

Downey Jr. said that he received a tip and the result was that both managements agreed, but the players disagreed.

He didn't need to explain the reason. The Cavaliers had already fallen out with James, while the Magic were willing to welcome the little emperor to come and try out what it would be like if he led the team.

Downey Jr. also said that James' team had actually approached the Knicks, but the offer was too high and Rich Paul was unreal.

"Haha, you did the right thing, let him stick together and see how he can fuck us."

Jiang Chao really made a mistake this time. James was really seriously considering the Knicks. At that time, he wanted to come to the Knicks with New York player Anthony, but the Knicks really didn't seem to be interested in them at all.

The Heat were particularly interested in him. One team was young and the other team was ready to fight. Wade had the experience of winning championships, so he joined the Heat after considering it.

Sean asked a little about the meaning of James' team at that time. They meant to let the Knicks dismantle the team, let everyone except Coha leave, and then trade Bosh to form the Big Three...

"Okay, don't worry about this for now, who is the biggest competitor in the market?"

"Capital Wizards."

Sean Marks said that the Wizards have been chasing Howard and No. 1 pick Wall to form a combination inside and outside lineup, and they also have enough salary space.

Apart from them, other teams don't seem to have many superstars, but they all have junk contracts. Even the Bobcats can't directly recruit James.

The Knicks have to thank a wave of old general manager Donnie Walsh. The salary space he planned in the past few years has given the Knicks enough salary space now, and the gap left behind is not bad.

It's just that Old Downey Jr. picked up people and chose Anthony and Stoudemire...

"Can we make enough money with our salary?" Turk Drew asked the player's biggest concern from the side.

Max:

“It was no problem in the first year, and even more so after that.”

Then why I didn’t explain it in detail in front of Turk Drew that it was no problem.

In fact, Dayao's contract expires next season, and the contracts of Turk Drew, Okur, David Lee and other high-paid veterans expire. Whether they leave or renew, it is impossible for these people to have higher salaries.

, so it was a bit crowded in the first year.

As D'Antoni added:

"With the remaining salary in the first year, under the salary cap, we can only sign Howard with the maximum salary, and we can't sign anyone else."

This has to be lamented by Jiang Chao's strategizing. No wonder there has been no movement. If he wants to recruit Howard, there is no way to make any move. The space under the cap is here, and no one on the team wants to pay the luxury tax.

So either we don't recruit him, or we can only recruit him this year.

Turk Drew: "That's no problem. I called him after the Eastern Conference semifinals. He no longer wants to stay with the Magic. We just need to extend an olive branch and he will take it."

"Are there any other rumors left?"

Jiang Chao doesn't fight unprepared battles. Besides the Wizards, is there anyone who wants to trade for Howard?

Here, "Famous Lakers" Tyronn Lue thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and said:

"There are some trade rumors with the Lakers. According to the rumors, quite a few executives support the Lakers in exchanging Bynum for Dwight Howard.

It seems that by trading for Howard, the Lakers can continue to maintain their championship strength. However, in ESPN's view, if this transaction really happens, it will be of great benefit to the Magic.

When the Magic have a junk contract like Diamond, the space after letting Howard go won't be enough to make up for a superstar.

Stan Van Gundy's tactical system in the Magic is centered on the center, and has achieved good results in the past few years.

If Howard leaves, wouldn't the Magic have to overthrow it and start over? The best way for the Magic to maintain their original rhythm is to use Howard to trade, and the most ideal trade partner is Bynum, who is also a center!

"

Makes sense!

Everyone looked at Tyronn Lue, it really might be the Magic management's opinion.

ESPN once selected the most similar players in the past three years based on 13 basic data, including height and weight, with a perfect score of 100.

According to statistical results, Tim Duncan is the guy most similar to Howard, with a similarity value of 90.0, and Bynum ranks second, with a similarity value of 88.1.

Moreover, in the second half of last season, Bynum's similarity value rose to 92.6. After the All-Star Weekend, Bynum's defensive rebound success rate was 29.4%, while Howard's was 30.6%. Bynum's 2-point shot block was successful.

The rate is 3% and Howard's is 2.6%.

This means that once Bynum focuses his energy on the defensive end, the difference between him and Howard is actually not that big.

Bynum has always been limited by the Lakers' many firepower points, and his scoring and even the number of shots are far from comparable to Howard.

For the Magic, this is not a big problem, because Bynum is only 22 years old after all, and his career shooting percentage remains at 57%.

If Howard has made some achievements on the offensive end, Bynum is still a diamond in the rough, which shouldn't worry the Magic too much.

Therefore, if the Magic decide to trade Howard, the Lakers would be the ideal trading partner.

Among many players, only Bynum can best maintain the Magic's current tactical system. However, the only obstacle is whether the Magic will mind Bynum's glorious injury history."

"Well... we definitely have no advantage over the Lakers. We can only try to trade first."

Jiang Chao had no particular solution for this. The Lakers must be very attractive. Later, the Happy Beasts indeed teamed up with Kobe, Nash and the others to pursue the championship, but it depends on whether the Knicks' sincerity can attract Howard.

"Okay, let's take action now."

"Howard was on vacation in Hawaii recently, and I went over to see him."

"He has already returned to Orlando. To be on the safe side, I will go to Orlando first."

At this time, Clifford, who served as Howard's defensive coach during the Magic, expressed his thoughts at the end:

"Well, I have been with Dwight for a long time. Before we traded, could everyone accept his character and possible bombs? As far as I know, the Magic were actually dissatisfied with him last year, so we have to do a good job

Be mentally prepared, he may have a different personality than everyone else in the Knicks."

"This... think about it for yourselves." Turk Drew touched his head awkwardly. He couldn't say more about this. He knew some of Howard's "interesting anecdotes."

After all, Turk Drew is just a colleague, and only a strict assistant like Clifford can know his true character, so this was his last friendly reminder.

After all, there are big names like Anthony in the market, so you really need to think carefully about going all-in.

If you want to strengthen the inside, you can save some money by choosing Stoudemire and play the speed-up lineup that D'Antoni likes.

This kind of contract is open for at least three years. If there is a time bomb in the locker room, wouldn't it ruin the Knicks' locker room atmosphere that everyone cares about???

Jiang Chao stood up and suddenly pondered:

"Hey, what you said reminds me, then we can create momentum to make the Lakers not want Howard!"

"Yes, that's it! Downey, help me call Mr. Yang from the Super God Forum to come over."

"good!"

"Everyone else, dismissal!"

"yes! boss!"

Although everyone doesn't know what Jiang Chao is going to do, it is obvious that Jiang Chao must be the best defensive player!

In fact, everyone wants him. No matter what his personality is like, Renhe and Turk Drew have actually reached the finals!

…

Half an hour later.

Several sports media outlets have somehow leaked some of Howard's ancient posts as well as new gossip posts.

This was all done by Mr. Yang, 90% of it was true and 10% of it was false, which directly caused turmoil for the Magic and Howard's team, and also made teams who wanted Howard have to think carefully.

Even later, someone within the Magic posted a post in agreement... Apparently they have been grudged against Howard for a long time??

"Howard was exposed by Magic management as having no professional ethics"

During the Magic period, he and a cheerleader for the Magic team became pregnant out of wedlock, and they broke up shortly after the birth of their child.

This Howard scandal was also posted on the hot thread.

Happy Beast is really unhappy now.

I wipe it!

The Lakers management team, which was sensitive to this kind of thief after the Kobe Bryant incident, suddenly shrank, and Mr. Library became entangled directly. They all know the character of Warcraft. If they don't take the game seriously, they can still laugh and play happy basketball in the finals.

I thought that players who played with Kobe would not be unfocused. Anyone would dare to criticize Kobe. But with Howard’s character, he might do something wrong when he comes to a big city like Los Angeles.

A little panicked?

The Capital Wizards are even more miserable. This is the Capital City. Howard can't do anything, right?

The negotiation process with the Magic has also been much slower. They are not sure whether Howard will have basic professionalism in the future?

Jiang Chao, who communicated with Warcraft many times last season, did not lick it at this stage, and he did not ask when the Warcraft team sent him messages.

He is just waiting.

Waiting for a call from Warcraft himself.

This is the safest and most affordable trading moment.

The most reasonable form of cooperation is when both parties need each other.

This is how Jiang Taigong fished - whoever wants to take the bait will take the bait!

…

But the team should negotiate. Jiang Chao asked his subordinates not to show that we just want you, but also to talk more about the center on the free market to make them panic first.

Mainly talking to the Magic. If the Magic can sign first and then trade, it can still help the Knicks save a lot of money. Even if the Knicks pay some costs, it is a way for the superstar to leave some market for the parent team and leave with peace of mind.

.

…

Jiang Chao actually guessed it right. Originally, the Warcraft team was waiting for the Knicks and other teams to act as licking dogs. He took the initiative to find them and then made an offer. He also wanted to leave more things for the home team that chose him in the first place.

.

But for some unknown reason, some of his old stories were suddenly revealed in the forum. They were all mistakes he made when he was young, and now they have directly caused a storm of public opinion.

Happy Beast is really unhappy now.

How can anyone mention scars like this?

If this problem occurs at the critical moment when the contract expires, wouldn't it be more painful than rubbing salt into the wound?

At this time, they received another call from Turk Drew and Clifford. They originally wanted to wait for boss Jiang Chao to make an offer in person, but they quickly met with them to take a look at the Knicks' offer.

"The other teams will also meet each other. We don't want to be embarrassed when the treatment is not as good as James'."

…

During this period of time, each team has basically completed its recruitment.

Are you, the Heat, so pretentious? There are still teams in the Eastern Conference that don't want to be bad and are not just waiting for death.

The first is the Wizards who want to attract Warcraft to join.

Josh Howard signed with the Wizards, acquiring the Mavericks' super swingman with a one-year contract worth approximately $4 million.

If it weren't for the injury in February this year, Howard probably wouldn't have appeared in this year's free agent market. Even if he did, he would have been a big-name player at the small forward position.

He is only ranked behind LeBron James and Rudy Gay, and should be the target of many teams.

But at the age of 30, he is no longer interested due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The Wizards signed him to assist Wall and it is considered a small gamble. If Howard recovers, it will be a valuable "steal."

Behavior".

They had previously considered keeping Mike Miller or signing Josh Childress.

But after the two targets defected to the Heat and Suns respectively, the Wizards quickly chose to retain Howard on a one-year contract instead of giving a long-term contract. Using a veteran can transition the team's running-in period and allow Wall to gain more experience.

Kirk Hinrich traded from Bulls to Wizards!

He was surprised when the Bulls traded him to the Wizards this month to clear cap space and pursue LeBron James.

Hinrich was the seventh overall pick selected by the Bulls in 2003. He averaged 13.4 points and 5.8 assists per game during his career with the Bulls.

Now, however, Hinrich has gone from a playoff team to a team with just 26 wins.

In the past two seasons, Hinrich and Derrick Rose have supported the Bulls' backcourt, and this dual-control style of play has been successful. Rose is very similar to Wall now, in terms of size, technical characteristics, and play.

Law, and Wall, like Rose, is also the No. 1 pick.

Hinrich is undoubtedly the best person to help Wall grow.

This is an All-Defensive second-team guard, and the Wizards' lineup suddenly seems to be enriched.

Wall directly said that he would overthrow the Heat.

The Wizards and Heat are rivals.

Their entire team is considered Zhanhei.

The previous feud between the Wizards and Cavaliers came to nothing due to the Wizards' internal strife.

But James' behavior over the past few years has not been erased: walking kills, endless trash talk, Jay-Z writing raps against DeShawn Stevenson, a cocky attitude, and most of all, annoying

, the most unforgivable crab walk.

These painful memories will not fade from the minds of Wizards fans - even though James has disappeared from Cleveland along with his giant portrait.

James' poor performance during the ESPN live broadcast this summer has deepened the Wizards team's dislike of him.

This resentment has penetrated deep into the bones.

It is conceivable that every season, when James comes to Washington, D.C., he will inevitably encounter strong hostility that is not found in other areas.

Why are they working so hard this year?

In Jiang Chao's opinion, they have to wait for another year to make things worse. Why are they in such a hurry this year?

Until Mustache gave Jiang Chao a data sheet.

Although the Wizards are LeBron James, what is more annoying is the Heat, especially Wade!

Wade's record against the Wizards in the regular season was 20 wins and 3 losses, and he swept the Wizards 4-0 in the playoffs (2005).

In other words, Wade played against the Wizards 27 times and actually achieved a record of 24 wins and 3 losses, with a winning rate of 88.9%.

It is conceivable that even if Kobe Bryant wants to abuse the Wizards, he can only do it twice a year; but the Wizards and Heat are in the same division...

The NBA rezoned in 2004, which made the Wizards a little uncomfortable.

After all, in the Southeast Division, there are three teams with a history of less than 25 years, and the Wizards and Atlanta Hawks have nothing to compete with, so the Wizards often lose their spirits when playing against teams in the same division.

The situation is very different now - the Heat are the favorites to compete for the championship next season, the Orlando Magic have always been able to compete for the championship, and although the Hawks are unstable, they are also one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference;

The Charlotte Bobcats made it to the playoffs last year, but they regretted being acquired by Jordan and made steady progress.

The competition in the Southeast Division is now so fierce that it has never been seen before.

In the NBA, conference championships may not be as important as in other sports.

But with the Heat as the rival in the same conference, the quality of this championship becomes very meaningful, and everyone's struggle becomes more dramatic.

"That's okay. No wonder they want a center just to stifle the Heat."

From a positional point of view, due to the existence of the Big Three, the Heat undoubtedly have an absolute advantage in the three positions of shooting guard, small forward and power forward.

However, the Wizards also have Wall, Andre Bulayche, and JaVale McGee. In the future, the Wizards hope to take advantage of the two positions of point guard and center.

If you add Howard, it's really not bad.

Then the Magic seems to want to keep Warcraft, and has renewed the contract of 35-year-old veteran Bai Chocolate. You must know that the Heat also poached Bai Qiao, but Bai Qiao himself said that he would rather stay in Orlando, so he will use his remaining talents in Orlando in the next two years.

.

The management of the Magic is still stupid. The backyard is almost on fire and they are still talking to Anthony for a long time, hoping that Anthony and Warcraft will join forces.

The truly strong team is one that remains unchanged in response to all changes, and that is the Los Angeles Lakers who have won two consecutive championships.

Currency directly answered the question in person that it was nonsense that the Lakers would trade Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic for Anthony.

And it directly determined the Lakers' 14-man roster for next season, but it was still a small deal.

The Lakers have no intention of trading for Jarrett Jack, nor will they trade Vujacic for Jason Maxiell.

And Brown will not be traded away, because he has strong athletic ability and is well adapted to the team's triangle offensive system. His passion is also a good part of the locker room culture.

Rather than using Vujacic and rookie Kalakte to trade for Jr. Smith, the Lakers will be more inclined to keep Kalakte.

Unless there are special circumstances such as player injuries, the most likely thing the Lakers will do is not to make any trades because their lineup is already deep enough.

The goal of the Lakers in the off-season is to find backup for Kobe. Not only did they strengthen Matt Barnes and Steve Blake (who may replace Derek Fisher as the starter), they also left some good players behind.

Rich-Brown.

The Lakers also have Fisher and Vujacic.

Including Lamar Odom and a healthy Luke Walton can all play the guard position.

The Lakers are full of talents, so there is no need for Kobe to play at full strength in every game. Another good thing is that head coach Phil Jackson also renewed his contract with the Lakers.

With the Lakers and second-round pick Karakot finally signing a 1.5 million rookie contract, what everyone is most concerned about is that the roster of the Lakers that will challenge the dynasty has been completely determined, which is to give each team a look. My championship lineup is all here, you guys

Come challenge me!!

Then there are the petty fights.

Ariza switched to the Hornets because Morey discovered that he was the player with the highest iron-making rate in the league last season...

The name "Tie Zha" is well deserved!

Tracy McGrady joined the Pistons, and he still had to leave. The Rockets still threw away their white horse spear.

Then some kind of three-party deal got Martin. This was the Rockets, a civilian team in Jiang Chao's impression. At that time, many Chinese fans still stayed with him.

In the end, in order to fill the salary cap, they signed the homeless Courtney Lee...it was obviously a bad rhythm.

The Pistons seem to feel that there is still no hope for next season, so they will simply let the veterans use their remaining energy, and give Wallace a favor by renewing his contract for two years!

The Jazz were also "disappointed" with Boozer (internal opinion) and then traded him to the Bulls, because it was impossible for the Bulls to admit defeat. I, the Windy City Rose, are not afraid of your Big Three, labor and management, Jordan's successor, okay?

With a 5-year contract worth approximately US$80 million, Boozer directly teamed up with the young Noah Rose, and of course, the famous Deng Yingqiao!!

There are big changes in the free market, but why haven’t they decided yet on the Knicks’ leading star that fans are most concerned about and Howard and Anthony, who are currently the biggest fish in the free market?

It’s almost the preseason!

Who will be unable to sit still first, Warcraft or the Knicks??