At this time, the little general Johnson could only choose to hold on to temporarily.

Van Gundy looked at the decision made by the calf, and at first he was a little puzzled: Could it be that he missed it? This guy is still a lost pearl?

Van Gundy then looked at Morey beside him, and Darrell shrugged with a slightly gloating look to indicate that he didn't know either. This year's rookie with a bit of strength has done research, but he doesn't remember Arroyo.

The next teams like the Hawks, Bucks and Grizzlies also didn't play the role of robbers, picking the players they wanted to get.

"Darrell, it's finally our turn!" Van Gundy let out a long sigh of relief, his palms already covered with sweat.

Morey pulled the envelope with the team's logo from his jacket pocket and walked slowly onto the stage. He looked like he was still on the beat, clearly demonstrating to David Stern.

David Stern is also iron-faced, and in his heart, this white fat man who doesn't smile is with Lamar.

Taking the envelope, Stern didn't seem interested in saying more, just repeating one line mechanically.

"The New York Knicks drafted Al Jefferson, a center from Plintyis High School. ”

Looking at the name on the envelope, a hint of doubt flashed in Stern's eyes, it seemed that he was not familiar with Jefferson, or that he had not paid attention to this player, and his eyes were always on talented players such as Howard, Okafor, and Gordon.

Although Jefferson had known the result for a long time, he couldn't help but feel excited. After hugging his family, Jefferson walked briskly to the podium, and on the way took the hat that Morey handed him and put it on his head, and the two of them hugged each other.

"I'm thrilled, the New York Knicks are a great team, my idol Lamar is on that team, and I'm very excited to play next to him. And there are a lot of great players in this team and I hope to learn from them. ”

Jefferson's modest personality has pleased Van Gundy, and there are so many thorns in the team that he would love to have a good boy to change the mood.

The ensuing process left both Van Gundy and Morey a little unmotivated, with some very average players being drafted. It was only when the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Andre Iguodala that they paid a little attention.

What happened then seemed to be back on track, with Josh Smith being picked by the Atlanta Eagles, Husmith being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets and Jamal Nelson getting the Nuggets a head start.

"Darrell, it's time for you to contribute. Go talk to the Nuggets about a Jamal Nelson trade!"

"No problem!" Morey clearly expected this result: "Jeff, before contacting the general manager of the Nuggets, you have to tell me your bottom line!"

"Don't we have one more first-round pick and two second-round picks this year? In this way, the defender will have to wait until the free market opens to pick someone there!"

"Okay! I think three draft picks are still very tempting for the Nuggets. Don't worry, I'll trade this little fat guy to the Knicks. ”

Listening to Morey's description of Nelson, Van Gundy couldn't help but laugh when he looked at Morey's figure, isn't this fifty steps and a hundred steps?

"That's right! ”

For the results of this draft, the Knicks are generally very satisfied, not only successfully selected Aljefferson, a good interior seedling, but also further enhanced the team's interior strength. What's more, Morey added Jamal Nelson to the account in the final stage, which definitely fulfilled the Knicks' previous strategic expectations.

After the draft, the teams really entered a period of recuperation, or for the next season.

In this way, the time entered the hot August, and with the opening of the player market, the teams began to become ready to move. Obviously they want to go crazy in the player market and fight for a good result in the new season.

First of all, the Nets' Kenyon Martin moved to the Nuggets, which made a good start to the player trade market in the summer.

Then the Minnesota Timberwolves, after completing a contract extension with madman Sprewell, immediately packaged him and Mark Brown plus next year's first-round pick to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for the gentleman Ray Allen, who was already dissatisfied with the team.

It can be said that the Timberwolves' move broke the calm of the trade market in one fell swoop, and Coach Phil Jackson also officially announced his ambitions for the new season with this extremely bold move.

A few more deals were made in the league, but none of them caused a reaction. Everybody knows that a certain team is brewing a big deal right now, a big deal that will shake the league.

At this time, Lamar, who was on vacation in Europe, would browse the information of the alliance every day and keep an eye on the alliance's every move. Lamar is deeply impressed by the madness of the transfer market this year. After all, he was one of the main targets of that shocking deal back then.

The corrective power of history is extremely powerful, and even with the addition of Lamar's uncertainties, it is still moving forward along the original trajectory, and it seems to have not been affected.

The big guy is still leaving his favorite team, but I don't know if he can prove his strength to his old club now that Lamar is a roadblock in the league.

On July 18, 2004, the last day before the start of Summer League, a trade that shocked the league was finally born. O'Neal's move to the Miami Heat was finalized.

The "Big Sharks" have since plunged into the "Heat", which not only boiled the whole of Miami, but also made the pattern of the NBA Eastern Conference begin to change.

The Lakers dynasty has fallen apart, and a new title contender has emerged in Miami.

The deal also marks the end of the shark's return to Florida.

O'Neal also led the Magic to the Finals that year, but ultimately lost to the defending champion Houston Rockets. The following year, he signed with the Lakers as a free agent under the lure of a huge contract, and has since helped the Lakers win three championships.

The conflict with Kobe Bryant in recent years, coupled with the departure of Phil Jackson after being slaughtered by the Knicks during the Finals last season, all of which made O'Neal feel physically and mentally exhausted, and finally chose to leave his beloved Los Angeles.

In the power struggle between O'Neal and Kobe, the team's head coach Phil Jackson and most of the players on the team were also on his side at one time, but O'Neal's lazy personality eventually led to the defection of the people during the Finals.

With Phil Jackson, a staunchest supporter, heading for the Minnesota Timberwolves, O'Neal finally realized that his career with the Lakers was over.

After seeing the irreconcilable contradictions between the two, the Lakers management chose Kobe Bryant, who has a more dominant age advantage, as the core of the team's rebuild. And O'Neal, the former king and giant of the Los Angeles Lakers, was inevitably taken as a victim.

Of course, there is another reason why the Lakers chose to trade O'Neal, and that is his high salary. His salary next season is as high as $22.37 million, and O'Neal also wants to get a $20 million pension contract, which the Lakers don't want to give, after all, O'Neal is 32 years old!

In the end, the Lakers put O'Neal on the trade list to seek the final benefit of the team.

It was a "one-for-three" trade in which the Heat got O'Neal. The Lakers got Caron Butler, Anthony Walker and Bryan Grant from the other side, plus first-round picks in 2005 and 2007.

This trade is very similar to Lamar's previous life, except that Anthony Walker replaces Lamar's position, and the price paid by the Heat is undoubtedly to add a draft pick.

The Heat's efforts look like they're making a loss-making deal. Not really!

Shaq O'Neal, who is the NBA's "No. 1 center", is over 30 years old and is not as brave as before, but the big guy can still contribute an average of 23.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 blocks per game last season.

"We've got the best player in the NBA!" said Heat head coach Pat Riley looking overjoyed after the trade was completed.

The Heat have only reached the Eastern Conference Finals once in their history, and O'Neal's addition will take the Heat's strength up a notch. Not only did he bring a wealth of playoff experience and a steel-as-iron will to fight, but he also made the Heat's interior stronger and more indestructible.

And O'Neal's impact under the basket is unmatched.

Some people may think that the big shark is old, but as long as those who are slightly familiar with him know that the current O'Neill is still worthy of people's awe.

But if you want to compete for a championship, the Heat can't just have O'Neal, after all, he's 32 years old. Even though he is still in shape, his fitness and strength are also significantly declining. He averaged 23.8 points per game last season, arguably a personal record low. And in the last three seasons, he has also missed almost 70 games due to injury.

Pat Riley is not in a hurry to do this, because he feels that O'Neal is a "magnet" that can attract more free agents to "surrender".

Glove Payton, who was still fighting with the Lakers and O'Neal last season, threw an olive branch at the first time O'Neal joined the Heat, announcing that he was willing to continue to assist his old friend in the Heat.

That's exactly what Riley wants to see.

On the other side of the trade, the Los Angeles Lakers, the team made such a big sacrifice with only one goal, and that is to keep Kobe Bryant.

After being swept by the New York Knicks in the Finals last season, O'Neal and Bryant both said they could leave the Lakers in the offseason.

The Lakers' management, of course, understands that this is two people pushing the team and making the Lakers have to make a decision between them. Obviously, the previous attitude of the team management to vacillate them from side to side has annoyed both of them.