Chapter 304: The City of Tears
On December 25, 2011, the new NBA season, which had been postponed for two months, finally ushered in the opening game of the 11-12 season. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. biquge。 But before the opening game began, countless NBA fans received a shocking news that caught them off guard.
"Anjie transfers! The Thunder and the Trail Blazers have reached a deal!" every sports newspaper headline was occupied by Anjie's trade information. Before the new season even started, the NBA created a big enough gimmick for fans.
Countless people have bought newspapers on the street or clicked on the news on the website to find out. An Jie completed the transfer without saying a word, which really surprised everyone.
The Trail Blazers sent Frenchman Nicolas Batum and "Angel Killer" Craig Smith, as well as a 2013 first-round pick and some cash, while the Thunder sent Angel, who had just returned from injury. ”
This "extremely unequal" amount of chips is the condition for the two sides to reach a deal. The Trailblazers really put all the treasure on An Jie, so they are willing to pay all the chips that meet the rules of the league. Presti thought that Anjie's stay with the Thunder would not help the team, so he tried his best to squeeze Anjie's residual value in exchange for Batum and Craig Smith, two guys who were enough to supplement the strength of the lineup. And the Trail Blazers' 2013 draft pick falling to Presti would also be extremely valuable.
"Crazy, just fucking crazy!" Most Trail Blazers fans are not optimistic about this deal, and they go to great lengths to cut a 4+5 center for a preseason "rage", which naturally does not satisfy Trail Blazers fans. Nicholas Batum has improved a lot in the past two years, and Craig Smith can also help the Trail Blazers' second team score. Now that all this is gone, they have paid two guys who have helped the team a lot to replace a "waste man" who has no longer been beautiful after a major injury. Countless fans are disappointed with the management of the Trail Blazers, although the team has lost Roy and Oden one after another, but it is not too sick to rush to the hospital, and put hope on a balloon star.
Of course, if someone hates it, naturally someone likes it. There are also some Trailblazers fans who are excited and happy about Anjie's arrival.
"It's a fantastic deal, the Western Conference All-Star starting center, wow, what else can I say? Management's aggressive trade early in the season is a testament to their determination to revivenation. Come on, ah, we need you!" were the words of a die-hard Trail Blazers fan in a street interview.
"Meniscus injuries are nothing, and Tim Duncan has been reimbursed for the season due to meniscus problems. But now? I think it's a smart deal, and even if Anjie doesn't get up to the level he used to be, he'll still be able to help the team get better. "Of course, there are fans who have a more neutral point of view. They were neither disappointed by Anjie's arrival, nor did they expect much from Anjie.
No matter what the outside world thinks of Anjie's transfer news, the 11-12 season has begun, and Anjie also arrived in Portland at noon today on the 25th.
Although today is the day of the NBA's opener, the Trail Blazers won't have a game until tomorrow. Therefore, Anjie has a respite and time to get acquainted with the team.
As soon as he got off the plane, An Jie was surrounded by hundreds of reporters. Not only local media outlets in Portland, but also reporters from Oklahoma and China crowded into the crowd.
An Jie smiled and greeted the reporters, even though he was not happy when he had just said goodbye to the Thunder.
Thanks to the efforts of the Portland police and the Trail Blazers' public relations staff, Anjie was able to squeeze out a way and get into the car that had been waiting outside the airport for a long time.
"We have arranged Mr. An's house, and you can move out at any time when you find a house in the local area. Your car is already on its way by air, and the team has full authority to take care of this for you. Now we'll take you to the Rose Garden Stadium to meet the team directly, and it's up to the manager to decide what to do next. A female publicist briefed Anjie and Moslav in the car. An Jie was a little embarrassed by this high-quality service, when did he enjoy such treatment? It seems that the Trail Blazers really have high hopes for themselves.
It didn't take long for Anjie to arrive at his destination. The huge Rose Garden Stadium comes into view, An Jie is no stranger here, and after several seasons, An Jie has been a guest in the Rose Garden. But when he thought that this place was about to become his home stadium in the future, An Jie felt that he still couldn't react.
The interior of the Rose Garden is much more complex than the Thunder's Chesapeake Energy Arena, the sixth largest arena in the league, the Rose Garden can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, and this multi-purpose arena can also host ice hockey, boxing and other games. Nearly 700 TVs are set up in the stadium to allow fans to watch the game in 360 degrees. It also includes 70 luxury boxes, twice the number of the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
An Jie followed the female public relations for a long time, thinking that he was going to meet his new teammates. Unexpectedly, Anjie was taken to Orsi's office, and the general manager of the Trail Blazers decided to meet Anjie first.
"Looks like you're in pretty good shape. Orsi looked at An Jie, who was in high spirits, and couldn't help but laugh. Let's hope this deal can get the Trail Blazers out of the woods.
"I'm very happy to be in this team, is this to take me to the press conference?"
"Before that, let me introduce you to your current parent team! What do you know about the Trailblazers? From a Chinese perspective. Orsi's question really stopped An Jie. It was only then that An Jie realized that he knew very little about the history of the new owner.
"Uh...... Tear City?" Anjie tentatively said a word he could think of about the Trailblazer.
"Hahaha, that's right! Tear City! This is Portland! This is the Trail Blazers!" Orsie laughed with satisfaction, and although Anjie didn't know much about the history of the Trail Blazers, he got to the point.
"Our showroom is no match for the Lakers and Celtics, the only championship trophy we won in 1977. Seriously, your parents were very young at the time, and I understand that you don't know that history. Orsi led Angel into the showroom and struck up a conversation with him.
"Bravery, unity, drive, and willingness to fight are the spiritual representatives of the torn city. Do you know why I like you? Because you fit all of the above qualities. Okay Ann, let's head to the media room, and the press conference announcing your move to the Trail Blazers will begin soon. Orsi and Anjie made their way through the showroom to a labyrinthine tunnel of players. After turning several corners, when An Jie's head was already dizzy, they finally came to the media reception room.
As soon as Orsi and Anjie walked in, there was a dazzling flash of light from below. Ahead of the start of the new season, the deal was just too big. No one wants to miss a press conference like this, so the Trail Blazers' huge media reception room was packed.
"Thank you all for coming, and I don't think I need to go into too much detail about the purpose of today's trip. Welcome to the new member of the Pioneer family, Anjie!" Orsi said in a short and clear sentence, shifting the focus to Anjie.
An Jie stood up and picked up his Trail Blazers jersey on the table, the name behind it is still the familiar An, but the number under the name is no longer the No. 16 that is talked about in the Thunder.
Rickard said that Anjie should look forward. I used to stop in the round of 16 at university, and that was in the past. Now An Jie has abandoned No. 16, not only to say goodbye to his college career, but also to his time with the Thunder.
Let the No. 16 remain in Anjie's good memories forever, the reporters raised their cameras and frantically filmed Anjie showing off his jersey. An ordinary Trail Blazers jersey is printed with an unusual number, "00".
Start all over again, start over from nothing, and start from a new starting point. This is the reason why Anjie chose No. 00. 00, everything goes to zero, but it always stacks. Of course, 00 actually stands for 100 in the NBA and is the largest number number. An Jie also used this number to express his determination to be the leader of the Trail Blazers and even the strongest center in the league!
An Jie held up his jersey and kept smiling, allowing the reporters to shoot for three minutes. After that, Anjie said something like he was happy to join the team, and finally "escaped" from the media reception room that was about to be inundated with countless problems.
"Alright Ann, now follow Miss Riley and meet your new teammates!" Orsi patted Ann Jie on the shoulder hard, the future of the Trail Blazers is now temporarily pressed on this pair of shoulders.
After several more turns with the public relations lady, An Jie finally found the underground training ground in the Rose Garden. By the time he pushed the door in, the Trail Blazers players were already training under Rickard.
Speaking of which, the Rose Garden has been really lively these days, first Riccard took over the whip and was very surprised, and then Anjie joined to stimulate the nerves of everyone in the Tearing City. This trailblazer team seems to have completely shaken off the era of Oden and Roy and ushered in a real new life.
Seeing An Jie walk in, all the players of the Trail Blazers stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to look at An Jie in unison.
"Ann, you're finally here!" just then, Ricard rushed from the sidelines.
"Come together, guys, let me introduce you to your new teammates! Of course, I think most of you hate him so much that you don't need to be introduced. Felton, you haven't eaten Anjie hot pot before, have you?" Riccard looked at Raymond Felton.
"Do you still need to introduce the head, the Oriental Tower, the butcher, and Anjie. Seriously, though, it's nice you're on our side right now. Filton was the first to go up and shake hands with Anjie.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm LaMarcus Aldridge. ”
"My name is Wesley Matthews. ”
"Marcus Camby, hey, be kind to me old man when you train in the future. ”
The Trail Blazers players shook hands with An Jie one by one and introduced themselves. Here, there are no thorns, and here, everyone is working to revive the pioneers.
The only guy who can be called the core of this team may be the elegant and delicate power forward, LaMarcus Aldridge. Although Aldridge has good strength, his personality is still a little too gentle, so he has always lacked the temperament that a core should have.
Now, Rickard has finally got a guy who can be the core and take on big responsibilities. Now, he can really plan the future path of the Trail Blazers according to his own ideas.
An Jie then participated in the training of the Trail Blazers, who had just experienced a major injury and had not played for a year, although he had not yet reached his best condition, but after the whole confrontation training, An Jie's performance was not bad.
Ricard knew Anjie needed time and opportunity. But under him, An Jie can have both conditions. He believes in An Jie's abilities, whether it is before or after the injury, he knows what kind of guy An Jie will become.
When he was in college before, the emaciated An Jie did not disappoint him. Now in the NBA, Rickard is still full of confidence in Anjie.
The pioneering road of the Tearing City is officially opened today.