Chapter 89 [Seismic Trading]
The Warriors won 95-86 on the road to make it four wins in a row.
Several of the Warriors' core players are not feeling very good. Harrington finished with six points and five rebounds on 2-of-10 shooting, including free throws. Jackson finished with 17 points and five assists on 6-of-18 shooting, with an equally dismal shooting percentage. Margeti finished with 13 points and four rebounds on 4-of-13 shooting. The best performer was Biedrins, who had 16 points and 22 rebounds, surpassing 20 rebounds for the second time in his career. Azubuke and Watson scored 10 and 11 points, respectively.
Zhou Xuan hit only two of his seven shots today, scoring 4 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists. It looked like he had been beaten back to his original form, but in fact he made some good passes, and his teammates shot too poorly from the perimeter.
The Warriors didn't play at a high level, but fortunately, the Grizzlies' offense was even worse, and Conley, who was opposite Zhou Xuan, shot 4 of 10 and got 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Mark? Gasol had a bumper performance, finishing with 27 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks, but he also committed six turnovers. Rudy? Gay finished with just 14 points and five rebounds on 5-of-16 shooting, while O.J. Mayo had 13 points and three assists.
Gay averaged 20 per game last season. 1 point 6. 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1. The stats of 4 steals and 1 block look great, but they have not been as positive as Mayo at the start of this year. He has the quality and talent to become a superstar, but he lacks the domineering spirit to take responsibility at critical moments.
With the loss of two star guards, the Warriors led the league after four games, leaving pundits by surprise. After the game, some media said that Biedrins was already a top 10 center in the league, and this season has improved again.
In fact, Bidrins is really a rough guy, and the luxurious data masks his lack of confrontation ability.
The Warriors rushed back to Oakland overnight to rest for the day before taking on the challenge of the Denver Nuggets. Many people are optimistic about the Warriors' five-game winning streak because the Nuggets have just completed a seismic trade, the players involved in the trade will leave the team, and the newcomers will not be able to play for the time being, and the roster is not complete.
No one expected the big trade fair to come so quickly in the new season. On November 4, the Pistons reached an agreement with the Nuggets, and the Nuggets sent Allen? Iverson, Chauncey in exchange for the Pistons? Billups, Antonio? McDyce vs. Check? Sambu has three players, and the news has been confirmed by many parties.
This is the second time Iverson has been traded as a chip in nearly two years. He was traded to the Nuggets by the 76ers in December 2006 and formed the famous "Golden Twin Guns" with Anthony. However, although the Golden Twin Guns are famous, they are not effective, and they have lost the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, which finally made the Nuggets executives lose patience. Andre? Miller has been getting better and better since joining the 76ers, and last season's Philadelphia Youth Army made the playoffs, and Miller was instrumental.
After learning the hard way, the Nuggets finally decided to change, and Iverson's expiring contract of up to 20.84 million became a tempting bargaining chip.
Coincidentally, the Pistons decided to change their lives after being swept away by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Dumas clamored for a purge this summer, but in the end nothing came of it, and the Pistons will continue to have the same roster for the new season. However, after dormant for a while, Dumas finally took action and quickly finalized the big deal. It took less than two days for the two sides to complete the transaction from the rumor to the completion of the transaction! The swiftness with which an agreement was reached is rare in history, and it is enough to see the determination of both teams.
The deal is also a win-win in theory. For the Pistons, sending Billups away can not only correct the promising young guard Starkey, but also usher in the popular superstar Iverson. Even if they can't compete with the Celtics this season, they can free up enough salary space for a rebuild next year by getting rid of Iverson's big contract with Wallace. And for the Nuggets, the addition of Billups will greatly strengthen the Nuggets' weakest perimeter defense. Originally Iverson and Anthony? Carter started together and was severely lacking in height.
However, the Nuggets can only get Billups as a useful person, and Cheek is an insecure addition. McDyce made it clear that he refused to go to the Nuggets. According to another well-informed source, he may even choose to retire. Due to McDyce's objections, the Nuggets may drop a physical examination on him. Currently, McDyce has two years left on his contract, worth $13.6 million, and the team may agree to buy him out of his contract.
According to people close to the negotiations, because the Nuggets' total salary is already very close to the luxury tax floor, they don't want to spend a lot of money, but want to buy out the power forward for a lower price. McDyce may have to give up half of his salary, which means the Nuggets are only willing to give up $6.8 million. If the two sides struggle to reach an agreement, then McDyes, regardless of whether he reports to the team, he will be retained on the Nuggets roster.
The Nuggets are determined to change blood. In the summer, they gave away the Clippers Marcus for nothing? Camby, in return, was actually a second-round pick.
Is that all the value of the former best defensive player to be? Camby's value is certainly much more than that, but it's not hard to understand given the Nuggets' situation. At the end of the day, it's all about saving money. If the Nuggets don't trade, they will have to deal with a luxury tax of more than $10 million per season for the other four players on the team in addition to Camby, and they will also have to work hard to keep the team's best sixth man, JR Smith. In order to save money, it makes sense to eliminate the campby.
From the Nuggets' standpoint, the only way to cut expenses for next season is to trade with a team that is below the salary cap. The Clippers and Grizzlies are the only teams in the league that qualify, and the Grizzlies are not willing to spend their money on a 35-year-old injury-ridden veteran. So the Clippers have become the only remaining partners, and of course they can start the price on the spot.
As you can see from that trade, the Nuggets have realized that they can't win a championship with the existing core combination of Iverson and Anthony, so the team is certainly not willing to pay too much luxury tax. And the Nuggets will inevitably start to change the team in other ways, and trading Iverson is their most important job.
If "Egg Pain" Nene can make a full recovery from cancer, then he should outperform Camby. However, because of this, his health risks are even worse than Camby's, and Nene's ability in blocking cannot be compared to Camby's. On top of that, the loss of Nahura has put more pressure on Nenene's shoulders, and now he's the only big man on the Nuggets' roster other than Martin and Hunter, which leads to the possibility that the Nuggets will play with a smaller and faster lineup next.
According to the analysis of the American media, after sending Iverson away, the Nuggets' offense will become more efficient and their defense will also improve. There is no shorter shooting guard in the league than Iverson, and while he scores high points every game, he can't prevent opponents from attacking, and opponents like to use him as a breakthrough. After he left Philadelphia, the 76ers made the playoffs instead, which also made people wonder whether Iverson was a superstar or a cancer.
Without Iverson, Anthony, Billups, Kenyon? The offensive lineup of Martin and JR Smith is not inferior to that of any other NBA team. The Nuggets are looking forward to it right now, and of course the team's top priority is to run in the roster.
The Pistons, on the other hand, also want to rebuild. President Joe Dumas said: "Iverson's arrival has given us depth that we have never had before, and we think it has been too helpful for the team. ”
Detroit was full of rumors this summer, and the Pistons reached the Eastern Conference Finals for six consecutive seasons, but they have not been able to break through in these two seasons, and a rebuild has become imperative.
For Iverson, his only wish now is to get a championship ring, and the Pistons are a strong team, and he's excited about it. But now the pattern of the East is very different, this is no longer the world of the Pistons, the Celtics are in the lead, the Cavaliers, 76ers, Magic, and Hawks have risen, and it is not easy for them to reach the Eastern Conference Finals like last season, and how far they can go in the new season depends on their run-in.
The slump against the Grizzlies didn't stop the media from touting Zhou Xuan. He's been compared to Rose, Beasley, and Mayo. If you keep up the form you started with, it's entirely possible to compete for the Rookie of the Season.
A radio station wanted to conduct a TV interview with Zhou Xuan and let him be a guest on a talk show, but Zhou Xuan refused without saying a word, on the grounds that he wanted to concentrate on preparing for the next game, strive to continue his winning streak, and then consider going on TV after a while.
In fact, he is not preparing for the game, and his mind is not on the issue of competing for the best rookie, but now he cares about the arrival of the Olsen sisters and the need to entertain good friends.
Yesterday he called Nie Yuyan to tell him that Sister Olsen was coming to him, and Nie Yuyan asked, "Can I go to your house tomorrow?" Don't they love food? I cook two dishes for them to try, and I've been in the U.S. for more than a year, and I haven't seen a big star. ”
So, Zhou Xuan called the Olsen sisters again, and said that a friend wanted to introduce them to them. He always felt in his heart that the Olsen sisters would not come this time just to eat and watch the game, but also for other purposes.
No matter how high the ball quotient is on the field, Zhou Xuan is just a junior brother in his life, lacking experience in getting along with women, can't guess women's thoughts, and is not narcissistic enough to think that all women like him, he just wants to go with the flow.
Early the next morning, Nie Yuyan skipped class and came to Zhou Xuan's house and brought him breakfast.
After Zhou Xuan opened the door, he exclaimed, "You are so beautiful today." ”
"Of course you have to be formal when you see a star." Nie Yuyan wore light makeup today, and her red clothes and black pants looked bright like the protagonist of a youth idol drama. And when the two met for the first time, she wore a chef's uniform regardless of her image.
Zhou Xuan's heart beat wildly a few times, firstly because of her beauty, and secondly, because she was a little sweet, it seemed that Nie Yuyan really had a good impression of him and wanted to show it in front of the Olsen sisters.