At the beginning of each month, the league announces the previous month's top-performing Player of the Month, Rookie of the Month, and Coach of the Month. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

On January 2, the league announced the Eastern and Western Player of the Month for December last year, with the Wizards' John Wall being named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and the Thunder's Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant both winning the Western Conference Player of the Month.

The Wizards were full of injuries in December, but Wall was able to average 22.6 points, 11.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game, leading the team to an 8-8 record. Since Chris Paul in April 2009, Wall is the first player in the NBA to score 22+11+4+2 in a single month. Therefore, even though the Wizards' record in December was only 50% of the winning percentage, the league still awarded Wall the Eastern Conference Player of the Month.

Wall had three particularly good games last December.

In the game against the Cavaliers on December 2, he scored 35 points, 10 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds to help the Wizards win 97-85; On December 13, against the Mavericks, he scored 26 points, 16 assists and 5 rebounds to help the Wizards win the game 114-111; In the game against the Hornets on December 20, he had 27 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals to help the Wizards win 109-101.

Durant averaged 24.9 points per game in December, ranking sixth in the league. Willis averages 23.8 points per game, ranking seventh in the league. They led the Thunder to a 12-3 record in December and shared the Western Conference Player of the Month honor.

In addition, Durant also averaged 7.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 50.8% from the field. He scored 20 points in all 15 games and shot 87.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Player of the Month is an honor given by the league to the best player in a month, and "most", as the name suggests, is only one. However, there will be special circumstances, such as this time when Durant and Westbrook are indistinguishable, and the league makes an exception for the two to share the best of the month.

The Thunder also had a lot of wonderful performances in December last year.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook:

Against the Grizzlies on Dec. 8, Durant scored 32 points and Westbrook dished out 16 assists as the Thunder outscored 125-88.

Against the Jazz on Dec. 14, Durant scored 31 points, Westbrook had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the Thunder won the game 104-98.

Against the Nuggets on Dec. 28, Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Thunder won 122-112.

Other Eastern Conference Player of the Month nominees include: the Hawks' Paul Millsap, the Pistons' Reggie Jackson, the Warriors' Stephen Curry, the Lakers' Easy Wind, the Clippers' Redick, the Trail Blazers' CJ McCollum and the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard.

At the same time as announcing the Player of the Month, the league also announced the Rookie of the Month.

Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year last December, the second time he has been named Rookie of the Month.

The Lakers' Yi Feng and the Timberwolves' Carl Anthony Towns shared the Western Conference Rookie of the Year last December. Downs was named Rookie of the Month for the first time in his career, while Yi Feng won the award for the second time in his career, along with Porzingis.

The league doesn't know if it's addicted to honor sharing, the Western Player of the Month is shared by the two, and the same is true for the Western Rookie of the Month.

In December 2015, Porzingis averaged 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game (second among rookies in the East), plus 2.2 blocks (first among any rookie). He has a double-double of points and rebounds four times this month and has at least three blocks in six games. In addition, he shot 36.6 percent from three-point range in December. In the Knicks' loss to the Cavaliers on Dec. 24, he had 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, making 4-of-5 three-pointers.

In December last year, Yi Feng averaged 29.4 points, 4.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game, which was a big decline compared to November last year. Over the course of the month, he shot 45.8 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 83.6 percent from the free-throw line, which looked much more "normal." Perhaps that's why Downs has the opportunity to share Rookie of the Month with him.

In December, Towns averaged 18.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game (first among any rookie) and 1.56 blocks (second among all rookies). He has a total of eight double-doubles, and he has scored at least 20 points in all eight games. This month, Towns shot 55.3 percent from the field and shot at least 50 percent from the field in 14 of his 16 games.

Other players nominated for the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December are: Frank Kaminski (Hornets), Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), D'Angelo Russell (Clippers), Justis Winslow (Heat) and Jahill Okafor (76ers).

Finally, the league announced the Eastern and Western Coach of the Month last December, with Spurs coach Greg Popovich and Magic coach Scott Skels each elected.

Skels led the Magic to a best-10-5 record in the East last month, with a 66.7 percent win rate. The Magic went 5-3 at home and 5-2 on the road last month. Defensively, the Magic limited opponents to 96.6 points per 100 possessions, ranking fourth in the league, while on the offensive end, the Magic shot 48.1% throughout December, ranking third in the league and tied for first place in the East.

Popovich led the Spurs to a 14-2 record in December, an 87.5 percent win rate, and the Spurs are unbeaten in 10 home games in December and 19-0 at home this season. The Spurs scored less than 100 points in only two of their 16 games in December, and on the defensive end, they averaged 87.1 points per game in December, which is not only the first in the league, but also six points higher than the second-place Cavaliers (the Cavaliers conceded 93.2 points per game in December).

In addition to Popovich and Skyles, the other coaches nominated for the best coach in the East and West last month were: Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), David Blatter (Cavaliers), Stan Van Gundy (Pistons), Luke Wharton (Warriors), Doug Reaves (Clippers), Byron Scott (Lakers), Billy Donovan (Thunder) and Devin Casey (Raptors)

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Winning the first win of the new year on New Year's Day is a very good sign for the Lakers. But Kobe Bryant is not too optimistic, there are 15 games left in January, and the Lakers will face strong opponents such as the Warriors, Thunder, and Spurs, which is indeed not optimistic.

Although the Lakers' 20-14 record is very good, when facing strong teams, they will always be suppressed, and if Kobe Bryant and Yi Feng don't break out, there is a chance that the game will be lost.

In the regular season, if you don't get involved in the playoff battle, it doesn't matter how many games you lose. But in the playoffs - yes, Kobe Bryant is ambitious, and now that the season is not more than halfway over, he has set his sights on the playoffs - the Lakers' current roster is full of holes, and once they open up and play against others for seven games, then the Lakers' loopholes will definitely be targeted to death.

Therefore, the Lakers need to close the loopholes and improve their combat power. And the most straightforward way to do this is to trade.

A large part of the reason the Lakers have become a big team in the league is because of their success in the free market. It could almost be said that one of the important factors that contributed to the Lakers' transformation into a giant at the time of the trade was made. From near to far, Pau Gasol, the Lakers' two-time champion in previous years, was traded; Further back, Shaquille O'Neal, the biggest contributor to the Lakers' three-game winning streak at the beginning of this century, was also traded......

In the history of the Lakers, there are many similar examples. Through the trade, it was successful in a short period of time, and it almost became a big sign of the Lakers.

But in the last two years, the Lakers have been in a slump, and they no longer look attractive to big-name stars. And the trading chips are insufficient, and there is no big operation to plan.

In this case, the Lakers have no choice but to build a team in another way - to gather young players. In 2014, he used the No. 7 pick in the first round to get Julius Randle, the No. 16 pick in the second round to get Clarkson, and in 2015, he picked Yi Feng with the No. 1 pick, followed by Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown.

Now these youngsters are shining on the Lakers and have become the ones head coach Byron Scott relies on the most. As they got better on the field, the value of the deal increased.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in an interview late last year, "I think we have some players that we can talk to other teams about trading, and a year ago, we didn't have that many players." ”

At the beginning of the season, he actually didn't have the confidence to say such things. But the Lakers' performance in the new season is in the eyes of many people, and Kupchak, as the general manager, speaks naturally loudly.

But in fact, considering the future, the Lakers don't have too many trade chips.

Judging from the performance of more than two months, Yi Feng is one of the greatest rookies in history, and the Lakers' proper building cornerstone is definitely not for sale. No matter how much his transaction value is, it is not in the scope of the transaction.

Although Kobe Bryant is no longer in his prime, he is of great symbolic significance to the Lakers and the city of Los Angeles, and he is not for sale.

The next transaction value should be Randall. Randle is averaging 12.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game so far this season, and after being reimbursed early in the season last season, Randle has played at a high level this season.

Randle is one of the nine players who have averaged a double-double in points and rebounds so far this season, and he is also the youngest of the nine players other than Carl Anthony Towns.

Such a potential inside seedling is coveted by many teams, especially those in the process of rebuilding. But it's unlikely that the Lakers will drop Randle, after all, he was drafted as part of the Lakers' rebuilding plan, and he's been doing well this season.

Next, the one with more trade value is Louis Williams.

This small player of 1.85 meters, although his height is not conspicuous in the NBA, but his achievements are quite outstanding. Although he doesn't see the big picture as a guard, he is a good mess, and last season's Sixth Man of the Year award was the best way to portray him. Arguably, bringing him under his command was the Lakers' most successful move on the free market last summer.

After coming to the Lakers, Williams has performed similarly to last season, still averaging 15.3 points per game, the third-most scoring player on the Lakers, and still has the ability to compete for the best sixth man. It is believed that he will be favored by many teams who want to enhance the attacking power of the bench.

But as the team's sixth man, he did a good job with the Lakers, and the Lakers may not be worth the loss of using him as a trade chip.

In addition, there is Nick Young, who has often come off the bench this season, who has impressed with some games of defense that has not been seen in his career, and his outside shooting ability is still strong, as a role player, the singles king is suitable for any team in the league, but it is difficult for Nick Young alone to get too good returns in the free market. Maybe it's a good idea to trade him with other players.

As for Roy Hibbert, whom the Lakers traded for a second-round pick, and Brandon Buss, who signed in free agency last year, the trade value isn't huge.

Hibbert's "high roundness" and poor athleticism make the Lakers always unable to defend the opponent's blocking and dismantling tactics, and his performance on the offensive end is minimal, averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds per game is not sorry for his playing time of more than 20 minutes.

Brandon Buss has basically not had much of an impact with the Lakers this season, and it has been difficult to get interest from other teams.

In comparison, even Nance Jr. is worth more than them.

Finally, Clarkson, who is like a fish in water at the starting No. 1 position, has become a good player with 14.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists in stable playing time by relying on his explosive physical fitness, but in fact, his salary this season is only $850,000. Such an affordable, value-for-money player, according to the principle of equal salary in NBA trades, can hardly be exchanged for anything......

Bryant had a headache for a while and decided to dump the problem on the team's general manager, Kupchak. After all, the trading of players in the team is directly responsible for the general manager.

On January 2, the day after the game against the 76ers, Yi Feng went to practice as usual. was about to go out, but received a call from Kobe, who asked Yi Feng to go with him to visit the team's general manager, Kupchak.

After retiring from his playing career in 1986, Kupchak became an assistant to Lakers general manager Jerry West, and took over all general managers, but he did not have the real power of general manager.

It wasn't until 2000, when Jerry West resigned as vice president of the league and moved to the Memphis Grizzlies as team manager, that Kupchak made the perfect transition from player to management.

In the first big trade he orchestrated, the team brought in then-superstars Carl Malone and Gary Payton.

However, some of Kupchak's next trades remain controversial to this day, including trading Shaquille O'Neale for the Miami Heat's Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant, as well as the decision to forgo trading Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd.

Although these were backed by the team's late owner, Jerry Buss, Kupchak had to face strong doubts from Bryant. At that time, Kobe Bryant did not have a good relationship with the general manager of the team.

However, the shocking trade Kupchak made in February 2008 — trading Kwame Brown, some other players, and a first-round pick from the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol — finally made Kobe Bryant look up to Kupchak, "This trade took Kupchak straight from F to A+!" ”

In addition, the 2007 trade of Bryan Cook and Morris Evans for Trevor Ariza and the free signing of Ron Artest in 2009 all contributed significantly to the Lakers' two-game winning streak in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Because of Kupchak's trade, Kobe Bryant won two more championships after the "Big Shark" traveled east, so Kobe's impression of Kupchak changed greatly. In fact, Kobe Bryant's standard for looking at people is very simple, and if he has strength, he can get his respect.

Coupled with the fact that last summer, Kupchak fulfilled Kobe's request and brought Yi Feng to Los Angeles and the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant's favor with the team's general manager is unprecedented. (To be continued.) )