When the game was over, the Mavericks finally defeated the Memphis Grizzlies to claim their second preseason win!

But the news of Dampier's injury next is a little not optimistic!

Dampier will be out for about three months due to his injury, and this news is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for the Mavericks!

For a while, the Mavericks management has been gloomy, although Dampier has been declining in the Mavericks' status has been declining more and more, but his role is irreplaceable, and now he is out for three months, and the Mavericks' life will be extremely difficult.

……

To add insult to injury, the Mavericks are going to the Spurs to play away next!

……

"What? Dampier has been out for so long?! Three months, by then the regular season schedule is almost halfway over! Cuban was shocked when he got Dampier out for three months, and he certainly knew how important Dampier was to the Mavericks!

"It's not the most deadly, the doctor said that after Dampier returns from injury, his athleticism will also be affected, and it will be difficult to return to his previous form!" Head coach Johnson sat in Cuban's office with a sad face.

"What to do? How about putting Diop in the starting line-up? After Dampier returns, let Dampier play as a substitute? Cuban was a little flustered, and he had a lot of confidence in the Mavericks this season.

"It's not a solution, but what kind of material Diop is, boss, you must also know, if he is a substitute center, the effect on the field is okay, but if it is a starter, the opponent will easily grab the point where he is easy to foul and hit hard, and we will be very passive at that time!" Johnson didn't have the idea of developing Diop as a starting center forward, but several attempts were very unsatisfactory, and Diop was not suitable for the starting lineup at all.

Cuban nodded, what Johnson said made a lot of sense, now, the road in front of the Mavericks, in addition to praying that Dampier's injury will not affect his competitive state, is only the way to strengthen the interior line!

"Hurry up and find a way to strengthen the inner line, it's not a way to go on like this, our inner line is still too weak!" Cuban knows that if they can't win the championship this season, when Josh Howard's rookie contract ends, the Mavericks will definitely offer Josh Howard a contract close to the maximum salary, in which case, the Mavericks' current roster will definitely be dismantled.

Johnson frowned, strengthening the inside? It's easier said than done!

"Boss, Croeshill's contract is as high as more than seven million dollars, and the veteran Stackhouse's contract is close to 10 million, the value of the two of them is not much, even if the trade is out, it is difficult to exchange for a qualified blue-collar interior ......"

Kuban nodded, "What do you mean?" ”

"The real trade value in our roster at the moment is Lee United, you ......" Johnson didn't continue, he still can't figure out what Cuban really thinks.

"Li Tuanjie? Do you mean to take Li Tuanjie out and trade a qualified blue-collar insider?! Kuban was stunned.

In theory, Johnson's proposal is the best way forward for the Mavericks, and it won't be difficult for Lee to put on a good show and put up a good stat in the next game to trade for a senior blue-collar center from the rest of the league.

But now the crux of the matter is that Kuban is reluctant!

In order to pick up Lee Tuanjie in the draft, Cuban spent a lot of money, and his expectation for Lee Tuanjie was to become a qualified substitute for Nowitzki, so that Novitzki's burden could be lightened, so that Novitzki could get more rest time per game, so as to ensure that Nowitzki has a more durable career!

Judging from Li Tuanjie's last two games, he has done a good job! Even better than Kuban imagined!

Such a player, just a rookie, is extremely experienced on the field, and Cuban feels that he has definitely picked up a treasure this time!

This is also the reason why Kuban is reluctant to Li Tuanjie, he feels that Li Tuanjie will definitely have better development in the future!

However, Cuban also understands that Nowitzki is at his peak at the moment, at least in the next few years, Li Tuanjie's identity in the Mavericks will definitely be Nowitzki's substitute, because the style of play of the two is simply too similar, and if they appear at the same time, it is not that they cannot be integrated, but the effect will definitely not be too good.

After the end of Li Tuanjie's rookie contract, if Li Tuanjie can continue his excellent performance, there will definitely be a large number of teams willing to take a high salary to sign Li Tuanjie......

When the time comes, the Mavericks will still lose Li Tuanjie!

After thinking for a long time, Cuban nodded and said to Johnson: "Let's put this matter aside for now, let's see how the situation develops next, by the way, you can add a little more playing time to Li Tuanjie!" ”

Johnson's face was overjoyed, and Cuban's answer must have already agreed with the idea of strengthening his interior line.

There is no doubt that Lee Tuanjie has an excellent impression in Johnson's heart, and even Johnson feels that Lee Tuanjie has the potential to become the next anti-aircraft artillery power forward!

But after all, the NBA is a business field, the team's record is king, the Mavericks are currently in urgent need of strengthening the inside, in the case that other players in the team do not have much trade value or cannot be traded, Li Tuanjie has undoubtedly become the key point to solve the current predicament of the Mavericks!

"Don't worry, boss, I know what to do......"

……

Li Tuanjie is currently talking to Bennett in the virtual space, and he doesn't know that he has a good chance of becoming a bargaining chip for the Mavericks to strengthen the interior line next......

But even if he knows, Li Tuanjie probably won't resent the Mavericks, the trading of players in the NBA is simply normal, even the big men of some teams can be traded, not to mention the newcomer Li Tuanjie.

"What, you scored 18 points today?!" After hearing Li Tuanjie talk about today's game, Bennett was surprised!

What it means for a rookie to score 18 points in 10 minutes on the pitch, Bennett certainly knows that at least he didn't reach 18 points in his rookie season!

Li Tuanjie smiled and nodded, he was also very satisfied with his performance today.

"Awesome, Li Tuanjie, I think you will soon be the team's starter with your performance, right? Come on, I'm still waiting for you to help me! Bennett laughed, he felt that his original vision was really good, and he had long felt that Li Tuanjie had a good future.

"The starter, that's impossible...... You have to know that I am on the Mavericks, and there is basically no possibility of starting! Li Tuanjie said expressionlessly.