On the first day of August, the U.S. men's national basketball team was training in Las Vegas.

They are preparing for this year's World Men's Basketball Championship in Spain.

A new generation of stars such as Harden, DeRozan, Irving, Faried, Paul George, Curry, and more make up the American Dream Team's roster.

The players are all under the age of 30, after all, veterans over the age of 30 are really not interested in the World Championships.

The team is preparing for an open intra-team match tomorrow, August 2, when many fans will be in attendance to watch the Dream Team's in-team training.

In other countries, such as China, it is an honor to join the national team.

The national team represents a collection of the country's basketball elites and shoulders national honors.

But the United States is different, basketball is an extremely commercialized sport, so even the national team is a kind of business, and it can also be used for brand promotion - the shadow behind it is, of course, Nike.

Therefore, the national team needs to conduct this kind of intra-team training match with a certain commercial publicity nature to increase the influence of the sponsor Nike.

In fact, for the players, this kind of competition training is not very meaningful to improve their skills, but more of an entertainment.

Paul George has been named to the national team after half a successful season and his future is also very promising.

After Granger was traded, he became the Pacers' number one.

It's just that the Pacers inexplicably collapsed after the trade, and they were eliminated in the semifinals of the playoffs, and the best chance to hit the finals was not achieved, which is a pity.

Of course, the future is bright for George.

After all, he is still young, and he was selected to the All-NBA team after this season, triggering the condition to sign a five-year, 90 million max contract with the Pacers, which will officially take effect this summer.

The position of the Pacers boss feels like he has to be.

At noon, after the morning training session, Paul George took a shower in the locker room and was ready to go out for a bite to eat with his team-mates.

At this time, George's phone rang, and at first glance, it was General Manager Larry Bird calling.

George's heart sank, and he had a bad premonition.

What did Bird call out of nowhere at this time?

The recent Bruce Lee news can be said to have caused a lot of trouble in the city.

The NBA players are eye-opening, it turns out that there are still such plays.

As the saying goes, the train runs fast because of the headband.

Li Liang moved one place this year, the MVP asked for a buyout, and the riotous operation of asking for a trade after joining freely really set an example for players across the league, especially stars.

Of course, they won't learn from Li Liang, after all, they don't have that strength, and there is no need, Li Liang's toss is not worth it from an economic point of view.

It's just that everyone knows that in the game between players and teams, players are not in a position to be slaughtered.

George learned anyway.

He answered the phone, and Bird's familiar voice came from the other end.

Bird spoke briefly, straight to the point: "Bubble, you're being traded." ”

Sure enough, George's heart sank, and he casually asked, "Where?" Cleveland? ”

In fact, he should know that his contract has just come into effect, and the contract amount is the same as Li Liang's, and he can complete a single exchange transaction.

Bird's answer was crisp, "That's right, with Masimmi." ”

Masimmi, center, good, not with Hibbert.

However, Hibbert's contract is as big as George's, and the Cavaliers are unlikely to take it.

"I see, thanks." George didn't know what to say.

It doesn't feel good to be traded, there's a ...... There is a feeling of betrayal and abandonment.

It's like a lover says to break up, the one who is broken up will always get hurt a little bit.

No wonder Bruce Lee always offered to leave, that would be more dignified.

"Come back today, get a medical check-up, and report to Cleveland and thank you for your contributions in Indiana."

Bird's voice was a little cold, probably because of the content of his words, of course.

When he told George to renew his contract with a maximum salary, the tone was the same, but George felt very warm.

"Okay, I see, I'm going to talk to my agent."

"No problem, good luck."

With that, Bird hung up the phone.

In just two minutes, George knew that his fate had been changed.

Tomorrow, August 2nd, he won't be able to play.

……

In Indianapolis, the headquarters of the Pacers, the general manager's office, Bird hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

It took him 2 minutes to make a phone call to Paul George.

Originally, he expected to end the two phone calls at eleven o'clock and then go to dinner.

As a result, a call to Bruce Lee, he called for a whole hour!

He suddenly regretted it, why did he tell Griffin that he had to call Bruce Lee in person?

Bird's idea at the time was to use his prestige and persuasion to dispel the possibility of Bruce Lee vetoing the deal.

I didn't expect ...... The first forced was not successful, and then it fell into a state of nagging.

Li Liang's question is called more than one.

It may be that he wanted to learn a lesson that the knights did not think about when they came in, so Bird was questioned in a thorough and detailed manner, and a series of demands were made.

In order to achieve his big plan, in order to get out of the quagmire of last season, Bird must get Li Liang!

In the history of the Pacers, there has never been a superstar who has joined, never.

Not to mention free agents, they haven't even been traded.

When Li Liang announced that he had bought out his contract with the Clippers, Bird was still very upset because the Pacers had no space.

Or why didn't you offer a trade with the Clippers at the time to send George to the Clippers.

But it's all an afterthought, who would have thought that Li Liang would come here.

What I didn't expect was that Li Liang signed a contract with the knight, and even proposed a deal?

Bird couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the news.

This ...... It can really be loaded, I like it.

Bird knew that the news sent by Wei Dazhi must be true, not a rumor.

So he contacted Griffin as soon as possible, and without hesitation, he put Paul George on the shelf, and the rest was up to him.

As a result, Griffin selected a high-quality interior basket center, Masimmy, and sent the team's thorn Dion Waiters to the Pacers.

Bird didn't make any bargains, he knew that the Pacers needed a real superstar too much, a player like Li Liang too much.

Then he personally called Li Liang.

originally wanted to pretend to be deep and surprise Li Liang, but a "Larry Sanders" came on the other side......

Your whole family is Sanders.

Bird then informed Lee that the Pacers would be trading for him.

Li Liang was not surprised, but kept asking all kinds of questions on the phone, and put forward many requirements and conditions.

For example, the house should be able to see the stars, not too far from the training hall, not too far from the city, not too far from the stadium – preferably not too far from the airport.

Bird's head is big, so I'll make a circle with four points and find the center of the circle to build you a house?

Of course, in my heart, such simple conditions can still be agreed.

Then Li Liang inquired in detail about the team's planning, management style, training methods, medical conditions, dietary conditions, and air environment.

Bird patiently explained a little bit, and said that if he was not satisfied, the walker could satisfy him.

"Any conditions? Can you play the March of the Volunteers at the beginning? ”

"What? What march? ”

"China's national anthem!"

“……”

Of course, this condition cannot be met, but Li Liang is just joking.

However, there was one condition that really gave Bird a headache, a very headache.

So much so that Bird was silent on the phone for five seconds.

Of course, it only took him five seconds for him to give the answer.

"Yes, I promise you."

"Okay, then it's done."

This was a condition that Bird could not refuse.