The Suns' operation in the free market can only be described as "low-key", first announcing the signing of Payton for two years, and then extending the veteran Kukoc's contract for two years, both of which are veteran base salaries.

Payton praised Guo Xu at the press conference of joining the Suns, expressing his belief that the team will successfully defend the title next season.

The two met when they were in Los Angeles, Guo Xu invited guests to dinner and imagined the future with Peyton, which made him feel very comfortable, and he couldn't control his "big mouth" as soon as he was comfortable.

Payton said that "Jason Guo is the hardest player I've ever seen" to get the talk.

The reporter then asked: "You said Jason is the hardest to prevent, but what about Jordan?" ”

Payton responded: "Jordan is so talented that he can do anything on the court, but he's always by my trash talk. Jason didn't, he was so fast, he would run non-stop, and it would be hard for me to trash talk to him. In fact, there was a time when I was guarding against Jordan and driving him crazy. In the 1996 Finals, if I had played Jordan in the first game, maybe it would have been a big difference. ”

During the interview, Payton was also asked about the hot topic, that is, O'Neal leaving the Lakers and Kobe Bryant's ascension.

Payton commented: "After the Lakers won three championships in a row, management kept making the wrong choice, and they let go of two key players. Kobe Bryant is strong, but he's just a little brother, he can't lead the team like Jason, he can't dominate the restricted area like O'Neal, and the Lakers will have a tough time ahead, so I chose to leave. ”

Now that he has switched to the Suns, Payton will not be stingy with his praise for Guo Xu, who will make Guo Xu the boss of the team? first showed that he is the strongest active in the NBA, and he is not worse than Jordan, and it is not so shameful for Payton to hug his thighs.

Kukoc is also ready to play until retirement with the Suns and have a great time in Phoenix. He can play a role in the dressing room to set the mood, he has a good relationship with his team-mates, everyone treats him as a big brother, a mentor.

While several black players can't practice his skills to play like a small forward, Kukoc can teach them how to attract the defense and protect the basketball as quickly as possible and move to the right position.

Don't underestimate the passing skill, the inside tactics that will be able to respond are huge. In the first year, the Suns were still terrible inside, and in the second year, Haslem, Xiaosi, and Nene were able to occasionally deliver assists, and they could quickly distribute the ball when they grabbed the rebounds in the frontcourt, instead of forcing a "hat" in the crowd.

They were often blocked in their first year, and last season was much better, and Kukoc contributed a lot, and the ordinary showed the extraordinary.

Guo Xu also called Kukochi after seeing the news of the signing, congratulations to Brother Qi, he can build a dynasty with everyone, and look at the picturesque green mountains and green waters together......

Kukoc is smart, it's a small thing for him to make a few million dollars less, and staying in the solar to get more accolades is the key, even if other teams give him more money, he doesn't want to leave.

Now that he has four championship rings, he will definitely leave a glorious mark in NBA history if he can build a dynasty with the Suns, six rings like Jordan and Pippen.

The Spurs' Robert Horry may not be luckier than Kukoc, and as long as Chigo retires with six championships, even if he is not inducted into the Hall of Fame, he will be one of the best foreign players in NBA history, without dispute.

At this time, the Suns' lineup for next season has been determined, and there are strong players in all positions who do not need to poach people. With the release of Kirisek and veteran Gugliotta, the Suns have only three spots on their roster, and now their 15-man roster is full, and there is no need to find another tryout for the preseason.

Centre-forwards: Diop, Nene and Stoudayre.

Power forwards: Vallejo, Haslem, Kukoc.

Small forwards: Marion, Ariza, James Jones.

Shooting guards: Raja Bell, Joe Johnson, Josh Howard.

Point guards: Guo Xu, Steve Blake, Gary Payton.

In the eyes of the outside world, the Suns lineup mainly relies on the "Trident" and Joe Johnson, and the others are role players. In Guo Xu's view, the depth of this lineup is simply explosive, and he can attack and defend well, Ariza and Vallejo have no chance to perform in the first season, so they can only be substitutes for marginal people.

The most miraculous thing is that the total salary of the Suns is below the salary cap, which is 5 million lower than the Suns in the 2004-05 season in the previous life.

In the previous life, the Suns signed Nash for 6 years and 65 million, which was not the maximum salary, but the management poached Clippers forward Quentin Richardson, and the team also had Howard Ellis's mid-range bad contract.

Now as the defending champion, the Suns' total salary is only 39.6 million, which is not much more than the "poor man's line", and it is the team with the lowest total salary in the league next season, lower than the Clippers and Hawks. This made the media and basketball experts unanimously exclaim - is there a mistake?

Bryan asked Guo Xu about the free market recruitment, and Guo Xu made it clear that there is no need to bring in stars, he is confident that he will lead the Suns to successfully defend the title, and there is no need to poach someone at a high price.

Originally, the Jazz had the lowest salary in the league, with only $38.77 million last season.

After the free agency market opened, the Jazz management made a big move, poaching Pistons center Memet Oku on a six-year, $50 million premium contract. As soon as the news was announced, countless people said that it was a bad contract, because Oku was a fringe man with the Pistons last season.

Coach Jerry Sloan is bullish on Oku, believing that his style of being able to defend people in the restricted area and pulling out to play pick-and-rolls is a good fit for the Jazz. He has already made a hard training plan for him, and as long as Oku does what he is told, he will definitely get stronger.

Then the Jazz poached Clippers swingman Quentin Richardson for 6 years and 45 million, and signed Suns waiver Kirisek for 2 years and 4 million to strengthen the weak wing, and the salary went up all of a sudden.

At this time, there was a big variable in the league, because the Jazz selected David West, a power forward with a similar style, so there was no big forward Carlos Boozer who poached the Cavaliers with a high salary.

It's also a good thing that the Jazz didn't poach Boozer again, otherwise it would be a hidden danger, and if their record improves significantly next season, they won't be able to select future star point guard Deron Williams. If the Jazz had gotten a strongman too soon, things would have been completely different.

Boozer's agent in this life is not Pelinka, who encouraged him to be an "anti-bone boy", but Harpy Waterls. Harpy suggested that he choose a low salary of 700,000 yuan to play for the Cavaliers for another year, work hard to brush up on the data, and strive to sign a maximum salary directly next year.

The Cavaliers gave Boozer another condition, jumping out of the contract this year, and then signing a 6-year contract with the Cavaliers for 41 million, isn't this just a fool? Boozer averaged 15.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game last season while shooting 52.3% from the field.

In his previous life, Boozer was angry and accepted Pelinka's suggestion, first verbally agreed to renew his contract with the Cavaliers with a low salary, and then broke his promise and turned around and signed a six-year, 68 million contract with the Jazz. Boozer's actions sparked a big debate about "integrity" in the NBA, with ESPN's poll showing that more than 70% of people believe Boozer's actions are "cheating."

Now that the Jazz are not offering Boozer a premium contract, he can only choose to stay with the Cavaliers for a year.

This sparked a flurry of butterfly effects, with the Cavaliers not only keeping Boozer, but also selecting a brilliant blue-collar interior player Biedlings, who didn't need to sign Drew Gooden as Boozer's replacement.

If the Cavaliers had opted to re-sign Boozer in 2005, they would have run out of room to sign Larry Hughes' famously bad contract.

Guo Xu had a hunch that this knight would be much stronger than in his previous life......