After chatting with Liu Mang for twenty minutes, Maddie was almost angry, and seeing that the 20-minute game was over, Maddie immediately went to find Prince, who was most interested in him, and Hawks assistant coach Stockton, who was very similar to Liu Mang's playing style, and the three discussed how to partner with Liu Mang.

This matter is key for Maddy, as a player who started off the bench and relied on defense, Maddie has always changed his style of play according to the situation he encountered, and he became a superstar, from the beginning, it was entirely because Grant Hill had to become a superstar year after year.

It is because of these experiences that Maddie lamented after the Lakers won two consecutive championships that if the Lakers traded Eddie Jones to him in 1998, he would be willing to become Pippen instead of struggling with the Magic, because he originally planned to become Hill's Pippen and become a superstar, which was completely accidental.

It's just that he has good talent, and he doesn't particularly want to be a superstar at all.

Maddie came to the Hawks almost for the first time to report, because the 27th to the 29th, is the time for the new team Bobcats to choose personnel, if according to the NBA, it is the time of "league reorganization", Maddie had no way to report to the Hawks at that time, and before the draft, Maddie was on vacation, and it was not impossible to rush back abroad, but at that time the Hawks were busy with the draft, and he did not come to make trouble.

No, on the 30th, "the reorganization of the alliance is complete", he came to report early in the morning.

The Hawks saw Maddy report from the team as soon as they were traded, and took the initiative to discuss defensive issues with Prince and playmaking offense with Stockton.

Coach Kruger and Price found that Madicon seemed to be a little too worried about Madicon's refusal to play well.

Having won the scoring title, being the boss, losing miserably when he was the boss, having the opportunity to join a championship team and not hugging his thighs is becoming an important role, this is much stronger for Maddie than going to the Rockets, motivation and confidence are much stronger!

The most important thing is that the Eagles have Liu Mang.

This is a double MVP! In the history of the NBA, you can count on one hand! Even if 80% of it is based on teammates, it is impossible to become the data center of a team known as the "strongest team in history", without two brushes.

Compared with Yao Ming, Liu Mang is obviously easier for Maddie to agree with both in terms of strength and personality.

Now the only concern for Coach Krueger and Price is Maddy's contract extension.

In order to get Maddie, half of the team was dismantled!

The two called Liu Mang aside and told Liu Mang about their worries after trading to get Maddie.

Liu Mang remembers that in the original history, Maddie said it, and twice, once in the summer of 2001 lamented that he missed the opportunity to join the Lakers, if he was partnered with O'Neal or Kobe, he would be willing to be Pippen.

In 1998, the Raptors were ready to trade Maddie for a famous star because they selected Carter, and as early as 1997, the Raptors had this idea, and the target for '97 was Pippen, and in '98 it was Eddie Jones, but the Lakers wanted a mature shooter more than another high school student who might be a headache.

The second time was after completely retiring in 2014, Maddie lamented that since the new century, the most dominant team is still the Lakers, and once again lamented that he regretted not being able to go to the Lakers and partner with the OK combination.

Liu Mang has always felt that Maddie's character is very special, he doesn't like to fight for these things, and Yao Ming has been fighting for so many years and has not decided who is the boss, the most critical point is that neither of them is fighting for the boss, but the two are not willing to be green leaves in their bones, at this time, they need players with absolute strength like Peak Hill and OK Combination to become the boss and lead the two forward.

Whether it is Yao Ming or Maddie, they don't have the kind of spirit that can lead the team forward.

Regarding the cooperation with Maddie, Liu Mang felt that it was not a big problem, and on the issue of renewing the contract, Liu Mang said his understanding after chatting with Maddie for a few minutes that day: "Tracy doesn't want to talk about this now, he is probably worried that he and we can't get together." ”

"I can understand that, but Ace, is there a way to increase the possibility of Tracy's contract extension?" Price pinned his hopes on Liu Mang, who had a very good relationship with Maddie.

"Uh...... I think about it," Liu Mang thought about it, "There it is!" It's very simple, just let him feel that our team is incomparable to other teams! ”

"No other team can compare?"

"That's right! Let's take our time, there's still a year to go anyway, boss, you ...... like this"

……

……

The press conference to welcome Maddie to the board was held at 3 p.m.

Owner Price announced after the press conference that he had reached a four-year, 11.9 million verbal agreement with Iguodala and the Hawks, but he has not signed yet, as long as he has not signed yet, because he is a rookie and can be locked in the team without taking up salary space.

Josh Smith and the Hawks reached a verbal agreement for four years and $7.4 million.

Iguodala and Josh Smith both signed standard contracts for lotto shows, and there is a difference between a lotto zone and a guaranteed contract and a non-lotto zone.

Tony Allen's contract is much smaller, with a 4-year 2+2 contract of 4.14 million, and the team can not exercise the team option in the third year, but it is executed, just like Prince, and the next two years are guaranteed contracts.

And Vallejo and Ariza's contracts don't need to be in a hurry, even if the Hawks don't sign them, they can "own" them for at least three years, such as contacting European teams or CBAs, of course, general teams, if they don't want a second-round pick, are just giving up, so that they can try their luck with other teams, those who retain the right to sign are usually European players who have contracts or are too young, European players often start playing professional games at the age of twelve or thirteen, and they have shown talent and are targeted by NBA scouts for a few years, also usually only seventeen or eighteen years old.

Price then handed out jerseys to the new players.

The original nine of the Eagles, in the backcourt, Liu Mang wore No. 1, Calderon wore No. 3, Jason Terry was No. 31, Prince was No. 22, Korver was a rare No. 26, and the players who generally chose jerseys between No. 20 and No. 30 usually chose Dominic Wilkins No. 21, Glider Drexler No. 22, Jordan No. 23, Moses Malone No. 24, and Korver played a different way.

Up front, Rashid Wallace is No. 36, Mohammed is No. 2, Kwame Brown is No. 54 and Kevin Willis is No. 42.

Maddie originally wanted to choose No. 1, but No. 1 Liu Mang used it, Calderon was very good at things, and took the initiative to give Maddie the No. 3 jersey, Maddie retreated and accepted the No. 3 jersey given to him by Calderon, No. 3 is also one of the iconic numbers of outside players, Calderon changed to No. 5 jersey.

Iguodala originally wanted to use the No. 9 in college, but the No. 9 of the Eagles was the retired jersey of Bob Pettit, the first person in the history of the Eagles, so he chose No. 8 according to Liu Mang's suggestion.

Ariza also wanted to use No. 1, so he chose No. 11, Anderson chose No. 18, Tony Allen chose No. 25, and Josh Smith originally wanted No. 5, but he didn't fight Calderon and chose No. 6.

……

After the welcome ceremony, it was time for interviews.

The venue for the press conference was not the interview hall, but the stadium, because even if many rows of seats were removed, the reporters were overwhelmed!

Even Maddie was a little surprised, there were too many reporters! There are so many players in the middle and late stages of the second round of the draft like Ariza, who are surrounded by a group of reporters.

"This is the Eagles? God, what kind of life are the Eagles players living? It's like playing in Los Angeles and New York! "When Maddie was a All-Star every year when he went through this kind of battle, even in his scoring season, there weren't so many reporters at the press conference.

Maddie is like this, and the five new rookies are all scared!

But when Maddie saw Calderon and Korver, two guys who didn't play much last season, they enjoyed the flash, as if they were used to it......

People are more popular than dead people!

These guys are living in such luxury! Except for the Lakers and the Knicks, compared with the Hawks, even if they win a championship or get a superstar to join, they can't have this kind of treatment, because of the difference in records, the Rockets don't have the same treatment as the Hawks.

But Maddie is more excited than surprised, what player wouldn't love to be surrounded by flashing lights? Start trying to enjoy that attention.

Price and Coach Kruger were on the sidelines, secretly high-five behind their backs.

According to Liu Mang's instructions, they notified as many media as possible, and made a super large press conference to let Maddie "take the bait", and sure enough, seeing Maddie's surprised and excited expression, this strategy was a success.

After enjoying the flash for a long time, if you are ready to lose this attention one day, you will be reluctant, and reluctance is one of the most critical emotions that affect a person's decision.

Maddie is enjoying the flash, Liu Mang is hurting, and reporters are asking him about the reasons for the departure of four important players.

Liu Mang was annoyed by this question, and said directly: "Of course, we fought before, just because of the MVP problem, they didn't beat me together, I cried the four of them with one hand, and I stayed after I won." ”

...... "Ghost letter!

Relatively speaking, Chinese sports journalists are too friendly, after all, they are their own family.

The reporter from the imperial court station was not an acquaintance, but he was also very friendly, and asked the question: "Ace, what is your expected goal for this year's Olympic Games?" ”

Looking at the very excited compatriots, Liu Mang felt that it was better to set a small goal! It is unlikely that he will win the championship, and the odds of winning the card are not high, Liu Mang thought for a while and said: "My personal goal is to win a game in the knockout round, what do you think of the top four?" ”

Before the reporter could answer, the long-lost system prompt came......

"Ding...... Olympic Mission Trigger: The Light of Team China. ”

"Your sister!"

……

"The Light of the Chinese Team: The host needs to lead the Chinese men's basketball national team to the finals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and reach the semifinals.

"The Light of the Chinese People: Leader Buff, when the host leads the Chinese men's basketball national team, all the players of the Chinese men's basketball national team who have not reached the lowest level in the NBA will be temporarily promoted to the level of NBA bench players."

Leaving from the press conference and coming to the lounge of the stadium, after carefully reading the content of the task, Liu Mang was in a bit solemn, the meaning of this leader buff is that there are few people in the national team, even the lowest level of the NBA, probably this is what it means?

What does Liu Mang remember about the NBA's lowest level of ability evaluation? Seems like 45?

"Ding...... The NBA's lowest level of ability rating is 45, bench players are 50, role players are average 60, and starters are average 70,

According to NBA rules, 40-49 is the level of the U.S. minor professional league and European league, 35-44 is the professional level of the CBA, 30-40 is the level of the Asian professional league, and below 30 is the level of amateur players. Special reminder, Sun Yue, the point guard of the Chinese team who will enter the NBA in the future, has an ability evaluation of 53. ”

Sun Yue is only 53? That is, the man who pulls the average back leg of the role player, and the type of man who has very few playing opportunities in Calderon's rookie year...... Others are not worse! Seeing that the CBA is only the third level in the world, Liu Mang feels that it is a bit difficult to win in the knockout round!

However, after Liu Mang calmed down and thought about it, he found some problems.

The level of the European league, that is, between 40 and 49, and European teams, with NBA players, are not as many as in the future, except for Greece, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, the former Yugoslav Union and Lithuania.

Of course, this is only an evaluation of ability calculated according to the rules of the NBA, but when it comes to the rules of the international league, it will definitely be different.

Liu Mang remembered that there are a lot of European players who can play in the NBA, and there must be those who have not gone to the NBA, and the NBA gets a basic salary to keep the water cooler, which is not as happy as being a superstar in Europe, and there is more money, like the Argentine veteran Prigioni, who entered the NBA in his 30s, only entered the NBA at the age of 35, and still played until he retired at the age of 39.

Similarly, the overall level of the CBA is low, but those who can enter the national team, the Chinese team is not necessarily weaker than most of the teams in European countries, but there are few stars like Nowitzki and Gasol.

Liu Mang feels that if he partners with Yao Ming, he will brag a little bit, and the NBA can be called the dual core of the championship team! The role players were a little bit dish, and Liu Mang felt that he could play more time and not be able to play all the games.

Thinking of this, Liu Mang is still quite confident.

The main goal now is to try to break 90 by the time the Olympics begin!

Liu Mang's national team goal in his career is not only to win a knockout match, of course he also wants to win a medal in the Olympics!

Then this buff must be in hand!

It's time to contact Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, tomorrow will be July, although it is not a break, but it is also half a month away from the end of the finals, Liu Mang decided to start training and improve his strength as much as possible before the start of the Olympic Games!

……

……

Just when Liu Mang was busy with the affairs of the national team, on July 1st, the free market had just opened, and the NBA immediately had something that affected the league pattern!

The Los Angeles Lakers made a deal with the Miami Heat, sending Shaq O'Neal to the Heat's Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a 2006 first-round pick without protection.

OK disintegrated!

In fact, on the third day after the end of the Finals, the Lakers' season summary meeting was hastily over, and the trade window was already open.

As early as the beginning of the season that just ended, the relationship between the Lakers and O'Neal had collapsed.

Because the Lakers insisted on only being willing to give O'Neal 80 million for 4 years, otherwise they would not be able to talk about it, and O'Neal insisted on a 100 million contract, but he didn't care about the number of years.

O'Neal's insistence, obviously, is to compete with Coe and Jerry Bass.

Kobe, who is not yet 24 years old, and O'Neal, who is 32 years old, this choice is very simple.

Because of the loss in the finals, the last chance to save the relationship was broken, so two days after the Lakers ended the finals, the Lakers put O'Neal on the shelf, and at the same time allowed other teams to contact O'Neal, mainly so that after other teams contacted, they could directly understand whether O'Neal was willing to renew his contract.

The Lakers' approach was completely different from that of the Magic, who refused to allow other teams to contact Maddy, so no team was willing to give a good chip.

The Hawks also had contact with O'Neal before trading Maddy, and there are still two years of peak in Liu Mang's memory, if you save O'Neal, who has three or four years of peak play to the age of 35 or even 36, and can still have the power to fight in the playoffs, it is also a good thing, especially O'Neal can still be selected as an All-Star bench at the age of 37, and it is not a loss to exchange Raheem for O'Neal's three-year peak tail plus two years of pension in the playoffs.

However, O'Neal said that he was unwilling to play with another iron lover, and Liu Mang, who was so angry that he was listening to the phone next to him, directly pinched the phone, and then asked Price to find the Lakers and apply to trade Kobe.

Of course, this one was also denied.

After that, many teams approached the Lakers, and in the end, the Heat made the best offer, and O'Neal traveled east to the South Coast.

Originally, the Heat's first target was, of course, Duncan.

Duncan signed a 5-year contract in 00, and after the first four years, he decided to jump out of the contract on June 30, but immediately renewed the contract with the Spurs, just enough for Duncan, who can trigger the veteran clause in his 7-year career, and the Spurs reached a 6-year fat contract of 100 million 9.33 million US dollars, and another 100 million yuan contract was born.

The Spurs did not give Duncan a maximum salary for 7 years, and did not let Duncan get a salary of up to 27 million in the last year, which surprised other teams, but Duncan actually accepted it, which is even more surprising!

The most surprising thing is that Pat Riley was not even given the opportunity to meet, and perhaps in Duncan's worldview, except for Popovich who will let him take his wife on a free charter flight to the team when he plays away, the management of other teams will not.

Pat Riley is still waiting for the Spurs to not give the maximum contract, and the Spurs proposed to sign first and then trade, who knows, the Spurs really didn't give the maximum contract but Duncan really signed!

Pat Riley, who called hell, immediately activated the backup plan, but fortunately, he has been communicating with O'Neal and the Lakers, and not a single tree has hanged.

The Heat traded O'Neal with Odom and Caron Butler plus a first-round round tie with Tim and a tie salary.

O'Neal also felt good about being able to partner with Dwyane Wade, and immediately renewed his contract for 5 years and 100 million.

With left-handed magic, potential small forward Caron Butler, and an unprotected first-rounder, the Lakers have made up for their losses as much as they can.

……

O'Neill was traded, undoubtedly dropping a nuclear bomb at the very beginning of free agency.

The landscape of the entire league has changed!

Originally, even if the Hawks broke up the team, they were still regarded as the best team in the East, and the Pistons, Pacers, and Nets were not favored to win against the Hawks, but O'Neal was different!

And in the West, there is no OK combination, including the Spurs, are relieved, the entire West has been suppressed by the Spurs for two years and the Lakers for four years, and it will have already exploded, but the OK combination and Duncan's suppression ability is too strong.

On the eastern side, when the Hawks split up the team, it may not have such a big advantage over the western team, but it is still very advantageous to the east, but after O'Neal came, the eastern side became two championship-level teams competing for hegemony, and the minds of other teams began to come alive.

On July 1st, the day, a series of cool-headed or not-so-cool transactions, team operations, signings, layoffs...... and so on.

One of the most surprising ones, the first is that Kevin McHale, the general manager of the Timberwolves, thinks that with a three-headed monster, who can't win? And the OK combination is gone, he has an impulse, is it possible to lead the team himself and win the championship?

So, when O'Neal traveled east, Kevin McHale fired the team's meritorious coach Philip Saunders and announced himself as general manager and head coach.

The second is the Pistons, where Stephen Jackson jumped out of contract on June 30, and he and Larry Brown are already at odds with each other, waiting for the free agency to open up and look elsewhere for work.

On July 1, when the Pacers were able to contact full free agents and restricted free agents after the free agency market opened, they immediately contacted Stephen Jackson and quickly reached an agreement to join the Pacers on a seven-year, 50 million fat contract.

Not being able to keep Stephen Jackson is unacceptable to the Pistons management, Larry Brown holds his own status as a famous coach and is unwilling to show weakness, in the eyes of the Pistons management, Larry Brown is not as good as Carlisle, Carlisle will not quarrel with anyone, they are all swept by the Hawks, at least the lineup has not become weaker, and young players have been trained.

After Stephen Jackson left Indiana, the Pistons announced the firing of Larry Brown.

One major event after another has been caused by two events.

These two things, known in history: the upheaval of the East Eagle - the collapse of OK.