Fast forward to the end of August, and the Hawks players have returned to Atlanta one after another.

It was not Liu Mang who returned to Atlanta for training at the earliest, but Stockton, who came to Atlanta at the end of July to rent a house, and came to Atlanta early to prepare for next season.

Although Stockton, who was born in 62, is 41 years old, a full year and a half older than Malone, he still wants to make his own contribution to the team, and last season he averaged 11 points, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 27 minutes of playing time.

Liu Mang returned to Atlanta on August 16 and took a two-day break before joining Stockton in training.

Back on the team, there is Stockton, a more experienced fitness maintenance master, to train with, and Stockton's shooting is also excellent, and together with Chip England, he has given Liu Mang a lot of good advice.

However, at the end of August, after Boozer also returned to the team for training, Liu Mang obviously felt that he had "fallen out of favor", and Stockton was very interested in guiding Boozer, mainly because Liu Mang was improving too fast, and every time he found his own shortcomings, he trained frantically, and the speed of shooting made Stockton unable to keep up with the speed of finding Liu Mang's shortcomings.

Stockton was amazed by Liu Mang's talent for hard work, and he himself was synonymous with hard work, but he completely polished his mid-to-long range shooting, and it took him five seasons to officially become the league's top pitcher at the age of 27, and Liu Mang had just turned 21......

As for why Boozer was surprised why Stockton would take extra care of him, Liu Mang was also surprised, Stockton didn't meet Boozer a few times, why did he teach patiently like seeing his own son? Liu Mang was a little jealous, so he asked Boozer to do chores and bully Boozer.

But it was all just a joke, and as the time came to September, all the teammates returned.

Returning to the team at the end of August and early September, for most ordinary stars, the time can be said to be very early, the old players who stayed in the Hawks before the team were because of the defeat in the East finals for two consecutive years, and they were full of motivation to kill the Nets next season to enter the Finals, and the new Kwame Brown, Korver, Willie Green and others are to improve themselves quickly and have a place in the team.

From now on, the team has 14 players, and there is enough staffing for each position, with only 12 active rosters, one of the three of them will definitely wear a suit for a long time, even if they enter the 12-man squad, they may not be able to enter the regular rotation, and it is very important for them to start training early to make the coaching staff aware of their efforts and strength.

……

……

"Ace, are you sure this guy won't bite me?" Jason Terry looked at Rasheed Wallace, who was having a good conversation with Rahim, and was still worried, because when Rasheed Wallace was playing on the court, it was like he was going to bite.

Although Liu Mang repeatedly assured that Rashid Wallace was a good person, Rahim also proved it, and it was he who introduced Liu Mang to Rashid Wallace back then, albeit in a somewhat "special" way.

In that game, Liu Mang had just tricked Rashid Wallace into two technical fouls and was sent off the game, and Rahim was worried that Liu Mang and Rashid Wallace would have a bad relationship, and everyone was friends, so he gave Liu Mang the ticket to see the opera.

With Raheem and Liu Mang's assurances, most of the Eagles are okay with Rasheed Wallace, mainly because this guy is rumored to be too bad and his performance on the court is too exaggerated.

"Don't worry, Rashid generally only beats people, not bites, by the way, he likes to bully people who are less than 1.9 meters tall, and he can't bully when he is tall." Liu Mang shot a basket and ran away after speaking.

“…… Ace, it's itchy again, isn't it? Hold it! Don't run! ”

The daily double wave of slapstick brought a little spice to the teammates who were uneasy and looking forward to the start of next season.

For Rashid Wallace, the first impression of the Hawks players this time is still good, first of all, just moved, came to the team to report the day after moving, and is quite positive and passionate about basketball.

And although he looks comparable to Boozer, he is smiling in private, and he doesn't play big names, he can talk to a few rookies who have just arrived, and he seems to be easier to get close to than Boozer, and Boozer's base boss face plus bald head and poker expression is really too intimidating.

Liu Mang and Jason Terry had a fight, and their teammates couldn't help but laugh, especially the new players, who felt so good about the atmosphere of the Eagles.

The good team atmosphere brought by the Hawks, a group of frustrated people working hard to rise together, is very rare in the NBA, even Stockton, who plays in a perennial championship-level team, has never experienced this kind of team atmosphere, and seeing that Jason Terry, who was "squeezed" by Liu Mang to the bench, has such a good relationship with Liu Mang, he can't help but sigh in his heart.

After Liu Mang tired Jason Terry and couldn't run, he sneered at Jason Terry proudly, and at this time, Liu Mang saw Mike Woodson and his agent Schwartz walking towards the general manager's office with a very familiar person.

Jose Calderón!

When it comes to ranking the 03 generation in the future, Calderón is ranked ninth in the 03 generation.

Speaking of which, Liu Mang feels that the 03 generation, if James hadn't reported a group, it would be really pitiful, except for the top five picks and Milicic's four heroes, the other players basically failed to make waves in the NBA.

Starting from the Four Heroes, the 03 generation has dropped a notch, directly from the supergiant ranks to the ranks of first-class stars and even quasi-first-class stars, except for the four brothers of the Dust Four, the most accomplished player of the 03 generation is David West, and then the second-round pick Korver, who has accumulated 60+ wins in the Eagles, then Mo Williams and Carman, and the next ninth and tenth are Jose Calderón and Boris Dior.

The draft of the 03 generation can be said to be cliff-like, except for the top five picks, the latter ones are not at the same level at all, unlike the 84 generation and the 96 generation, those two generations of stars have superstars, supergiants, top stars, and first-class stars...... There are players of all grades.

Mike Woodson and Schwartz saw Liu Mang looking at them, and brought Calderon to Liu Mang's side to say hello, Mike Woodson introduced Liu Mang: "Ace, this is our new teammate, Spaniard, Jose Calderon, let's sign first, and when we hold a press conference on your contract renewal, you call your teammates to support the scene." ”

"Ace, this is a new signing from our company, take care of him more." Schwartz recommended Calderon to Liu Mang.

Calderon? What did our team get Calderón?

Liu Mang nodded in dismay, then thought about which team chose Calderón, and then thought of the last place in the second round from the first pick, thought for a long time, and found that ...... No team picks Calderón!

This high-quality shooter player with a career three-point shooting rate of more than 40 percent, a total of more than 1,000 three-pointers, and a solid big heart organization point guard who averaged 8+ assists per game on his first start in the third year of his career, was actually undrafted!

Liu Mang didn't notice that Calderon was actually undrafted!

Liu Mang is really impressed by Schwartz's vision of finding talents from the undrafted, although most of the draft players signed by Schwartz are not very mixed, but he does have a hand in the excavation of disappointed players!

That's right! Liu Mang hurriedly went to Stockton, didn't Stockton always dislike me for Lao Liu's desire to score more than his desire to pass, and he couldn't inherit his mantle well.

Solid shooting, big heart, first passing...... Isn't this the best man to inherit the mantle in Stockton! Recommend a disciple to Stockton!

……

On September 5, Rasheed Wallace finally moved his family to Atlanta and reached an early contract extension agreement with the Hawks.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Eagles held a press conference to welcome the players who joined the team and renewed their contracts.

Rasheed Wallace, Stockton, Willie Green, Korver, Calderon and Kwame Brown, who just traded, and Liu Mang, Jason Terry, and Rasheed Wallace, who have just renewed, are the protagonists of this press conference.

Regardless of what the outside world may say, the Hawks have welcomed a true All-Star player, and of course treat Rasheed Wallace with the specifications of a superstar.

Again, it was a welcome ceremony for Stockton.

The renewal of the contract of Liu Mang and others is also the focus.

As for the addition of Korver, Kwame Brown and others, it is a foil.

The NBA is such a cruel place, if you don't have the strength, you can only be a foil.

Also express gratitude to the Hawks for their contributions to the team as Dean Grove, Newbell, Chris Crawford and others who have left the Hawks.

As for Raheem, Boozer, Prince, Ratliff, Kevin Willis, Barnes, Mohammed and others, who had nothing to do with them, they also came to the scene to support the scene, so that the media felt the unity of their own team.

Owner Price took the jersey handed over by the staff after speaking about the team's official message, and the number 36 was handed to Rasheed Wallace and the number 12 was handed to Stockton......

For the taste of teammates in choosing jersey numbers, I think it's okay, there are no weird jerseys, but Kwame Brown is here, and the weird is here.

Looking at the No. 38 jersey that Kwame Brown received, Liu Mang looked so painful, probably because the Americans were only on Women's Day, Liu Mang was very curious about what day it was on Women's Day in the United States......

After the joining ceremony, the Eagles announced two contract extensions.

Jason Terry signed a six-year, $56 million contract extension with a starting salary of $8.1 million, and as Jason Terry wanted, the salary will exceed $10 million from the fourth year.

Liu Mang's contract renewal is simple, with a 4-year starting salary of 12.25 million US dollars and a total of 55 million US dollars in the maximum salary reached the renewal intention in advance, will be officially renewed in the summer of 2004, the first three years of the contract is fixed, the fourth year of the player option, when the time comes, if the team still needs to operate next summer, Liu Mang's official renewal can be postponed to avoid occupying the team's salary space

The Hawks and Liu Mang are very satisfied with this contract renewal, the Hawks are because Liu Mang's next contract expires in 2007, and they can build a team around Liu Mang with peace of mind, Liu Mang's side has a relatively short contract, and the total income of the NBA is rising year by year, and the salary cap will rise by millions every year.

Liu Mang is now short of money again, when he returned to China to publicize, Schwartz was not just simply following Liu Mang to play, when the publicity notice was determined, Schwartz actually had nothing to do, and Liu Mang is Chinese, unlike other NBA players who need agents to communicate various matters, he can live well himself, Liu Mang called Schwartz together, mainly to let Schwartz register a leasing company for Liu Mang as a foreign investor, I bought a large number of school district houses and shops that are now so cheap that Liu Mang couldn't stop laughing.

Now the school district house in the imperial capital is less than 3,000 square meters, and the school district house of more than 80 square meters is only 300,000 yuan.

Liu Mang got about 13 million US dollars after tax on July 1, that is, about 100 million yuan, so Schwartz spent more than 70 million yuan to register a housing rental company and swept away 200 school district houses in Beijing on the grounds of "low-cost rentals for migrant workers who can't afford to buy houses in the city".

Of course, these houses are rented out, and the current rent is only a few hundred thousand yuan a month, but what Liu Mang cares about is not this rent, but the house price that will almost double every year in the future!

Therefore, Liu Mang's goal for the leasing company is that the rent can maintain normal company operations, and he does not expect to make money from rent, and he can help the workers and brothers who take their children to work in the city.

As for the shops, this Liu Mang didn't buy much, and many people didn't see the upside of the house, but the value of the commodity has always been the most important thing for major real estate developers.

It is precisely because of this that when the housing rental company registered by Liu Mang was exposed that he was the real boss, it did not cause any criticism, and because of his promise to rent it to migrant farmers at cheap rent in the future, the mayor of the imperial capital also praised Liu Mang for his help for migrant farmers in an interview.

Mainly because of this, this year, the average monthly salary in the imperial capital is only 2000, no matter at any time, you can't afford to buy a house by working, and it is a great thing to be able to buy so many houses and rent them to migrant workers at a relatively cheap price.

As for not being able to have more investment opportunities, such as joining domestic e-commerce, only when Alibaba financed, he bought 1 million US dollars in stocks, and he couldn't grab anything else, Liu Mang didn't care too much, and he could make a little money.

Rasheed Wallace also renewed his contract, renewing his contract with the Hawks in advance with a 5-year 50 million contract extension, this renewal is directly reached, next season's Rasheed Wallace's contract is more than 16 million, and the space occupied after the season is only 9.1 million US dollars in the first year of the next contract, and the renewal is conducive to the team's free market operation after the end of next season.

Rashid Wallace's value has declined for a certain amount, mainly because of his reputation, he doesn't like to defend in the Trail Blazers, he has a short temper on the court, and his market value has been greatly damaged because of the salary cut and the bad relationship with his teammates.

After that, it was time for the routine interviews.

The media seemed to feel that the Eagles players valued and welcomed Rasheed Wallace in a completely different way from last year's big dog when they joined, when the pre-season season began, but none of the teammates showed up for the press conference.

This makes the media feel very uncomfortable! What about another big outbreak of contradictions?

After the interview began, the media first launched an offensive against Coach Kruger.

"Coach Kruger, I heard that it was your idea to bring in Wallace, aren't you worried that Wallace's excessive technical fouls on the court will affect the team?"

It's pretty ruthless at first, and when Rashid Wallace's technical foul problem hasn't been resolved, it's a very unsolvable problem!

But Coach Kruger had already figured out the answer: "I think our team is too moderate and needs someone who can give us a positive influence, and I'm sure Rashid will restrain his temper, and I can't be indifferent when I have the opportunity to get the best power forward in the league." ”

Rashid Wallace was ashamed to hear this, when did he become the number one striker, and he didn't even have himself in the ranking of the four major forwards.

The media had only one thought about Coach Kruger's answer - hard-mouthed!

Don't you see that whether it is the fans, the media or the experts, it is not good to see the introduction of Rashid Wallace!

People feel that the Eagles might as well honestly wait for Liu Mang and Boozer and others to continue to improve.

couldn't pry Coach Kruger's mouth, and the media launched an offensive towards Liu Mang: "Ace, what do you think of Wallace's joining?" ”

The media feel that after Liu Mang experienced the big dog incident last season, he should be very disgusted with this kind of teammate who loves to cause trouble!

And Liu Mang's answer was: "Rashid joins, oh...... Oh my God......"

Liu Mang's expression seemed to be very desperate and sad, which made the media happy, this guy who likes to do things seems to be able to dig up something.

The media all looked at Liu Mang with eager eyes

Liu Mang continued: "We already have Carlos, a teammate who looks so terrible, and a Rashid, I feel that our team's appearance has reached a new low!" ”

Appearance, that is, the scoring of appearance, this word is quite fresh when it comes out for the first time, but the media don't care at all that a new word comes out...... What Liu Mang actually cares about is that the team's appearance has been lowered!

Make no mistake!

It's not just the media who want to vomit blood, Boozer and Rasheed Wallace want to vomit blood too......