Chapter 509: New Season, New Situation

"Anna, what the hell is this Larry Johnson boxing glove?" After the Asian Championship final with the South Korean team, Meng Xu received a reward from the system, which was different from the previous random tasks and winning the championship, etc., and the milestone rewards obtained, this time Meng Xu got a special item rewarded by the system. Ma Long's iron elbow, Bowen's insole, steel knee, these very deterrent weapons, and special props that can reduce the chance of injury, Meng Xu has redeemed them, after all, one piece is only 1000 points, but this Larry Johnson's boxing gloves, Meng Xu really hasn't paid attention to it, and there are such crossover props in the system.

"That's how you get the reward for the Asian Championships! Although the Asian Championship is only a C-level event in the system evaluation, and the intensity of the game may not be as intense as the NBA preseason, it is still a championship anyway, and the milestone rewards are not enough, so only one special item can be awarded. ”

"This is a boxing champion who has been delayed by basketball!" After seeing the detailed explanation of this prop, Meng Xu laughed and sighed, Larry Johnson, nicknamed "Big Mom", is a well-known player in the NBA, although Meng Xu entered the league the year, he retired due to injury, but until now this league still circulates his legendary deeds, in the 98-99 season of the Madison Garden Battle of the Century, Larry Johnson set a combination of punches, almost knocked out the league's famous iron-blooded tough guy Alonzo Mourning, Since then, Larry Johnson has had the title of boxing champion, and now looking at this special prop named after Larry Johnson, Meng Xu is really a little regretful, if Larry Johnson did not choose basketball, but went to boxing, he would definitely be able to get a few gold belts.

Item Name: Larry Johnson's Boxing Gloves (Larry Johnson Exclusive Item)

Item Details: When the host wears this item, the upper limb strength is increased by 10%, the evasion is increased by 10%, the reaction speed is increased by 5%, and the punch speed is increased by 20%.

Additional Effect 1: Big Mom's triple attack, the host can complete three punches in 1 second: flat uppercut, straight punch, and uppercut, with a cooldown of 3 minutes.

Additional Effect 2: Shoot left and right, when the host attacks the opponent with a left or right hook, and is blocked by the opponent, the other arm can complete the punch within 0.3 seconds.

"The best boxers are the best in basketball, and the best basketball is in boxing. This phrase could not be more apt to describe Larry Johnson. ”

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"I'm going to win the championship before that bastard!" On October 9, 2003, just after the start of the NBA preseason, O'Neal, a shark who had swam east to the Heat, opened fire on his old club and Kobe Bryant, who had been fighting side by side for many years, in an interview with reporters after a preseason game.

After the disintegration of the Lakers' Big Four, Kobe and O'Neal, who have been in trouble, naturally can't stay together, after O'Neal jumped out of the contract and Kobe Bryant also submitted a transfer application, after careful consideration, the Lakers finally kept the younger Kobe, and sent O'Neal to the Heat with a sign-and-trade approach. O'Neal, who was very dissatisfied with the team's choice to keep Kobe, heard Kobe complain to reporters that he was injured, didn't train hard, and was lazy in the game, O'Neal's resentment finally broke out, after the preseason with the Celtics, O'Neal, who was interviewed by reporters, very unceremoniously called Kobe a little bastard, a conscienceless clown, and in front of many reporters across the United States, he proudly said that his Heat would definitely win the championship before Kobe's Lakers, and O'Neal also swore that he saidIf the Lakers have a chance to meet the Heat in the Finals, then the Heat will definitely sweep the Lakers.

"That greedy and lazy guy is talking in his dreams again!" When these reporters relayed O'Neal's words to Kobe, Kobe also unceremoniously sarcastically mocked O'Neal, two partners who had fought side by side for seven years, and became mortal enemies.

This season's offseason can be said to be the most turbulent year in recent seasons, first of all, the Lakers and Pacers, who have met in the finals for two consecutive seasons, have disintegrated, the Lakers' Big Four have only left one Kobe, and the key Mr. Robert Hawley was also abandoned by the Lakers because of his poor performance in the playoffs, compared with last season, the Lakers have replaced more than 10 players in the new game, although there are superstars like Kobe, but the former Western giants have inevitably entered a period of reconstruction.

As for the Pacers, it is slightly better than the Lakers, after winning the championship for two consecutive years, the players in the Pacers team have risen in value, and the Pacers, who do not have enough salary space to complete the contract extension, have also undergone a big change this summer, Richard Hamilton, Jamal Tinsley, Lorenqin White, Bobby Simmons, after the departure of this large number of strong players, the strength of the Pacers has also been greatly weakened, in this case, Reggie Miller, who is already 38 years old, In the end, he had to give up his plan to retire and renew his contract with the team for another year. And Larry Bird, who led the Pacers to win the championship for two consecutive seasons, also resigned from all positions in the Pacers due to physical reasons, and he was replaced by Rick Carlisle, although the Pacers still successfully renewed Jermaine O'Neal, with Jermaine O'Neal, Mutombo, Meng Xu, James Posey, Reggie Miller's Pacers, the strength is still not to be underestimated, but the change of blood and the change of coach also make the Pacers' road to defending the title more difficult. And subject to the restrictions of the luxury tax, the Pacers did not make any big moves on the free market this summer, and the biggest signing was the signing of former All-Star guard Steve Smith for 2 years and 5 million.

Since Jordan's retirement, the pattern of the entire league has shown a situation of being strong in the west and weak in the east, and this season, with O'Neal's eastward journey, two of the league's three strongest players are in the Eastern Conference.

Although the Heat sent several players with great potential in order to get O'Neal, the Heat still kept O'Neal's former teammate, All-Star shooting guard Eddie Jones, and renewed Alonzo Mourning, who completed a kidney transplant, and several signings in the free market, and this year's No. 5 pick Devin Wade, who was still competing for the top pick last season, has become the favorite for the championship this season, and Pat Riley, who single-handedly completed these transactions, has also become the favorite for the best manager in the new season.

Although O'Neal's trade made the Heat the most proud team in the offseason, the obscure Pistons were the team with the biggest gains this summer, first signing Larry Brown who left the 76ers, then poaching Richard Hamilton from the Pacers who averaged 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game in the Finals, and then trading Jerry Stark House for All-Star power forward Rasheed Wallace from the Trail Blazers. Under the operation of Larry Brown, the Pistons not only weakened the strength of the Pacers to the greatest extent, but also sent away Starmgs, who was incompatible with the team's tactical system, and got the interior line that the Pistons urgently need at present, so although the new season has not yet begun, there are already many bricks predicting the performance of the Pistons in the new season, two-time best defensive player Ben Wallace, All-Star power forward Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups composed of outside line, With such a starting lineup, plus Clifford Robinson and this year's top pick Darko Milicic, this season's Pistons already have the capital to compete with the Pacers and the Heat.

While the Heat and Pistons continue to strengthen, the Nets and Celtics who have risen in the past two seasons are not idle, after the Pacers, Heat, and Pistons have made two All-Star interior standards, they also put the goal of reinforcement on the inside, first of all, the Nets, after renewing Jason Kidd with a 7-year $103.5 million contract, the Nets poached Lorenqin White from the Pacers to form the interior combination of Lorenqin White and Kenyon Martin.

As for the Celtics, after Danny Ainge took charge, they sent Antoine Walker, one of the team's twin stars, from the Mavericks in exchange for Reeve LaFrentz, who has been in the top 5 of the block list for 5 consecutive seasons, as well as two role players, and the Mavericks' first-round pick next season. After Antoine Walker was traded, the Celtics have completely become a team of Paul Pearce, and with the addition of Gary Payton, the Celtics are also looking forward to going further in the new season.

Compared with the big changes in the East, in the West, the Mavericks, who had the highest record in the West last season, also completed several very important transactions in the summer, although the Mavericks' biggest opponent in the West, the Lakers, has disintegrated, but for Cuban and Nelson Sr., who are bent on pursuing the championship, the Mavericks' current lineup is still a little insufficient, and the most important reinforcement of the Mavericks is undoubtedly the trade of Antoine Walker from the Celtics, although the Celtics' new basketball director Danny Ainge, Antoine Walker has always looked down on him, thinking that he is not active in playing, likes to shoot waves, and does not like to grab rebounds, but for the Mavericks, Antoine is very attractive, and the Mavericks got Antoine Walker, and did not pay much price, and at the same time got rid of Reeve Lafrentz's 6-year contract of more than 60 million US dollars, which is very beneficial to Steve Nash, whose contract extension is about to expire, and Dirk Nowitzki.

The Spurs have accomplished nothing in this summer except for the successful renewal of Tim Duncan, and after David Robinson's retirement, the Spurs, who are in urgent need of reinforcement, are very rare to wave a checkbook in the free market, first sending Jason Kidd a 5-year 80 million contract, and then Jermaine O'Neal a 6-year 90 million contract, but the Spurs finally ran out of water, Jason Kidd didn't get it, and Jermaine O'Neal didn't get it. Popovich, who was anxious to strengthen the team, immediately gave Robert Hawley a 2-year 6 million contract after confirming that the Lakers gave up Robert Hawley's contract extension negotiations, and Hawley's 2-year 6 million contract is the biggest reinforcement for the Spurs this summer.

And Popovich was even more angry, after the Knicks began to peddle Sprewell, the Spurs have been in secret contact with the Knicks, wanting to bring in this All-Star player, but the Knicks either ignored the Spurs' offer, or asked the Spurs to send Duncan to trade Sprewell, and in the end, what made Popovich vomit blood was that the Timberwolves, who were killed halfway, got Popovich's favorite Sprewell after only paying two draft picks and a few expiring contracts, in the words of Dowland Jr, that is, no one can be cheap Spurs!

And the King's current experience is similar to the Spurs, after losing to the Mavericks last season, the Kings have been looking for reinforcements this summer, but they have been making up for it, until the new season is about to start, the Kings have not signed any signings, this offseason, big contracts are flying all over the sky, any player has to pay 5 million, and those who perform a little better want 10 million, and the All-Star level starts at 15 million, which also makes the King, who is not rich himself, can only shake his head while sighing "Can't afford it, can't afford it!" ”

In most teams have started the preseason and are preparing for the new season, the Timberwolves are still worried about the team's contract renewal until now, first of all, the renewal of Wally Szczebiak, the new All-Star small forward, whose contract expires this season, and Szczerbiak's several top-ranked rookies at the same time, Steve Francis of the Rockets, Byron Davis of the Hornets, and Sean Marion of the Suns, all signed a 6-year 80 million contract extension this summer, compared with these players, Szzczebiak, who is not inferior, naturally wants a 6-year 80 million contract, but the Timberwolves are now not enough salary space because of Garnett's annual salary of nearly 28 million in the new season and Sprewell's annual salary of 12 million in this summer, not to mention 80 million in 6 years, that is, 60 million in 6 years, the Timberwolves can't take it out now, otherwise the Timberwolves would not have given up on renewing the contract with Billups last season, and Szczebiak was injured last season because of injury. All the numbers have declined, so the management of the Timberwolves doesn't want to give Szczebiak such a big contract right now.

"100 million in 5 years! Garnett successfully renews his contract with the Timberwolves! Just when the negotiations between the Timberwolves and Szczebiak were about to break down, Kevin Garnett announced that he would jump out of his final year of $28 million contract and re-sign a new five-year, $100 million contract with the Timberwolves, and Garnett's contract became the fifth $100 million contract this summer. After Garnett signed a new contract, the Timberwolves saved $12 million in salary space at once, and the money saved by Garnett was just enough to be used to renew Szczebiak's contract.