The importance of the meat shield is well known to every management, and the actual role of this type of player is far from being reflected by their poor statistics.

The Knicks want a big meat shield against O'Neal, and other teams are also rushing for it. There are too many monks and too little porridge in this market, and I don't know how many general managers kneel and beg for a meat shield but can't get it!

09 years after the previous life, the last super center Da Yao disappeared from the field, and the entire NBA no longer has an inside back single maniac who can decide the outcome of the game, and the demand for meat shields has gradually decreased, but the price has not come down. A meat shield that can run with a small-ball lineup can definitely be worth the top salary.

Of course, it's not the era of small balls, and the speed requirements for meat shields don't have to be so high. But O'Neal is 7 feet 1 inch tall, if you want to form a certain defensive pressure on him, you can't be too short, 7 feet or more is the most suitable, in addition, you must have strength, dare to hit and fight.

Li Wei calculated that there were actually only a few suitable candidates.

First of all, the other three of the four centers, although they are late in their careers, can barely defend O'Neal, such as the Spurs' David Robinson.

The Knicks once had such a talent, but it was a pity that Li Wei used it to trade for Garnett. Then again, keeping the elderly Ewing just to just beat O'Neill in the finals is completely unnecessary, Ewing's salary is in the tens of millions.

Uncle Mu, Big Z, Sabonis, Ostertag and others are also excellent choices, but Big Z has potential injuries, Li Wei still thinks it is more appropriate to exchange him for Nowitzki, as for Uncle Mu, Sabonis and others, although they have reached the end of their careers, the teams are still waiting in line to offer the top salary, and the Knicks' salary cap is full, and there is no place to queue up!

In addition, the Jazz team has no problem giving a big contract to a person like Ostertag, but if Li Wei gives such a player a sky-high contract, and then pays the luxury tax at the same price, just to fight O'Neal a few times a year, he will definitely be aggrieved to death!

Is there a big meat shield that is cheap and can be resisted?

Responsibly, no, not a single one, unless he's still on a rookie contract!

So if Li Wei wants to have a cheap and easy-to-use big meat shield, he can only choose among the rookies!

Li Wei knows this truth, and other teams also know it, so the market for big meat shields is very tight during the draft. For example, in order to compete for a large tractor with a height of only 2.03 meters, the Bucks can only work hard to trade the No. 6 pick, and it will be gone when it is too late!

What kind of goods is a big tractor, Li Wei knows better than anyone else. This guy is short and slow, and he can't take on much of the role of a meat shield, and it's impossible to expect him to consume O'Neal.

However, such a person, the Knicks still can't grab it!

Among the rookies in recent years, who can defend O'Neal a little?

Li Wei's first thought was Olovo Kandi. Although O'Neal scored 61 points on his head, he only played 14 minutes and committed five fouls in that game. Although this guy is a famous parallel import, he has height and strength, and if he is not bothered by fouls, he can still put some pressure on O'Neal. However, his defensive habits are not good, he always fouls too much, coupled with his lazy attitude, he can't become an inside gate.

And Olovo Kandi is the champion, even if you kill Li Wei, you won't be able to get it!

Then, there's Tyson Chandler.

Chandler's pick is one place lower than Olowokandi, and he is the leader, but at that time, the Bulls took out their own super-champion Brand, who can cut 20+10 in his rookie year, to change this leader.

Li Wei estimated that if the Knicks want to get Chandler on a rookie contract, they must send Garnett or Nowitzki to eighty percent. This has to be Garnett and Nowitzki to play the MVP value first, otherwise they won't be replaced.

And then what? Who else?

There is another person, he has height and weight, calm defense, good rebounding protection ability, and has a certain mid-range shooting ability, and is conscientious and does not possess the ball.

At that time, Popovich took a fancy to him that he could carry two shoulders with O'Neal, so he poached him to the Spurs at a high price to fill the vacancy of Admiral David Robinson's departure.

Later, the big shark traveled eastward, and this person also became heroic and useless, coupled with years of injuries and a decline in form, the Spurs sold him to the Raptors in order to save salary.

The Raptors haven't made the playoffs for four years in a row, and this man came to help the Raptors reach the playoffs for the second year in a row. Later, in order to get O'Neal Jr., the Raptors packed him up and threw him to Indiana, and he missed the playoffs again.

This man's stats never stand out, but as in Ostertag, his role is not reflected in the stats.

So can the Knicks get the guy?

Yes, because he is an international player, international players have not been widely favored in recent years, so the order has been all the way down!

Li Wei felt that the Knicks had to choose this product for both reason, otherwise there would be no such store in this village. He's certainly not the best when it comes to defending O'Neal, but he's the best the Knicks can find at the moment!

Thinking about the scene where he and Da Yao took turns to serve O'Neill in the finals, Li Wei suddenly felt that O'Neal's whole person could be refreshed!

Moreover, he will sign a rookie contract, super cheap, and when his cheap contract expires, O'Neal will just be past his peak!

On stage, David Stern glanced at the Knicks' envelope and read aloud: "With the 16th pick, the Knicks chose Rasu Nesterovic from Slovenia!" ”

"The Knicks picked another international player?" The crowd was amazed.

"What? Truncated? In the box of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team's general manager, Kevin McHale, looked annoyed.

They have the No. 17 pick of the year and are targeting Nesterovic. He is very optimistic about this big European man and hopes to select him as Ewing's replacement!

The first No. 15 pick was not selected, and McHale was happy, but he didn't expect that the Knicks, who were the No. 16 pick, would suddenly come out and rob people!

McHale immediately called his old friend Dennis Johnson: "Hey, Dennis, what do you mean, truncating our guys?" I'll tell you, I'm very optimistic about Nestrovich, and you can't ask for a high price if you cut off your beard! ”

Knicks general manager Dennis Johnson shook his head and said, "Kevin, we're not cutting you off, Nesterovic is also the player we need, you know we don't have a center now." ”

"Okay!" McHale sighed, full of regret.

In his previous life, it was he who used the No. 17 pick to select this meat shield from Europe to protect the Timberwolves' paint area, and the Wolves were able to make consecutive playoff games in the 21st century.

Yes, Garnett is strong defensively, but everyone knows that Garnett is underweight and must be paired with a big meat shield to be most effective. Nesterovich was the big meat shield that guarded Garnett.

Later, Nesterovic was poached by Popovich, and the Timberwolves brought in two stars, Sam Cassel and Sprewell, plus superstar Olowo Kandi, veteran center Elvin Johnson and other insiders, and briefly flourished for a year, and then never made the playoffs again.

When the Timberwolves failed to make the playoffs every year, Garnett must have missed the big man from Europe who had worked with him to prop up the paint.

More than a decade has passed in a flash, and Timberwolves fans must also miss Nesterovic very much.

In 2015, the Timberwolves got another better center than Nesterovic by constantly swinging around, and he was Karl Anthony Towns.

Maybe one day, superstar Towns can lead the Timberwolves to the playoffs, and then look back, he will find that the last time he helped the team reach the playoffs for four consecutive years, the big center named Nesterovic.

In this life, Li Wei got Garnett and intercepted Nestrovic, and the two interior lines of the Wolves will reunite with the Knicks to write a new chapter!