The Bobcats announced on the 4th that they had cut Sean May. The second-round rookie Sessions, who signed for 4 years and 3.3 million, and Gortat, a blue-collar center signed for 4 years and 3.8 million, were released to the NBDL Maine Red Claws together.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, each NBA team has a 15-player roster, but each team can only propose a 12-player roster for each regular season game, and the number of players on each team participating in the playoffs will increase from the original 12 to 13.

In today's Bobcats, Sessions and Gortat have struggled to get a chance to play, and the uniform team has decided to send them to the Development League for training. Another rookie, Landry, stayed in the squad because of his mid-range shooting ability, although inconsistent, was also appreciated by D'Antoni. Landry and Moon are battling for the last spot.

Things aren't looking too good for Moon, with the Bobcats having plenty of talent up front. However, he has a very good mentality, and he is already satisfied to be able to land in the NBA and get a guaranteed contract. All he has to do is train hard and play hard when he is needed.

After the Bobcats' big win over the Bucks, the players were happy, and the only one who was depressed was Okafor.

Okafor and Howard entered the NBA in the same year, he was the star of the year, and it is said that the Magic hesitated for a long time before choosing the younger Howard. That year, Okafor won Rookie of the Year and Howard was No. 2. He also broke O'Neal's double-double in his rookie season, and since then, fans have dubbed him "Elvis"!

Okafor thought he should be the top pick in the draft, but unfortunately, he suffered a serious injury the following year and played only 26 games. Last season, Okafor averaged 14.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, turning the Bobcats into a no-fly zone. Just as he was excited about his upswing, the Bobcats signed Hayes, and "Elvis" suddenly made a substitution...... Hayes' strength is really strong, and Okafor is ashamed of himself. But he was not convinced by others. His offensive range does have to be close to the basket, but his defensive ability is among the best in the league. The coach actually let him play as a substitute because he didn't adapt to the rhythm of running and bombing.

Being a substitute for Biedrins has already made Okafor a little hard to accept. His stats last season were All-Star calibre, so what is the new Biderings? Why can he ride on his head? There's also Kurt Thomas, who has played with the Suns and is familiar with run-and-gun tactics, and D'Antoni has given him some playing time. The most unbearable thing for Okafor is Landry, and the rookie also takes up some of his playing time...... In the game against the Bucks, Okafor played a total of 18 minutes, scoring 4 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block. Suddenly reduced from "Elvis" to a role player, and even a marginal person, Okafor felt sad. When he first entered the NBA, people said he was a lifelong enemy of Dwight Howard, and now Howard has completely surpassed him.

Okafor is an introvert, and after much consideration, he decided to talk to D'Antoni after training and ask for more minutes. It's a pity that the current coach is D'Antoni, and if Van Gundy, who likes to defend, becomes the coach, Okafor believes that he will be reused.

D'Antoni had a conversation with Okafor very kindly, after listening to Okafor's thoughts. D'Antoni said helplessly: "Emeka, you are a good player, you know what you have to do on the pitch. But you also know that you are not used to the run-and-bomb tactics we are playing now. If it's a team that doesn't have to run and shoot, I'll definitely give you more playing time. Biedrins may not be as good as you in other areas, but he's quick, and that fits the tactical mark. What you need to do now is to practice your mid-range shots. ”

Okafor left dejected. If CIC was so easy to practice, he would have practiced it in college. His specialty is defense. He suspects that if he doesn't transfer and stays with Bobcats, he will soon become an ordinary blue-collar worker and eventually be forgotten.

After Okafor left, D'Antoni approached Hayes and Van Gundy to chat about the future of the Bobcats.

D'Antoni isn't very happy with the Bobcats' interior right now. After a few years as a coach with the Suns, and after coaching Stoudamire, he also looked down on players like Billings. He believes the Bobcats must trade in exchange for a consistent interior offensive point.

The Bobcats' interior offense is a big problem right now. D'Antoni is ready to suggest to the brass that Stoudmire be poached, but the Suns will have a hard time letting go of the team's leading scorer unless they trade for Hayes. If other chips could be traded for Stadamire, D'Antoni thinks the Bobcats are invincible. The Bulls' 72 wins are also floating clouds.

'Emeka [Okafor] just talked to me and wanted to play more. What do you guys think? D'Antoni asked.

Okafor's offensive ability is unsatisfactory, he is 208cm tall, Stadamire runs faster than him on one leg, and his interior planning ability is also very poor in attack, if he pulls high to cover his teammates, it is terrible, the opponent can let him go, and unscrupulously wrap the Bobcats' main scorer.

Van Gundy said: "I like the type of player Emeka who is very good defensively and has a lot of energy. However, when he plays, the Bobcats have to play positional battles, but unfortunately his offensive ability is too weak, his passing awareness is not good, his movement speed is slow, and he can only play center. I think it's better to let him be Andris's replacement. The first lineup played well, but the defense was a little worse. ”

D'Antoni was unhappy with the offense, and Van Gundy was unhappy with the Bobcats' defense. Giving the Bucks 97 points, which was unthinkable for the Rockets last season.

This can't blame the Bobcats players for not working hard to defend, but once they enter the rhythm of running and shooting, the number of shots increases, and the missed shots are easy to be counterattacked by the opponent. Michael Reed and Mo Williams are very attacking and not easy to defend in one-on-one situations. If you want to play a flashy offense, you have to sacrifice part of your defense, and that's something you can't change.

The two coaches looked at how to trade Okafor and send him to a positional offensive team, which would be good for both the Bobcats and Okafor himself. Moreover, Okafor can choose to jump out of his contract next season, and it will be very difficult to renew him with a low salary, and his biggest value right now is a trade.

Hayes listened quietly.

D'Antoni said that the Raptors' Bagnani was good, and Van Gundy actually agreed, and Hayes said helplessly: "Two, that's a 211cm tall point guard!" It's not okay to exchange this parallel import. ”

D'Antoni looked at Hayes and said with a smile: "But Bagnani is fast, accurate in shooting, and has height, Emeka can't adapt to the rhythm of running and shooting, and his current position is more awkward, do you have any opinions?" The few deals you've proposed before are good. ”

Hayes smiled: "Of course it's for David Lee!" In addition to Stoudeyer in the league, the most suitable person to run and bomb is him, his rebounding ability is stronger than Stoudeyer, and he can also shoot, and we have worked well together last season. With the No. 30 pick in the first round in exchange for our leader, the Rockets will not lose. And in the first game, the inside line of the rocket was blown up. David is better suited to play power forward, and the defense is certainly not as good as Emeka, and after Oden's season is reimbursed, the Rockets lack a center who can guard the interior, and I think they will be interested. ”

"David is really good!" Van Gundy frowned and said, "But now our relationship with the Rockets is too bad. Will they change? This summer, the Rockets are torn apart, there is no hope of defending the title, will they still send people to the Bobcats? You're talking too much about Morey, aren't you? ”

"The Rockets may be hard to talk to, but we can think of other things, like we can call David and tell him that there is a starting spot here for him and that he won't play too hard in the last dozens of games......," Hayes said.

"Isn't that unsportsmanlike?" D'Antoni opened his mouth wide and said in a daze.

"Now the Rockets don't have any scoring points except for Maddy, and if David becomes the second scoring point and grabs more than 10 rebounds, he will almost become an All-Star, and it's strange to be able to exchange him. Maddie likes singles so much, David just leaves all the shots to him, and others say he is selfless when he throws a few fewer shots. Hayes held his chin in his hand, thought for a moment, and then said: "We still have to give Emeka a chance to play and let him brush up on the stats." Just like last year's Bunch Wells. ”

"Last year, you really deliberately let Wells brush the data, didn't you just exchange him for David Lee at that time?" D'Antoni sighed. At the time, the media was already hyping Wells as the best sixth man. As a result, the Rockets unexpectedly traded him out of the team. Many people thought it was strange, but now that he knew the reason, it was really a conspiracy.

"yes. David is such a good player. It's a championship puzzle that people can't let go. Van Gundy laughed: "Even so, I don't think the Rockets will choose to trade with us, it depends on the Rockets' record." If their interior line isn't very bad, they don't need to trade, and if the game is blown up, it's quite possible to consider Emeka. ”

Hayes snapped his fingers and said, "We can do both." Last season, weren't there a lot of media and websites that spoke ill of me and wanted to force me to leave the Rockets? When the Rockets lose and lose in a row, we can also spend money to buy the media, and Black David Lee's interior defense is too bad and is a cancer for the Rockets. Then ask someone to write an article, which probably means that if the Rockets want to play well this season, they must strengthen their interior defense, and Okafor is the most suitable candidate. While holding Okafor, while black David Lee. It doesn't take a few days for people to think it's true. If David Lee just didn't play well at this time, wouldn't this be done? I think David Lee can be traded for it, and my concern is that for the sake of salary reciprocity, Morey will definitely ask us to bring in a good player and give us a garbage contract, so that we will also suffer a little bit of a loss. ”

"Chuck, you have a good idea. I'll give David a call tonight, and then you can call again, and when Van (Weaver) and Corunna (Azubuuk) are making out with him, I don't believe he's not moved! Van Gundy's brow furrowed. Sending Wells away last year in exchange for David Lee, this time they are ready to do it again. Use the Bobcats' "chicken ribs" star to get David Lee over again.

D'Antoni didn't interject, the boss with his mouth open, and he now understands how the Rockets' championship roster last season was put together. These two guys are really good at playing conspiracy and digging corners. I know exactly how to get the best players for the team.

If David Lee can come to the Bobcats, their interior offense problem can also be solved! But will things go so well?

(To be continued)