On July 28, the American Dream 8 team flew to Macau, China, for training, during which they had to play a warm-up match against the Chinese national team.

When the plane landed at Macau Airport, Hayes was very excited and finally returned to China. Before he knew it, it had been two years since he was reborn, and this was the first time he had returned to China. Because Hayes was so excited, he couldn't sleep when he arrived at the hotel. When he saw a lot of dark-eyed and yellow-skinned people on the street, he felt extra kind.

He fantasized that one day he would be able to participate in the Olympics as a member of the national team, fight for the glory of the country, and win the gold medal. Now the wish has come true, but it is not perfect, because he represents the United States national team.

The next day, Hayes met Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. Hayes first hugged Yao Ming cordially, and then greeted Yi Jianlian. The Bobcats and Warriors played two games last season, but it was the first time Hayes and Yi Jianlian had spoken, and the two shook hands amicably, saying a few polite words in Chinese.

Yao Ming is not very familiar with him in Macau, so he did not look for Hayes in advance, but waited until he met on the field.

"Chuck, congratulations, Bobcat will be a cow next season." Yao Ming said with a smile.

"I think so too, the Eagles will have to pass me first if they want to reach the finals in the future." Hayes isn't modest either, and the Bobcats have a super shooter, Mike Miller, and Marcus Camby, who has won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and the strength has really increased a lot.

Yao Ming said: "You still have one more center, give Hibbert to our Eagles." My bench isn't strong enough, and we can trade next year's first-round pick for you. ”

"You must be very far behind, what can you get?" Hayes laughed. He knew Yao Ming was joking.

"Bobcat should have a deal next, right? There are too many of you, who are you going to change, can you reveal that? Yao Ming asked curiously.

"I don't know yet. Now my goal is to win the Olympics and the trade is up to the Bobcats, so I don't know if they're going to pick or a swap. "Hayes really doesn't know what big moves the Bobcats are going to make in the future, and now they're in a bit of a bad situation. Because they can sign up to 15 players, and the other teams know that, and the closer they get to the start of the season, the worse it will be for the Bobcats.

"If the Bobcats get another star, I think you're going to win the championship this season." Yao Ming said with a smile.

"Why don't you win the championship? Right now I don't think there's any other team that can compete with the Bobcats. Hayes said confidently. After winning the MVP, Hayes is more confident than in the past.

"At least the Timberwolves and Lakers can compete with the Bobcats. Next season, I'm optimistic that the Lakers will make it to the finals. Yao Ming said.

"Isn't it just one more Gasol, we have one in the team now." Hayes laughed. The Timberwolves and Lakers are head-to-head, and he thinks the Timberwolves are slightly better because Garnett is slightly better than Gasol. But what Yao Ming said also makes sense, next season, it will be time for Iverson to weaken. The Timberwolves are mostly veterans and have a hard time staying in shape.

The Lakers are strong, but Hayes doesn't think he's going to lose. Of course, the Lakers' main lineup is very scary, if Bynum is not injured.

"Haven't you read the newspaper yet? Yesterday the Lakers signed Artest. Yao Ming was a little surprised, and then immediately understood, and sighed: "By the way, you were still on the plane when the news came out, and you have been sleeping since you arrived, right?" ”

Artest to the Lakers?

Hayes was taken aback. He knew that Artest chose to jump out of the contract, and in Hayes's previous life, Artest did not jump out of the contract, and the Kings and the Rockets made a trade, and Artest became an important contributor to the Rockets' breakthrough in the first round of the playoffs in 2009.

But now, he actually joined the Lakers a year early. The contract salary is 34 million for 5 years. Last season, he had 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals. Here's the All-Star stats. The contract offered by the Lakers is not high. Although the Mavericks, Heat, Suns, and Spurs offered higher, Artest rejected offers from these teams and joined the Lakers with a low salary.

"Any idea what Artest said in an interview?" Yao Ming asked with a smile.

"I don't even know about his transfer, how can I know what he says...... What did the guy say? Hayes asked.

"Artest said he joined the Lakers because the Lakers are a championship-winning team, and in this team, he has the potential to beat Chuck Hayes."

"......" Hayes was speechless for a moment. When he played the Kings last season, he scored high points and said things like "If you want to beat me, change to a good team first" to Artest.

Artest's decision to jump out of his contract and join the Lakers a year early was largely due to his relationship. Yes glanced at Kobe Bryant, who was chatting with Wade, Kobe was smiling happily, and Wade showed an envious expression, maybe he was talking about a trade. The Lakers turned out to be stronger than the team he knew in his previous life.

"Even if Artest goes to the Lakers, I won't be afraid of them." Hayes laughed. I feel a little unhappy. He is a cross-crossing man, because knowing history can help the team select many players with future development potential, but the Lakers do not have cross-passing, and their reinforcement is very successful.

"There are other people who go to the Lakers, but it's not that big." Yao Ming smiled bitterly.

Hayes and Yao Ming didn't have much chance to chat, and the first warm-up game between the two sides began.

The Dream 8 team did not show its full strength in the Olympic warm-up game, and the main purpose of Coach K was to inspect the players, so each player generally did not appear for more than 20 minutes. But they still defeated the Chinese team by a huge margin of 135 to 97, 38 points.

There is a big problem with the lineup of this Chinese team, they do not have a point guard who is good at dribbling and organizing. The U.S. team has a lot of people playing and has a lot of physical strength, and when it comes up on defense, it uses full-court pressing. This tactic did not do much for European teams, but it was fatal for the Chinese team.

Whether Liu Wei is facing Billups or Deron Williams, he is at a disadvantage in the physical confrontation, and it takes a lot of effort to bring the ball through the half. Paul's body is a little thin, but his speed and steals are more terrifying, and the main Chinese defender can't bear it. Substitute Chen Jianghua is fast and has a good break, but he is good at attacking by himself, not passing the ball to Yao Ming, and is just a nominal point guard.

The U.S. team is still immature in terms of tactical run-in, mainly relying on the individual ability of the stars, and can still easily win China by more than 30 points.

Hayes's performance is not outstanding, in the fast-paced game, there is no need to play positional battles with him as the core, and the explosive Stodameyer has successfully dunked many times, which is even more brilliant.

After the game, Hayes went back to the hotel to check the NBA's latest transactions. He found that the NBA was really booming this summer, and compared to previous years, this year's summer trade was really chaotic! Dazzle the fans! The list of team players that is usually ingrained in the hearts of fans has completely changed!

The Lakers let Turyaf go, and in order to make up for the loss of Turyaf's departure, the Lakers needed to bring in an interior player.

A small thing can trigger a chain of reactions. The Bobcats traded Camby and sent Gortat, so the Nuggets don't need to deliberately strengthen the interior. Naturally, there was no interest in "Birdman", and the Lakers joined Artest early, which made their salary already very tight, and they were unable to sign big-name free agents. The Lakers' manager finally took a fancy to "Big Bird" Chris Anderson, who was banned for drug use, and gave the power forward a year's salary. Defenders, they signed Liberty guard Shannon Brown with a base salary. By mistake, Brown also joined the Lakers ahead of schedule.

Now the Lakers start with "Little Shark" Bynum, big forward Pau Gasol, small forward Artest, scoring guard Kobe Bryant, and point guard Derrick Fisher. Also on the bench are Lamar Odom, an all-around warrior, small forward Ariza who has excellent defense, and big man pitcher Radmanovic and others...... The current Lakers are also outstanding!

In addition to the Lakers, other teams have also made big moves.

The Mavericks officially signed two free agents, of which Desaganadeop officially signed a five-year full middle yield of 32.4 million with a starting salary of 5.585 million. Baria (JJBAREA) officially signed a three-year, 4.8 million, with a team option for the third year.

The teams in the league are crazy. The Warriors offered a four-year, $17 million contract to restricted free agent Turiaf, and the Lakers waived the follow-up, and Turiaf joined the Warriors.

Then the Warriors signed Monta Ellis to a six-year, $66 million contract extension and a free agent Corey Margetty. The contract amount is $50 million over five years. In order to win, the Warriors spend money like water.

Hayes didn't take the Warriors seriously, but he didn't dare to underestimate the Mavericks. If you want to compete for the championship next season, you still have to put some effort into it. Still, Hayes thinks the Bobcats are the strongest.

The training in Macau went well.

The Dream 8 team defeated the Chinese team in two games. Hayes behaved like a marginal person, and he unconsciously wanted to "release water" on the Chinese team. Killing the Chinese team is not what Hayes wants to see. What's more, the other party is the host of the Olympic Games, so he feels that he should be polite.

Coach K doesn't realize that the players need to work hard. Perhaps only when dealing with strong teams such as Argentina and Spain will Hayes be needed.

On August 2, the Dream 8 team flew to Shanghai, China, to begin the final training against China, Turkey and Lithuania.

Shanghai is Yao Ming's hometown, and when he arrived here, Yao Ming immediately did his best to be a landlord and invited Hayes to a big meal. However, it is not Shanghai food, but Sichuan food. "Food in China, taste in Sichuan." Sichuan cuisine is very distinctive.

Yao Ming also wanted to make a little joke with Hayes. Americans are not very spicy. He wanted to see Hayes's embarrassment. Unexpectedly, Hayes was very excited when he heard that he was eating Sichuan food, and he could eat spicier than Yao Ming, and ordered a bunch of heavy-tasting dishes, and Yao Ming's tongue was numb when he ate it, which directly affected the performance of the warm-up game.

In several warm-up games, the Dream 8 team won easily. In the past, Lithuania could still use its tactical advantage to maneuver with the United States, but this year's defense of the American team is not bad, and if the attack cannot be opened, it is impossible to defeat the American team at all.

On August 6, the Dream Team ended a month-long training and flew to Yanjing, China, and on August 8, the Yanjing Olympics will officially open.

(To be continued)