After chatting in the study for a while, Hayes agreed to make a suggestion to the uniform team and sent Okafor away.

Hayes immediately called D'Antoni to report the situation.

When D'Antoni heard that Okafor wanted to go to the Raptors, he was so excited that he wanted the uniform team to call the Raptors right now, and he shouted like a big child: "Great! We're going to have Bagnani, he didn't play well last season because he overlapped with Bosh a little bit, and if he got to the Bobcats, he might be able to average more than 15 points per game, and trust me, he's definitely going to be able to run away! When he comes, you teach him and make him tougher. ”

"If it's a sea cucumber, even if you eat Viagra, you can't get hard!" Hayes said helplessly. He doesn't like Bagnani, but the player Okafor can get in exchange for now seems to be the best one. There are few interior lines suitable for run-and-bomb tactics, and the good ones can't be exchanged, so they can only settle for the second.

D'Antoni thinks Bagnani is the best, and his other target is Channing Frye for the Knicks. He also has outside shooting ability, is softer than Bagnani, and doesn't know what it means to grab rebounds. Only players with a shooting feel are suitable for running and shooting, but players with a particularly good hand are basically soft.

Hayes suddenly felt a little speechless. D'Antoni likes Bagnani too much, how is that good? In the end, he simply didn't persuade D'Antoni and let the uniform team take care of it. In any case, Okafor has to leave the team, and if he stays in his hands, Biedrins will have to be traded, and in Hayes's opinion, this big man is not much better than Gortat, and the only value is a trade. Before the trade deadline, they still have a chance to strengthen themselves.

On Nov. 10, the Bobcats played the Pacers at home.

The Pacers had an eight-man exchange with the Warriors last season, with the Warriors sending team bigbearers Troy Murphy and Dunleavy Jr. to the Pacers, while the Pacers' absolute mainstay this season Al Harrington and Steve Jackson were sent to the Golden State Warriors.

In the summer, they didn't make any big trades to bolster their roster, just signing Karen Rush, Stephen Graham and Andriy Irving. The regular season lineup is as follows.

Centres: Murphy, Foster, David Harrison.

Power forwards: Jermaine O'Neal, Icke Diogu, Sean Williams.

Small forwards: Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger.

Defenders: Tinsley, Daniels, Graham, Deanna, Owens, Rush, Mike Leod.

Murphy would only shoot threes, O'Neal Jr. was in a slump, the Pacers were weak inside, and they were all slow, and the defense was quickly overwhelmed by the Bobcats' run-and-gun bombardment, and the Bobcats used tricks many times.

At 5:41 in the first quarter, the Bobcats made a three-on-two frontcourt, Calderon made a long pass to Hayes, Hayes didn't stop the ball, and handed the ball to Gerard Wallace on the other side in the air in a shooting position. Wallace air dunk basketball in!

At 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the Bobcats quickly counterattacked, Hayes hit the ground and passed to Calderon, who passed Wallace again, and Wallace scored with a one-handed windmill! After this dunk, the Bobcats were in high spirits and launched a wave of 10-0 offense** to open the score in one fell swoop.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats switched to a bench lineup and focused on the Hawks offense, and Okafor controlled the game, grabbing four rebounds in the frontcourt, scoring 10 points in a single quarter and dishing out two blocks. If it weren't for his terrible free throws, he would have scored even more on 2-of-6 shooting.

The Bobcats led the Pacers by 14 points at halftime, 64-50, and then were firmly in control.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats used frontcourt pressing tactics, causing consecutive Pacers turnovers to play counterattacks, and a wave of 15-2 offense**, turning the game into garbage time.

Like his teammates, Hayes became accustomed to running and enjoying it. Because the Pacers' interior players did not return to defense in time, Hayes played very comfortably, and he played 27 minutes in this game, scoring 18 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in all-round statistics. In the fourth quarter, fans chanted Hayes' name, hoping that he would come back to record three consecutive triple-doubles. However, Hayes decided to save a little face for the Pacers after the playoff game against the Spurs and was maliciously brought down by Finley, and sat on the bench with Wallace and other key players in the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats beat the Pacers 115-94 to make it five wins in a row.

Okafor had an eye-catching performance, playing 33 minutes and scoring 18 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks, completely overpowering last season's All-Star O'Neal Jr. This is also the coaching staff's intention to arrange more positional offense, and if Okafor plays position, he is indeed a player close to All-Star strength.

Okafor had just played at his level, and the next day Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins contacted the Raptors' uniform team to discuss a trade between Okafor and Bagnani.

Before the start of the season, Raptors manager Colangelo Jr. said to the public: "I used to think we made the right choice, and I still think so. We chose Bagnani because he is the player we need the most in the long run. I definitely don't regret choosing him. Bagnani's future is brighter than that of Roy and Aldridge. ”

Bagnani may sound like a Raptors not for sale, but as soon as the Bobcats' plan to trade Okafor was proposed, Colangelo Jr. immediately changed his face and showed full interest.

In the summer, he secretly contacted Okafor, hoping that Okafor would jump out of his contract to join the Raptors, and Okafor was the person the Raptors needed. The Raptors were eliminated by the Nets in the first round of the playoffs last season, largely because the interior defense was too poor, and neither Bagnani nor Bosh were tough enough, giving the Nets countless opportunities. Although Bagnani was named to the rookie first team, his performance in the Raptors was not qualified as a starter. Little Colangelo was questioned.

Okafor's performance last season was obvious to all, and his tough interior defense, especially rebounding and blocking ability, can just make up for the lack of Raptors' interior defense, and the salary difference between the two is not much. Okafor's salary this season is 5.4 million, and Bagnani has also reached 4.2 million, and as long as the Raptors pay some cash, the deal can be completed.

But the Raptors were reluctant to pay cash, and the Bobcats were eager to trade Okafor, giving the Raptors the opportunity to take advantage of the fire. Colangelo Jr. felt that the Raptors were also weak at the swingman position, so he offered to trade Michael Petrus. For this reason, the Raptors are willing to send Chris Humphries, a power forward with a three-year 9.6 million contract extension, in order to get the salary equal.

This proposal made Rod Higgins very difficult. Petrus is a fantastic player, and now the Bobcats play the main point guard, and Humphries has a bad contract. At the end of this season, the Bobcats want to renew Petrus' contract.

Colangelo Jr. was well aware of the Raptors' advantage and took Bagnani to blackmail the Bobcats. "If you don't think it's good, don't trade. Since we have selected Andrea (Bagnani) as the top pick, we naturally have confidence in him, we want to cultivate him, and he will definitely become a superstar in the future, and we are not willing to change it if we don't come up with decent chips. As for Petrus, it is still a question of whether the Bobcats will be able to keep it next season. You have to think clearly, it's said that Okafor is not suitable for the run-and-gun tactics right now, and if he stays for a season, he will definitely choose to jump out of the contract, and you won't get anything. I wouldn't mind signing with Okafor a year late on the free market. ”

"We'll think about it and get back to you." Rod Higgins said. He knew that Okafor had to be traded, and maybe he had to suffer this dumb loss.

Compared to the Rockets' Morey, Colangelo Jr.'s suggestion can still be considered. When the Bobcats offered to trade with the Rockets, the Rockets asked for a three-man exchange, and the Bobcats traded Okafor, Felton and Barnes for the Rockets' David Lee, Tyrone Lue, and Hyde. So what's the deal? It's basically to send rockets to three strongmen, in exchange for David Lee and two wastes that need to be cut! Plans to trade David Lee have run aground.

When Hayes heard about the Raptors' trade plan, he immediately objected. His first feeling was that if he changed like this, it would be crazy! "Bagnani sucks enough, who is Humphries? Hollywood star? I've never heard of it, it's a waste at first glance! ”

Hayes was excited, and Rod Higgins said calmly: "If you don't trade with the Raptors, you can only consider the Knicks." ”

Hayes swallowed and spitted, if he traded with the Knicks, it would be brain-dead, Channing Frye is a soft egg and a little useful, the others are all tumors, none of them are qualified, no matter how they change, they will suffer. It's better to trade Noaga with the bull for someone. Noah will at least be a good blue-collar worker in the future.

D'Antoni really liked Bagnani, he looked at Hayes and said very sincerely: "Chuck, just trade like this, if Humphries doesn't play well, we can trade him out next season." If I had won the top pick last year, I would have chosen Bagnani over Aldridge. He's definitely fit to run and bomb! ”

Hayes was stunned: "Why do you like him so much?" ”

D'Antoni said seriously: "He's only 22 years old, he has a promising future, he has a lot of offensive means, and he can shoot threes. If our post players can also pull out and shoot threes, no one can stop us. I'm a coach, you have to trust me! ”

"Okay. I believe you. Anyway, Emeka staying with the Lynx is a waste of youth. Hayes smiled wryly.

The manager has said this, what else can he say? Even if you are a core player of Bobcats, you can't be the master of coaches and bosses. Jordan is also interested in this swap. Van Gundy was also supportive of the deal. Those who are close to Zhu are red, and those who are close to ink are black. Van Gundy was influenced by D'Antoni and began to find offensive basketball a little interesting. With the Rockets, they try to keep their opponents under 90 points to ensure a win, but with the Bobcats, it seems certain that they can win if they let their opponents score less than 100 points. What Van Gundy has to do now is try to combine the defensive system with the run-and-gun.

After the discussion, Rod Higgins replied to the Raptors, and the "parallel import" champion Bagnani to the Bobcats was a foregone conclusion.

Hayes also wanted to open it, and only hoped that Bagnani would not disappoint too much. It is impossible for the uniform team to listen to his advice as a player in everything, and if Bagnani comes, he will sit on the bench. The starter is still Biderins, and it seems that there is nothing to lose. Petrus goes to the Raptors, and this vacancy can also be easily filled. Hayes is also a little happy for Azubuk, who doesn't have the same offense as Weaver but is much stronger defensively, and once Petrus leaves, he's likely to move up to the starting point guard, and Weaver's playing time can be extended. The Bobcats are the most important people to be the swing forwards, and there are also Moon and Barnes on the team.

As for Humphries...... Out of the manager's office door, Hayes forgot the name, anyway, it was useless, just don't have this person.

Hayes crossed a little early, so he didn't know Humphries' level of play with the Nets in the 2010-2011 season, becoming a macho man who played 28 minutes and had 10 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.

In that season, Humphries was able to stand up to Griffin "The White Monster" without falling behind. He was buried in the Raptors because of Bosh's existence, and he was a very talented player!

(To be continued)