"How do you pay attention to such unpopular players? I've never heard of it. ”

When Jeff Van Gundy heard the name Jose Calderón, his reaction was extremely flat.

This is normal, Calderón is really not in the spotlight these days.

"He's got a lot of assists and he's definitely a good fit for the Rockets. I recommend it very seriously and solemnly, for the sake of the future of Team Rocket, it is right to get him here. Hayes said. He's the one who knows the future.

"So what are his characteristics? You talk about it. ”

"I can name n things." Hayes thought about it and began to convince Jeff Van Gundy with all his might.

At the point guard position, Hayes has thought about a number of candidates. He thinks the best guard for the Rockets is Tony Parker, but that guy won't leave the Spurs, has been selected as an All-Star, and is too expensive to afford.

Another option is Billups, the dude will not leave the Pistons for the time being, and may be used as a bargaining chip in the future to trade Maddy...... However, history has changed, and maybe it will be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for Hayes.

And then there's this year's Celtics rookie Rajon Rondo. Rondo is still average and will be average offensively in the future, but he is very playmaker and outstanding defensively, and was named to the All-Defensive Team in 2010. However, when the Celtics formed the Big Three, they traded out so many young players, but leaving Rondo is enough to see how much they value him. Rocket's desire to poach him is delusional.

Among the remaining excellent point guards, the most suitable for the Rockets is Calderon. He's young and hardworking. I don't have the ability to show it now, but I can exercise it and use it a lot.

Calderon's performance in the 2007-2008 season completely overwhelmed TJ Ford.

He had 11.2 points and 8.3 assists, shooting 52% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Even if he doesn't say it later, he also beat Spanoulis at the 2006 World Championships, and he was a big contributor to Spain's victory, and now he is worth a lot of money.

If you wait until 2008, the Raptors will only be TJ Ford. At that time, the Rockets want to chase Calderon again, even if they use players like Battier and Alston as bargaining chips, the Raptors will not let them go.

Now, the Rockets may be able to trade Calderon for a role player.

No Raptors player has sparked more controversy among Raptors fans like Calderon. The Raptors signed the unknown point guard from Spain in the summer of 2005 for 3 years and 6.93 million, and many people felt that the former manager of the Raptors had a bad brain, in fact, this was indeed the Raptors' most successful signing.

In his first season, Calderon shot mediocre, just showing an open teammate to organize the offense. Most fans simply ignore this extraordinary talent of his.

This year, everyone, including the Raptors' new manager, thinks Calderon has little use other than being a backup tire for point guards in the league. That's why the Raptors are eager to trade TJ Ford.

Calderón is not as good in the team as his compatriot inside player Gabajosa. Since the start of the game, Gabajosa has been given regular playing time and started every game.

The problem with Calderón isn't that he should play as a substitute, it's that his style of play isn't what the average fan wants to see. He's a pass-first point guard with very few turnovers and plays team basketball that is immune to mistakes.

If there is a pseudo-fan in the stands who grew up watching the flash of ESPN, like Calderon breaking through, unable to dunk the basket, and only good at running tactics, controlling the tempo, and passing the ball correctly, it is indeed impossible to make people excited, even disgusting.

But people with this style are more likely to help the team win the title, as he did in Spain.

The most important thing for a point guard is not to score, but to pass, to defend, to control the tempo, and Calderon does a good job.

That's why Hayes thought about it for so long, recommending Calderon to Jeff Van Gundy, but never considering Devin Harris, who was still unknown in the Mavericks.

Devin Harris is fast, can break through, can score, and after moving to the Nets, he became the core and played All-Star statistics.

Similar to him, there are Mo Williams of the current Bucks, and Brooks, who was later drafted by the Rockets, and such a point guard who can score is indeed a favorite of fans. And it's point guards like them who are really problematic.

They are not really good at organising attacks, so to speak, pseudo-control.

Devin Harris averaged 21 points per game in the 2008-2009 season (first on the team), but at the same time his shooting rate was a fairly average 43.8%, including a dismal 29.1% from beyond the three-point line. The worst in history, almost breaking the league's worst record. This made Yi Di scolded for a year and became a scapegoat.

In fact, the real cancer of the Nets is known as the core Harris, and it is this shooter-oriented guy who messes up all the tactics, resulting in a weird offensive pattern where one star plays and four blue-collar workers watch.

Mo Williams also shoots well. He reached his peak in 2009 and was selected as an All-Star. But that's because he played next to LeBron James, who averaged less than half the assists per game that year. At the Cavaliers, William is more of a shooting guard. What his nickname is in China, I believe the fans know very well - all pass.

Do you know who Calderón's style is close to?

Stockton! That's right, it's this super point guard.

They have a lot in common, when they first entered the league, their shots were questionable, but later they both became high-percentage shooters and three-pointers; Both have a large number of assists and very few turnovers; They play conservatively and unpretentiously, but they can speed up the pace and tempo when asked to do so by the coach; They are all resolute and resolute players, who do not hide or back down.

The biggest difference between them is that Stockton is better at passing the ball and is a better defender, and there is no player of the previous generation who does not hate Stockton's defense, his small movements, more outrageous.

Calderón isn't a defensive expert, but he's not a bad defender either. He can use his excellent speed to limit a lot of people, just get into trouble when defending faster point guards, but that's not just Calderon's problem. For example, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, no one can guard them, including Calderon.

Hayes and Jeff Van Gundy discussed for a while, said a bunch of nice things about Calderon, and finally said that Van Gundy should go and make a proposal to Dawson to trade Calderon over, which made Hayes breathe a big sigh of relief.

When the TJ Ford injury comes in, it's no fun to want to make a trade, and this season is the only chance.

"Plus David Lee, the price ratio of the two people you are looking for looks really good, but when the time comes, it will be a waste of firewood, I can ask you. I really wonder how you investigated in such detail and watched the video of their game? It makes more sense than scouting. Jeff van Gundy was also moved after listening to Hayes' detailed analysis and began to look at the two young players.

"It's not over yet. David Lee can be Yao Ming's replacement, but our interior line is still a little weaker? In case Yao Ming is injured...... Phew, why am I damaging my own people? Anyway, there is still a substitute in the interior position, and I still have someone to recommend, this person is here, and the last piece of the puzzle for the championship is completed. Hayes laughed.

"Who is so good?" Jeff Van Gundy was expecting Hayes to say the man's name.

"Paul Millsap."

Jeff Van Gundy shook his hand and complained wildly: "Why don't I know the person recommended by your kid?" How do I feel like I'm blind? This is too unpopular, right? What are his characteristics? Which team? Wouldn't it still be developing the alliance? ”

"Jazz, Boozer's bench." Hayes said.

"You're not talking about the second-round rookie who no one wants in the draft, forty out, right?" Jeff Van Gundy is a little impressed. In the first game, it seemed that there was such a person, with a strong physique and rough technique.

"That's him. If I had to go to the draft this year, I'd pick him in the first round. ”

Jeff Van Gundy fainted.

It's no wonder Van Gundy is dizzy, at this time, no expert, or even a fan, takes Millsap seriously.

Paul Millsap was drafted by the Jazz with the 47th pick in 2006. I really don't know why Millsap was drafted in the second half of the second round in a year when the overall draft was not strong enough, and he even has the best offensive ability in the face of the rookie this year. In terms of strength, Millsap may not be as good as this year's top pick Baniani, the top star Aldridge, Roy, Gay, and Rondo...... However, in terms of order, Millsap is definitely gold buried in the sand.

When the observers in the 05-06 season played this NACC rebounding champion for three consecutive years (averaging 19.7 points and 13.4 rebounds per game), no team had a favorable opinion of him, perhaps because his team was too bad, which made his value drop a lot. He's more than just a rebounder, averaging 21.3 points in his final season, making him one of only four players in the NCAA to go 20-10.

If you insist on finding a reason for him to fall to 47th in the draft, I'm afraid it's the same as Hayes, it's height. Although Millsap is relatively strong, his real height is only 201cm, and his arm span is not prominent, which makes people think that it is difficult for him to take advantage of the tall inside.

In the end, he was lucky enough to land with the Jazz, and now Boozer is in great shape and has become one of the top power forwards in the league, which makes Millsap's playing time limited, and the Jazz don't pay attention to him.

After the All-Star break, Millsap was gradually reused. A rookie who is late in the second round does not play like a rookie in the NBA, he is short but he is not afraid of the big man on the inside, he has excellent blocking ability, he has a certain mid-range shooting ability, he has strong single defense ability, and he has a high basketball IQ.

After the regular season this season, Millsap's performance will put to shame those who previously disliked him. In the regular season, he had 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds (2.2 frontcourt rebounds) in a limited 18 minutes, and almost all of the 82 games in which he played more than 25 minutes had a 10+10 performance. This efficiency is higher than that of Hayes in history, and even higher than that of David Lee.

On top of that, Millsap is no ordinary blue-collar worker. His scoring ability is very strong, but it was only because he was suppressed by Boozer, playing too little, and having too few shots, so he didn't show it.

It was only in the 2008-2009 season that people discovered this. In his first 14 regular-season games, Millsap averaged 20.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 37.3 minutes per game. Millsap shot 57.3 percent from the field and 76.8 percent from the free-throw line. That's definitely an All-Star level not inferior to Boozer.

In 2010, after the absence of Memet Oku and the departure of Carlos Boozer, Millsap's performance and the new Timberwolves leader, Al Jefferson, looked better and began to make him the real star of the team.

The best way to reflect his offensive value is on November 10, 2010 against the Heat, who has formed a big three, Millsap, who has only 10% of his career three-point shooting rate, actually shot three 3-pointers, and squeezed out Bosh at the last moment to make a successful whistle-blowing rebound, and dragged the opponent into overtime and won the final victory. Paul Millsap became famous as soon as he scored 11 points in 28 seconds, which can definitely go down in history with Miller and Maddy. Millsap scored a career-high 46 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Knowing these great records, Hayes said everything he wanted to win over Millsap. There's still a chance, and the longer you play in the regular season, the slimmer the chances of a trade. Sloan is a good coach, especially good at employing people, and he will surely soon see the potential in Millsap.

After listening to Hayes's data analysis and knowing that Millsap is also a potential and efficient player, Jeff Van Gundy fell into deep thought and said: "These players you introduced are all good, but the Jazz have no one on the inside now, and it is too difficult to replace him." ”

"It depends on who they want, I suggest let Luthor (Hyde) play more and give Corunna (Azubuuk) a break. Luther's three-pointer was fierce...... It's really not going to work, so we're going to send another experienced power forward who can attack. I think that even if the record deteriorates, it is necessary to let the marginal players play more, play statistics, and raise their value, which is to lay the foundation for the future. Hayes said a little embarrassed. This is to lay the groundwork for sending them away.

"You want to send Luthor and Juwan (Howard) out?"

"Or Padget, Novak and John [Lucas III], they can never defend, and although the offense is good, it is easy for the opponent to chase points."

Jeff Van Gundy stared blankly at Hayes, he was thinking.

"If you look at me like this, Zhu Wan won't happen to be right behind me?" Hayes smiled wryly and turned his head to look, but there was no one.

Jeff Van Gundy pondered for a moment and said slowly: "You're right, Luthor's defense is too poor and unstable. Zhu Wan's state is not as good as a year, and the offense is not good, what you said is very reasonable, in exchange for these people, we are likely to become the strongest defensive team, and we are likely to win the championship. I'll report back to them when I get back to Houston. ”

Hayes is in a good mood and Jeff Van Gundy has opened his mind.

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