Chapter 114: The Tug of War (Part II)

Not long after Gasol arrived in Los Angeles, another blockbuster trade that caused a sensation in the league was born.

"Sharks Journey to Phoenix, Hackers Live in Miami"

ESPN's huge headlines replaced the news of the Lakers' robbery of Gasol for a while.

Less than 24 hours before the shocking robbery of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat, who had been scandalized before, finally reached an agreement, and the 35-year-old shark Shaquille O'Neal will go to the Suns to partner Stoudemire and Steve Nash to form the Phoenix Big Three, while the Suns sent hackers Marion and Banks, and it is worth mentioning that draft picks were not involved in the transaction.

This deal attracted more attention, and in the face of the strong pressure of the Lakers, the Suns did not dare to just say or do it, so they made this deal to gamble. The inside configuration of Big Shark and Xiao Si suddenly made a major upgrade to the Suns' weak interior line, from the end to the front, but more people expressed the compatibility of O'Neal and Sun tactics.

The Lakers' robbery was like a fuse that directly ignited the powder keg, and the sensational transactions appeared one by one, followed by the Lakers and Suns, and the Mavericks also kept up with the pace of the big trade, and Cuban and Nelson Jr. quickly set their sights on the former Mavericks Jason after trying to pursue O'Neal to strengthen the interior line failed. Kidd, and eventually the Mavericks sent up-and-coming potential guards Devin Harris, De Sagana Diop, Terendon Hassell, Morris Iger, Keith Van Horn, two future draft picks, and some cash to trade Jason Kidd, Marrick Allen and Antoine Wright from the Nets. Mark Cuban said, "Jason's arrival could make the Mavericks a championship contender!" ”

The successive blockbuster transactions in the West have completely unnerved the giants of the league, and they are all privately uneasy.

Lin Fei's trade rumors disappeared in an instant, and regained calm, Lin Fei also put himself into training with peace of mind, Pau Gasol's arrival enriched Phil Jackson's tactics, and the Spaniard's high IQ quickly adapted to the triangle offense, which made Phil Jackson and Kobe very satisfied, and correspondingly, Lin Fei's team status changed, Lin Fei has been given the tactics of attacking with the ball, and it has become less and more about outside projection and air cutting and running positions that have attracted the false core position of the defense.

However, the spirit of professional players Lin Fei still will, which makes Phil Jackson see the future of the team.

'Mitch, we need to keep Lim, he's very important for the team to compete for the championship. Phil Jackson and Bryant were present in Kupchak's office at the same time.

"It's not like I don't want Phil and Bryant, especially Bryant you know who Bob is." Kupchak said helplessly, complaining about Lin Fei's agent Pelinka undoubtedly blamed Kobe.

Kobe Bryant's face changed slightly and immediately recovered, "Mitch, I tried to ask Bob, you know we can't interfere with him and he can only play a supporting role, but I hope you still work hard." ”

"Don't worry, Phil, Bryant, I will do it for the team, as long as I can work hard, I will, I also hope that Lin can stay, we are all for the Lakers to be able to regain the championship!" Kupchak showed his sincerity.

"Longley, contact Lin's agent Bob Pelinka again, if you still don't agree to let out the wind and let us trade Lin!" Kupchak hung up the phone and sat in the boss's chair with his eyes closed.

"Lin, let me tell you the good news first, you were selected to start the first year of this year's All-Star Three-Point Contest and Rookie Competition, and maybe you will be an All-Star after the fourth round of All-Star voting."

"Bob, look you're excited!" Although Lin Fei was also very excited, he still kept himself steady.

"Lin, you will become a fragrant glutton, I will be too busy when the time comes, it seems that I have to organize your agent team as soon as possible."

Lin Fei stood outside the three-point line on the left side, received a pass from the inside, and then threw the ball out, Gasol's pass was very comfortable, but Lin Fei always felt a little weird in his heart, although his high three-point shooting rate in the training game was scary, but it still couldn't eliminate the weirdness in Lin Fei's heart.

On February 7, the Lakers challenged the Atlanta Hawks away. Gasol took part in the pre-match warm-up but did not play. Kobe Bryant was in a good mood because of the slight pain in his fingers after the operation, and he rested after only playing for 18 minutes, so Lin Fei became the Lakers' biggest reliance, and the new signing Ariza became a new discovery for the Lakers, Ariza showed his stable outside line and flexible defense and good physical fitness within 20 minutes of the game, which made Phil Jackson very satisfied.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the home team Hawks 99-85 away, Lin Fei contributed 32 points and 9 assists to become the best of the game, and new recruit Ariza got 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

An old acquaintance, Erin Andrews, stood in front of Lin Fei, "Can Lin accept my short interview?" ”

Although his body was wet and a little uncomfortable, he looked at Erin Andrews in front of him and said with a smile: "Can I say no?" ”

"Is there anything you'd like to say about Pau Gasol, your new teammates?"

"Welcome Paul, bless Kwamei, that's how the NBA is, who knows who's going to be in the next game. But it's cool that I have a great teammate. ”

"Is it true that the trade rumors about you have been gone late mean that you and the Lakers have reached an agreement to renew your contract?"

"I also need to ask my agent Bob and he will take care of it all for me, sorry for the wet and uncomfortable."

After Lin Fei finished speaking, he walked directly to the player's tunnel.

'I'm glad Lin is still so precise and of course I welcome Paul and it's a great deal for the team. Kobe Bryant couldn't hide his excitement about Pau Gasol's arrival, especially after the training game.

And the Lakers have also become the object of the league's strong eyes, with Kobe Bryant and Odom Bayram, and now has an All-Star level Paul Gasol, Lin Fei, who was not drafted by the Lakers, has made many teams envious, and now the robbery of Pau Gasol has stimulated their jealousy, and the Hawks who lost to the Lakers are actively contacting the Kings to try to abduct the Kings' leading guard Mike Bibby to Atlanta.

At this time, the league officially announced that Lin Fei was selected for the All-Star Three-Point Contest and the first-year starting lineup of the Rookie Game, and Lin Fei instantly became the favorite for the three-point contest championship.

The Lakers will return to home Staples to take on the New York Knicks, and of course it would be desirable to see Gasol make his Lakers debut, a game that has attracted the attention of many teams despite being a strong matchup.

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