Chapter 14: A Disturbing Offseason (Part I)
Summer league is just a trivial thing for the entire league, there have been big trades in previous years, the biggest deal this year is the trade of O'Neal West, and then the Heat and Cavaliers trade list signing, what's next?
Teams that don't win a championship or make the playoffs are clearly not content with the status quo and will inevitably seek change this offseason. And the change is not only the draft, but the trade.
The Lakers are obviously unable to make the playoffs without Gasol and Kobe. After trading to Gasol, he immediately returned to the ranks of champions.
O'Neal was traded to the Heat, giving the Heat their first championship in franchise history.
The Celtics are arguably the clearest example of this, when a team that had no hope of winning a championship won the championship immediately after trading to Ray Allen and Garnett to form a big three.
As you can see from the above examples, trading is the best way to rebuild a team, and if you want to win a championship, you can't do without it.
The Cavaliers are also actively contacting various teams at the moment, and it is clear that the Cavaliers do not have any good chips at the moment, and James and Huang Jun have been included in the list of not for sale.
Immediately after the end of the summer league, managers of more than a dozen teams contacted the Cavaliers' manager Ferry to inquire about the possibility of trading Huang Jun. Fei Li didn't even think about refusing it directly, just kidding, how could he trade it out if he worked hard to get Huang Jun? Besides, this is still the player James named and wanted, how dare he trade him?
Ferry looked at the squad and muttered, "The team is very weak at the power forward position, alas, what should I do?" After saying that, Ferry looked at the lineups of other teams and looked at which team had more players for him to choose from.
In the end, Ferry set his sights on the Rockets, for the simple reason that the Rockets have hoarded a lot of players at forward, and Ferry wants to get the Rockets' Carl Landry, why? Because he thinks that getting Landry obviously has a low asking price, at least the Cavaliers can pay.
Just do it, dial the number of Morey's office directly, and it won't be long after
"Morey, I'm Ferry, the manager of the Knights, and I'm looking for you to negotiate a deal," Ferry said straight to the point.
"Oh, Ferry, you haven't been doing anything lately, I wonder who you've taken a fancy to our team?" Morey said with a smile.
"Morey, you got Artest, and Battier's position is obviously awkward, right, I want to get Battier, I don't know what kind of chips you want," Ferry said with a smile.
Surprisingly, he didn't say Carllandri but Battier, what was this for?
"Huh, Battier? Battier's value doesn't need me to say that you also know, don't look at his data is bad, but his role is undoubted, his value cannot be reflected in data. Morey didn't say anything after speaking, but waited for Ferry, obviously he was asking the other party to come up with his own chips.
Ferry thought for a moment before he said, "I think you've been reining Yao Ming, right?" In order to reduce the pressure on Yao Ming, I can send Daben, although Daben is old now, but the role is undoubted, it is more than enough to replace Yao Ming, what do you think? ”
When Morey heard such a bargaining chip, he was instantly moved, yes, he has indeed been looking for a qualified replacement for Yao Ming, in this era of scarcity of internal lines, can he find it? But he didn't believe that the other party would trade with him for one, and there must be a back-up move.
After Artest came, Battier was no longer for sale, and Artest was still important to Artest in his heart compared to Battier. Although Battier said he didn't care about the substitution, who knew it was a truth and not a lie?
So Morey thought about it, if Battier can be exchanged for a center who solves the team's problems, it is not untradable, and in his heart Battier is far from being for sale.
Morey suppressed the excitement in his heart and said slowly, "I think you want more than Battier, right?" Tell me who else you want? ”
"They say Morey is a smart guy, and sure enough, I want Callandri from your team. You also know that after we traded the big book, obviously there was a lot of inside, and of course we were willing to add a future draft pick for that, what do you think? Ferry said.
As for whether Morey can agree, he is very uncertain, Morey has always been a person who is unwilling to suffer, of course, in Ferry's opinion, this deal will not suffer at all, but will still make some money.
Karllandry, last year's No. 1 second-round pick, was drafted by the SuperSonics, who have been renamed the Thunder, and was immediately traded to the Rockets in exchange for a second-round pick and some cash in '09.
But Karlhandri performed well in his rookie season, averaging eight points and nearly five rebounds in 42 games, and this statistic is still obtained with only 17 minutes per game, which is very good.
Morey was hesitant, and in his heart he was still reluctant to let go of Karllandry, who couldn't be a superstar, but was a good role player.
Ferry didn't bother Morey either, telling him to think about it.
After thinking twice in the end, Morey finally sighed and said, "I promised you a trade plan, but that future draft pick must be a first-rounder, and the second round will be counted, how about it?" ”
Seeing that Morey agreed, Ferry didn't think about it and said, "That's natural, then this deal is so decided, I will pass the contract to you later, and then hand it over to the alliance for review." ”
"Future draft picks for the Cavaliers? Hehe, next year's has been traded to the Heat, and the draft pick can only be the year after tomorrow, but our draft pick is not a big deal, the trade is traded, and the pick is not high anyway" Fei Li said.
"Well, okay," Morey hung up the phone.
After that, Ferry called Big Ben and told him that you had been traded, thank you for everything you brought to the Knights, and we would remember you, and that's all.
After Big Ben heard the news, Rao was a little sad after countless winds and waves. He knew he was starting to go downhill himself, and he understood the Cavaliers' decision. The NBA is a business, but understanding is understanding, and sadness will still be sad. But after thinking that the team he went to was the Rockets, Big Ben began to dream again.
At the same time, Morey also called Battier and Carl Landry, and Battier was fine, after all, the manager had seen this kind of thing, but it was nothing.
Landry, on the other hand, couldn't accept the news for a while, and he knew before he entered the league that it was just a business, and when you weren't for the team's non-sale, you could be traded at any time.
But he didn't expect it to happen so quickly, so fast that he couldn't accept it for a while.
The next day, the deal was struck, and news came out of the Cavaliers and Rockets' official website.
James jumped up with excitement when he saw this deal, and he became more and more eager for the team's prospect of winning the championship, although he had not talked to James beforehand about this deal, but James was not a little dissatisfied, but full of excitement.
Battier is a player he has always liked, and when he was in a position with him, he was often almost scolded by his defense, and James knew very well what he could bring to the team.
Landry's arrival undoubtedly complements the interior weakness, and there is no doubt that this deal is perfect in James' opinion.
However, unlike James, Huang Jun is a little sad and still has a good impression of the "old man" of Big Ben. When he first came to the team, Big Ben taught him all aspects of defense, which undoubtedly benefited Huang Jun a lot.
After Huang Jun read the transaction news, he immediately took out his mobile phone and dialed Big Ben's mobile phone. The call was made quickly.
Looking at the connected phone, Huang Jun immediately said, "Big Ben, thank you for helping me these days, I will always remember you, and I will always treat you as my big brother." The Rockets are a good team, and with my compatriot Yao, he's a good guy. And Maddy, they're a really good team, so have a great time over there. ”
Huang Jun said all the words in his heart in one breath, and finally said in a choked tone.
Big Ben is a human being after all, and it is obviously impossible to hear such words without the slightest words, but Big Ben is an old man after all, and half-jokingly said, "Huang, it's nice to meet you, you are a very good person." But these things are always something you have to face, it's just early and late, and then we may compete on the stage of the finals, and I won't be soft then, hahahaha."
After listening to Daben's words, Huang Jun replied, "I don't need your softness, you are my eldest brother at any time." ”
After that, Big Ben taught Huang Jun how to face transactions, or rumors or something, which benefited Huang Jun a lot again.
Big Ben secretly said in his heart, "Yellow, I believe you won't be traded, you are the core of this team, unless you ask for a trade yourself, or James is dissatisfied, there will be nothing else." ”
The diametrically opposite mood of James and Huang Jun is mainly because Huang Jun is too young, or James' desire for the championship is too strong. So the idea is different.
And the Cavaliers' trade is just a clarion call for a trade, the first trade since the draft. The deal seems to the outside world to be a deal that both sides get what they need, and it's not about who wins or loses.
All the general managers know that this offseason's Cavaliers trade is undoubtedly to increase the bargaining chips to win the championship, this year's Cavaliers will be very not simple, the list of yellow will be able to bring them a qualitative change, no longer need James to be a father and a mother, it is a relief for James, although James is very versatile, but it is just a lonely warrior.
(Ask for subscriptions, ask for tips, ask for recommendation votes.) Thank you)