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Sam Mitchell, born in 1963, was drafted by the Rockets in the third round in 1985, then abandoned by the Rockets, and was not signed by the Timberwolves until 1989, when he joined the NBA, he was already 26 years old, and of course he was luckier than Dean Garrett, who entered the NBA at the age of 30.

He never considered himself a talented player, and if he did, he couldn't be discarded. It was the Timberwolves who gave him the opportunity to realize his self-worth, and he has always been full of affection for the Timberwolves, and he is the oldest player on the team right now, and being able to play for the team he loves and give it his all is the last wish of the 36-year-old veteran's career.

"Sam. Do you have something to do with me? Zhuang Fei looked at Sam Mitchell curiously, this veteran has rarely come to him.

Sam Mitchell walked to the chair opposite Zhuang Fei and sat down at Zhuang Fei's suggestion. The veteran looked a little calm, and his brows were full of sorrow.

Zhuang Fei probably guessed the reason why this veteran came here, it is estimated that it is a matter of playing time this season, the Timberwolves are really hoarding a large number of players in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, Sam Mitchell averaged 28 minutes per game last season and contributed 12.3 points, which can be said to be one of the most important players for the Timberwolves, but this season his playing time has plummeted to less than 13 minutes, and the data has become an average of 5 points per game.

Zhuang Fei guessed correctly, this is indeed one of the main reasons why Sam Mitchell came to Zhuang Fei, Sam Mitchell is thirty-six years old, and he has also passed the age of pursuing data and contracts, he no longer cares about the quality of data and it is impossible to sign a big contract at his age. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to play and contribute to the team.

Now the Timberwolves are soaring all the way, this is what he sees in his eyes, and he naturally likes it in his heart, and if the Timberwolves can continue to win, he doesn't mind sacrificing his playing time. But he wants to make his role in the team more important, he doesn't want to just be a spectator on the team's bench, he wants to know how much weight he has in Zhuang Fei's heart, if Zhuang Fei really doesn't need him, he can retire safely, and he can indeed retire at this age.

He really wanted to know Zhuang Fei's answer, he really wanted Zhuang Fei to come to him, and then tell him what kind of role he should play, but what disappointed him was that Zhuang Fei never looked for him after he became the master of the Timberwolves, this time he didn't want to wait any longer, he decided to come to Zhuang Fei himself.

"Coach, am I still useful to the Timberwolves right now?" Sam Mitchell stared at Zhuang Fei's eyes and said seriously.

Zhuang Fei was a little puzzled, what does this mean? Just seeing Sam Mitchell's serious expression, Zhuang Fei nodded: "Naturally useful"

Zhuang Fei's answer made Sam Mitchell relax a little, and looking at Sam Mitchell Zhuang Fei, who was relieved, was even more puzzled.

Sam Mitchell looked at the puzzled Zhuang Fei and shook his head and said with a wry smile: "If the coach shook his head just now, then I have retired now, I have no pursuit of career at this age, the only thing I can do now is to do my last bit for the Timberwolves, if the Timberwolves don't need me now, the coach doesn't need me, then I can only retire."

"It's a good thing the coach didn't let me retire," Sam Mitchell added, "It looks like it's not the time for me to retire, I still have a nostalgia for the Timberwolves."

Zhuang Fei looked at the player in front of him who showed his heart and was a little stunned, he never thought that this veteran had so many struggles in his heart, after Zhuang Fei became the main Timberwolves, Zhuang Fei understood that this veteran solved a lot of problems for him secretly, if it weren't for the old balls he pressed the Timberwolves

Guy, maybe the old players are going to get something, he knows that.

'Sam, you're a big part of our team, I never thought you'd retire, you know we're young and they need to grow and you can give them the experience they need to grow, it's not about your age or quality, you're a very good team player and you can let those young guys know what a team is, what sacrifice is, what dedication is'

Sam Mitchell looked at Zhuang Fei in surprise, but Zhuang Fei was still talking.

"Sam, I'm really sorry, I should have gone to you, and now I think you should know very well about things inside the team, so at this time you are definitely no less useful to the team than Kevin Garnett or Paul Pearce"

"Sam, you are important to the team" Saying this, Zhuang Fei stood up and patted Sam Mitchell on the shoulder and looked at him sincerely.

"You're as important to the team as Garnett and Pierce" Sam Mitchell was dumbfounded. Until he left Zhuang Fei's office, this sentence kept echoing in his mind.

That was the best reply he ever received

After Sam Mitchell left, Zhuang Fei fell into deep thought again, how should the team be managed? How do you deal with relationships between players when you have enough good players? And what about players like Sam Mitchell?

Zhuang Fei thought about it again, NBA coaching is not a data game, and these players are not data, they are living people, and this is also the real NBA.

"If you manage the Timberwolves with a game mentality, even if you can collect all 12 A-level players, I am afraid you will not be able to win the championship." Zhuang Fei couldn't help but sigh in his heart, these things that happened to the Timberwolves today gave Zhuang Fei a big wake-up call. This also made Zhuang Fei recognize a lot of practical problems

On March 18, the Timberwolves welcomed their 25-game opponent at home, the Vancouver Grizzlies, and after halfway through, the Grizzlies are currently in eighth place with a 12-12 record, while the Timberwolves are 16-8 in fourth.

After a day's rest, the Timberwolves players have also become a lot more nervous, and the Timberwolves have met the Grizzlies more than once this season, but in the previous games, the Timberwolves have won, and it can be said that the Timberwolves are very Grizzly.

In the pre-game tactical arrangement, Zhuang Fei did not have anything new, it was not easy to deal with Carter, but Zhuang Fei knew him best, as long as he cut off the contact with the other players of the Grizzlies, let them make a mistake in coordination, and then the Timberwolves waited for the opportunity to counterattack, and the Grizzlies did not have any strong points except Carter and Raheem.

Garnett, who was holding back his anger in today's game, showed no mercy after meeting Rahim, and Garnett's activity directly led to Rahim being frozen. Vince Carter, on the other hand, was left alone.

After 48 minutes of fierce battle, the Timberwolves finally defeated Carter, yes, not against the Grizzlies but over Carter. Carter scored 52 points in this game alone, so that Pierce, who was opposite him, collapsed directly to the ground after the game.

In the final moments of the game, Carter still did not forget to save the Grizzlies, but it was still in vain, and the Timberwolves won by nine points at home 106-97. The first-ranked Jazz and third-ranked Trail Blazers both won on the same day, so the Timberwolves still have no chance of moving further in the rankings.

On March 19th, the Timberwolves faced the weak Nuggets back-to-back at home, and Pierce, who was devastated by Carter all night in the last game, broke out in this game, facing the Nuggets with weak defense, Pierce was full of firepower, 22 shots in 10 of 4 of 3 pointers, 2 of 18 free throws, and a personal high of 40 points this season. The Nuggets especially regretted why they didn't fulfill their promise and chose Pierce. Especially Pierce, who saw the crazy scoring in this game, regretted it even more.

In today's game, except for the Timberwolves, the Utah Jazz unexpectedly lost to the Hornets on the road, 82-83. The Spurs also suffered a defeat on the road to the third-placed Trail Blazers, and these two unexpected results once again brought the competition for the top four in the West into a white heat. And the Timberwolves also shortened the distance with the Spurs and Jazz for a while.

"Looks like we could still compete for the regular season title this season."

"You think about it, don't forget that there are three teams ahead of us, and they are also stronger than us and more experienced than us" Zhuang Fei glanced at D'Antoni, although he also had this idea, but he also knew that it was not very realistic. This year's strong teams in the west are just too strong.