"Alliances are business, and it's normal that our chips are attractive enough."

"Besides, Harden and Ibaka did not meet the expectations of the Thunder management, and it is normal for the Thunder management to want to change their luck."

Su Chen smiled and said to Dennis Lindsay.

"But Ibaka has been defending for a while and has won the block king, hasn't this met the expectations of the Thunder management?"

Dennis Lindsay said with some surprise.

Although Dennis Lindsay is an insider, and there will be some communication between the management, each family still has its own secrets.

Thunder management isn't stupid, and even if they don't think Ibaka has lived up to their expectations, they won't show it.

This will reduce the value of Ibaka's trade.

As a traverser, even if Su Chen is not an insider, it is certainly not a secret that it has been ten years and is not a scandal.

"Durant is the core of the team, they gave Durant unlimited firing rights, and the big contract in the future will definitely be given to Durant and then to Westbrook."

"Harden just wants an extra 6 million on the total salary, and the Thunder can't bear it, and the Thunder should have the same view on Ibaka, so it's normal for them to want to trade."

Su Chen went to explain this matter to Dennis Lindsay from the perspective of a traverser.

"Sue, I didn't expect you to be an excellent manager now."

Dennis Lindsay also admired Su Chen a little.

Originally, Dennis Lindsay felt that a layman like Su Chen would definitely be kicked out after a year.

He was only temporarily working as Su Chen's assistant for a year.

But Su Chen's words changed Dennis Lindsay's opinion of Su Chen.

"Okay, don't worry about admiration, tell me what they want."

Su Chen picked up the coffee and blew it.

"They want Giannis."

Dennis Lindsay said.

"Huh."

"Just give it to Gobert, negotiate if you want to trade, don't forget it."

Su Chen took the coffee and shook it gently.

"Only for Gobert?"

Dennis Lindsay was a little confused.

Although Gobert is indeed playing quite well now, the potential is also very high.

However, it is not an exaggeration to say that Ibaka has reached his peak, and has been in the defensive team for two consecutive seasons, and his performance will probably be in the defensive team again this season.

Although Gobert has good potential, it is still a little unrealistic to want to match some players with equal salaries.

"Of course, we only reported Gobert for the first time, and then slowly added McCollum and Curry Jr., and this chip can be changed at will."

Su Chen smiled lightly.

"Only report one Gobert, the other party may just ignore it, and then we will be at a disadvantage if we talk to them again."

Dennis Lindsay said worriedly.

"Don't worry, he will think about it at most, and he will not refuse directly."

Su Chen said to Dennis Lindsay.

This is also Su Chen's grasp of the mentality of Thunder's management.

Ibaka was not in the Thunder's plan at all, and was already disappointed in Ibaka's training.

Sometimes it's so weird, just like some bosses in reality, he never believes that his employees can play, but thinks that people poached from other companies can do better.

Thunder management is such an owner who doesn't believe Harden can play, and he doesn't believe Ibaka can play.

And those who trade from the outside are full of hope.

At that time, the Thunder traded Ibaka in exchange for Oladipo, Ilyasova and Sabonis Jr.

Oladipo averaged 16 points per game when he was with the Thunder, while Ilyasova was a decent role player.

Sabonis Jr. didn't play a game, and after being selected with the 11th pick, he was traded.

Although Sabonis Jr. later became an All-Star, at the time, the Thunder got Oladipo, Ilyasova, and a first-round pick No. 11.

And now the chips provided by Su Chen, the talent that Gobert is showing now is already a very mature 20+10 monster level.

McCollum is also a scorer who can average around 20 points per game in the regular season.

Little Sabonis was a gimmick at the time, the son of old Sabonis.

That little Curry is still last year's FMVP, and Stephen Curry's brother is not bad.

As long as it can be discussed, Su Chen feels that there is not much pressure to negotiate this deal.

At most, the traditional performance of the Timberwolves will be brought into play and the draft picks will be given.

However, this deal will not be given to the first round, and two or three in the second round will be enough to satisfy the Thunder.

"Okay, then I'll do it."

Seeing that Su Chen is so confident, Dennis Lindsay doesn't say much.

After all, his job is to assist Su Chen, Su Chen is the one who makes the decision, and there is nothing to say if Su Chen is the decision.

Dennis Lindsay also did what he said, and used the landline in the office to call the Thunder management directly.

Su Chen didn't go out, just sat and drank coffee.

The negotiations between Dennis Lindsay and the Thunder are not something that can be negotiated in a while.

Su Chen was not in a hurry, and asked the secretary to come in with a plate of pastries, just a little hungry.

Regarding the transaction with Thunder, Su Chen did not have the idea of giving out anyone other than chips for the time being.

If you need to balance the salary chips, just get the trim right from the Timberwolves water cooler.

Ibaka's contract this season is only more than 12 million, which is still a very high-quality contract.

Of course, it doesn't matter if the contract is a little bigger, and the Timberwolves' salary space is nowhere near the luxury line.

As for whether it can be negotiated, Su Chen is still confident.

Gobert and McCollum's data have maintained such luxurious data during the Timberwolves' 20-game winning streak, who dares to say that Gobert's data is brushed?

Do you brush the data and brush up on the twenty consecutive wins to come out and see?

There is still gold content, McCollum aside, Gobert's talent is really visible to the naked eye.

Before the draft, many people felt that Gobert's height, reach, and speed were excellent, but they were worried about whether Gobert could play at an NBA level.

That's why I fell into order.

But now, Gobert has not only adapted to the intensity of the NBA, but has played very comfortably.

It can be said that after verifying that Gobert is enough to adapt to the intensity of the NBA, Gobert's value has also risen.

As for the reason for the recent poor results, everyone understands this.

The Timberwolves have been rested for many games recently, and even Su Chen himself has been rested.

It was a forced 20-game winning streak that gave the necessary recovery time, and now the Timberwolves are basically recovering.

It took a long time to negotiate.

Dennis Lindsay has finally concluded negotiations with the Thunder.

"They basically agreed to a trade plan with Gobert, McCollum, and Seth Curry as the main body, and other matched chip players are still talking, and the number of second-round draft picks is still being discussed."

Dennis Lindsay's expression was a little hard to hide the surprise.

He originally thought that when he explicitly refused to trade Giannis, the Thunder management would hang up the phone.

But in fact there are none.

After he reported Gobert, the first reaction of the Thunder management was not anger, but hesitation.

After capturing the hesitation on the other side, Dennis Lindsay immediately realized that there was something to be done with the deal.

The Thunder asked for Gabatler and Middleton again, but Dennis Lindsay had roughly touched the Thunder's psychological bottom line and gradually exchanged the chips for McCollum and Curry Jr.

When the deal was negotiated, Dennis Lindsay was surprised.

He originally thought that this deal was no show, and even if there was a play, it would not be possible to negotiate it today.

It will probably go through a long tug-of-war negotiation, and everyone will pull back and forth, and the decision will not be really made until the trade deadline.

Trading is not that simple.

For players like Gobert and McCollum, the Thunder will let the team's analysts carefully analyze them.

The statistics are reported to the list, and then the management meets and studies them before making a decision.

There is basically no hasty one-step deal.

If the Thunder can agree to be so decisive, it means that the Thunder have studied and analyzed players like Gobert McCollum in advance.

At the beginning, the offer of Giannis was actually just a smoke bomb for the Thunder, because who could see that Giannis was a real non-sale for the Timberwolves.

"It's not bad, the Timberwolves can pick any players in the rotation list with equal salaries, and if they give two or three in the second round, they will give more money."

For these inconsequential things, Su Chen didn't care at all.

The players outside the rotation lineup would have been used by Su Chen.

As for the second round, money can buy this kind of thing, anyway, the boss pays for it, highlighting a heroism.

"Sue, I don't think you want to be a coach one day, and it's not bad to change careers to become a manager."

Dennis Lindsay said from the bottom of his heart.

Su Chen asked him to talk like this, and he was quite apprehensive at first, but Dennis Lindsay found out after the whole negotiation.

Su Chen has already taken control of the Thunder management.

"It's a little strange, though, that they can say yes so quickly."

Dennis Lindsay was a little confused.

"The Thunder don't want to develop Ibaka anymore, but they're still a playoff-caliber team, and they're in a hurry to trade early and get the roster together."

Su Chen said to Dennis Lindsay.

Today, in fact, the whole schedule is almost a third.

It's not too early to say.

Gobert and McCollum Curry Jr., although they have shown a certain amount of immediacy, are still rookies that need to be cultivated.

The lineup also needs to be run-in.

When they came to trade the Timberwolves, they had already made a Timberwolves player report.

They also felt that Su Chen would probably agree to the deal, because Su Chen and the Timberwolves signed a gambling agreement, if the Timberwolves can't get into the playoffs, Su Chen can't even get the head coach's salary, and he will not be able to find a job in the NBA.

The current thunder is full of a kind of petty family spirit.

They didn't want to give Ibaka a big contract, and felt that Ibaka would definitely not be able to keep him, so they simply came to the Timberwolves to exchange for some potential rookies and retrain themselves.

As for competing for the championship, they don't have that consciousness yet, and they can let Harden go for nothing in order to save 6 million.

Especially after the Thunder were eliminated by the Grizzlies last season, the Thunder are now more stingy with hedge championship investment.

You know, the Grizzlies were swept by the Warriors last season, and they were eliminated 1-4 by the Grizzlies.

This disappointed the Thunder management, and at the same time, they wanted to exchange the current chips for cheap and potential chips.

Today's Thunder lineup structure is a starting lineup with Durant and Wei Shao as the core.

Due to Willis' poor attendance this season, Reggie Jackson, who is the sixth man, needs to be the starter from time to time.

Perkins' current strength is no longer the Perkins of the Celtics championship era, and now his ability has declined a lot.

But now the Adams of the Thunder has not yet grown up and is in a state of obscurity.

The Thunder are now scarce at the center, and even if Perkins is declining like this, they have put Perkins as the starting center.

Gobert, who has already shown 20+10 level combat power, can successfully fill the interior of the Thunder team.

McCollum, on the other hand, can provide firepower from the bench when Reggie Jackson is the starter, and if he plays well, he can also serve as the starting quarterback to assist the second lesser.

After proposing Gobert plus McCollum, the Thunder were very moved, but still a little hesitant.

When Dennis Lindsay offered Curry Jr. again, the Thunder finally made up their minds, and they sent the back-to-back block king and best defensive power forward.

In particular, Dennis Lindsay gave the Thunder a lot of initiative in giving second-round and matchmaking players, which made the Thunder even more eager to trade.

Such an unjust Timberwolves, what if they don't trade and run away.

Besides, if they trade early, they can run in a few more games, which is the best of both worlds.

"Haha, anyway, we can really make up for the team's shortcomings now, and I'm too confident to make the playoffs."

Dennis Lindsay laughed.

Dennis Lindsay also knows that the team's biggest shortcoming right now is the inside.

Gobert isn't as rosy as he could have been, and he's not compatible with Giannis and Butler, the team's true core cornerstones.

Muscala is at the level where the bench can play more than ten minutes and twenty minutes.

"Playoffs, maybe we can get to a higher position."

Su Chen smiled lightly, put down the coffee cup, and stood up.

Although Ibaka is a power forward position, the presence of Giannis is completely sufficient to sweep and defend defensive rebounds inside.

If you only ask Ibaka to defend, then he will tell you how strong he is defensively.

Although Ibaka did not get the DPOY, he also won the second place in the DPOY vote.

The young Ibaka is the peak of Ibaka, and Ibaka's decline came after he played behind closed plays.

The current Ibaka has not played closed play, and Su Chen will not let him play closed.

The Heat James who rushed up, Ibaka was able to take off the Heat James in a positive way.

It sounds simple, but it's a difficult thing to do.

The peak Heat Zhan rushed up, and if an ordinary inside line rashly went to block, it was easy to be blocked.

First, the speed of the inside line is inherently slow, and when it faces the Heat Zhan when it moves over, the larger tonnage can only be used as a cushion for the Heat Zhan.

Second, the bounce of the inside line is generally not high, even if you stand in a good position in advance, Heat Zhan is the way of tomahawk splitting, at that time it happened to be the highest point, and jumping on the spot could not reach that highest point at all.

Ibaka was able to drop the Heat Zhan's dunk head-on because of his fast speed and high jump and long arm span.

At Ibaka's current speed, it can easily be done to defend against small.

If you want to play infinite change, then Ibaka is the answer to the center forward position.

When a team has Ibaka, Brother Alphabet, and Covington, the three top defenses, it can be said that it is difficult for any player to get by.

However, Ibaka is not without his weaknesses.

Ibaka's strength in the lower handicap is a little weak, and when he meets the Spurs in the playoffs, Ibaka will be infinitely educated by the elderly Duncan.

In fact, in the original timeline, Ibaka was educated once and again by the elderly Duncan and Nowitzki.

But for Duncan, he can let the alphabet brother go right, and Ibaka will be in charge of the defense.

Brother Alphabet's core strength is not bad, and at the same time, the static talent is excellent, and the height and reach can prevent Duncan's sudden hook to hit the board.

Brother Alphabet defended Duncan, and Ibaka could be calm enough to wrap up.

Besides, Duncan is still an elderly version after all, and if it is the peak Duncan, these two people will not be of much use to Duncan.

Although we didn't get Lopez and Gasol Jr., it was pretty good to have Ibaka.

Besides, Gasol Jr. only has a mid-range shot without three points, and his speed is not very fast, so he is not necessarily more suitable for this Timberwolves who pile up forward defense than Ibaka.

"Next, you can set your goals higher, just the championship."

Su Chen looked out the window and smiled.

As the deal was about to be concluded, some rumors began to leak out.

For a time, the news that Gobert and others were going to be traded was also spread all over the world.

And the competition at the target center in the evening seems to confirm this.

In the Timberwolves vs. Wizards game.

Gobert and McCollum and others, wearing training uniforms directly, have no intention of playing at all.

You know, in the past games, McCollum and Gobert have always been the team's starters.

But if you don't play now, it's basically verified.

A lot of Timberwolves fans, even for tonight's game, didn't pay much attention.

However, tonight's Su Chen is more concerned about the game.

The team's recent record has been very poor, and the rest has been almost relieved for a while, and it has recovered a bit.

Timberwolves starting lineup: Mike Muscala (C), Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF), Lore Deng (SF), Andre Iguodala (SG), Jimmy Butler (PG)

Wizards starting lineup: Marcin Gortat (C), Nene Hilario (PF), Trevor Ariza (SF), Bradley Beal (SG), John Wall (PG)

In order to practice the offensive tactics after Ibaka came in advance, Su Chen let Muscala, an inside line with three points, play the team's starter.

For the Wizards' lineup, Su Chen also looked familiar.

Bilwall's backcourt combination is a classic backcourt combination in memory, although he has not produced any good results, but he is a regular in the playoffs.

The inside combination of Gortat and Nene is also a classic.

However, this classic lineup has also been slowly broken up with the advent of the small-ball era.

It's also a bit of an exclamation to say.

It's a classic, but it's not very strong.

The Timberwolves, who have taken a big break for eight games, are now setting sail again, and facing the Wizards is a heavy punch.

There were back-and-forth games in this game, but after the Timberwolves improved their concentration, the intensity slowly increased.

At least back to the normal regular season level.

Wall, a point guard who doesn't have three points, is also difficult to score in the face of the Timberwolves' heavy interior surrounding.

The Wizards' two interior lines themselves don't have any projections, at most they shoot mid-range shots, and the Timberwolves' rotation speed makes up for them easily.

For this kind of team without projection, the core point guard is still based on breakthroughs, and the Timberwolves can be regarded as restrained in their style of play.

This is still that Ibaka did not come, otherwise the defense that Wall faced would be even more obscure.

Of course, Gobert also has such an effect, after all, the Wizards shoot poorly, and Gobert's improper scope defense is still very strong.

However, the Gobert deal has been finalized, and Gobert will not be able to play this time, and the official announcement will immediately go through the medical examination process.

Timberwolves 97:85 Wizards.

The Timberwolves also relied on defense to easily win this game.

The Timberwolves' record has also become 22-7.

After the game, Gobert, McCollum and others were not in high spirits.

Originally, they thought that the team had corrected them in order to let them be the cornerstone.

But now the team has informed them that they have been traded.

Gobert is okay, his mentality is more inflated now, and he feels that he will not have much of an adaptation process to the new team, the Thunder.

The Thunder lack an interior line, and he used to be the main inside.

Curry Jr. is actually okay, he couldn't get into the league because he was drafted, and now it's good to have the ball.

The most disappointing was McCollum.

After the game, he glanced at Giannis, and his eyes were full of unwillingness.

Perhaps, this was set at the beginning.

The Timberwolves' first-round picks are back-to-back, and the Timberwolves don't have to worry about their favorites being robbed by other teams.

However, Giannis is one pick above him.

This seems to have set the future positioning of him and Giannis on the Timberwolves team.

This one rank seems to be like a class that can't be crossed.

Originally, he thought that the recent increase in his role was because the team saw clearly who was the cornerstone of the team.

He once felt that he was slowly becoming the boss of the team, and Giannis's big man was the second leader to assist him.

But now it seems that he is the clown.

He glanced at Su Chen again.

In the eyes of the coach, he may never have looked at him squarely.

McCollum clenched his fists.

The Thunder is a strong team in the West, and the Timberwolves have done so much this season to make the playoffs.

He wants to do his best in the next game of the Thunder against the Timberwolves, kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs, and make the coach who looks down on him the loser of the bet agreement!

Thinking of this, McCollum let go of his fist, and the expression on his face relaxed.

He was the Most Improved Player winner, and McCollum at the moment has never had such motivation in mind.

Post-match press conference.

Just after the game, the Timberwolves officially announced the deal.

The Timberwolves sent Gobert + McCollum + Seth Curry + Muhammad + two rounds in exchange for Ibaka from the Thunder.

As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a lot of discussion.

The reporters who participated in the post-match press conference all got the news, and the reporters were very excited for a while.

They were able to interview the manager of the deal in the first place.

As soon as Su Chen came to the room, he saw excited reporters.

He could also think of it, after all, he set the official announcement time for this matter.

The earlier the official announcement is to enter the physical examination process as soon as possible, so that Ibaka can report as soon as possible.

"May I ask Coach Su Chen, you said a while ago that Gobert was the best player in the Timberwolves' 20-game winning streak, why was he traded?"

The first reporter to be drawn asked a sharp question.

"I did say he could be a cornerstone for the team, but the Thunder lack a center, and they need that as well."

"Gobert is really good, his defense is historic, and I'm optimistic that he can become a DPOY in the future."

Su Chen had already thought of such an answer.

This answer made the reporter stunned for a moment.

recalled it, and it seemed that Su Chen did not say that Gobert was the cornerstone of the Timberwolves, but a player who could become the cornerstone.

After other reporters heard Su Chen's answer, they couldn't hold back all of a sudden.

It seems that trading Gobert was premeditated by Su Chen.

When he touted Gobert, he kept a hand, which allowed Su Chen to brag about Gobert's high trade value and at the same time be able to get it back.

I have to say that Su Chen's cunning surprised many reporters.

"Gobert can be a DPOY, but he can use so many chips to trade for Ibaka without a DPOY, is it understandable that this is a mistake?"

Since Su Chen had already thought about the transaction, another reporter immediately asked.

"We need to make the playoffs and Gobert has a great future, but that's the future."

"Serge Ibaka is a member of the best first team for two consecutive years, and his arrival will improve the defensive temperament of our team as a whole."

"At the same time, he has Finals experience, which is very rare and he will help the development of our other players."

Su Chen said gloomily.

Su Chen didn't hide it, but told reporters that he was trading for instant combat power.

The first-round draft picks that the Timberwolves can operate were basically given to Huo Huo by Su Chen, and it was clear that they wanted to win in the offseason.

Saying this, everyone also feels that the Timberwolves have also implemented their own strategy.

It's about winning in the moment.

Next, the reporters asked some more questions.

Su Chen also used the official car to deal with the past one by one.

There was no news from Su Chen's side.

On the contrary, some reporters took a curve strategy to interview the players who were traded.

"I've been part of the alliance since I entered the alliance, and trading has been part of the alliance."

Gobert had an agent remind him to speak very appropriately.

At the same time, little Curry has the size of his eldest brother, and he didn't say anything out of the ordinary.

It's just that McCollum is a little arrogant, and he was lowered by Giannis at the beginning, which made him a little unconvinced.

Although the agent had given him a template message, he still couldn't hold back.

"The Thunder have a game against the Timberwolves next, and I'll kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs."

"If other teams let the Timberwolves into the playoffs, then it's best not to meet them in the playoffs, and I'll knock out the Timberwolves myself."

The young and vigorous McCollum still did not adopt the official routine given by his agent.

In the face of media interviews, McCollum said what was in his heart.

No matter what other people think, the media is happy, and there is something to write about!

Next.

The trade between the Timberwolves and the Thunder has also become a hot topic.

"The first big trade after the start of the season: the Timberwolves sent Gobert, McCollum, Seth Curry, Muhammad, the 2015 second round, the 2016 second round, and the Thunder to get Ibaka. 》

There is still a long time before the trading deadline.

While there are some deals during this time, they are usually small ones.

And the two teams that generated the trade are also delicate, one is second in the West and the other is third in the West.

Overall, the Timberwolves are at a loss.

Because Gobert's prospects are too good, McCollum, while not as good as Gobert's, is also very good.

Not to mention, there is a player like Curry Jr. who rotates the lineup.

But if you have to compare it from the instant combat power, it seems that the Timberwolves' instant combat power has increased a little.

After all, Ibaka has been the king of blocks for a second time and has been selected as the best first-defense team in a row, and those players of the Timberwolves have no honor.

But there are also people who think.

If Gobert continues to maintain his current level, he will even be able to match Ibaka's level this season, after all, Ibaka's rebounding ability and top defense ability have proven to be mediocre.

Not to mention Duncan Sr., even Novitzki Sr. can also educate Ibaka.

Gobert's top defense, on the other hand, has shown a better performance than Ibaka in the last time he faced Novitzki Sr.

At the same time, Gobert also has excellent rebounding ability, which is already better than Ibaka at this stage.

After all, Gobert is tall and has long arms, which is an innate advantage.

And a very important point.

The current Thunder is Durant's team, and Ibaka's blocking level is very average, which is the reason why the Thunder are dissatisfied with Ibaka.

And the quality of Gobert's cover, that's very obvious premium.

Durant is good at shooting, and even when the team's pick-and-roll screen quality is relatively low, he still has a very good production.

The arrival of Gobert can improve the level of coverage and allow Durant to play better.

Just Gobert traded for Ibaka alone, and many people felt that the Thunder did not lose at all.

Gobert's adaptability to the Thunder is significantly higher than Ibaka's.

Not to mention, McCollum is also a scorer with good ball-handling ability.

And it's also more heartfelt.

McCollum: I want to kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs. 》

McCollum's post-match interview also became a hot topic.

For a time, the revenge drama between McCollum and the Timberwolves also attracted a lot of attention.

Fans love to watch it.

I want to see if it's McCollum who raises his eyebrows or proves that the Timberwolves are right to give up on him.

Of course, the coolest thing about this kind of drama is to see McCollum take revenge on his old club.

Fans are excitedly discussing this topic.

I almost shouted and fought, and the fight began.

As for Curry Jr., in this transaction, he seems to be a little low-key.

He was not the subject of the deal.

But after all, he is Stephen Curry's younger brother, and people are also very much looking forward to what Curry Jr. will do in a different environment.

(End of chapter)