The Clippers completed the first dynasty of the 21st century, and the Clippers' nickname officially changed from 'battleship' to 'aircraft carrier', rather than what Clippers fans call themselves.

Li Ao, who has only turned 23 years old in more than a month, has completed 2 single-season MVP+FMVP and 3 consecutive FMVP achievements.

Last summer, when eight-time champion Jordan retired, everyone thought that his godhead was unshakable, including Clippers fans, after all, Jordan was also a 'Clippers celebrity'.

But now, it has been discovered that Jordan's godhead may not be so stable.

Because the Clippers are very likely to do what only the Celtics have done - surpass three consecutive championships!

The Clippers won the championship this season, which is very different from the situation during the Bulls' two three-game winning streaks.

When the Bulls completed three consecutive championships for the first time in 93, even if Jordan did not retire, it was difficult for the Bulls to continue to win the championship, and the Bulls' record in the 92-93 season fell by 10 wins compared to the 91-92 season...... Slide down in all directions.

This was especially true in '98 when the Bulls completed their second three-game winning streak, and the '97-98 season was Jordan's single-core championship season, when Pippen played only 44 games in the regular season and Longley only played 58 games......

But now this Clippers team is very different.

Jordan retired, the free agent left, and the replacement of Kidd hollowed out the role players in the previous two championship periods, which made the Clippers' dynasty road particularly bumpy, and Li Ao's third crown was full of gold...... At the same time, it also makes the Clippers full of 'life'.

Seeing the list of the main lineup of the Clippers to win the championship, fans were shocked to find that the third championship of the Clippers' three consecutive championships can be regarded as the first championship!

For the Clippers, they're on a three-peat.

But for the core lineup of Kidd, Li Ao, O'Neal Jr., and Odom, they can really be regarded as just winning the 'first crown' with a new lineup of role players!

Their system and cooperation methods are all brand new!

It's also a brand new team for opponents, who don't know as much about the Clippers as they did about the Clippers during their two-game winning streak.

Moreover, the backcourt core of Kidd and Li Ao, plus the more mature O'Neal Jr. and Odom, are more attractive to veterans and powerful role players who are aiming to win the championship than they were during the Godsman period!

Looking at this Clippers team, fans have an idea - the dynasty can win more than three consecutive championships!

It's crazy to think like this, but they think it's really possible!

Celtics fans want to vomit blood — what did their team do in those two years?

The Celtics originally sent two high-quality role players, Kevin Willis and Mark Blunt, to the Clippers, who helped the Clippers win the first and second championships, and now they have dug a big hole for them.

The greatness of the eight-in-a-row championship may be shaken...... No, if the Clippers surpass three in a row, the greatness of eight consecutive championships will definitely be shaken!

During the Celtics' eight-game winning streak, there were only eight teams in the NBA, and when the Celtics won the last championship of 11 championships in 13 years, there were only 14 teams.

The current NBA has as many as 29 teams, and next season it will be 30.

The difficulty of four consecutive championships in this era is definitely more difficult than the eight consecutive championships in that era!

…

At 8 p.m. on the 28th, the NBA's annual draft began.

The Hornets have always had a high spirit, and they belong to the kind where the heart is higher than the sky and the life is thinner than paper.

In the eyes of their boss, ordinary All-Stars are not worthy of being the core of their team, and in their 16-year team history, only Alonzo Mourning has been favored by their boss, and the others are Larry Johnson, Anthony Mason Jr., Divac, Kendall Gill, Glenn Rice...... and, more recently, Baron Davis, both were asked to sell by their boss during their formative or prime years because they couldn't see the possibility of becoming a superstar.

This year's No. 1 pick is Emeka Okafor of the Constantia Huskies, who is recognized as the most capable and mature player in this draft.

But when the Hornets got the No. 1 pick, most of the media felt that Okafor was out of play.

This time the media predicted correctly, and the first name David Stern pronounced was high school student Dwight Howard.

The Hornets had a clear idea of who they wanted to do – even if the gamble would fail, they would choose the most talented.

The second-pick SuperSonics didn't pick Okafor either, but another high school kid — Sean Livingston.

Kwame Brown did not become the top high school student, but under the patient care of Popovich, who is good at polishing rookies, he became a first-class center with top individual defense, first-class help defense, and outstanding rebounding, and has the potential to become a top center.

Although James' rookie season has been criticized, his talent and strength are still recognized by everyone.

plus Garnett, Kobe, Maddy, O'Neal Jr......

The SuperSonics team with a bunch of role players are looking forward to getting a genius.

The Bulls, who were the third pick, wanted to pick Okafor, but they already had two high school centers, and they ended up with another talent from UConn, Ben Gordon.

Okafor, who has been hyped for a year, is stupid, he actually fell out of the top three picks!

In the fourth round, Jordan, the Bobcats' executive president, was ecstatic to take Okafor.

It is impossible for the owner of the Hornets to sell the champion sign, the owner of the Supersonic team has a bad relationship with Jordan, and Jordan, who can't give gifts, is worried, but he didn't expect to choose Okafor in the end!

Unlike other teams where players are interviewed after the draft, Jordan, the first time he participated in the draft as a small boss, the NBA official chose to interview him.

Jordan excitedly said to the camera: "We have drafted the next Tim Duncan, and our team is off to the perfect start!" ”

Li Ao in front of the TV was stunned, and Boss Qiao's vision was simply amazing.

Okafor is definitely not bad, but if the expectation for this already fully physical college talent is to become a player like Duncan...... Sometimes it's better not to say it.

The Suns selected Andre Iguodala, the Trojans' new semifinal MOP, with the fifth pick...... With the 27th pick, the Clippers selected Trevo Ariza, who is expected to be around the 10th pick in the second round.

Although 04 is not a draft year, but when it comes to this position, there is nothing to choose.

Originally, Li Ao wanted to grab the target of his next-door neighbor, but Slovenian pitcher Vujacic showed shooting stability in the international arena, and Li Ao, Kidd, Gentry, and Wally Walker all felt good after discussion.

However, due to Li Ao's 'prediction' of the possible rule changes made by the league, and several colleagues in the meeting felt that it was very possible, they finally decided to choose a swingman who could run and play and defend.

Ariza is a UCLA player, the scouting department of the Clippers is very familiar, with strong physical fitness, dare to fight, and lack of ability in the early stage, but it is still okay to need a forward line bandit bench to help Gerard Wallace top it, so there is no need for Li Ao to play 'bench' for Gerard Wallace.

And slow-motion pitchers, they already have Capono, if Capono is picked up by Boss Joe in the next two days, then after that, there is really a shortage of pitchers, and Li Ao can also go to the top.

With Kidd, Li Ao is already the historical ceiling of an off-ball pitcher.

Vallejo is also a good choice, but the Clippers already have a target for the center position this summer, and there is more than one, so you have to vacate the center bench position, otherwise the other party will see that you have selected another rookie center, and they are worried that they will not have playing time for you.

With the 28th pick in the second round, the Clippers selected Ricky Minard of the Trojans, this pick, there is really no one to choose, Wally Walker chose a sophomore draft pick from the same city team, at least local fans can have a little impression of this player...... But there's a good chance he won't sign unless the guy comes to the summer league and proves he's a buried talent.

On the second day of the draft, it was time for the Bobcats to pick their roster.

The Clippers put Kidd, Ao Lee, Yaric, Gerard Wallace, Odom, O'Neal Jr., Matt Harplin and Eddie House on the eight-man protection list.

As Li Ao expected, their backup quarterbacks Bobby Simmons and Drobiak were picked off by Boss Joe.

He's in pain, Drobiak is fine, and it can be seen as Joe's boss helping them free up the center position.

Bobby Simmons averaged 5.8 boards, 3.2 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game this season, offensive online, active defense, and after the Wizards were abandoned for two years, he can still have such an attitude to the game, and his mental quality is very good, such a bench, the Clippers need it very much.

But they really don't have any more protection spots, and Boss Joe will definitely pick out the most effective player outside of their eight-man protection list.

Even if it doesn't fit, even if it doesn't want to, the Clippers legend wants to weaken the strength of his old club to the maximum.

Compared with the Lakers and Celtics, Boss Joe doesn't want to see his old club continue to win championships.

Although the relationship is good, Li Ao knows the urine of this old teammate quite well.

Fortunately, Li Ao has been prepared and has asked Kidd to recruit a backup quarterback.

The main bench on the guard line and the main bench at center were picked out, Glen Rice's contract expired, and Robert Trayler's second-year team option was waived by the Clippers.

The Clippers currently have 10 players left and two unsigned rookies.

Point guards: Kidd, Yaric.

Quarterbacks: Ao Lee, Eddie House.

Small forwards: Gerald Wallace, Capono, Matt Barnes.

Power forwards: Matt Harplin, Odom.

Center: O'Neill Jr.

The Bobcats selected a bunch of low-paid players, put together the salary to 14 million US dollars, ended the selection process, and the roster of each team was stable...... The Clippers are waiting for free agency to begin on July 1.

On June 30th, the NBA owners had a regular meeting, and the main topic was the division of new divisions.

With the addition of the Bobcats, the number of NBA teams increased to 30, and the league divided the 30 teams into six divisions, still divided into East and West divisions, with three divisions each.

Pacific: Clippers, Lakers, Kings, Suns, Warriors.

Northwest Division: Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, SuperSonics, Jazz.

Southwest Division: Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Grizzlies, Hornets, Hornets are officially divided into the West.

Southeast Division: Hawks, Heat, Magic, Wizards, Bobcats.

Central Division: Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Bucks.

Atlantic: Celtics, Nets, Knicks, 76ers, Raptors.

The schedule rules have changed, and each team will play teams from their own division 4 times per season during the regular season, 3-4 times against teams from the same division, and twice against teams from different divisions.

The rules for the ranking of records have also been adjusted, in the past, only the top two in the division were fixed, but now the top three in the division are also fixed, and the first in each division automatically occupies the top three in the division, and the first in the division is divided according to the record.

In other words, the non-regional No. 1 team, from the new season, can only rank fourth in the East and West.

The division of the new division will reduce the frequency of one situation - the Western Conference Finals will become an Angel City Civil War.

There is also the elimination of the situation where the top four teams in the East and West have three teams from the same division.

At the end of the meeting, a new rule was passed - the defense of the high post zone is forbidden to play against each other.

Kidd was shocked when he saw the news.

Spider-Man actually 'predicted' correctly!

Although when Spider-Man analyzed the new rules a few days ago, he also felt that it was very likely, but when the prediction came true, he still felt shocked.

Spider-Man's understanding of basketball and his ability to predict the development of the NBA are simply amazing!

It's scary to be against such a genius, but luckily he's a teammate......

This new rule, the media said that it is conducive to breakthrough and counterattack, and the high-level defense is not allowed to get started, and it is naturally much easier to break through.

In the counterattack, you can't block it until the opposite free throw line, and it must be easier to counterattack.

But Kidd feels that this rule is not only destroying the defense, he sees that there are more and more players in the league who are good at three-point shooting, most of the outside players who have just entered the NBA will make three-point shots, and even many interior players have long-range shooting ability.

You can't get started with anti-breaking, you can't get started with anti-shooting, and it's also easier to play three-pointers and catch three-pointers.

Breakthrough, counterattack......

There are also singles three-pointers, catch-and-catch threes...... Kidd crashed for a moment when he thought about it.

Is the league chopping defense, or is it strengthening Spider-Man?

…

On July 1, free agency opened, and the league announced a new salary cap, which is $350,000 less than last summer......

911 did not regress the NBA's income, and the Internet bubble did not affect the NBA's income, and as a result, the iron-blooded style of play reduced the NBA's income by more than 20 million US dollars.

There was a big event on the first day of the free market.

The Jazz signed Carlos Boozer for six years and $68 million.

The Cavaliers' operation to acquire top free agents such as Larry Hughes and Garnett in the offseason has not yet begun, and they have lost a power forward who averages 15+11 per game.

Originally, Boozer signed a 2+1 rookie contract in the summer of 02 with a third-year team option, and Boozer's agent lobbied the Cavaliers management to give up the third-year team option and renew Boozer with a high salary in advance, on the grounds that Boozer may be an All-Star if he plays another year, and then it will not be the current price.

As soon as Cavaliers management heard that it made sense, they dropped the team option.

There is nothing wrong with the operation of the Cavaliers management, but the problem is that giving up the team option is equivalent to giving up the right to match with the parent team, and it is fine if no other team intervenes, but after the Jazz received the news, they gave Boozer's agent Pelinka a sub-maximum salary contract as soon as the free market opened.

Pelinka fooled the Cavaliers to renew his contract with a high salary early, just to get more money earlier, and now that other teams are giving more money, he immediately ran away with Boozer.

Boozer's 'anti-bone' incident kicked off the prelude to this crazy summer.

However, the heat of this matter did not last long, and the big news from Angel City came soon.

The Lakers renewed Bryant's contract with 7 years and 136 million US dollars for 7 years, and O'Neal signed O'Neal ahead of schedule with 100 million US dollars for 5 years.

How no transactions were generated, the duo will partner until 2010.

Many teams are waiting to introduce O'Neal in the summer of 05, and all teams believe that even if O'Neal, who is 33 years old at that time, is still the league's No. 1 center, with O'Neal's style of play, it is not a big problem to continue for three or four years, and it is definitely not a loss to give a 5-year maximum salary.

It is rumored that O'Neal wants 130 million US dollars in 5 years, and he has been over 11 years old, and he can start with a starting salary of more than 20 million US dollars at most, and the salary in the last year can reach 30.52 million US dollars, becoming the second player in NBA history with an annual salary of more than 30 million US dollars.

When O'Neal asked for that price, the other teams felt their chance to get the big shark!

Although the big shark has slipped from the peak for three or four years, it is still a big shark, the Magic team is unwilling to give the 24-year-old shark 100 million, and other teams are willing to give the 33-year-old shark 100 million.

The Big Sharks chose to accept a salary cut and completed an average annual contract extension with the Lakers of $20 million, which was unexpected by many people.

Next year, the heat of the free market will cool down by 60% a year ahead of schedule.

Some media speculated that O'Neal wanted to defeat the basic skills, wanted to defeat Spider-Man, and didn't want to be a deserter, which would be too shameless.

There are also media speculations that O'Neal is because it is difficult to get more money than 100 million US dollars because of the change of team, it is better to stay in the team, and it is more convenient to partner with Payton and Kobe, and the Lakers' four-year middle-class contract group has now expired, and there is no need to pick and search for the base salary to sign veterans like last summer, and you can compete for powerful players.

Last summer, Kupchak's recruitment operation was highly sought after, but in fact, it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and who will sign a veteran who has the right strength, young and suitable?

In the past two seasons, some teams have started to wait for O'Neal, such as the SuperSonics, because the OK combination is not on good terms.

But after the Clippers dominated the league, the OK combo quickly warmed up, and they had a common enemy.

For the OK group, the revenge that was killed by Duncan in the second year was secondary.

OK AND KILL, WHO IS THE STRONGEST DUO, IS WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT THE MOST NOW.

The OK combination has renewed their contracts, the pattern of 'Angel City Heroes' continues to be maintained, and the trend of stars traveling east has also continued.

Garnett turned down the Suns' offer to sign Marion first and then trade for them to form the 'High School Twin Towers' and joined the Wizards to join Hamilton and Brand.

Garnett's new contract is 5 years and $86 million, and a 7-10 year veteran contract with a non-bird max salary.

The Timberwolves wanted to sign and trade with the Wizards so that Garnett could get the biggest contract under the six-year, $120 million dollar bird right, but Garnett refused.

Having achieved nothing in his career for nine years has made Garnett understand that his teammates are more important than getting two or three million dollars more every year...... The main thing is that 86 million US dollars in 5 years is also the highest salary, and he has earned 120 million US dollars from the Timberwolves, and the total salary has exceeded 200 million US dollars, and now at the age of 28, he signed a 5-year contract, and in 2009, at the age of 33, he may be able to get another 5-year contract of 100 million US dollars like O'Neal, and it is difficult to say at the age of 34.

At the same time as bringing in Garnett, the Wizards sent Steve Blake, Etang Thomas, and traded for veteran Sam Cassel, who will turn 35, from the Magic.

The Magic players, under the leadership of the TT group, have a lot of respect for Kassel, but the early contract extension given by the Magic team management still made Cassel feel the malice of the world, and he was rejected by Kassel for 12 million US dollars in 3 years.

Then the Magic traded him for Blake, and the Wizards had space on their side, and they saved some salary by the way.

With the introduction of Cassel and Garnett, the Wizards have become the upstarts in the East!

Brand has always played as a center, although he is only 203 cm tall, but he weighs up to 125 kilograms, and he usually stays under the basket on the defensive end, allowing the center to partner out, which is very compatible with Garnett, who is not good at defending under the basket.

By July 7th, the Mavericks made the big move, sending Anthony Walker to the Hawks in exchange for Jason Terry.

After getting Terry, the Mavericks refused to give Nash a three-year, $30 million contract extension, and were only willing to give him $21 million for three years.

Nash ran away angrily and accepted Colangelo Jr.'s invitation to join the Suns for 5 years and 55 million US dollars.

As if to show that he was not picking the door, Cuban turned around and traded for Eric Dampier from the Warriors for an expiring contract + second-round pick at a price of 7 years and 73 million US dollars.

Subsequently, the Mavericks completed a three-way trade with the Bulls and the Bucks, with Jamison as the core chip, in exchange for the Bulls' Starkerhouse, the Bucks' Keith Van Horn, and the Bucks' 19th pick in the first round, Jamil Nelson......

The Mavericks make up Terry, Nelson, Stackhouse, Finley, Van Horn, Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, Alan Henderson, Shaun Bradley, ...... lineup.

After the Suns got Nash, they used 6 years and 45 million US dollars to sign Quentin Richardson, who averaged 17 points per game with the Nets last season.

The Suns formed a lineup of Nash, Big Q, Joe Johnson, Marion, Little Overlord, Jim Jackson, Steven Hunter, and No. 5 pick rookie Andre Iguodala.

The news of the trade and signing of these two teams has been in full swing, and it has been the news of these two teams throughout early July.

Fans see both teams in action – what the hell is this?

Compared to the Wizards' introduction of Garnett, the operation of these two teams was wildly ridiculed.

The Mavericks haven't learned their lesson yet? Last year, the introduction of two high-profile top-paid players suffered a big loss and haven't learned a lesson?

Nelson Sr.'s understanding of the rules is much higher than that of ordinary people, and he can't change Cuban's dislike of Nash, but he still embraces the new rules and gives Cuban trade advice, building a lineup that he thinks they can best fit for offensive basketball.

Colangelo Jr. ...... People have a good father, and after signing Nash, he crossed his legs and laughed at the news that mocked him.

The only thing he felt sorry for was that Garnett was scared east by the Angel City duo.

Otherwise, the blocking and dismantling combination of Nash + Garnett, paired with Xiaobawang, and partnered with a group of pitchers, is a perfect match for the new era that is about to begin.

The big deal is not over yet, on July 12, a hot trade was born in the East - the Bulls sent Eddie Curry Jr., Ben Gordon, and Jamison, traded for Vince Carter, and ate Antonio Davis's garbage contract with 2 years and 27 million dollars left.

The Flyers are coming to the Bulls again!

The Lakers' operation is also coming.

The Grizzlies successfully re-signed Battier at a low price, and Battier can return to the main position.

In this way, James Posey has become a salary burden for the Grizzlies, and the logo man will send him away, where should he send it?

The Lakers traded for a first-round pick James Posey...... Another day of Popovich's jumping feet.

After acquiring James Posey, the Lakers poached veteran PJ Brown from the Hornets for 2 years and 12 million US dollars.

Payton, Kobe, James Posey, PJ Brown, O'Neal...... Popovich watched the lineup incompetently rage......

Introducing free agents and trades, Kupchak is even more fierce than his teacher, he thinks the media is very reasonable, Kobe Bryant needs a forward, O'Neal needs a man who can shoot and help defend, and if there is space, then get it back.

The Trail Blazers picked up a lone wolf from the Suns for nothing, and after half a season, the two sides broke up not very amicably.

Paul Allen's temper tantrum said that if he didn't give the contract, he wouldn't give it, Marbury didn't lick his face and ask for a contract, he wandered around, or didn't stay in the West, Los Angeles was a little scary, he went to the Bucks for a tryout, and the Bucks management was ecstatic and sent a 3-year contract with a maximum salary, with a starting salary of 12.25 million US dollars, and a total of 39.96 million US dollars in 3 years.

Originally, the Bucks wanted to show respect for the long-term contract, but the 27-year-old Marbury wanted to sign a three-year contract first, and then renew the contract after having the bird rights.

The Rockets once again waved the black circles under his eyes and a little heavier, and his face became more and more haggard, and Boss Fergus intended to be all-league......

There is also a very explosive news, Kenyon Martin refused to renew his contract with the Nets, and also chose to refuse the Nets' sign-and-trade method, and it is rumored that the 00-class champion even changed his agent, wanting to sign a one-year qualification offer of 7.2 million US dollars, and become a complete free agent after playing.

The first two weeks of free agency trading were particularly crazy, but fans were watching these crazy trades, signings, and wondering why the aircraft carrier in Angel City didn't make any big moves.

But seeing that the Clippers already have four top-salary or sub-high-salary players of Li Ao, Kidd, Odom, and O'Neal Jr., I found that the Clippers are indeed not in a position to carry out big operations.

Fans have discussed whether the Clippers will use Odom and O'Neal Jr. as trade chips, and many teams are interested in these two.

But the Clippers have won three consecutive championships, and it is difficult to exchange players of the same strength, and since it is an exchange of equal strength, it is better to keep these two.

Four consecutive championships are out of play? No, the main lineup of the Clippers who won the championship last season, Bobby Simmons and Derobiak were selected by Jordan, and those two are not irreplaceable.

If you continue to gnaw at the old book, the Clippers will not say whether their strength will decline next season, and their health will be very worrying.

The Kings are there to learn from the past, and the Kings, who are good at playing 8-a-side basketball, only lasted two years.

That's when people discovered the reason why the Clippers have been so smooth in the past '01 and '02 offseasons - there are many rookie contracts.

When Odom and O'Neal Jr. got big contracts last summer and traded Bibby + two substitutes back to Kidd, who had the highest salary, the conditions for the Clippers to bring in reinforcements became extremely difficult.

And the Clippers have won three consecutive championships and are heading for four in a row, and the situation they face is unprecedentedly difficult.

By July 22, the Clippers finally had a movement, and it was unstoppable......

The Nets completed the buyout with Mutombo, who had a contract of more than $19 million in the final year, and he only took $17 million, and the Nets will save more than $2 million next summer.

The expiring contract is indeed a good trading chip, but it also depends on how big the contract is, and Mutombo is not suitable for clearing space, it is ridiculously large.

On the night that the Nets bought out Mutombo, the Clippers officially announced that they had signed a contract with Mutombo, a $3 million contract with a total of $6.24 million for two years, and a player option for the second year.

After acquiring Mutombo, the Clippers signed Antonio McDyce, who has played just over 50 games in the past three seasons combined, with a one-year salary.

McDyce returned at the end of last season, averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 20 games with the Suns, which is not a good stat, but he shot a staggering 51% of the long two-point shooting!

Three years ago, McDyce was a pure physical fitness stream before the major injury, and three years after the reimbursement, he no longer has the physical fitness that he used to fly away from, but he has practiced shooting, his style of play has completely changed to floor flow, and he is surprisingly very accustomed to being a role player, and there is no 'I was an All-Star' at all.

The Lakers, Pistons, Wizards, Pacers and many other teams have made offers to it.

Among them, the Lakers and Pistons are the most willing, one has made an offer of 5 million US dollars for one year, and the other has made an offer for two years of full middle class.

But McDice never made up his mind, and after the Clippers signed Mutombo, he made the choice he wanted.

Then, the Clippers used the remaining part of the middle class to sign Argentine guard Andres Nocioni for three years and $6.9 million, and veteran point guard Kenny Anderson with a one-year salary.

Nocioni had already made his mark at the 1999 Pan American Basketball Tournament and was on the radar of NBA teams.

In '01, the 22-year-old Nocioni reached the age of automatic drafting, and although several NBA teams were interested in him, he automatically became a free agent because he still had a long contract with his old club and no team selected him.

This year, Nocioni's contract with his old club ended and he was ready to attack the NBA, and before he could figure out where to go for a tryout, he received a call from Los Angeles, and his beloved point guard god personally invited him to join the ......

Kenny Anderson played off the bench with the Pacers last season, averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 assists per game, and the 13-year-old, experienced veteran has been favored by many teams, after all, as long as the base salary, the big birds used the base salary to sign him last season.

And that's not all, the Clippers cut part of Matt Barnes' guaranteed contract for next season, and Li Ao recommended him to the Knicks to be a bodyguard for the Little Giants.

Li Ao told Barnes that it's not that you don't work hard and aren't good, it's that the current situation doesn't meet the team's need for substitutes at this stage, and staying here will only be buried like Bobby Simmons in the past.

Yao Ming accepted the recommendation of his seniors, but he only asked Barnes for a tryout.

The Knicks are also recruiting in the offseason, and although Alan Houston was reimbursed at the end of last season, resulting in the Knicks not beating the Raptors in the first round, they have beards and small giants, and they are also sweet in the eyes of free agents...... The main thing is that the owner is willing to spend money.

The addition of center Nazr Mohammed, who averaged 9 points and 7 boards per game last season, Morris Taylor, who averaged 7 points and 4 boards per game, and Malik Rose, who averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist per game, has filled the helpers around the little giants again.

The Knicks management prioritized supplementing the interior line, so that Yao Ming could play more easily, as for the outside line, there was no way for the time being, Alan Houston's 100 million yuan contract blocked their conditions for taking advantage of Yao Ming's rookie contract to bring in superstars, otherwise they would pursue Garnett.

Due to the high probability of reimbursement for the new season of Alan Houston, Dolan went to Stern for tea every day after the boss's regular meeting.

Knicks head coach Wilkens gave Yao Ming face and added a trial to Barnes.

Wilkens immediately liked the young player who defended fiercely after seeing Barnes' tryout, and his ability was still a little worse, but with that look and that gesture, Wilkens, who has been coaching for 30 years, confirmed that this player can play in the future.

However, Wilkens is curious, why would the Clippers give up such a promising bench player in the future?

A team doesn't just need stars, role players are also important, and he doesn't believe the dynasty team Clippers won't understand that.

Soon he understood......

On July 26, the Clippers signed two players, one is Trevor Ariza, who has just been drafted in the first round, and the other is the best sixth man of the second dynasty of the Bulls, European Magic Tony Kukoc!

Kukoc at his peak, can play all positions, after getting older, the position gradually decreases, now he is the main No. 3 position, occasionally top the No. 4 position, but not much, 208 cm tall but weight reduced to 98 kilograms He can't carry most big forwards, and occasionally goes to play a point guard, but mainly a wing point pitcher.

Kukic averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season, and the Bucks couldn't keep him, and the Bulls, Heat, Suns, Pistons, Wizards, or championship-level teams all wanted to bring in the experienced veteran.

But Spider-Man personally came to visit, and the Clippers cut the bench first, giving enough respect, Kukoc said that his favorite superhero is Spider-Man, and it is his dream to compete with Spider-Man at the age when he is about to retire.

After the free agency market opened, the Clippers were silent for 3 weeks, and it took a week for people, including Clippers fans, to shake the league when they thought they were going to be unable to bring in reinforcements this summer like last summer!

Kenny Anderson, Nocioni, Kukoc, Antonio McDyce, and Mutombo add to the Clippers' second and third lineups!

Four consecutive championships, the attraction of veterans is much higher than the media and fans imagined!

It's not that there are no veterans who want to come to the Clippers, but the Clippers already have clear goals, and those goals are 4 of these 5 people.

Their primary goal is to compete for Alonzo Mourning, who averaged 10.7 points, 7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game for the Celtics last season.

But alas, it was snatched away by the Magic team with a two-year mid-level contract.

The Magic team also has a championship duo and is paid a higher salary, which the Clippers have not grabbed.

But the Nets gave the assist!

Mutombo of 19 million is a garbage contract, but 3 million a year...... It's not too fragrant!

The core lineup of Kidd, Li Ao, O'Neal Jr., and Odom.

Jaric, Matt Harprin and Eddie House are three quality role players.

Gerard Wallace's talent has begun to pay off, with new arrival Nocioni also a mature young player.

McDyce has transformed the character into a highly anticipated floor-stream player.

Cappono and Ariza are two first- and second-year alternates.

plus Kenny Anderson, Kukoc, and Mutombo, three veterans who are still strong......

Clippers fans were naturally ecstatic and suppressed for three weeks, watching other teams make up for reinforcements and mess around, and their own teams did not move, although they could understand the team's predicament, they were also very aggrieved...... Now, they are infinitely arrogant!

As for the fans of the other teams, they couldn't be happier.

The fans of other teams are unprecedentedly united, and the goal of the new season is to encircle and suppress the aircraft carriers of Angel City in the whole league!

…

In the 04-05 season, the Suns' 7-second offense swept the NBA, becoming the hottest phenomenal team just like the Kings that year.

The Suns finished with a 62-20 record, and although Nash did not beat Kidd in the All-Star starting race, he defeated Kidd, who averaged 10.6 assists per game, to win the first assist title of his career.

Not only that, Nash also defeated Li Ao, who led the team to a 66-16 record, and Garnett, who led the Wizards to 58 wins, and changed teams like a freshman, and won the regular season MVP in the first year...... made Kuban the target of ridicule by the group.

But the Mavericks have performed better than expected this season, the infinite singles flow style of play has been more perfect this season, the defense has also risen, the Mavericks have played an offensive and defensive performance, after the old Nelson and Cuban fell out and resigned due to the team's share, the general Avery Johnson took over the Mavericks, firmly implemented the infinite singles flow system left by the old Nelson, and the Mavericks finally achieved a record of 56 wins, beating the Spurs with 54 wins, winning the first place in the division and ranking among the top three in the West.

When the former boss invited Nelson Sr. to join the Mavericks, he promised to give a small part of the shares and make him the small boss of the Mavericks, but Cuban did not recognize this, and the sword of the previous dynasty beheaded the officials of the current dynasty, which made no sense.

The team that had the best performance in the regular season was the Clippers, who came from behind.

At the beginning of the season, most teams did not adapt to the new rules, and the defensive teams often gave away 30 or 40 free throws in a game at the beginning of the season, and the probability of 6 fouls leaving the court set a new NBA record.

At that stage, on the contrary, the team that had not defended well before played okay, and the Warriors had a 7-7 start under the leadership of TJ Ford, and the last time they started better than this, it was already the 93-94 season, when the NBA was still the era of offensive basketball, and the head coach was Nelson Sr.

The Clippers also got into foul fouls at the beginning, and they have been the most grinding and confrontational team in the league for the past few years, and the initial pain was the most obvious.

But with Ao's 'ability to understand the rules of basketball', Gentry and his coaching staff immediately began to plan how to adjust the new season after the league announced the new rules.

Although the Clippers' labor pains came violently, they adapted to the new rules quickly and led all the teams in the league that defended well.

The offensive end of the offensive end has been adjusted more quickly, Gentry already likes to attack, and with the ability to organize and control the offense, the league's leading ability to control the offense, they quickly went from last season's team offensive difficulty to a top offensive powerhouse.

The Clippers didn't blindly pursue offensive speed and didn't run and play like the Suns.

After discussion, Gentry, Li Ao, and Kidd decided to focus on defensive counterattacks, and the positional offensive system revolves around perimeter shooting, breakthrough impact from the high post, and off-ball passing in the middle of the offensive areas that have been strengthened under the new rules.

For an interior player like Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Kwame Brown, he can also lead the team to run and play like Nash.

But the core of the interior line is O'Neal Jr., which is not suitable for playing like that.

Although Odom in the bench is good at switching between attack and defense, his style of play has been fixed in the past four years, and he is more accustomed to having a complete offensive and defensive system for positional warfare.

The new frontcourt substitutes, Kukoc, McDyce, and Mutombo, are old and degraded athletic, and they are not suitable for running.

The main reason is that the encouragement of offense in the Stern era is very restrained, unless you can play the offensive firepower of the Suns, otherwise the record of running and bombing may not be much better, and the best record when Lee Okie and old Nelson led the Warriors to play is 48 wins, and D'Anthony has Anthony, Stoudemire, Felton, Kenyon Martin, Chandler...... The best record of the Knicks was only 54 wins.

In the 03-04 season, they didn't end up perfecting their offensive system, which turned out to be a good thing, and it was much easier for them to adjust their less perfect offensive system to embrace the 'NHC' rules than the next-door neighbor's triangle offense would complete.

Triangle Offense also played offensive basketball in the early '90s, but at that time the rules that encouraged offense were different from 'NHC'.

Of course, the Clippers mainly relied on Li Ao to tell Gentry and Kidd about the tactics of the basketball system of the Suns, Mavericks, and Spurs.

Li Ao said very messily, but it seemed normal to these two people, purely because he had thought of a bunch of suitable or unsuitable tactics according to the new regulations, and they just wrote down the test or used it as a reference idea, and did not bother Li Ao.

They are clearly determined to hit the fourth consecutive championship, and they have become a thorn in the side of each team since the beginning of this season, and every opponent who meets them wants to rise up.

Some opponents played better, some opponents played worse, but no matter how well the opponent played, the posture of trying to beat them caused them a lot of trouble.

However, from the beginning of the season, they were targeted by their opponents, which also accelerated the pace of adaptation to the new rules and the improvement of their offensive system.

When there is pressure, there is more motivation.

The Clippers entered the state in the regular season, much faster than the 03-04 season, and there were more injuries, and they were able to win the championship in the 03-04 season, and their luck was really good, the injury situation was the least in the 4 years that Li Ao joined the Clippers, but although there were more injuries this season, their roster depth was comparable to the two years that Jordan was in, and they survived that period smoothly.

In the end, the Clippers won the regular season championship with a 66-16 record, beating the Suns, who had a 62-20 record, and the Pistons, who had a 65-17 offensive and defensive performance under the leadership of Carlisle, after strengthening the guard line.

The Clippers are averaging 107.2 points per game, which ranks third in the league, behind the Suns and Warriors.

The average of 96.5 points per game is more than ten points higher than in the 03-04 season, but it's not that their defense has dropped so much, but the pace has accelerated, and they are no longer as brainless as last season.

Li Ao's scoring has improved considerably compared with last season, while the shooting rate has increased to 48%, the second highest in his career, and the average score per game has also increased to 35.5 points, becoming the second player to average 35+ per game in the modern basketball era, beating Iverson, who averaged 33.1 points per game, and won the scoring title for two consecutive years.

Although Kidd lost to Nash in the race for the assist title, as the team's offensive system improved, his assists per game also returned to double digits, averaging 10.6 assists per game, second in the league.

Li Ao lost to Nash in the regular season MVP competition, and there are many people who feel sorry for him.

But there is finally a white point guard with an MVP performance, plus Li Ao has been MVP for two consecutive years, and the Suns have rushed from the bottom of the league last season to the third in the league, with 62 wins...... Although people feel sorry for Li Ao for not being able to win the MVP three times in a row, no one thinks there is anything wrong with Nash winning the MVP.

Garnett's side actually did something similar, his first year with the Wizards, he gave the Wizards more than a dozen wins, to the second-highest 58 wins in team history, but his stats were a little worse, averaging 20.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game.

It's nowhere near as good as Nash's 15.5 points and 11.5 assists per game on 50.2 percent shooting, 43.4 percent three-point shooting, and 90.6 percent free throws.

After the regular season, the Clippers changed arenas and moved to the Great Western Forum in Inglewood Town.

It's not as bustling as downtown, but when the Clippers moved here, it's as lively as it was in the last century.

It's also a great joy for the Clippers players.

They no longer have to see the dozen championship flags of the Lakers, and there are only 3 championship flags hanging over the arena, although they are empty, but this is their honor.

Ballmer and Li Ao agreed that there was no need to hang the regular season championship flag, the division championship flag, and the division championship flag.

With the help of Ballmer, the Li Ao family bought back all the shares in the hands of minority shareholders, and now the Clippers only belong to Ballmer, Vivian, and Caesar Kanter...... Dividends are much easier to calculate.

When it comes to the playoffs, the new MVP is in big trouble.

The Clippers won the regular season championship and naturally ranked first in the West.

The Suns, who are also Pacific teams, did not finish first in the division, and although they have the second-best record in the West, they can only finish fourth in the West, while the Lakers, who are 57-25, are fifth in the West......

The Lakers beat the Suns 4-1 in the first round, averaging 112 points per game while limiting the Suns to an average of only 104 points per game.

The Clippers faced the Grizzlies, who had a lot of dips in the first round.

The Grizzlies are only 43-39 this season, ranking eighth in the West, and they have been in a slump for a long time this season, and they only rose to the top eight after the All-Star weekend...... Then he went out in the first round for the second year in a row and was swept 4-0 by the Clippers.

In the other two first rounds of the West, the Mavericks with 56 wins and the Jazz with 48 wins played extremely fiercely, and Sloan was too good at playing the playoffs, and when the lineup was obviously inferior to his opponent, he dragged it to Game 6.

The Nuggets are miserable, although they are third in the West, they have a record of only 49 wins and 33 losses, and only because they are the first in the Northwest Division can they be ranked third in the West, meeting the Spurs with 54 wins...... Anthony's second playoff trip was swept by a miserable sweep.

After the division of the new division, the continuation of the first place in the division must be in the leading position of the division, and in the first season there was a problem, and the Western Conference playoff landscape was in chaos.

The MVP of the regular season was almost swept in the first round!

Although the Lakers only won 57 games in the regular season, everyone knows that they are one of the best teams in the West when it comes to the playoffs.

The eastern side is also a mess.

With Carter, Hinrich led the Bulls to 50 wins, with 51 wins.

But they have the Pacers with 56 wins, the Pistons with 65 wins, and the Bucks with 46 wins in the same division, and they can't even make it to the top four.

The 76ers did not make the playoffs with 43 wins, and the Knicks only got 50 wins, but they ranked higher than the Pacers and Bulls.

The situation is similar in the Southeast Division.

Since O'Neal never really had the possibility of leaving the Lakers, the Heat's rebuild started with a steady path, and this season Wade and Caron Butler have gone further, and Eddie Jones, Haslem, and Brian Grant have maintained their form and also played a 51-win record.

But in the same division, there are 55 wins for the Magic and 58 wins for the Wizards......

As soon as the first round of the playoffs was played, some media called on the league to change the rule that 'the first in the division must be the top three', and it is better to cancel the preferential treatment of the first in the region, and arrange it according to the level of victory.

The first preferential treatment system in the competition area was formulated in 1976, which was in line with the situation at that time.

At that time, the NBA and the ABA two leagues merged, the number of NBA teams skyrocketed, due to traffic problems to divide the division, but after the division of the division, the strength gap between the divisions is particularly large, the ABA league is a lot worse than the NBA regardless of the game viewing or player strength, in order to avoid the emergence of a region without a playoff team, the loss of the fan market, this rule was formulated.

But now, more than 20 years later, this rule is no longer in line with the present.

It's not just the media appealing and fans complaining, the teams are also complaining.

Like the Lakers and Suns, the losers are complaining that they haven't adapted to the playoff rhythm, and the winners are complaining about playing against the strongest enemies in the West so early.

In the second round, the 'peak matchup' between the Clippers and the Lakers was staged early.

In this Angel City civil war, both teams played more team.

Years of experience in the playoffs have taught the two teams that the same city team is not an opponent that can be defeated by one person, and neither can the Big Sharks, the Black Mamba, or the Spider-Man.

After 6 games, the much-anticipated civil war in Angel City came to an end.

Lakers 60s scene re-enacted......

The Clippers eliminated the Lakers in the playoffs for four consecutive years, with a big score of 4-2 and advanced to the Western Conference finals!

In this regard, in addition to Clippers fans, the most happy are also Trail Blazers fans.

In the past few years, they were also brutalized by the Lakers in the playoffs for four or five years in a row.

Now it's finally the Lakers' turn!

In the other group of the second round of the West, everyone thought the Spurs had won, but it was the Mavericks who had the last laugh.

This series was extremely intense, the Spurs won one game first, the Mavericks won two more games, the Spurs won one more game, the Mavericks won one more game to lead 3-2, and the G6 Spurs relied on Arenas's ultra-long three-point final to drag into the tiebreaker, and the tie-break battle went to overtime...... Terry went on to score three three-pointers in overtime to shoot Ginobili and Arenas in doubt.

The Clippers faced a team outside of California for the first time in the Grand Western Conference Finals, and it was a tough one.

In the first game, the Clippers lost their home-court advantage 108-115.

In the second game, the Clippers held their second home court 105-98, but G3 lost again, 88-95, and the big score came to 1-2.

The G4 Clippers relied on Li Ao to score two key shots in a row, narrowly defeated the Mavericks 107-105, narrowly chased the big score to 2-2, and dragged them into the battle of Tianwang Mountain.

After 4 games, the Clippers slowly found a way to deal with the Mavericks, G5 defeated the Mavericks 107-101, G6 won 102-93, won 3 games in a row, reversed the Mavericks 4-2, and reached the Finals for 4 consecutive years.

In the East, before the start of the playoffs, people thought that the East was dominated by the Pacers, Magic, and Pistons, but it was the Wizards who came to the end!

The Wizards were forced to tie seven in the first round by the Bulls, who were seventh in the West, and public opinion agreed that the Wizards would be abused by the Pistons in the second round, and as a result, the Wizards narrowly defeated the Pistons in the seventh round, and in the Eastern Conference finals, they fought 6 games with the Magic team that eliminated the Pacers.

Garnett met Duncan in the playoffs and played pretty badly, but he still had Brand.

Cassel met the Magic team who gave him a humiliating offer, and he played very hotly, and the Wizards eliminated the Magic team 4-2 and met the Clippers in the Finals!

The Wizards are in the Finals after a 27-year hiatus, and Garnett has proven how good his team is when he has good teammates.

But alas, they met the Clippers who were in form.

Playing against the Lakers and the Mavericks in a row, the Clippers entered their heyday, winning the Wizards by 100-85 in the first game by 15 points, and winning the second game by 91-84, the G3 Wizards relied on defense to beat the Clippers 88-84 to avoid falling behind 0-3, but the G4 Clippers scored again, winning 95-82 and leading 3-1.

The Wizards defended well, but with the exception of G3, the Clippers couldn't limit their scoring to less than 90 points in the other three games.

And the Clippers are also very good defensively, limiting the Wizards to under 90 points per game.

In G5, the Clippers didn't give the Wizards a chance to continue struggling, Li Ao had 30 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks, and Kidd had 15 points and 15 assists...... The Clippers defeated the Wizards 99-86, 4-1, and completed the fourth consecutive championship!

Li Ao won FMVP for 4 consecutive years with an average of 34.4 points, 5.2 boards, 4.4 assists, 2 steals and 3.4 blocks per game, surpassing Jordan and becoming the player with the most consecutive FMVPs!

The Clippers also became the second team in NBA history to surpass three consecutive championships after the Celtics in the 60s!

The four consecutive championships also laid the foundation for the Clippers giants!

(End of book)

(End of chapter)