Xu Yong was woken up by Harden's phone call.

Harden was shocked.

Because when Westbrook trade rumors were rumored after the Thunder were eliminated last season, Thunder general manager Presti clarified in person and said that Westbrook was not for sale for the team.

But before the season even began, Westbrook turned around and was traded.

"This is the NBA, James, business is just business." Xu Yong explained on the phone.

Even he was actually ready to trade Wade to the Heat in the playoffs last season.

Then when he finished talking to Harden on the phone, he also began to review the deal.

His first reaction, like everyone else's, was to feel a little violent.

Paul and Kobe Bryant really teamed up?!

And the Thunder actually gave up Westbrook?!

And then, the Clippers' empty city is so gone?!

To sum up in the end, this deal, a win-win-win?

Needless to say, the Lakers can form the ace combination of the league's No. 1 point guard and No. 1 quarterback, and they were swept last season.

And the key Lakers also keep Bynum and Ariza, what kind of bike do you need?

It's just that Okafor is not easy to deal with.

Okafor was the 2004 All-Round Pick when he was named Rookie of the Year over Ben Gordon and Howard.

He is 2.08 meters tall and is a typical interior swing man, who can eat cakes and dunk and shoot from mid-range.

It's just that up to now, his skills have been set, and he is a main center and occasionally a cameo as a big forward, and he belongs to a player who is strong in defense and weak in attack.

And he still has a problem, he is carrying a full guarantee contract of 40 million yuan for three years, which is a semi-garbage contract, which is not easy to deal with.

That's probably why the Hornets are willing to send Paul to the Lakers.

However, the flaws are not hidden, not to mention that Okafor can also play a cameo role as a power forward, and with Bynum's body that is injured at every turn, there is such a type of player who can still play a role in the bottom-up.

So to sum it up in one sentence: Qin Shi Huang squatted in the pit and won the hemp!

And then there was the thunder.

The Thunder looked to be the biggest loss in the deal, as they sent a first-time center and potential star to just one Gasol.

But be warned, this Gasol is only 31 years old!

This is different from what many people remember.

In addition, his style of play is somewhat similar to Nowitzki, both of which are standard technical flow insiders, and it will not decline significantly until after the 15~16 season.

In fact, thanks to the Lakers' aura of two consecutive championships, Gasol at this time was the league's first-tier power forward, and it was before the injury at the London Olympics.

And it's clear that the Thunder will make this deal in the first place, and he, the Bulls player, knows best, and it is clear that he wants to replicate the success story of the Bulls.

To be honest, this wave of replication is really not Dongshi's imitation.

First, Gasol is very suitable for this Thunder team, there is no need to say much about experience or something, the key is that his style of play can be adapted to Kobe, and naturally he can also adapt to Durant.

Moreover, he is strong in attack and weak in defense, Ibaka is weak in attack and strong in defense, and the two inside lines are also complementary partners, and they are all teammates of the Spanish national team, and they are full of tacit understanding.

Even Gasol is still the kind of interior line that can directly oppose Yao Ming at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends;

Second, the question of who Westbrook and Harden will keep was resolved ahead of schedule.

This is not to say that the Thunder have a forward-looking vision, after all, how good their draft vision is, how bad their operational vision is, but the Hornets' demand is to sell tickets, so they will naturally want Westbrook more.

And Harden has also shown that they are stronger than in history and allow them to make choices, so this is considered a mistake, but it was solved in advance;

Third, Reggie Jackson's career is about to change dramatically, the point guard selected by the Thunder team with the 24th pick this year definitely has the strength to play as a starter in the NBA, and the reason why he left the Thunder in history is only because he can't play a starter with Westbrook above.

And now that the Thunder have traded Fisher, he even has time to develop and then take over.

Fisher, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Gasol starts, bench Reggie, Soflosa, Nick Collisson, this is still a lineup that can be put on without signing free agents......

In terms of pure squad strength, Xu Yong even thinks that the Thunder team is more reasonable and has a chance to play a better record than the Lakers.

As for the Hornets, that's a lot more valuable than the chips they've gotten from the Clippers in their history.

If nothing else, one Westbrook has topped all.

Before Westbrook was injured, that style of play, when the old big data was absolutely explosive, coupled with the skyrocketing ball possession, he might have been able to play an average triple-double season earlier.

Moreover, the Hornets' lineup, Westbrook, Belinelli, Aminu, David West (with a high probability of contract extension), and Perkins, is not much weaker than the previous Hornets, and has a great chance of making the playoffs.

Of course, the losers are not without them, and the Spurs, Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Nuggets, these Western Conference playoff teams, have two more powerful competitors out of thin air.

Then there is the Bulls, even if they can complete the double kill against the Heat in the new season, reach the Finals, and face the Lakers, Thunder or Mavericks, it will be much more difficult to win the championship than last season.

However, Xu Yong's character is like competition.

Realizing this, he got up and went back to training.

It's like winning a championship in the park, and in the end you will be complained about for a lifetime.

But if he can defend his title in such a season, it will be the same as the title in Nowitzki's history, and it will be blown for a lifetime.

So new goals have emerged, and what reason is there to stall.

On social media, fans have also fried the pot.

"God, Paul and Kobe really teamed up?! Are the Lakers going to rise again? They will be the strongest opponents for the Bulls in the new season! ”

"Don't ignore the Thunder, I think the Thunder are the Western giants next season, and their lineup is perfect." From the comment of "KBfnas".

"This next season's West will be directly purgatory, Lakers, Thunder, Mavericks, Spurs, Grizzlies, free agents should go to the East quickly!"

"Go to the East and get beaten by the Bulls, or beaten by the Heat? Or maybe it's the friction between the Celtics and the Magic? ”

"It's cool, I thought there weren't too many highlights in the shrinking season, but now it's directly full, I really can't wait!"

"yes, you read that right, this year's free agent signings haven't even started yet, and it's really exciting."

……

Amid the buzz of the fans, the door to the free market officially opened.

The first thing that broke out was some left-behind news.

The first is Noah, after playing well last season and becoming an All-Star starter, the Rockets immediately offered him a five-year contract extension with an early salary of 83 million;

Duncan continued to stay with the Spurs on a final year contract of 21 million, although the Spurs failed to get Leonard as they wished, but for Duncan, he has no shortage of championships, and there is no reason to give up one man and one city at this time;

Ray Allen also exercised his contract option to stay with the Celtics as previously rumored, and it was clear that he was ready to make a last-ditch push with the Green Shirts;

The Mavericks chose to keep the roster, and they kept Tyson Chandler with a four-year, $56 million contract;

David West also signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with a player option for the final year.

However, with West's stay, there was a knock-on effect, that is, Odom, who was supposed to go to the Hornets to report in the previous three-way trade, made an application to Damps, and he hoped that the Hornets would trade him to the Heat.

Odom's contract was extended with the Lakers in the summer of 2009, with a four-year, 33 million contract, counting the remaining two years of his contract next season, 8.9 million a year, 8.2 million a year.

This contract is not small to say small, but it is not too big to say big, and there is room for operation to go to the Heat.

The reason for this is easy to guess, and the most direct aspect is that West's contract extension means that he can only play as a substitute in the Hornets.

It's understandable that he played off the bench with the Lakers, after all, the Lakers are a championship team, but what team are the Hornets? Can West and Gasolby?

On the other hand, he has been playing in big cities since he entered the league, and he doesn't want to go to a small city like New Orleans.

As for the Heat, it is the parent team he once played for, and the Big Three failed to win the championship last season, so there will be a strong willingness for him to join.

In fact, the Heat quickly made an offer to the Hornets, Mike Miller + Jeff Ayers + a future first-round pick.

Or if a slap doesn't make a sound, Odom will ask for this trade, and Riley must have contributed behind the scenes.

In fact, this kind of thing is not uncommon in the NBA, Francis was selected by the Grizzlies and was reluctant to go to Memphis, and finally had to trade him to Houston.

Although the league has contracts to bind players, the willingness of players is also a key factor in the NBA, after all, with Carter's example in the past, it is not easy to hurt the team to lose both.

This time, though, Danmps didn't compromise.

Odom obviously didn't understand the situation of the Hornets, and the Hornets' current nominal owner is Stern!

How could such a trick threaten him?

So after the league gave Odom a warning, last season's sixth man had to go to New Orleans to report.

And the Heat, after seeking to trade Odom to no avail, can only turn their attention to this year's free agency.

If last year's free market was a rare bustle in history, this year it was rare.

Except for some players who went to play in overseas leagues due to the shutdown and could not come back, those who had options also mostly chose to execute, because the free signing time compressed by the shutdown made it difficult for them to get the contract they wanted.

So this is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Some of the players who have been notable in free agency this year are: Jamal Crawford, O'Neal Jr., Glenn Davis, Kenyon Martin, Maddy, Prince, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts, Battier, Landry, Ballam Porter, etc.

In this context, the pressure on the Bulls this summer is relatively high.

Battier, O'Neal Jr., and Novak have all received a lot of offers one after another.

Novak, for example, directly received a four-year, $15 million offer from the Knicks.

That last-season goal really changed his career.

The Bulls didn't choose to follow up on this offer.

Another example is Battier, the Thunder gave him a three-year, 15 million full mid-range contract.

However, in the end, Battier and the Bulls agreed to a three-year, 10 million contract extension.

It is worth mentioning that because the salary on the Bulls' books is already very close to the salary cap (Yao Ming and others' salaries are incremental), this is a cap extension.

The so-called cap renewal means that as long as there is an early bird right or bird right, you can reach a certain amount of renewal contract with the parent team, which accounts for the salary cap, but is not limited by space.

Named after "Big Bird" Larry Bird, he refers to the fact that players can renew their contracts with their parent team after three consecutive years of playing for their parent team.

The early bird right shortens the period to two years.

Continuity here refers to the absence of a buyout, no free agent signing, but does not include the transaction, because the trade contract has not been terminated.

Battier had previously been with the Rockets and was traded to the Bulls, so the Bulls have his bird rights.

As for why Battier chose to have little money, because he really couldn't find a reason to leave the Bulls.

After all, he won the championship here, Yao Ming is here again, and as for the few millions, he really doesn't care so much.

But with the same rules, O'Neal Jr.'s problems get tricky.

Because O'Neal Jr. was a free signee with the Bulls last season, the Bulls don't have his bird rights or early bird rights.

This means that if O'Neal Jr. jumps out of the contract and gets a contract with an annual salary of more than 5 million, then the Bulls can't renew him.

Foreman personally visited O'Neill Jr. because of this problem.

After O'Neal retired, the Bulls couldn't find a better interior player in free agency than O'Neal Jr.

In the end, after some communication and weighing, O'Neill Jr. chose to execute the contract option.

There are a number of factors involved, such as the fact that, like Battier, he can continue to win a championship if he stays with the Bulls, and there is a lot of uncertainty about the contract offer he can get on the free market because of the suspension.

Of course, it is not known whether there is a guarantee of compensation for Foreman's contract renewal next year.

After all, even if there is such a thing, there is no such thing.

These two signings are the two most important actions for the Bulls to remain competitive.

It's just that after completing these two signings, the Bulls' salary for the new season has exceeded the luxury tax.

Some people may wonder why the Bulls just reached the salary cap last season, and this season is over the luxury tax?

Because there is not much difference between the two in themselves.

The so-called salary cap is 48% of the league's income in the previous year, while the luxury tax threshold is 55% of the previous year's income.

Take the new season as an example, the salary cap is 58 million, and the luxury tax is 66 million, which is actually 8 million short.

After the Bulls signed Korver with a mid-level exception last year and then traded to Battier, they're actually pretty close to the luxury tax.

And after the ultra-luxury tax, the Bulls no longer have a mid-class exception, but only a mini-middle-class exception.

Each team will have one NBA middle-class exception every year, the salary cap is not full is called the space exception, the full is called the middle-class exception, and the ultra-luxury tax is called the mini-middle-class, and the three exceptions are differentiated in terms of years and salaries.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the starting salary of the contract for the middle class exception is 5 million, and the mini middle class is only 3 million, and the attraction of the two to players is different.

In the end, the Bulls also chose to use this special case, signing veteran Kenyon Martin on a 2-year, 6 million contract.

Martin was the No. 1 pick in 2000 and reached the Finals twice with the Nets and the trident of Kidd and Jefferson, but unfortunately fell short in the end.

He is 34 years old this year, and because of Nene's rise and decline in form, it has been difficult to get a big contract in the market.

However, he still has a certain amount of combat power, and can be used as an inside swingman, and at the peak of that year, he was also the existence of Duncan and O'Neal.

And after making the key signings, the Bulls followed up with some piecemeal.

They first acquired Peja Stojakovic with a veteran base salary to make up for the loss of Novak's departure.

The elder Peja was already lying down and ready to retire, but when he heard that the Bulls were interested in him, he immediately got out of bed again.

For these old guys, there is really no reason to refuse a championship ring in the final moments of their careers.

In addition, the Bulls signed two-way guard Delonti West with a one-year veteran base salary.

As a piece of trivia, West only entered the league in 2004, and he is actually only 28 years old this year.

His talent is undeniable, and if it weren't for the injuries and off-court problems he suffered during his time with the Cavaliers, he wouldn't have been reduced to a mixed salary now.

However, the Bulls are not worried about this problem, after all, no player will make a mistake in Chicago.

Of course, the old guy is definitely not good, and the last signing of the Bulls was to sign Yi Jianlian with a base salary contract.

It's time to talk about Yi Jianlian.

After following the Chinese team to the top in 2010, Yi Jianlian's career has also undergone some subtle changes.

Although he was still sent to the Wizards by the Nets, he played with a lot more confidence than before.

The so-called will be at the top of the mountain, at a glance, after seeing the scenery of the highest place, the change in mentality is different.

Xu Yong's performance in the finals also has an impact on this aspect, after all, I have won the world championship, what is wrong with winning the NBA championship?

Speaking of Yi Jianlian, he handed over 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Wizards last season.

While both stats are the lowest since entering the NBA, that's more due to the fact that he's spent most of his time off the bench, and in fact he's shot 44.2 percent from the field, the most efficient season in four years.

The only problem is that his three-point shooting percentage has dropped to 25 percent, a career low.

All in all, Yi Jianlian's overall performance is better than the same period in history, which makes him have some value in the free market.

But the Wizards signed Nene and McGee, Bleche and others, and there is no place for him next season, so they gave up the contract to match.

The Bulls' idea is simpler, they need to continue to add people on the inside, and now there is no one in the free market who is more cost-effective than Yi Jianlian.

Because at the same time that they have signed all the previous ones, players who are cost-effective or have strength have been signed one after another.

As for what Chinese players can't be on the same team or something, with the experience of last season, the Bulls don't care about this factor at all.

And after completing all these signings, the Bulls have completed the roster reinforcement in a very short period of time.

Point guards: Rose, Hinrich, Delonte West

Quarterbacks: Seo Yong, Tony Allen, Jimmy Butler

Small front: Artest, Battier, Peja

Ohmae: Gibson, Martin, Yi Jianlian

Center forwards: Yao Ming, O'Neill Jr., Asik

This 15-man squad has not changed much from last season's overall strength, and Foreman can do his best to complete these operations after winning the championship.

And after the squad was determined, Foreman went on to accomplish a very important thing.

Before this matter, it is necessary to mention the "Ross clause", which is the origin of the "super contract".

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, when a player is elected MVP during his rookie contract, or has been selected twice as a starter in the All-Star draft, or has been selected to the All-Star team twice (both in the first team and in the defensive team), he is eligible to sign a super-cap contract with his parent team with a starting salary cap of 30%.

To put it simply, before this, the starting salary of the rookie contract renewal was limited by the maximum salary rule, which belonged to 0~6 years of service, and could only be the starting salary of 25% of the salary cap.

The Rose clause raised this starting salary to 30% of the salary cap of players who have played for 7~9 years.

Because Ross was the first to satisfy this clause, it is also known as the Ross clause, just as the Bird Rights Clause is also known as the Larry Bird Clause.

Rose isn't the first to enjoy the clause, though, with Durant being the first.

Durant's contract was signed with the Thunder last summer, but it was only executed this season.

Because Rose is satisfied, his contract will be automatically adjusted, which means that he will have more than $2 million more pre-tax income than he originally did in the new season.

Ross was the second to enjoy the terms.

As a comparison, Noah just signed a five-year contract of 83 million with the Rockets, and Rose and the Bulls signed an early contract extension of 5 years and 94 million, which is 11 million more than the entire contract.

Xu Yong basically booked the next one.

Because he was named to the All-Star team last season and is also an All-Star starter, he only needs to meet one of those two conditions to meet the conditions.

There is uncertainty about the All-Star team, but as last season's record-breaking vote leader, the odds are too low that he won't be an All-Star starter.

The free market continues, and Xu Yong and Yao Ming, the "veterans" of the Bulls, are also training in training camp while accepting new players to join.

Today and Peja will catch up with the old days, tomorrow they will talk to West, an old rival, and the day after tomorrow, they will play with Martin, an old Jianghu.

Of course, the happiest thing was when I met Yi Jianlian in the last few days of the training camp.

To be honest, neither Xu Yong nor Yao Ming could have imagined that the Bulls would sign Yi Jianlian.

It can only be said that after tasting the sweetness of last season, Forman has become more and more trusting of Chinese players.

Of course, it's not just the Bulls, the Knicks also signed Sun Yue with a base salary contract in the offseason.

Although Sun Yue didn't get many opportunities with the Warriors last season, this is the impact of the Chinese market being fully developed.

You wouldn't think the NBA didn't have a world of romance, did you?

If you think so, Brother Alphabet and Pippen's son have something to say.

Yi Jianlian's personality is very introverted and shy, but he can also let go a lot when he sees Xu Yong and Yao Ming.

It is no exaggeration to say that he feels that he is in the Bulls at this time, which is clearly in the national men's basketball team!

People who are not introverts may not be able to resonate with Yi Jianlian at this moment, and the feeling of no longer being alone in a foreign country is really happy.

"Brother Lian, have you found a place to live?" Before the training began, Xu Yong said to Yi Jianlian.

Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming are different, Yao Ming's personality does not need help from others, but Yi Jianlian is completely opposite.

"Just call me the United Arab Emirates." Yi Jianlian hurriedly said that although he was older than Xu Yong, he couldn't afford Xu Yong to call him that.

Xu Yong didn't care, so he changed his name and asked again.

Yi Jianlian shook his head.

He joined the Bulls in a hurry.

Because he returned to play for the Guangdong team during the shutdown, the Bulls only recently contacted his agent, and then he also rushed to Chicago.

Now, he's still living in a Chicago hotel.

"I was going to find a place to live in the city in two days, and my agent told me that Chicago was congested." Yi Jianlian continued.

"You can change brokers."

"Huh?" Yi Jianlian was stunned.

"Didn't he tell you how chaotic downtown Chicago is?" Xu Yong then asked.

"He didn't say that, because he's a bit busy right now." Yi Jianlian said with an embarrassed smile.

His agent is Dan Fagan, a well-known agent in the league, and now he doesn't mix well in the NBA, so he has naturally become a small client there.

"That's right, I have two rented houses in the city, I live by myself, and one is where Jimmy and Little Tiger live, but there are two rooms on the second floor, if you don't mind, you can live there first, and then move out when you find a more suitable one." Xu Yong proposed.

"Won't this bother you?" Yi Jianlian was a little embarrassed.

"It's not troublesome, it's empty anyway, you can pay my rent when the time comes." Xu Yong waved his hand.

"Okay, you have the final say on how much it is." As soon as he heard the rent, Yi Jianlian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll talk about it later, I'll take you to see it when the training is over." Xu Yong said with a smile.

Yi Jianlian nodded vigorously after hearing this.

After the training was over, Xu Yong drove Yi Jianlian and Butler back to his residence.

When he was about to enter the door, Butler looked at Yi Jianlian with a smile, and Yi Jianlian was a little confused for a while.

But after Xu Yong led them in, he realized why Butler was like that.

Because there was a small white brain axe wandering around in the courtyard, and when he saw them coming in, he walked up the steps with his legs crossed, and then ran towards Xu Yong.

Those who looked up close knew that it was a brain tiger, and those who looked at it from a distance thought it was a big white cat.

“…… Tigers, can they also be raised? Looking at Xu Yong, who was already playing with the tiger, Yi Jianlian didn't come back to his senses, he originally thought that the little tiger was the nickname of whom.

And he has been in the NBA for so many years, of course, he has heard his teammates talk about the experience of keeping pets, but Tiger is really the first time he has heard it, no, it is seen.

"Everything can be masturbated, as long as it's small." Xu Yong said with a smile.

In fact, they were now in the same room that O'Neill had rented.

Because the backyard of this house is large, after accepting the "gift" from O'Neill, Xu Yong rented the house by the way.

The house was bigger than the one he lived in, but it was a standard American-style wooden house, with a two-and-a-half-story structure.

The lower floor is for the breeder, and then the second floor, as he said before, are two rooms with bathrooms, one Butler lives, and has been living for a few days, and the remaining one is for Yi Jianlian.

"This is a Bengal tiger?" Yi Jianlian walked closer and looked at it and asked.

The little tiger felt the unfamiliar breath, and turned his head to make a "whoosh" movement to Yi Jianlian.

Yi Jianlian subconsciously stopped.

Xu Yong reached out and stroked its head, and let it lie down again.

"Yes, O'Neill sent it, I named it King." Xu Yong said and turned the little tiger over, stroked its belly, and it was comfortably on all fours.

"Huh?" Yi Jianlian was stunned for a moment.

"The king of beasts, to put it simply." Xu Yong explained.

"Okay." Yi Jianlian nodded.

Although, he always felt that something was weird.

The next morning, when Xu Yong got up to train, Butler was already waiting for him at the door.

Butler doesn't talk much, but he is not shy at all, on the contrary, he is proactive and knows what he needs.

After learning about Xu Yong's training plan, he also joined in.

When the morning training was over, they ate and chatted.

Because Christmas is just around the corner, and the new season is about to begin, ESPN's annual power prediction list is out.

In previous years, the attention of the list may be average, but this year, because the time is too busy and there is too much news, many fans regard it as a summary to understand the changes in the team, so the attention is higher than in previous years.

Xu Yong and Butler are talking about this at this time.

And ESPN is also improving, and they even used a very user-friendly scoring method this year to make it easier for users to read.

I have to say, this trick is really intuitive.

1. Bulls (99 points)

The Bulls have retained their core roster as much as possible in the offseason, and as the defending champions, they will be the strongest team this season.

Unless there are injury problems, it's hard to have a team that can stop them.

Expected starters: Rose, Xu Yong, Artest, Gibson, Yao Ming;

Projected rotation: Hinrich, Allen, Battier, Martin, O'Neal Jr.

Second, the Heat (96 points)

Last season's experience didn't break the team, and the ball issues with Wade and James were resolved in the summer, and James would become the new leader of the Heat.

They signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension for Money, who would become the Heat's new starting point guard.

While it was a shame that they couldn't trade Odom, they immediately signed DeSean Stevenson on a two-year, $6 million mini-mid-range contract.

Stevenson, who was the Mavericks' starting point guard last season, is a qualified 3-and-D player with impressive performances, and he's the type the Heat desperately need.

Projected starters: Money, Wade, James, Bosh, Joel Anthony;

Projected rotation: Norris Cole, Stevenson, Mike Miller, Haslem, Jeff Ayers.

Third, Lakers (95 points)

It's probably the strongest backcourt combination the NBA has ever seen, with Paul and Kobe Bryant on a team, a team that doesn't necessarily fit together in 2K.

And they've also signed players like Josh McRoberts in the free agency market with a mini-midrange, which is an underrated signing.

McRoberts is an all-around player like Odom, and he can be paired with Bynum/Okafor when the Lakers' offense is in trouble.

At the same time, veteran Grant Hill also gave up the contract offered by the Suns to join the Lakers with a base salary and chase a championship in the final moments of his career.

Projected starters: Paul, Kobe, Ariza, Okafor, Bynum;

Projected rotation: Blake, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, McRoberts, Troy Murphy.

Fourth, Thunder (94 points)

The Thunder are the underrated team this offseason and have made their boldest trade in the last five years.

Westbrook's departure will also give Harden more opportunities to show himself, and he is expected to be the team's point guard in the deciding stages.

And it's worth mentioning that they also brought Nick Young from Washington to Oklahoma with a full middle class of 15 million for 3 years.

It's clear that the Thunder are borrowing exactly from the Bulls' model last season.

Projected starters: Fisher, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Pau Gasol;

Projected rotation: Reggie Jackson, Soflosa, Nick Young, Nick Collisson, Nazr Mohammed.

Fifth, Spurs (91 points)

Sixth, Mavericks (90 points)

The Mavericks have retained their core lineup, but their average age is a year older, and their form for the new season is still unknown.

But keeping Tyson Chandler was their most successful offseason signing.

Although they lost Barria, they still have Rodrigo Boibwa, a small man who is also known for his speed and was a starting point guard last season, and who, like Butler, missed last season's playoffs due to injury.

Cuban's trade in the draft was also a big gamble, and Kawhi Leonard's performance would determine their ceiling.

Projected starters: Kidd, Carter, Marion, Nowitzki, Chandler;

Projected rotation: Boubois, Jason Terry, Kawhi Leonard, Brandon Wright, Ian Masimmi.

Seventh, the Grizzlies

Eighth, the Celtics

Ninth, the Pacers

Tenth, the Magic team

……

After chatting about this list, there are two places where they talk a lot.

The first one is naturally ranked first, and this one point is 99 points.

ESPN is not to engage in any underdogship, but to directly praise the high and poisoned milk.

This year, the Lakers and Thunder are obviously no weaker than the Bulls on paper.

Then it was time for the Heat, when they saw James as the new core of the team, Xu Yong and Butler both laughed in unison.

At the time of the shutdown, entertainment media like TMZ used to report on Wade and James' yacht party, and it was very immersive.

said that the Big Three all went to sea with their wives, and then Wade once again offered to make James the boss, and hoped that there would be no more conflicts in the team in the new season.

James was surprised, but in the end he accepted Wade's suggestion and said that they would always be brothers and that he would definitely help Miami win the championship.

I don't know if the story is true or not, but it's very vivid.

Wade is not Jordan or Kobe after all, and there is a bias in his understanding of the team.

The team is giving in to each other, and if you blindly make concessions and accommodations, it is arrogant.

Whether it is history or the present, Wade is self-inflicted on himself when he gets mixed up like this.

After breakfast, Xu Yong and Butler went to the training hall.

There are only two days left until the start of the season.

Thibodeau gave a lecture to the players before training.

The content is mainly about the upcoming season.

The shortened season isn't just about fewer games.

In fact, the number of games was reduced by about two months, but the number of games was reduced from 82 to 66, which is only 16 less.

As a direct result of this, there are more back-to-back games, and even back-to-back games.

This kind of intensive schedule can easily lead to injuries to players.

In fact, the Coalition has anticipated what might happen and increased the activation list from 12 to 13.

The main content of Thibodeau's teachings...... It's not that he's going to expand his rotation as well, it's that young players are ready to get more playing time.

The team's young players listened subconsciously to their legs, and the experience of last season's playoffs was like yesterday.

However, Xu Yong was shocked when he heard this.

He had been training all summer in the past for the sake of Thibodeau's words.

This time, even if Thibodeau gave him 44 minutes in the regular season, he said that he could still extend the clock.

At the end of the training that day, Yi Jianlian found Xu Yong.

"I've seen Butler wake up early all the time, and I just asked him, and he said you all train before breakfast?" Yi Jianlian asked curiously.

After seeing Xu Yong nodding in confirmation, he immediately asked again, "Can I be together?" ”

Xu Yong didn't expect Yi Jianlian to make such a request, and after thinking for a while, he nodded with a smile.

In fact, his care for Yi Jianlian is somewhat selfish.

After next season, it will be the London Olympics that he and Yao Ming attach the most importance to.

Although they have won the World Championships before, as a player, who wouldn't want to prove themselves on the Olympic stage?

In particular, it was Yao Ming's last dance in the national team.

But the strength of the Dream Ten team is definitely much stronger than the Dream Nine team, and even if the original team of the World Championships goes to play, there is almost no chance.

In order to get a chance, they all have to get stronger.

He wants to become stronger, and so does Yi Jianlian.

So, on the last morning before the start of the game, the three of them trained together on the first floor of Xu Yong's residence.

In the past two years, Xu Yongzao has transformed this place into a fully functional training room.

Training is boring, but with someone together, the feeling of boredom decreases a lot.

After the training, when the three of them were sitting at the table for breakfast, Xu Yong suddenly felt that the scene in front of him seemed familiar.

By the way, in those stories of Jordan back then, there was a very famous [Breakfast Club], and they were 2.0 waves?

This feeling made him a little trance-like and a little wonderful.

(End of chapter)