Because of the emergence of multiple superteams in the league, this year's All-Star configuration is slightly different from previous years.

In previous years, a team had a maximum of three players named to the All-Star team at the same time, and usually two teams that were All-Stars that season were already capable of contending for the championship.

This year, because of the super teams such as the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Suns, and Mavericks, the All-Star spots in the East and West have basically been divided by these teams.

On the Eastern side, the Bulls have four All-Stars, the Celtics have three, and the remaining five All-Stars are Wade, James, Anthony, Bosh, and Howard.

The Western Lakers have three (Kobe, O'Neal Jr. and Pau Gasol), the Suns have two (Nash and Small), the Mavericks have two (Kidd and Nowitzki), and the remaining five are Paul, Roy, Boozer, Duncan, and Yao Ming.

It is worth mentioning that Iverson and Maddie were both selected as All-Star substitutes, but missed the All-Star Game due to injury.

In general, the situation is similar for the All-Star teams in the East and West, with the core of several championship contenders accounting for the majority, and the other teams are only the team leaders who have the opportunity to show their faces in the All-Star Game.

However, if you want to compete for the All-Star MVP honor, you don't have to.

After all, the championship team has teammates in the All-Star Game!

It's different now, and now if you want to make a name for yourself in the All-Star Game, how can you do it alone?

In this All-Star Game, the Bulls also relied on the large number of people, and while the Eastern All-Star team won, they gave Garnett an All-Star MVP.

Doon had already taken it last year, but he couldn't take it this year.

At the same time, I don't want others to take it, so in line with the principle of not wasting it, the fertilizer and water do not flow into the fields of outsiders, and it is just right to give it to Garnett.

And Garnett also said that he had only won an All-Star MVP in the West before, and had not won an All-Star MVP in the East, so he did not refuse Doane's kindness.

As for Roel Deng and Josh Smith, do they crave All-Star MVP honors? That's certainly gluttonous.

However, the first time I participated in the All-Star Game, my qualifications were still shallow, and there was no one to help, so I finally performed more averagely.

From Doon's point of view, forcibly pulling out the seedlings to help them grow will have a detrimental effect on them.

Besides, there's only one All-Star MVP!

In order to build his own dynasty for three consecutive championships, Doon obviously needs to eat the rookie dividends of Roel Deng and Josh Smith.

So at this stage, it is not yet time to unload the mill and kill the donkey, so naturally there is no need to take precautions and do this kind of thing in advance, take the initiative to engage in internal coaxing, and destroy the atmosphere of the locker room.

Taking a step back, with Doon's current strength, even if there is really a Jordan in the team, he is not afraid that the status of the boss will not be guaranteed.

What's more, today's teammates are only All-Star level, and their talent is really limited.

Normally, players like Rohr Deng and Josh Smith who play on their bodies will be All-Stars.

Knowing where his teammates' limits are, Doon is naturally not worried about whether his teammates will play too well and pose a threat to his team's status.

What Doon is really worried about is whether his teammates have been winning games recently, whether their mentality is too relaxed, or whether they will do some inappropriate things in private that will affect the major events of winning the championship this season.

Then there's the physical condition of the teammates.

Health wins the championship! Prior to All-Star Weekend, the Bulls had already had three injuries.

And it's not a small injury like boiling water scalding your mouth and closing the car door and pinching your fingers. Shoulder, knee, groin and other injuries have a greater impact.

Fortunately, the Bulls have no shortage of players to play, and even if Ben Gordon is injured, there are people who take his place.

For now, as long as Doon and Garnett are not injured, it will have little impact on the Bulls' regular season record.

As for the playoffs, there are still two months to go, and no one can say what will happen then.

In other words, after Garnett won the All-Star MVP trophy from New Orleans, he quickly helped the Bulls do a big thing.

It is also because Ben Gordon is still recovering from an injury, and the schedule in the second half of the regular season is more difficult to play than in the first half of the regular season, and the lack of point guards in the Bulls is more serious.

Garnett understood the current troubles on the Bulls, so he quickly teamed up with his former teammate alien Cassel to convince him to buy out his contract with the Clippers and then switch to the Bulls.

By the wayside, the trade deadline was already around long before All-Star Weekend.

Then after the trade deadline, if the championship team still wants to strengthen it, it can only be found from the veterans who have been cut.

At the same time, the league rules stipulate that players must be cut before March 1 to be eligible to represent other teams in the playoffs.

March 1 is the NBA's customary buyout deadline.

If the Bulls want to strengthen the backup point guard and increase the depth of the bench during the playoffs, they need a strong veteran like Kassel who still has gas in the tank.

However, Kassel has already won the championship with Olajuwon as soon as he entered the league, and Kassel is not like other veterans, eager to come to the Bulls to hold the thigh and mix the ring.

Therefore, the Bulls need Kassel to buy out the contract with the Clippers before March 1.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling is known to be more slashing than Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Raheem Sterling uses the Clippers as a cash cow, relying on the team to sell players and draft picks, as well as to keep the team's operating costs as low as possible, and rely on the league's cents to make a profit.

It is precisely because of this that the Clippers don't care much about the team's results, but more about how to save money and how to make money.

It's also because the Clippers' overall salary hovers up and down the poor ghost line all year round, and the Alan Houston clause is simply not needed.

In this way, the veterans who joined the Clippers can easily be trapped.

After all, the Clippers need to play the regular season with fewer players, and they don't care so much about results.

Cassel originally wanted to assist Elton Brand in the West, but who knew that the Clippers would not be able to make up for it, and after not playing a few games in the regular season this year, Brand suffered an injury and was reimbursed for the season.

And because the team owner likes to break into the locker room with his girlfriend, watch the black players take a shower, and even point fingers at the players like a slave, Cassel has long wanted to leave the Clippers, leave Los Angeles, and play in other cities.

The problem is, the Clippers are reluctant to buy out, after all, it won't do them any good.

Then the veteran who originally played in the Clippers wanted to find another job, either to complete the contract, or to voluntarily give up the remaining part of his salary and buy out the contract with the Clippers.

Kassel happens to be a contract year this year, and he got a mid-range contract of six million with the Clippers, which is not large, but it is impossible to give up the remaining millions at will.

After all, even if you switch to other teams, you can only get a veteran base salary contract of more than one million, and the actual salary is only hundreds of thousands.

Kassel has no shortage of championship rings to prove himself, and now that he is in the late stages of his career, he naturally cares more about money than about hitting the championship again.

If it weren't for Garnett's invitation, and the Bulls' good record and large traffic, the Bulls' players would be more likely to be poached by other teams at a premium, and Cassel would not choose to give up the rest of his salary in exchange for a free agent.

It can only be said that Kassel bears all the risks, and the Bulls make a lot of money.

The Bulls are already short of point guards, let alone Kassel, who is far more powerful than famous, and can bring championships to the team.

It is worth mentioning that the Bulls have won two consecutive championships and have already made money.

is also because the Bulls have been outstanding in the past two years, and it is difficult for other teams not to envy, envy and hate the Bulls, and have some hostility.

There is competition in all walks of life, and it is the most normal phenomenon to look forward to the death of peers.

NBA teams know the attraction of the Bulls to veterans this year, so there are not many veterans who have been bought out in the middle of the regular season this year, unless it is a team that is eager to cut taxes, and the rest of the teams do not want to cheap the Bulls.

Of course, the bull is not a garbage collection station, not for everyone.

The Bulls will only rush to ask for a point guard like Kassel who has gas in the tank and is a point guard that the Bulls desperately need.

Of course, after Kassel bought out the contract, it was actually quite sought-after.

Even the Lakers, who are in the same city as the Clippers, want to get close to the water and get the moon first, throwing an olive branch to Cassel.

After all, Cassel is still averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season, which is still a qualified starting point guard.

That is, Garnett, who convinced Cassel's former teammate early, and the Bulls picked up a Cassel for nothing.

And Kassel is obviously more interested in joining the Bulls.

On the third day of his contract with the Clippers, he came to Chicago with his agent.

In the afternoon of the same day, the contract was finalized.

In the evening, Doon and Garnett attended a press conference hosted by the Bulls to welcome Kassel.

'I've worked with Sam before and I know very well what Sam is capable of and he can make other players play better.

As a former teammate and the introducer of Cassel to join the Bulls, Garnett naturally supported Cassel.

And Doon, as the boss of the Bulls, also showed a welcoming attitude: "We are now in a more difficult stage, we need Sam so much!" ”

If another team injured a main player, it would be reasonable to say that it was in a difficult stage.

However, the Bulls are still on a winning streak after Ben Gordon's injury.

Before joining the Bulls, Kassel naturally had a little knowledge of the Bulls.

Cassel knew very well that what Doon was saying now was just a few polite words.

However, no one would not like to hear good things from others, and Cassel would naturally like the attitude that Doon is showing at the moment.

Because there are less than 30 games left before the end of the regular season, the time is also relatively urgent.

Kassel wants to integrate into the team as soon as possible, and now he is also taking the initiative to lower his profile.

"You should know that I played in Milwaukee for a lot of years.

Milwaukee is a short distance from Chicago, so I know a lot about the city.

I love it here and my family and I love the city.

It's an honor to be able to play in this city!

I'm going to do my best to help the team get good results.

Even if I can't play, I'll use my experience to help the young players in the team. ”

After Kassel became famous, he has been playing as a starter.

Now at the press conference, he expressed his willingness to play as a substitute, which is undoubtedly lowering his profile.

"I believe Sam's abilities will help us get through this.

Sam was able to provide what we needed in our starting line-up.

Of course, the specific situation depends on the team's arrangement.

In my personal opinion, Sam's quality is good enough to play as a starter. ”

Whoever holds a salary for the people, do not let him freeze to death in the wind and snow.

Kassel gave up part of his salary to the Bulls to get the veteran's base salary and help the Bulls win the championship.

Although the strength of the bull itself is still very strong, and the difficulty of winning three consecutive championships is not too great, after all, people are here to help, if not in the snow, at least it is the icing on the cake.

So, before Ben Gordon returned from injury, Doon backed Kassel to start.

In this way, Doon can also better help Kassel and integrate him into the team as soon as possible.

As for Ben Gordon's return from injury, the final selection for the starting point guard.

It's not difficult to solve, competition for posts!

Ben Gordon's return from injury is expected to be in mid-March, a month before the end of the regular season.

The Bulls have time to lay out combinations and experiment with better playoff lineups.

In other words, although the arrival of Kassel, the Bulls' record has been slightly bumpy.

But it's not a big problem, Cassel's original state is okay, and he was in the Bucks before, and he also played fast break under the guidance of George Karl.

It's just that the Bulls and Bucks have a different style of fast-break play.

The Bucks are just trying to attack, and the Bulls' fast break is built on defense.

Kassel was really not good physically, and his defense was not much better than Ben Gordon.

However, the Bulls' defensive resources are sufficient, and Kassel's problems on the defensive end are not serious.

As long as Cassel can fit into the Bulls' offensive system as soon as possible, and then help Doane take the pressure off the ball and playmaking, there's nothing left.

As for not being able to hit 73 wins again, the Bulls didn't care too much about the regular season record, anyway, 60 wins this year are still very stable, and it is not surprising that it is the first place in the East.

The Celtics are also playing well, with 60 wins expected this year, but they lack defense and will struggle to win against some strong teams in the West.

The Bulls don't have much pressure in the East, and with the early confirmation of the playoffs, there's nothing to worry about.

The only thing to be aware of is the health of the players.

Therefore, in the next regular season, the Bulls once again offered a rotation rest method, whether it is the main players or the bench players, there are new arrangements.

Even Doon was given more time to rest, playing only half of the game in several games, or jumping and playing half of each quarter.

However, when Ben Gordon returned from injury and the Bulls returned to full fitness, the Bulls readjusted their rotation schedule.

This is mainly to prepare for the playoffs, and the rotation time of the players is fixed, so that everyone is not easy to mess up, which is more conducive to the Bulls players to adapt to the rhythm of the game.

Of course, after the rotation is fixed, the Bulls are not at peace.

Ben Gordon wants to return to the starting line-up, but he really can't compete with Kassel in terms of squad fit.

And Ben Gordon is in his contract year, and a contract is clearly more important than a championship ring.

However, the friction within the team has not yet heated up, and it will not affect the team's record for the time being.

With the final game of the regular season at the end, the Bulls qualified for the playoffs with a 66-16 record and the first record in the league. (End of chapter)