Chapter 647 [Clippers New Aid, Ultimate Plan]

Clippers manager Nell Olshey has actually been recruiting people early in the morning. He is looking for role players who are easy to poach, not stars. Everything is subject to Yang Rui's arrangements.

Among the Clippers' free agents, only power forward Steve Novak has received a contract extension, while Bobby Brown, Marty Collins, Rasu Butler, Steve Blake, and Brian S. Kinner, Marcus Camby, Greg Smith and others were all waived.

Seeing that the Clippers team is almost empty, more and more people are watching the excitement. Among them, those who most hope Yang Rui will be defeated are the Buss family and Kobe Bryant. If the Clippers rise, they will form a competitive relationship with the Lakers and directly affect the Lakers market.

It would be better if no big-name stars join. It would be better if Yang Rui leads the team and fails to make the playoffs. His influence will not be so great after the Clippers have been in decline for a few years.

In early July, the Clippers finalized two assistant coaches. The first assistant is Steve Kerr, who was the manager of the Suns last season and was just fired; the other is a coach who won a championship with Yang Rui with the Wizards. Backup point guard Tyronn Lue retired in 2009.

This matter also made the news. Many people felt that Yang Rui was becoming more and more casual in selecting assistant coaches. The two had neither experience nor fame.

In the second half of July, the Clippers began to sign new players.

The first pick was given to Cavaliers restricted free agent Rudy Gay, with a full mid-level salary of 34 million over five years, the same price as the Magic's signing of backup center Gortat.

The Cavaliers signed Mike Miller with the mid-level, and it was impossible to renew Gay's contract, and the management did not want to renew Gay's contract.

This signing has left many people confused. Gay is just a blue-collar player in the Cavaliers with very poor statistics. He was pushed to the bench by Anthony Parker last season. He averaged only 8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He doesn't look like he is worthy of it. Middle class people.

In Yang Rui's mind, Guy is the one who must be selected. He even feels a bit dreamy, and it is too easy to sign him.

Even if Gay didn't have the ball in the Cavaliers for four years, his physical fitness alone is worth cultivating. He is 203cm tall and weighs 104kg. He has the body to play as a power forward and is as fast as a guard. His pull-up jump shot is almost impossible to block. .

In Yang Rui's previous life, Gay's contract extension with the Grizzlies was as big as Durant's. If you sign a maximum salary, Gay will have a bad contract. He relies too much on mid-range shots, has low lethality and few free throws, average organizational skills, and cannot drive his teammates. If you take Gay if you are just in the middle class, the contract is absolutely worth it.

The second pick was still a swingman, and the Clippers gave Kyle Korver a three-year, 15 million mini-mid-level package. Korver is a super three-point shooter, but his defense is slightly inferior and he can open up space very well.

With the third pick, the Clippers poached Celtics guard Tony Allen for $10 million in three years.

Tony Allen agreed without thinking. He lacked shooting ability and was just a blue-collar worker. It was difficult to get a contract. This was already the biggest offer he could receive.

Yang Rui likes to attack and does not give up defense completely. He knows the value of Tony Allen and will be selected to the All-Defensive Team many times in the future. His candy-like defense made all outside scorers miserable. He repeatedly defended Kobe Bryant to less than 20 points and shot less than 40% from the field.

The most heroic thing is that Tony Allen played for the Grizzlies in the previous playoffs and defeated Durant.

Tony Allen, who is 193cm tall, was actually able to guard Durant and his efficiency dropped drastically. People who have not watched the game may not believe it, but it did happen. He kept pestering Durant and made it difficult for Durant to catch the ball. Turning around, he could only force a turn and jump shot, losing his shooting rhythm.

With the fourth pick, the Clippers used two years of basic salary to poach Spurs edge center Ian Mahinmi. Because of the presence of Duncan and Scola, he had almost no chance to perform last season.

Yang Rui is optimistic about Mahinmi's defense. His defensive ability is seriously underestimated. He has a strong body, strong mobility, and can defend pick-and-rolls. Because he has no data, he cannot sign a big contract.

The Spurs are still negotiating with Scola's agent and have no time to care about Mahinmi as a substitute.

With the fifth pick, Yang Rui asked scouts to find a non-draft player, combo guard Gary Neal.

Signed a two-year minimum salary with a team option for the second year.

As the saying goes, heroes don't care where they come from. Those players who failed in the NBA draft or never participated in the NBA draft may not be just scraps. Many of them have become quite outstanding stars.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Neal, who was 193cm tall and weighed 95 kilograms, left a deep impression on him. Although his organization was poor, he was accurate in three-pointers and often had convulsions. After joining the Spurs, he immediately became an outstanding ability in immediate combat.

With the sixth pick, Yang Rui found Danny Green, a fringe player who had been abandoned by the Cavaliers, and gave him an unguaranteed basic salary. They would play preseason games with him. If he doesn't perform well, he can be waived at any time.

Yang Rui believes that Green can play well, but he pays attention to gradual progress, rather than giving a long-term contract all at once. In that case, Green's mentality will change, and he may not train as hard, and he doesn't know whether he can achieve the same success as he did with the Spurs.

Now that he has joined the Clippers and plans to develop in Los Angeles in the future, Yang Rui is determined to nip some opponents in the bud. Without Curry, the Warriors, and the Spurs without Neal and Green, their strength will decline.

However, in the eyes of others, the Clippers just signed a few role players and blue-collar substitutes, without any future.

Dunleavy signed a five-year, 44 million contract in 2005, which was implemented in 2006 and expired in 2011. With the last year left, Yang Rui did not intend to keep him, leaving the management to seek deals with other teams.

Dunleavy's advantage is that he can shoot three-pointers, 206cm, and his 100kg body is his weakness. He is slow to defend the 3rd position and cannot defend the 4th position. In Yang Rui's previous life, even people like Nelson who didn't like defense looked down on Dunleavy, thinking that his defense was too poor.

Manager Olshey first approached the Pacers and proposed to trade Dunleavy for Paul George and Josh McRoberts. The Pacers management was not that stupid and refused directly.

Paul George is a player who needs the ball to perform. It is difficult to perform during the Clippers' rookie contract. Yang Rui's idea is that the more potential newcomers, the better. Even if George cannot score many points, he can still help the team on the defensive end with his physical fitness. .

After the failure, Yang Rui asked Olshey to contact the Hornets to prepare for the ultimate summer plan.

Yang Rui doesn't care that free market stars are unwilling to join the Clippers. He values ​​people who can help his teammates.

Curry, Griffin, and Gay all need time to practice. Young players are relatively rough and have poor coordination. Based on their performance alone, it is impossible for the Clippers to win the championship next season. It will be difficult for Yang Rui to maintain the record of never missing the conference finals.

Therefore, he needs a core who can drive the whole team, and this person is Hornets point guard Chris Paul.

It's no secret that Paul wants to leave the Hornets. The Hornets didn't make the playoffs last season. Paul only played 45 games due to injuries, scoring 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 10.7 assists.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Paul joined the Clippers in 2011. Although he later failed to lead the team beyond the second round of the playoffs, there is no doubt about his strength and he can lead the team to play beautiful games.

By poaching Paul, the Clippers' offense will have a backbone, and a group of newcomers can get used to it faster, which is very crucial.

As for the bargaining chip, Olshey told the Hornets manager that in addition to Curry and Griffin, the Clippers have everyone else the Hornets can choose, as well as unprotected first-round picks and second-round picks in the next two years. What does the Hornets want? They give whatever they want, as long as salary parity is achieved.

This is the most sincere offer the Hornets management has received. The offers offered by other teams to poach Paul are simply robbing him. Hornets owner George Sheehan immediately called a meeting, and he was moved.