Chapter 845 [Easy Signings, Reduced Quota]
Major sports media analyzed the Clippers' signing intentions and believed that Yang Rui wanted to maintain the team's desire to win. With Nene and Gasol, the Clippers' center position is no worse than last season, but the No. 4 position has weakened.
At present, everyone underestimates Draymond Green, and Yang Rui will not tell anyone that he is more optimistic about this short insider than Griffin. People will understand in the future. The impact of the Clippers' No. 4 position has indeed dropped a bit, and the defense will be better.
After training, when the players reach their peak, the defense of Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Draymond, and Danny Green will definitely collapse the opponent. Maybe the Clippers will become the best defensive team in the league.
Two days later, Tyson Chandler joined the Knicks for 52 million in four years. It didn't matter to the Clippers. They didn't offer Chandler at all.
The Knicks performed very poorly inside last season, and the center has always been their biggest weakness. Now Chandler is no longer the best defensive player, and the Knicks may still struggle inside next season.
Chandler just wants to earn a big contract to retire while he can still play, the data is not ugly, New York is a good choice. Even if Yang Rui persuades him to stay, he will not execute the last year of the contract. It will be miserable if he cannot produce good data next season. Every time he gets older, there is a risk of devaluation.
The Wizards poached another player from the Clippers, signing veteran Elton Brand for $2 million in one year.
This is a gift that comes with Parsons joining the Wizards. He knows that Brand still has the strength, but the Clippers have too many insiders to hit the ball. It is still possible for the Wizards to make up for the vacancy left by Nene.
Then, the Wizards signed veteran Paul Pierce for 11 million in two years, with a player option in the second year.
They also renewed the contract of starting center Marcin Gortat for 5 years and 60 million, and the lineup has been strengthened. The management's idea is very clear: to win the championship next season without leaving any salary space.
The Wizards already have the capital to compete with the Nets. They have assembled a starting lineup of John Wall, Klay Thompson, Pierce, Parsons, and Gortat. The person who is least good at shooting is actually point guard Wall. Well, teammates can create space for him to break through.
Small forward Trevor Ariza is a free agent. He played well in the contract year and was poached by the Rockets for 32 million in 4 years. For Parsons, the Wizards cannot afford to renew Ariza's contract with a high salary, but they still have outstanding role players such as Trevor Booker, Gooden, and Webster on the bench.
The Clippers' backup point guard Shaun Livingston was also poached, and the Warriors offered a three-year, mid-level contract worth 16 million. With the ring in hand, Livingston also wanted a high salary and agreed to the offer. He is a free agent and the Clippers cannot match the contract.
The Clippers did not make an offer to Livingston because they selected combo guard Zach LaVine this year. LaVine is two levels higher than Livingston in terms of physical fitness. He also has a good three-point shot and a better offense. , but lacks stability.
If Livingston is retained, it will be stable enough. You can't reuse the veteran without cultivating LaVine and let him be a peripheral member of the team, right?
To free up the position, the Clippers will have to sign someone in the free market.
It is very easy for the Clippers to sign substitute players this year. There is no need to deliberately pursue them. Many people have volunteered and want to join.
Point guard Jordan Farmar, who is 188cm tall, is willing to accept a veteran's minimum salary contract. He played 41 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 22.2 minutes per game, scoring 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists, and shooting 43.8% from three-point range. , 1.7 three-pointers per game.
Farmar was born in a wealthy family in California, and everything has been smooth sailing since he was a child. In high school, he was recognized as a talented point guard in the United States. He was undisputedly selected for the McDonald's All-Star Game that year, and he was drafted into the NBA. He has always been able to find a job. He's a good role player.
Farmar has played in the league for 7 seasons. He is not short of money and just wants to win the championship. After being seriously injured last season, he has hidden dangers of injury. If he doesn't join a strong team to win the championship, he is afraid of an accident. He is very smart. He joined the Clippers as a marginal player and did not have much playing time.
It can take a year to recover, and the injury can be completely healed, so that you can play for longer in the future.
After signing, when talking about leaving the Lakers and choosing the Clippers, Farmar's words clearly contained dissatisfaction with the Lakers. He said: "The feeling in the Lakers is: 'Yes, we like you, we want you to stay here. ', but I don't know what I'm going to get with the Lakers."
Farmar said: "You don't know who your coach will be in the new season, you don't know who you will be your teammates with in the new season, and they have not made any promises in this regard."
For several consecutive seasons, the Lakers have aimed to "win the championship" and "not suck" as their purpose, not to suck, but to really suck. Anyone who is interested in achieving success would not want to stay there, just to make money.
Yang Rui thought about poaching Kings backup point guard Isiah Thomas, who could sign a four-year contract with an annual salary of less than 10 million, but gave up after careful consideration. The role was too useless.
If Thomas simply serves as a substitute for Curry, he will not be able to play 20 minutes in a game. If his playing time is increased, then a two-back tactic will have to be used, with Curry taking the No. 2 position, and the defensive end will become a torment for the team. core.
All teams will arrange their core to guard players who are easier to deal with and focus more on the offensive end. When Paul was there, it was a bit depressing for Curry to play the 2 position, but he definitely can't do that now.
On the 14th, the Clippers signed a backup small forward, James Jones, with a one-year minimum salary.
Jones was injured last season. He only played 20 games for the Cavaliers in the regular season. He scored 4.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 11.8 minutes. He shot 45.6% from the field and 51.9% from three-point range. He averaged 1.4 three-pointers per game. .
When many teams hoped to sign James, Yang Rui focused on James' younger brother. He feels that the Clippers have too many potential swing players and cannot train young people. Another year of Allen Crabbe's rest will affect his confidence.
If James is signed, everyone will be useless. Instead of watching James play by himself, it is better to find a stable three-pointer as a substitute. He can defend for a few minutes and hit open three-pointers. It is enough.
Yang Rui remembers that Jones was in good shape in the past few years. The Cavaliers suffered serious injuries in the 15th Finals in his previous life. Jones played for a long time and had no loopholes on the defensive end.
Two days later, the Clippers signed forward Robert Covington, who is 206cm tall and weighs 100kg, with a minimum salary.
He is a non-draft player who entered the NBA. He only played 7 games for the Rockets last season, averaging 2.3 points and 0.7 rebounds per game, shooting 42.9% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range. He spent most of his time in the Development League.
No one understands what the Clippers' signing means. Covington has no reputation. Yang Rui knows this person's specialty, which is shooting three-pointers. As long as he plays, more than half of his shots are three-pointers. He was signed to replace Parsons.
The Clippers already have 13 players, with only two spots left, and if Jokic comes next year, he will still have to occupy one spot.
Seeing that every spot on the Clippers team was taken up by players with minimum salaries, James, who wanted to join the Clippers the most, finally couldn't sit still and asked members of the agency team to find someone to test his words.
His most ideal situation is for the Clippers to sign and trade the star with the Cavaliers and trade him to the team, but the Clippers have no intention at all.
James has a wide network of contacts and has capable people around him. He has expected that the league will increase wages in the future, so he plans to sign a short-term contract first, and will only accept a two-year contract worth about 40 million. The beauty of signing for 2 years will be fully realized in the summer of 2016.
He plans to win the championship with the Clippers, then return to Cleveland, and lead the Cavaliers to compete for the championship in the remaining days. Unfortunately, how can there be so many good things? God is not his father.