Chapter 1586 1585. A Lofty Dream, a Destined Process

Among the people in the room, Liu Mang and Price had the hottest tempers. Ma Long had become much gentler after his retirement. Except for occasionally boxing, although the others were also very angry, they felt a bit inexplicable.

After being confused, I realized that the other party might still want the lion to open his mouth.

However, the Raptors rejected such an offer, so Liu Mang could refuse. He said before others could speak: "Our lineup is enough to win the championship. Kwame is good enough. We don't need to upgrade the core of the interior. A center with these characteristics is enough, so just reject them."

"That's true, but Ace, are you sure Tracy still has the fighting spirit?" Stockton asked.

Stockton's words were sharp, but they spoke to the hearts of everyone present.

The same goes for Liu Mang. He doesn't know if McGrady, who has won three championships and is 29 years old, still has the energy to focus on the defensive end as before.

In terms of strength, McGrady's current strength is still at the super giant level, but his personality is a double-edged sword!

McGrady doesn't care about the boss position. He is the key to the Hawks' stable and consecutive appearances in the finals in the past few years and four championships in five years.

But McGrady's mentality of being satisfied once he gets the honor limits McGrady's room for further progress.

Liu Mang felt that if he had won the second title three times, he would definitely try his best to become the boss, but McGrady did not have such a mentality.

Unless he loses and the loss makes him very unhappy, McGrady will want to respond in the new year.

But after winning the championship, I don’t know what will happen.

However, only Stockton or Malone dared to say this in front of Liu Mang. Everyone else knew about this possibility, but they would not say it. Malone was usually a boring gourd, and they would not say it. Stockton knew it. I can only say it myself.

As Liu Mang said, a team that has just won the championship has no reason to trade for a center, even if the center is basically recognized as the number one center.

But one unstable factor for the Hawks is Tracy McGrady, which is why the Hawks management desperately wants to strengthen the interior this summer.

The Tracy McGrady who can be met will definitely not be so focused in some aspects, and the team's outside will definitely be affected, so it is very important to strengthen the inside.

This is not unfounded worry, but a proven fact.

They are all "Pippen". Jordan's Pippen's offense is far inferior to Liu Mang's McGrady, but his defense is better, and he has always focused on defense. Liu Mang's McGrady is undoubtedly better than Pippen, and there are things Pippen can do. , McGrady can do it with just a little bit of effort, but the hard work that Pippen possesses has been shown by McGrady only this season for four years.

Even this kind of hard work only happened in one year in McGrady's eleven-year career.

But everyone present knows the relationship between Liu Mang and McGrady. Compared with the original Mitaka, the current version of Mitaka is even more intimate.

The relationship between Stockton and McGrady is really average. He looks down on McGrady's lack of motivation after winning the championship and just averaging 20+5+5 per game and being lazy. Of course, the one Stockton values ​​most is Liu Mang. He wants to do everything he can to help Liu Mang...more than Michael Jordan, whom he hates the most, even if he becomes this evil person.

Just like Jordan praised McGrady's talent and strength but said that Kobe was stronger, the older generation of superstars in the 1980s and 1990s preferred people who worked harder and worked harder.

The scene was awkward.

Generally speaking, if the trade proposal is rejected, you should find a way to communicate with the other party, but now no one is thinking about how to convince the Raptors to accept the offer. Everyone has their own thoughts.

Just when the atmosphere was awkward, a second email came back from the Raptors, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the room.

Seeing that everyone else in the room was more or less interested in the trade request sent by the Raptors, Liu Mang was distressed.

The pain that comes with being strong.

The team's ideals are lofty, and Liu Mang's own ideals are also lofty. The team wants to help Liu Mang realize his ideals, and at the same time, the team wants to realize his ideals for himself. Some things are not that simple.

Liu Mang knew that his pursuit was right, the team's approach was right, and some people were right, but... being strong enough to challenge the strongest might have been doomed from the beginning...

…

…

At 5:30 pm on June 27, 2008, there were less than two hours left before the draft. The major television stations were already broadcasting their own footage of the rookies and their families before the draft and what they were doing. A good show about the major new talent.

Suddenly, the fast ESPN and Time Warner interrupted the broadcast of the special program before the draft and inserted a temporary news. Then other media also broke the news.

Poor 2008 rookies, the draft hasn't even started yet, and their limelight has been stolen!

The Atlanta Hawks sent Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown, this year's No. 10 pick in the first round, Brad Miller, and Jermaine O'Neal, and received Darko Milley from the Raptors. Cic, the Raptors' two unprotected first-round picks in 2010 and 2012, the Raptors' top-five protected picks in the first round in 2014, and the Rockets' 20th overall pick in this year's first round. The Lakers acquired this year's 26th pick in the first round from the Rockets.

The Rockets gave away their own No. 20 pick in the first round this year and the Lakers' No. 26 pick in the first round, which they acquired when trading Yao Ming, and received the No. 10 pick in the first round from the Hawks, Jermaine O'Neal. and Sharad Lewis from the Raptors.

The Raptors sent Darko Milicic, Sharad Lewis and three first-round picks to get Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown, and Brad Miller from the Hawks.

The official websites of the Eagles and Raptors and the NBA official website subsequently followed up and confirmed the transaction!

The news came very suddenly and very exciting!

From all aspects, when the media and fans learned the news, they felt that the Eagles were losing blood!

The Eagles are indeed damaged. No matter how strong Milicic becomes, he will not be better than Tracy McGrady and Kwame Brown. Just talking about Kwame Brown, if you really want to say that Milicic is better than Kwame Brown. His help defense and organization of offense.

This trade almost split the Eagles' core lineup in half!

Half of the core combination on the inside was gone, and Mitaka on the outside removed one.

The most important thing is that Liu Mang has never partnered with a super center like Milicic!

Let’s take a closer look at the centers Liu Mang has played with. Ratliff and Kwame Brown are just two All-Stars, and they are both defensive.

Is it really good to get a center like Milicic?

Rondo, McGrady, Wade, Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Grant Hill, the Hawks' six-man perimeter rotation last season played well because they didn't need to consider whether there was a ball inside. Very important.

Now there is suddenly an additional ball-holding point inside...

On the contrary, it's the Raptors...

exploded!

Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown…

Split Milicic into two people, and his strength increases dramatically!

Regardless of the age issue, at least in the next two or three years, before McGrady may collapse in his 30s, the strength of the Raptors has been qualitatively improved!

But the Raptors feel like they are gambling for the past two or three years. People don’t think highly of the Raptors because they have also included the next three first-rounders. This time the Raptors tempted the Hawks to reach a goal. The key to trading.

Three whole first rounds!

To most people, this is a lose-lose deal.

The strength of the Eagles has weakened, and people still think they are the strongest in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have overdrawn their future and their strength has surged at this stage, but it is still difficult to win against the Eagles. In the next seven to ten years, Milicic will be the top insider. If you can’t keep it, even if you become stronger, it will be difficult to move beyond the east...

People have a low opinion of the Eagles' trade. It's not that they don't think highly of Milicic. Milicic, who just turned 23, plus Liu Mang, who only turned 26 in the summer. With Liu Mang's playing style and health, and With the Hawks' assistant coach Stockton and Malone as their trainer, people don't doubt that Liu Mang is still the top point guard at the age of 36.

But the Hawks have just won the championship. There is no need to trade for the possible decline of Tracy McGrady in two or three years. It is absolutely not a mistake!

Now that the Eagles lineup has the opportunity to build a dynasty again, people can't figure out why the Eagles don't tightly grasp the immediate interests and instead pursue the future.

If we don’t seize the opportunity to defend our title this time, will the long-term combination of Liu Mang + Milicic ensure the championship in the future?

It's really hard to say.

There are too many examples of outstanding two-star combinations failing to win a championship in their lifetime.

If there is a "win-win" between the Hawks and Raptors, it is probably that both teams have reduced salary pressure.

The Hawks gave away McGrady, Kwame Brown, and Brad Miller's total contract of more than 35 million, and O'Neal's 2.1 million was also given away. Milicic's salary next season after the trade is 1815 , the Eagles suddenly reduced their salary by about 17 million, and they also had to pay more than 17 million less in luxury tax.

Although the Raptors accepted Brad Miller's garbage contract, they sent Lewis, who had been signed last year with a total of more than 50 million in three years, to the Rockets. Brad Miller's big contract With only one year left, the Raptors will be much better off with another year of cap space.

When the deal was concluded, Liu Mang had already returned to Atlanta and had a quarrel with the management. Liu Mang was no longer interested in the following draft games.

In another hotel in New York, Ujiri and Colangelo, who had been praised by the real boss, were toasting in celebration.

Ujiri's target is the Hawks, whether it is to get McGrady or Wade. Of course, the core chip needs Kwame Brown to supplement the center position.

At the same time, he also had some expectations, hoping that the integrity of the Eagles would be destroyed!

Judging from the media's reaction, people's judgment is the same as his expectations!