Chapter 553: 552. Six Party Big Deal!
The Chicago United Center is conducting its annual joint tryout.
All the talents who are about to participate in the NBA draft, more than 120 American high school students, college students, and overseas players who have received invitations for joint training, are trying their best to show their talents.
The joint trial training, called joint training, is actually the largest trial training for all rookies who have received the invitation for the joint trial training and accepted the invitation. It is to decide what to try and the order of the trial training. , are the Bulls.
One by one trial training process, the scouts and coaches of each team are carefully observing the ones they want to choose, or the candidates, or those who seem hopeless but have a chance to be upset and fall behind. Selected rookie.
For the Eagles, the coaching staff, the owner, and Liu Mang, who came to play with him, were all red-faced. Liu Mang also took a stack of scouting reports to find the rookies he was interested in and watch their tryouts.
It's just that what Liu Mang looked at was not the same group of draft candidates he wanted to submit to Coach Kruger.
Liu Mang is also an individual, of course he also wants to watch the trial training of those talented stars whose talents can be seen with the naked eye!
In the morning, there is a joint trial training, and in the afternoon, it is a competition for the 13 members of the Little Green House to demonstrate their abilities.
The joint trial training is divided into three areas. They are respectively in the competition field of the United Center. Most of the seats are removed and divided into several areas. There are various equipment or running tracks. Here is a display of physical fitness. There are also two training grounds, which are for the display of skills and shooting. More than 100 invited rookies will show their abilities in groups according to the order of the lottery. They will start in three areas at the same time, and then change the venue. .
It's quite troublesome, so a team needs many people to directly see the performance of several players they like.
Liu Mang turned around and saw James and Anthony who were warming up together before the trial training!
"Wow, Ace, I didn't expect you to come! Long time no see!" James saw Liu Mang coming up and gave him a warm hug, "Ace, this is Melo, Melo, this is Ace, my brother. "
James has not yet entered the NBA, but he has already begun to show his social skills like a social butterfly.
"Oh, LeBron, long time no see." Liu Mang also gave a warm hug. Although he is a future opponent, but they are also under the same endorsement brand, it is not impossible to be friends.
Although the relationship with the little blacksmith is bad, but the relationship is not too much, the alliance is so big, such as the other party's personality is not bad, why bother to be red-eyed.
But not that familiar with Anthony, Liu Mang just shook hands: "Hi, I'm Ace."
"Hello, I'm Carmelo Anthony." Anthony was not as active as James, and smiled shyly.
"Ace, are you here to help your team draft? I heard that your draft vision is very good. I'm curious about the Wade you suggested to the Cavaliers. By the way, which rookie are you interested in this year? ? The two of us plus Wade, you must not be able to choose, why don’t you take us to see it together?” James said this matter without any grievances.
The latter thing that James said is also what other teams really want to know. Whose trial training does Liu Mang want to see? There are even teams that are ready to snatch the rookies Liu Mang focuses on in the middle and late stages of the first round.
Liu Mang looked at James, who had a very mature personality from the very beginning, maybe this is also an innate talent!
"Dwyane is a great player, you can get to know him better, he and I are in the same company, but today I mainly come to see the trial training of some of your top picks, I am not interested in other things. "Liu Mang laughed.
Liu Mang already has a candidate to recommend, let's try out this thing, if some buried geniuses can really show their abilities through trial training, they won't be buried in the second round or even lost, the draft is nothing more than It is to choose players with immediate combat power and betting talent, who can never be favored to counterattack every year. There are only a few players. Liu Mang can rise easily based on what he knows can rise and will not be affected by too many other factors. Just hand over the list of players to Coach Kruger.
For the trial training, of course it depends on James! Look at this may be the only trial training of super physical fitness men in NBA history.
"Really? Oh, Ace, we are brothers, just reveal who you want to choose!"
"You haven't gone to the Cavaliers yet! You want to help the Cavaliers collect information from me? It's a pity that the second round of the Cavaliers this year already belongs to our team. Our team's cool boy Ira New Bale will be your teammate next season."
"How come, what if Dwyane is chosen by the Cavaliers?"
"You are really dishonest..."
"..."
"..."
Liu Mang and James chatted and joked for a while, and then James and Anthony were called away by the staff to draw lots and take pictures.
Trial training is still very troublesome and stressful for rookies. There are only more than 100 rookies participating in the trial training. In addition to reporters and the official NBA camera crew, it is just the coaches and management of other teams. There are more than two hundred people, and the pressure to try out in front of these people who decide their future destiny can be imagined.
Liu Mang wandered around for a while, and some trial training had already started. Liu Mang met Wade and several unknown rookies brought by his agent Schwartz on the way. Although Schwartz had the income of a first-line agent , but it was all supported by Liu Mang alone. When competing with those big-name agents for the predicted lottery rookies, they didn't get any of them. Only Wade signed with Liu Mang's suggestion.
Yesterday, Liu Mang and Wade met and got to know each other. As a senior, the advice to Wade is to relax, and he can't help much else.
...
About half an hour later, at 9:30 in the morning, all preparations continued, and the three major regions began their respective trial training.
Liu Mang came to the physical fitness display area of the main court. This is what he most wanted to see, to see a group of "beast" physical fitness men show their talents.
There is no doubt that James is the one that has attracted the most attention. The speed at the point guard level, the strength at the forward level, the body of a power forward, and such a body, should not have flexibility, is a perfect specimen of a basketball genius Liu Mang heard the exclamation of Paul Silas, an acquaintance wearing the Cavaliers logo and former Eagles star who just became the head coach of the Cavaliers, who happened to be next to him.
Wade's trial training has also attracted a lot of attention. Seeing Wade's explosive power and short-distance explosive speed, some teams that were not able to invite Wade to the trial training in advance lamented that there is nothing worthless under the reputation. .
There are also trials of Bosh, Anthony, Milicic and others, all of which have received extremely high praise.
After watching these big hits, Liu Mang walked around and saw a guy who made him feel that he was no slower than Iverson. He conducted a sprint test, and the 109.36 yards was considered a long test. It's the 100-meter run.
Leonard Barbosa ran a speed of 10.58 seconds. This speed talent is simply amazing. He is not a professional sprinter, but he actually ran a speed that only a domestic first-level track and field athlete can have.
Liu Mang felt very sorry for Barbosa, and looked at the scout report in his hand: average skills, poor defense, playing purely by speed and confrontation with the basket, and has a certain shooting ability.
This evaluation is almost exactly the same as the Barbossa that Liu Mang knew.
Liu Mang regretted why Barbosa with such a speed talent didn't practice track and field, and then left.
The assistant coaches of other teams who followed Liu Mang wandered around and saw Liu Mang staying so long for the first time except for popular players, they all wrote down Barbosa's name in their small notebooks.
And when Liu Mang saw some players he liked, he just took a look and left, mainly because his performance in the trial training was really bad...
The large-scale trial training for more than two hours in the morning, and watching the 13-person draw in the small green house in the afternoon, the one-day joint trial training is over.
After returning to the hotel, it was another meeting.
After Liu Mang experienced the work of the team's summer decision-making team this time, he finally felt the hard work of a team's management team, and they really have meetings all day long.
Liu Mang handed over the list of rookies he wanted the team to pick to Coach Kruger.
If it is about who the team trades, the management will be resistant to dictating the players, but regarding Liu Mang's vision for the draft, the Eagles management can only say-convince!
Price and the coaching staff huddled together, eager to see who Liu Mang was looking for.
Then the more I watched, the more worried I became...
He's a handsome guy, but his physical fitness is also poor. Apart from shooting, his other skills are too poor!
One has good skills and good physical fitness, but his looks are too...excessive!
...
...
Time passed quickly, and in a flash, it was the sixth game between the Nets and the Spurs.
After the Spurs defended two consecutive home games, they lost two consecutive away games. At this time, people really felt that the Nets this year are indeed much stronger than last year, and they actually won two games.
In the battle of Tianwangshan, when only two Spurs scored in double figures, relying on Duncan's performance of double 20, which has become a habit in this year's playoffs, the Spurs won the victory and defeated the Nets 89 to 82.
This game is already the biggest point difference in the first five games. The first four games did not even have a point difference of more than 4 points, especially in the second game. The Spurs beat the Nets 77 to 76, but the Spurs had Duncan At the critical moment, a mid-range shot was made, and the Nets didn't have the one who made the final decision, so it can only be said that the fate was not good.
At the home court of the Nets today, Duncan did not give Kidd another chance. He played the most invincible game in this year's finals, scoring 22 points, 23 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks. He got a quadruple-double just two blocks away and led the Spurs. The team beat the Nets 85 to 75 and won the championship 4 to 2.
...
After Liu Mang watched the last game of the finals in a hotel in Chicago, he sighed that Duncan is still at his peak after undergoing meniscus suture surgery, and his bounce has been reduced a lot. If he hadn’t had that serious injury, he would be 27 or 8 years old now. How strong should the peak years of age be?
The system's evaluation of Duncan as a "born king" is really not for nothing.
Watching Kidd on the TV screen with an unhappy expression at home, because the Nets almost lost the game by three or four points in the previous games, Kidd was of course not angry.
Seeing that Kidd was so unhappy and unhappy, Liu Mang scolded that Kidd deserved it, then turned off the TV, and carried Dinah, who insisted on watching the game with him, but fell asleep watching such a boring game, to Lai. The door of Via's room, after knocking on the door and handing it to Levia, he went back to the room and waited for the good news of the team.
After the joint trial training, the team management and coaching staff will go to Atlanta immediately to start the trial training and subsequent trade negotiations.
The most important bargaining chip has been obtained, and how to operate the rest is not like negotiating with Angie, gambling psychologically, but relying on the relationship with the owners of each team, which needs to be handled by Price.
Liu Mang's family will continue to stay in Chicago for a few more days, and finally come out for a trip. Of course, they have to take a good look. When it comes to summer, they will be busy, training, endorsement publicity, returning home to visit their relatives...
On July 1st, all the endorsement fees for the first season will be credited to the account, and Liu Mang will also change from a middle-to-lower poor farmer in the NBA to a local tycoon.
Although the endorsement of the NBA does not stipulate when the money will be paid, it is basically a convention. It will be paid at the end of each season, because there are some reward clauses, such as Raheem, the first partner with Liu Mang. He was selected as an All-Star in the first season, and got some extra sneaker endorsement fees that season.
Generally speaking, for NBA stars, they don’t have much money when they are rookies. Banks will give almost interest-free loans, which is a kind of investment. After getting the performance, the bank can use this money to lend to others to earn more money back.
But Liu Mang is not used to this kind of lifestyle of overdrafting the future ahead of time, so he has been poor all the time, waiting for the endorsement of NBA stars. Although there is no express regulation in this regard, it has become a habit. Yes, go home again.
Parents are also considered to be in the middle class in China, otherwise they would not have the money to pay the high tuition fees for the first two years of Liu Mang’s university, so before Liu Mang received the big money, his family members did not reach out to him for money, and Liu Mang did not do it either. too many things.
But now that he is going to be rich, and if he is really rich, of course he has to return home.
...
...
After the joint trial training, after the joint trial training, people suddenly discovered that the teams that were selling some stars suddenly seemed to disappear from the news. Some young fans felt bored, the finals were boring, and there was no news in the trading market. Can refresh the things of the show.
But the old fans know that this weird quietness makes them feel a kind of undercurrent.
Often speaking, a deal that is so loud will be ruined in all likelihood in the end. On the contrary, in this weird and quiet atmosphere, big things often happen!
When Liu Mang arrived at this time, he was also a little nervous.
Sometimes it doesn't mean that if you give chips, people will definitely agree to accept the deal. This kind of thing is not good.
Ainge has a habit of collecting draft picks. It is definitely no problem to trade to Antoine Walker, but if Antoine Walker can’t make a shot in the end, then this deal will be ruined. It was all in vain.
Finally, at 11:30 in the evening, half an hour before the trading window between the finals and the draft, Liu Mang received a call from Coach Kruger. Hearing the excited voice on the other end of the phone, Liu Mang I finally breathed a sigh of relief...
...
At midnight on June 25, 2003.
The official NBA website has added a new news window for the draft trading period. Just a few minutes after the template came out at zero o'clock, the trading news broke out.
Several transactions were concluded within a few minutes.
First, the Eagles sent Ira Newbell to get the second overall pick in this year's second round from the Cavaliers.
The Spurs used the 29th pick in the first round and the 20th pick in the second round they traded before to get the Timberwolves' 24th pick in the first round.
The Eagles used the 14th pick in the first round of 2003 to get the 20th pick in the first round of 2003 that the Celtics exchanged with the Hornets in the early years, the second round pick of the Celtics in 2004, and the second round pick in 2004. The Magic's second-round pick.
And the Kings and Mavericks trade...
In the beginning, it was a few small transactions that people thought were insignificant. Although the Eagles split the first round into a first round and two second rounds, it was surprising, but it was not a big deal. It might just be the Eagles The players the team wants to draft aren't that highly projected.
Finally, at 00:10 in the morning, the enthusiastic basketball fans who were refreshing the website saw a shocking big deal, a six-team big deal involving nearly ten players and several draft picks!
The Celtics sent Antoine Walker to the Hawks for the 2004 first-round pick, the Hawks' 2006 first-round top-five pick protection, Danny Ferry from the Hawks, and Trier Brandon has only one year left on a partially guaranteed contract of 2.6 million, and the cash compensation of 3 million dollars provided by the Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves sent Trier Brandon, Mark Jackson, 3 million cash, the 29th overall pick in the first round of 2003, and the 20th overall pick in the second round of 2003 to the Knicks' Latril S. Prewell.
The Blazers sent Rasheed Wallace to Antawn Walker.
The Knicks sent Sprewell to get Kean Van Horn from the 76ers and the Timberwolves' 20th pick in the second round of 2003.
The 76ers sent Keane Van Horn to the Timberwolves center Mark Jackson, the 29th pick in the first round in 2003 and Chris Crawford from the Hawks.
The Hawks sent the lower draft pick between the Hawks and the Spurs in 2004, the top five protected picks in 2006, Danny Ferry, Chris Crawford, and got Rasheed Wallace!
...
Big deal for six teams!
With a sudden outbreak, the Spurs' championship night was completely taken away!
Originally, the major TV stations were still broadcasting the night carnival of the fans in San Antonio, so they urgently broadcast this news.
This news caused a sensation in the entire basketball circle.
Not to mention who was traded, just the big trade of six teams is extremely rare in NBA history. By the next morning, it has become the focus of discussion on the news of major sports TV stations. On the Internet, newspapers and media They also reported one after another, and fans and expert media also expressed their views.
For the 76ers, because Iverson will undergo surgery to treat his injury in the summer, he may not be able to play in the first two months of the season. After undergoing surgery, it is a foregone conclusion that the 76ers will fail, so they traded away Van Horn to save money and free up salary space. Maybe they can take over some expiring big contracts like Mark Jackson, and get some draft pick compensation or something.
The 76ers' operation has received good reviews.
The Blazers sent away Rasheed Wallace in exchange for Antoine Walker, and received good reviews, and there were also good reviews, because Antoine Walker has a good personality and is very lively although his style of play is a bit cancerous. , unlike Rasheed Wallace who eats technical fouls all day long.
The Knicks' operations are always so fascinating. Sending away Sprewell in exchange for Van Horn got a bad review. The Madman is much better than Van Horn, and the compensation he got is only a second-round pick.
The Celtics deal was also well-received. Antoine Walker bluntly said that he would leave, and it would be good to exchange for two first-rounders. The Trier Brandon contract with equal salary space is a partial guarantee. The last time Al Brandon played was in March 2002, and he has been reimbursed since then. He is expected to be laid off, but the Celtics got cash compensation from the Timberwolves.
Especially before the trade with the Eagles raised the pick of this year's draft year to the 14th pick. They have a greater chance of selecting the high school center they have tried out several times. The Celtics traded Great acclaim.
The highest evaluation is the Timberwolves!
They almost empty-handed the White Wolves. Not to mention the two big contracts of Trier Brandon and Mark Jackson, they also got the madman who was in good form last season. It was a perfect signing, and what was paid was only a 24th pick in the first round and 3 million cash!
Most of the five teams that were traded by the six teams received good reviews, and the Knicks, who were sprayed again, were regarded as a little worse at best.
As for the Eagles, people feel that the owner of the Eagles has once again plunged his head into the sea!
The 76ers are trying to get a bad draft pick. The Knicks are naturally mentally retarded. There is no worst but worse. The Blazers replaced the thorn with an all-around player. The Celtics are also forced to rebuild. The Timberwolves are perfect The signings strengthened the ability of shooting guard and striker.
And what is the Eagles planning? Not to mention the two first rounds, he also took over a thorn.
After the events of the season that just ended, the media and fans were not optimistic about the Eagles' deal. Price was also under pressure from the head office. Price could only hope that this signing was a success, and then Liu Mang really does as promised next time, and will not propose such unreliable deals in the future. He doesn't know how long he can last in this position by relying on Liu Mang to make money for the team.
When everyone said that the Eagles lost their minds in the Eastern Conference Finals and made a deal that went wrong, and most people were not optimistic about the Eagles' deal, there was a tough and distinctive one. The scolding came out.
Popovich was furious. In an interview, he cursed the Blazers as idiots and was tricked by the Eagles and Celtics.
Others can't see Rasheed Wallace's plasticity, how can Popovich not see it? It’s just that the Spurs have no bargaining chips and no space, otherwise Popovich would have wanted Rasheed Wallace a long time ago, but he didn’t mention the advantages of Rasheed Wallace. His belief is that he If you can’t get it, it’s best not to get it for others.
Just like the Lakers robbing Gasol in the future, Gasol was called a softie during the Grizzlies period. Popovich never praised Gasol, but Gasol was robbed by the Lakers. Popovich immediately I came out and scolded my mother.
But at this stage, Popovich doesn't like the media at all, nor is he liked by the fans. They all think that this alcoholic is drunk again, probably because he was stimulated by the Timberwolves' reinforcements.
The Timberwolves can rank among the top five in the Western Conference with just one Garnett. With Sprewell, it also frees up 2.6 million salary space. Originally, if the Timberwolves cut Trier Brandon, they would also occupy 2.6 million. 10,000 in salary space, even if Mark Jackson is traded away, but in exchange for Sprewell, there will only be 5 million in salary space left at most, but now the Timberwolves have freed up nearly 8 million in salary space, which can be done again. With a strong player to reinforce, another powerful team in the West is about to be born.
So no one paid attention to Popovich's words at all, and the media's brains were also very powerful, and they found a suitable "reason" for Popovich's remarks.
As a result, the news and fan comments criticizing the Eagles' management once again flooded the sky.
...
"Ace, is your boss crazy!" Levia watched the report on the TV news and couldn't help spouting.
"Levia, don't worry, this is part of the plan. Rasheed will be completely different after he comes to our team." Liu Mang comforted.
Levia was still very upset. After a while, after Alexia and Dinah came out, even the eight or nine-year-old little girl who was more sensible began to scold the Eagles management.
Liu Mang's explanation was useless.
Even hardcore fans are like this, Liu Mang can imagine how bad the outside world's evaluation of the Eagles is.
The main reason is that the influence of the big dog last year was too bad.
But this is a good thing for the Eagles and Liu Mang.
The Eagles can be in a relatively underestimated position, which is really a good thing for Liu Mang.
Originally, the Eagles split the 14th pick in the first round into a first round and two second rounds, but now this one has also begun to be sprayed.
The Eagles sent the 14th overall pick in the first round of 2003 to the Celtics for a first round and two second rounds. It is purely a trade compensation for the Celtics to help eat Danny Ferina. There are still 2 years left every year More than 3 million contracts.
Seeing that the three girls were very dissatisfied and unhappy, Liu Mang had no choice but to correct Rasheed Wallace when the time came.
When Liu Mang was looking forward to the future while the three girls were chattering endlessly, he received a text message. When he was happy to have Rasheed Wallace as his helper, but the three girls were so noisy that they couldn't fit in one show, he saw This message sent a warm current to my heart.
It's a text message from Coach Kruger.
"Ace, you must pay attention to the matter of intervening in the team's trade in the future. For a star like Rasheed Wallace who really wants to be a partner, you can raise it yourself. Your right to speak is stronger than mine. But if you still want ordinary players in the future, don’t ask the boss yourself, just tell me. I will discuss with the boss, and I can decide on ordinary players. Regarding the Rashid deal this time, I will tell the media that it is me The boss is under a lot of pressure, so I will handle this matter, and you are not allowed to express any opinions on this transaction!"
Liu Mang saw the text message from Coach Kruger and saw the exclamation mark at the end, what else could he say? After hesitating for a long time, I can only reply with a thank you.
Four years of master-student love, the man who agreed was not light, but Liu Mang had the urge to cry.
Master, master, Liu Mang felt that Coach Kruger's relationship over the past four years was more than just the former.
It may be that Coach Kruger has no children himself. For Liu Mang, a student who is not expected to enter the university, he has always taken extra care of him. Slowly, this has become a habit of life.
Whether it is severe or scolding, coach Kruger rarely has a good expression on Liu Mang, but he is the most tolerant person in the coaching staff.
At this moment, Liu Mang felt a little homesick, what would his parents be like in this life?
Because at home, before Liu Mang came to the United States, there was only an undeveloped wired communication, and Liu Mang was not good at speaking, and he rarely called his parents during college. After Liu Mang entered the NBA, he never contacted his family. After a while, now that the planned time to go home is getting closer and closer, Liu Mang feels the warmth of home again, and feels a little uneasy about going home to see his parents...