556 Chapter 555. I Like Playing Center Most

The day for Liu Mang, Stockton and Karl Malone to train together is here again, this time very early, mainly after the finals, when the time for expired free agents to contact other managements has been opened, there have been several rounds People came to find two people.

This year, Shuangsha went to Stockton's hometown of Spokane, Washington to train in the gymnasium of Spokane Community College.

Spokane Community University is the only university in Spokane. It is the second largest city in Washington State. The entire urban area of ​​Spokane has only 170,000 people, and the entire city of Spokane has only more than 200,000 people. It is similar to Salt Lake City, with a white population Occupying more than 95% of the city, the economy is developed and public security is good.

The two old men change places every other year and take their families to each other's hometown to train. This is the habit of the two. They have already settled in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is probably one of the cities with the highest security in the United States. Because Salt Lake City is dominated by white people, the chance of danger is relatively small, but both of them still go back to their hometown every summer to train for two or three months.

Liu Mang came to Spokane on June 30th and trained with Stockton and Malone for three days. Malone continued to teach Liu Mang some skills to get rid of the defense in the middle distance and how to use Liu Mang's unusual elbow Tips on using strength to deal with defensive players, Stockton continued to guide Liu Mang's passing style for two days, and told Liu Mang all the tricks of Shuangsha's pick-and-roll.

On the afternoon of July 3rd, the last training session was over. Before the three of them took a shower and were about to leave, Liu Mang proposed to go shopping in the school. After shopping for a while, the three of them came to the playground of Spokane Community College to rest. I'm leaving later.

Many universities in the United States only have classes for six or seven months a year, and the Spokane Community College is already on vacation in early June, so there is no congestion, and the popularity of Ma Long and Liu Mang is still good.

"Ace, why didn't you call Boozer from your team? Aren't you two nicknamed Little Shuangsha?" Stockton asked.

Liu Mang responded, "Carlos? He went back to Germany. He saved money this year and moved to the North Rhine in West Germany. After the season, he returned home to help repair the house and take care of his sick daughter."

Liu Mang sometimes thinks that people in Europe and the United States are very magical, and every old man is very strong, from cutting down trees and moving bricks to repairing houses, to sewing clothes, trousers, and embroidery needles.

Boozer is really a caring person. Thanks to being selected in the first round and playing well as Liu Mang's teammate, he has won the favor of some Chinese sponsors. His image is wild enough and he has endorsed some tires. He and Van, who had a lot more money than before, returned to Germany to take care of their sick daughter as soon as the season ended.

"Is that so, what a pity." Stockton finished silent.

Ma Long has been talking very little, and he hasn't spoken for a long time.

Liu Mang struggled for a long time, but he still asked, "John, Karl, will you guys still play next season?"

Hearing Liu Mang's words, Stockton and Malone both laughed.

Stockton smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Stockton didn't answer, but asked back, which made Liu Mang not know how to speak.

Both of them are people with strong self-esteem. Liu Mang came to Spokane so excitedly, but when it was time to speak, he was a little confused.

Seeing the half-hearted smiles of the two, Liu Mang gritted his teeth and said, "John, Karl, come to our team. We have the best lineup and the best team atmosphere, and the only difference is that we have experience. leader!"

Stockton seemed to have anticipated the purpose of Liu Mang's visit this time, smiled and said: "I see, Ace, I'll rest for a while, the next time you come to see me when you have time, I think I Probably think about it, Carl, how about you?"

What is this answer? Yes? Still don't agree?

Liu Mang looked at Malone following Stockton's line of sight, but Malone remained silent.

Stockton looked at Ma Long in silence, closed his mouth and sighed muffledly, and said to Liu Mang: "Okay, let's go back, Ace, you are very busy in summer, go back tomorrow, I will rest for two months first, Try to stay away from basketball for a while, and then think about whether to play next season or not."

Liu Mang could only respond, and followed the two towards the parking lot...

...

...

During the few days when Liu Mang went to Spokane, the free market started, and the salary cap for next season was announced. Due to some factors, the salary cap was a little bit higher than the original, reaching more than 49.523 million dollars, and the salary was confirmed. After the cap, the teams that wanted to sign in began to formally negotiate with free agents, and many things happened in the league.

Stephen Jackson, who overwhelmed Turkoglu, Malik Rose and others in the starting lineup for the Spurs last season, played a calm performance that he had never had before. Under Popovich, he was selected in 1997. Abandoned and wandering around, Stephen Jackson became humble and hardworking. He averaged 12 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. very positive.

Just past the end of this season, Stephen Jackson and the Spurs' two-year contract of 1 million yuan also expired. Many teams offered an olive branch to Stephen Jackson. In the end, when the free market opened on July 1, Stephen- Jackson chose the Detroit Pistons, which offered the most franchise money and the shortest contract period, and signed a two-year, 5 million contract with player options. Of course, it was a verbal agreement, and the official signing would have to wait until the 7-day free market freeze period Only when it is over can it be formally achieved.

Although it is a verbal agreement, the NBA is still a place where there is a high probability of credibility. A verbal agreement is basically equivalent to a signing.

Free market signing is a verbal agreement, but there is no such restriction in the formal trading market.

On the same day, the Spurs and the 76ers reached a deal. The Spurs sent Glenn Robinson's expiring contract in the final year and got the 76ers' Derek Coleman's partially guaranteed contract of only 1.8 million.

Then the Spurs announced the layoff of Derek Coleman, and Derek Coleman became a free agent.

The 76ers eat Glenn Robinson, basically it is clear that the next season will be bad. Allen Iverson's surgery will take about seven or eight months to heal, and it will be in the middle of the season by then, so the media The guess for the 76ers' trade is that they are learning from the Raptors' method last season, allowing Iverson to recover from his injuries and gain a high draft pick.

The Clippers exploded in the frontcourt and just drafted another center. They once again gave up several former high draft picks, let go of sugar man Olowokandi and gave up Lamar Odom's home team The terms of the contract extension, the two become free agents.

After the Spurs vacated the space, they reached a deal with the Lakers and exchanged Steve Kerr from the Lakers to Robert Horry. Then the Lakers and Steve Kerr bought out the contract. Steve Kerr Hall announced his retirement in Los Angeles.

besides……

These were small transactions and signings. On July 4th, Liu Mang had just returned to Atlanta, and the signing that really affected the league came!

...

...

Liu Mang looked at Kwame Brown, Kowal, Rasheed Wallace, and Willie Green, who were playing with Jimmy Jr. at the training ground, and these new teammates who had just joined for a physical examination, thought When I got home in the morning, I received a phone call from Rahim and heard the news. What should come is still here.

Gary Payton, one of the best point guards in the league who averaged 19 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 1.4 steals last season, announced that he will join the Los Angeles Lakers with a full middle class of 10.37 million for two years.

The combination of Payton, Kobe, and O'Neal is crazy in the league. Payton still had a career-high salary of 12.64 million last season. According to the estimates of some team management, such as the Eagles, if you want to sign Payton, you must at least A short contract of tens of millions or a long contract of around 8 million is possible.

Payton chose to cut his salary to join the Lakers to form the Big Three combination, which shattered his glasses all over the place.

Liu Mang came to the Phillips Arena to report to Coach Krueger after he was in Atlanta from Spokane. No, it was the result of inviting Shuangsha to join him. He did not expect to receive it while driving to the Phillips Arena. This news.

Liu Mang probably understood why Ma Long was silent yesterday.

Probably Peyton has come to find them first!

Liu Mang is a bit regretful, but there is no way to do it, maybe it will be time to compete on the highest stage!

Thinking about it, Liu Mang was a little excited.

It's just that Liu Mang thinks it's impossible for Stockton to go to the Lakers, so let's fight for it when the time comes!

Regrets are regrets, Liu Mang didn't feel much lost, and Ma Long didn't win it, so it doesn't matter, the depth of the Eagles' power forward position is leveraged.

However, Liu Mang still fought for a team signing position for Stockton. Now the Eagles have Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Prince, Korver, Raheem, Barnes, Willie -Green, Rasheed Wallace, Muhammad, Ratliff, Kevin Willis, Kwame Brown, Boozer, a total of 13 people, and there are two reinforcements.

It is mainly the point guard’s substitute and the veteran who holds the line. If Stockton can be obtained, both problems will be solved. Just find a backup point guard on the bench when Stockton needs to rest. Liu Mang just suggested that the team wait for Stockton's decision, and gave Stockton the phone number of the Eagles management. As for how to operate, he can only say it depends on fate. If Stockton wants to retire , that can't be helped, if you join, everyone will work hard to get the chance to be the Lakers.

Liu Mang originally planned to go home after the report, pack up his things, and return to China in two days, but by coincidence, he saw a few new teammates who came to the team to report for the physical examination on July 4th, and stayed to say hello .

Rasheed Wallace is very familiar with him. After seeing Liu Mang, he hooked up and chatted. He was very excited to express his excitement about playing with Liu Mang, and said that he was ready to renew his contract with the Eagles. Yes, it's still a big salary cut.

Salary cuts are also unavoidable. Next season, Rasheed Wallace's salary will be as high as 16.7 million. Now, the salary has reached more than 54.6 million, and there is only one special case of 3.5 million for two years.

And Rasheed Wallace's own market is very bad. The Trail Blazers sold him before and couldn't sell him. This contract extension and salary cut are inevitable.

The two American rookies Jay Chou and Willie Green are standard American college students, and they are very good at dealing with things. When they saw Rasheed Wallace and Liu Mang, they ran up to help carry the bags.

As for Kwame-Brown, Liu Mang feels very special, without the feeling of being covered by dark clouds when they played against each other in the past two seasons, and everyone smiled when they saw it...

For Kwame Brown, who was always giggling when nothing happened, Liu Mang could probably understand Kwame Brown's mood, but the others looked terrified.

After warming up, the four new teammates completed the physical examination, passed the team doctor's examination and physical examination, and played with little Jimmy who often came to the team's training ground to practice after the holiday.

Rasheed Wallace played for a while and was about to leave. He still had to look for a house. The Eagles promised that he would not trade him again in the first season, which stabilized his anxiety about being traded. Now he is going to find a place to live in Atlanta for the next year. As for what will happen after this season, he will slowly consider it during this season, from his degree of integration in the team, his performance, and so on.

"Ace, I'm leaving, give me a ride, I'll go to the Hilton Hotel." Rasheed Wallace came to rub the car with a hippie smile.

"...Don't you know how to buy a car? I heard that yours has been here for several days!" Liu Mang said angrily.

"Wait a minute, I'll buy it when I renew the contract. Isn't it poor now, and I still need to rent a house." Rasheed Wallace didn't care about Liu Mang's anger at all.

"...You will be the highest paid in our team next season!" Liu Mang reluctantly took a car-rider to the parking lot, but he didn't expect that one day he would also be rubbed by the car.

As for Kwame Brown, Willie Green and Korver, they still have to stay. On the team's plane at night, Mike Woodson will take the three of them to the summer league.

As the No. 1 pick, he has played for two seasons and still needs to play in the summer league. Liu Mang feels that Kwame Brown is really pitiful.

But Kwame Brown himself is very happy, leaving Jordan is a good start for him!

Rasheed Wallace's completely different personalities on and off the court really make Liu Mang... like it, although he looks a little rough, but this kind of personality is really good, if it weren't for the Blazers, everyone would want a big contract My uncle, Rasheed Wallace won't be ostracized there.

Everyone else in the family wants a big contract. Only Rasheed Wallace can discuss it. When he renewed his contract with the Trail Blazers in 1998, because he was a rookie before 1998, there was no renewal clause for his home team. Completely free agent, a team offered him a contract of 90 million for 6 years, but he wanted to stay on the team, and the team said they would renew the contract with Damon Stoudemire, hoping that he could cut his salary, and he would immediately It became 80 million in 6 years.

Now when the Blazers and others renew their contracts, they use Rasheed Wallace to lower the price. Rasheed Wallace is excluded in the Blazers locker room.

...

Phillips Arena parking lot.

Rasheed Wallace was amazed at Liu Mang's red Lamborghini, but he didn't expect Liu Mang to like red cars.

When getting into the car, Liu Mang thought of something and asked, "By the way, Rashid, aren't you willing to play as a center forward? Sometimes our team may need you to play as a center forward."

Rasheed Wallace didn't expect Liu Mang to ask this question, he was stunned for a moment, and replied with a sly smile: "Who did you hear that from, Ace? I like playing center forward the most!"

"..." Liu Mang seemed to see a fox who single-handedly sent him away from Portland Prison! The main reason is that this smile is as magical as a certain number 21 who can't control his expression.