Chapter 770
Price left in high spirits and returned in disappointment...
Price's displeasure was evident on his face.
"The pig-headed general manager of the Magic, the bastard who doesn't know how to be satisfied..." Price, who came back from the office, kept cursing.
Well, different bosses said more, Liu Mang understood.
The first negotiation, was rejected!
Price talked about the general situation. The Magic are not satisfied with only Raheem. They still want Prince and Jason Terry, and they also want to give Juwan Howard the contract. Come to the Eagles to match salary...
"Crazy, this guy is crazy." Liu Mang was startled by the behavior of the general manager of the Magic Lions.
How did this guy stay with the Magic for so long? Liu Mang remembers that when this guy resigned in 2011 because of his back injury, he was not suitable for sitting for long periods of time and was unable to take up management positions, he was criticized by Magic fans. Guy has risen to executive vice president.
What is the owner of the Magic team planning? The only reason Liu Mang can accept is that this guy is really good at the draft, and none of the top picks in the bet will be lost, and there will be no parallel imports for high picks... Otherwise, there will only be some ulterior circumstances.
However, even if he knew that the head of the general manager of the Magic team is a bit different from ordinary people, he did not expect it to be so funny. Players, other teams are unwilling to give decent chips, which can be used to exchange Kobe.
For Kobe?
Liu Mang immediately said: "Boss, ignore that guy for now, they can't find a better bargaining chip than what we gave, so let's not act so urgent, do something else, and discuss by the way if the deal is completed , what to do next."
"Do something else?" Coach Kruger and Price asked simultaneously.
"Yes, other things, boss, we can't change McGrady, we can change to someone else..." Liu Mang smiled sinisterly.
"Who to change?" Price didn't think that anyone else could make a fortune by exchanging Raheem. It is obvious that McGrady would make money. Others, or Ron Artes If the salary is too low, the other party will not agree, or if it overlaps with the rest of the team, it may not be easy for people who are used to it now.
Liu Mang smiled and called Price aside and whispered...Price went to make a phone call again with a strange expression on his face, and made several calls...
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An hour later, in a villa somewhere in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
"Asshole!" Kobe turned off the TV, feeling a bit reluctant to smash the TV, so Kobe stomped on the remote control, and then took out his mobile phone to call Liu Mang, the American version of "Hi, the user you dialed has turned off..." Kobe was so angry that he almost smashed his phone, but he finally bought a phone that he could press with his fingers. It was hard to find, so he chose to rush into the training ground at home and started training to vent his anger...
This morning, the media suddenly revealed that the Eagles applied for a trade with the Lakers. The specific details of the transaction were not announced, but the trade partner the Eagles wanted was announced. It was precisely because of this trade partner that this matter became popular all of a sudden. , Suppressing the news that the 76ers are preparing to exchange half of the team for Webber to form a double champion combination.
The whole world knows that Liu Mang and Kobe will not deal with each other. It is a certainty that OK will be disbanded. There are also news about the Lakers contacting many teams, but the Lakers are not in a hurry. Apart from Kobe and O'Neal, The other people want to take it away and take it casually. They are going to be overthrown and rebuilt. The Eagles want to trade with the Lakers. It is not surprising that the Eagles have enough chips and can be traded to anyone on the Lakers. However, the Eagles It's surprising that it's not O'Neal, but Kobe.
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Time went back to an hour ago. After making a few phone calls, Price asked with some concern but also some expectation: "Ace, I have asked ESPN to release the news, and I have also proposed a deal to the Lakers. , but what if the Lakers really agree?"
To have the opportunity to get Kobe and Tracy McGrady, no matter which owner is very excited, to get a first man in any position, the owner of any team will want to try as much as possible, a superstar, even if he plays well No matter how bad it is, as long as it is not affected by age decline, injuries and other aspects of strength, no matter how bad the run-in with the team is, it will definitely be more effective than ordinary starters.
Even sometimes a superstar who is over 30 years old can be obtained, and many team owners do it without hesitation.
Of course, Price wants to get Kobe or McGrady. Of course, McGrady, who was chosen to be Hill's Pippen when he joined the Magic, is of course a better choice. Kobe has already competed with O'Neal for the boss of the Lakers. Crashed.
Liu Mang hasn't answered yet. Coach Kruger was curious about what Liu Mang said just now. Now that he heard about applying for a trade with the Lakers, he hurriedly asked, "Propose a trade to the Lakers? Who is the trade?"
"Ace suggested that I trade Kobe." Price replied honestly.
"Change to Kobe? Ace, are you confused? Why don't we talk to Sharif about not leaving?" Coach Kruger thought Liu Mang could be sent to the hospital for a checkup.
"Kobe is the best shooting guard in the world! With him added, our defense will not be much worse. With him and me, Tyshawn and I can change defenses from the outside. He will also help our insiders practice rebounding. "Liu Mang smiled even more sinisterly.
Liu Wei doesn't think the Lakers will choose the 32-year-old O'Neal over Kobe, who will only turn 26 in August. If Jerry Buss has a problem with his head, he will choose that way, so the probability of this deal is basically zero.
Liu Mang asked Price to go to the Lakers to apply for a trade for Kobe Bryant, and he also contacted the media to disclose the trade application. Firstly, it was to put pressure on the Magic to show that McGrady was not the only one on his side. Second, Since the general manager of the Magic makes him feel bad, let Kobe feel bad...
If Tracy McGrady can't be traded, it's all Kobe's fault, it's just so principled.
"..." Seeing Liu Mang's smile, Price and Coach Kruger looked at each other, and suddenly felt a little bit of sympathy for Kobe...
...
Ignoring the shameless trading tactics of scheming boy Liu, coach Kruger probably knew that the boss and his disciples were determined to bring back a superstar, and there would be many problems in that way.
Let’s not talk about whether to get Tracy McGrady or not. Coach Kruger didn’t sleep last night and kept thinking. Maybe again, Liu Mang's style of shooting the whole team to grab rebounds is difficult to reproduce.
It’s okay to supplement Raheem’s defense. You can always get something similar, but it’s definitely not as tacit on the defensive end as you have been running in for three years. Next season is the defending season, and other teams will not give the Eagles a chance It is difficult for the Eagles to win the league with defense like they did in the season just ended in one or two years.
The main reason is that without a rebounding champion, Liu Mang's style of play has to start to be remodeled, and his offense has to start to diversify.
Coach Kruger told Liu Mang and the boss about this matter. If they don't handle it well, it might be a catastrophe.
Too many championship teams collapsed in the second year. The famous Moses Malone, who was as strong as the 76ers, won the championship in the second year, and immediately got the 5th pick in the lottery and selected Barkley.
Hearing this, since Raheem was about to leave, Liu Mang said, "Boss, coach, I heard that NO-HandCheck will be implemented, right?"
"Yes, the No. 30 NBA Board of Directors will vote on this matter." Price replied that as a boss, he is also very busy, and any major decision in the league requires the approval of the bosses.
"Boss, will you agree?"
"Of course, this is a great help to your style of play, Ace." Price joked without hesitation.
Master's style of play? The young master's style of play has provoked you! Liu Mang heard Price's meaning, rolled his eyes, and the people beside him couldn't help laughing.
Liu Mang ignored the group of guys who were still thinking about joking and said, "But this new rule will also make perimeter defense very difficult, so we should do it like this..."
Liu Mang said his "prediction" for the development of the NBA in the next few years, and Price and the coaching staff were taken aback.
It's not that Price and Coach Kruger don't have vision, but at this stage, almost no team can imagine that a NO-HandCheck can bring such a big impact on the NBA, and it will make the future of the entire NBA move towards a situation where they completely development in unimaginable directions.
"...Of course, defense wins championships, even if it's offensive basketball, Mike, our defense may come in handy now..."
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On the side of the Magic, the general manager Martins was waiting for another round of offers from the Eagles. He was ready to sell. He lost O'Neal for nothing. This time I am going to earn back what I lost before.
But wait and wait, after waiting for a long time, he didn't receive a call from the Eagles again, and something happened that caught him off guard. The Eagles applied for a trade from the Lakers!
Kobe, McGrady, Iverson, Kidd, almost everyone now thinks that these four are the best perimeter players in the league. Although Liu Mang won the MVP, he is similar to the youngest regular season MVP in the future, Derek Rose. In the second season after Ross won the MVP, he only ranked seven or eight in the major power lists. Now the MVP is the best player on the best team. Most people think that Liu Mang It is the light of the rest of the Eagles.
After hearing the news, Martins hesitated for a while. At noon, he still hadn't received the second call from the Eagles. He couldn't help calling Price, and then...the line was busy...
Called several times, but the line is busy...
Martins did not call Price all afternoon.
Originally, without Liu Mang, McGrady would not say that after being traded, he would never renew his contract in advance to reduce his transaction value. Because of this matter, other teams hardly offered too high a bargaining chip. I was afraid that I could only use Tracy McGrady for one year. Even the Rockets, who were most active in getting Tracy McGrady, were unwilling to give too much bargaining chips. Francis and Yao Ming were unwilling to give it to each other, and the other Martins looked down on them.
In the evening, something even more serious for Martins appeared!
The Nets submitted a trade application to the Eagles, wanting to use Richard Jefferson to apply for trading Ratliff and Boozer!
The Nets want to supplement the inside line. The relationship between Carter and Kidd is getting better and better. With Carter, Richard Jefferson seems redundant, and the contract year is coming soon. The contract will definitely affect the team's salary space. The Nets managed to reduce the salary to $40 million after the end of this season, leaving only Kidd and Carter with two big contracts.
Therefore, poaching the corners of the Eagles and strengthening themselves has become the goal of the Nets.
The management of the Nets has been operating very well in the past few years at the beginning of the century, otherwise they would not have reached the finals for two consecutive years.
Of course, the news that the Nets applied for a trade was also actively disclosed by the Eagles.
For a team that has just won a championship, there will always be people who want to poach the wall, especially those opponents. This is the case almost every year, so the media and fans don't think it is strange.
But in Martins' view, he seems to be "out"! Obviously he is the one who has the initiative to own McGrady, but he feels like he is going to be out!
Obviously, if the Hawks get Richard - Jefferson, then there is no need for Tracy McGrady! Mainly, he didn't know that Raheem wanted to leave on his own initiative, so he suddenly didn't have any psychological initiative!
Just like the Hawks think McGrady is the best trade partner they can choose, getting Raheem, a superstar in his prime, although there is a gap between superstars, is already the best return that Martins thinks he can get. He just wants more stuff.
The next morning, something happened that made Martins even more restless! He really started to panic!
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At 8 o'clock in the morning on June 20, the Eagles and the Jazz announced that they had reached a deal. The Eagles used Carlos Boozer, the top 25 pick in the first round of 2005, to trade for the Jazz's No. 2 pick in the first round of 2004. Sixth overall pick, 2005 second-round pick, 2006 first-round lottery-protected pick, and signing rights to Bobby Ketch, the Jazz's 165th overall pick in 1981, which required a player to match the trade .
In this transaction, the two teams even disclosed the details very clearly. Of course, the Eagles took the initiative to disclose it. Since the Eagles did not have a first-round pick in 2006, if they accidentally dropped out of the top five in 2005 , then the 2005 protected pick will automatically become a second-round pick in 2006 and 2007.
When the Eagles sent Boozer to the Jazz according to the agreement reached with Sloan at the end of last year, Sloan finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was planned years ago.
Of course, there was no Boozer at that time. His plan was about a former wrestler who joined Illinois State University two years ago. Already selected to the All-American Team by the Associated Press, so Sloan saw Boozer, a rookie who was shining in the Eagles in the same year, and immediately associated the two together.
Helping the Hawks suck and sending Ostertag to the Hawks is all about getting Boozer.
This morning at four o'clock in the morning, when Sloan was woken up by the phone call, the old man was very impatient. The phone was picked up, and a few minutes later, Sloan ran to the boss's house in the early morning and quickly finalized the deal.
The Jazz are opening champagne to celebrate, and Martins on the Magic side feels terrible!
Originally, the trade should be discussed slowly, but because all the teams are in a hurry this year, the Bobcats and the Clippers traded draft picks before, which only made other teams start to be active, and the Eagles sent away a player with All-Star potential. After the power forward was given to the Jazz, the Bobcats and Clippers ignited the fuse in the trading market, and it was finally time to detonate the explosive keg!
Throughout the morning of the 20th, there were more than a dozen small and large transactions, mainly because the strong lineup wanted to send away players beyond the eight-man roster to avoid unnecessary losses, while the weaker teams actively took over these players and sent some players away. A veteran with a basic salary or something to overwhelm a strong team...
Martins saw that the teams that had approached him to apply for a trade withdrew their trade applications one by one. The teams that wanted to bet on McGrady had no bargaining chips, and those who had chips were unwilling to give it. He was completely panicked.
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Finally, after two nights of sleepless nights and two busy nights and two days, at around nine o'clock in the evening on the 20th, Price finally started calling the secretary to open champagne to celebrate after finishing the phone call.
From yesterday afternoon to night, Liu Mang discussed with the coaching staff and the owner about his "prediction" for the next two or three years. Today, when the team trades, he has not intervened in any matters related to the trade. .
He knows that if he participates in those transactions, he will definitely be affected by emotional factors, so as long as his teammates don't end up in a particularly miserable place, such as Minnesota and Tennessee, Liu Mang didn't even intervene. Price asked him All the time, he nodded.
When Raheem said he was going to leave, Liu Mang's heart was already broken once. When Boozer was traded away, Liu Mang's heart was bleeding.
After gulping down the bottle of champagne that Price blew more than 20,000 dollars in one gulp, Liu Mang came to the lounge of the arena. Jason Terry hugged his head and cried together. The two brothers left... It seemed a bit inappropriate to say that they left, but it meant the same thing anyway, but they called McGrady.
After connecting, Liu Mang didn't wait for the other party to speak, and asked directly: "Tracey, I'm ready to surpass Jordan, are you still willing to be Pippen?"