Chapter 174 Conflicts Intensify

Just as Lin Ying was worried, after the schedule became difficult, the Nuggets also unexpectedly lost to the Celtics, Cavaliers, Jazz and 76ers one after another.

And in the game against the 76ers, Lin Ying and Anthony had their first direct argument on the court.

When Lin Ying was playing singles with the ball, Anthony cut in from the strong side, causing Lin Ying to be double-teamed and steal the ball.

This is a neither big nor small matter. In the past, Lin Ying would not have said anything.

But it was clear that this round was not the real reason for the altercation.

Just like when a couple gets divorced because of a small thing, the real reason for the outbreak is not that small thing, but the accumulation of many previous things to the limit.

This also shows that if basketball is a team sport that seems to be inseparable, the effect of 1+1 will be much less than 2.

Even if you throw five All-Stars together, the final result will be just fighting on their own, and their combat effectiveness may not be as good as five ordinary starting players.

As the saying goes, when people's hearts are united, it's difficult to move mountains; when people's hearts are scattered, it's difficult to move rice.

Karl's previous treatment was like a thorn piercing the flesh. He did not pull out the thorn, but disinfected it with iodophor.

The pain may go away temporarily, but it will remain inflamed after a while.

Moreover, the Nuggets' opponents in this wave of leagues also have a decreasing trend in strength as a whole.

They are also losing, but losing to weaker and weaker opponents shows that the team's problems are getting bigger and bigger.

Carl, I feel like I'm going crazy.

Although he has been coaching in the league for many years, he still encounters few such problems and is not good at handling them.

Phil Jackson: Do you really think it’s easy to handle the relationship with superstars and let them show their strength? Come, you come.

Carl: Not coming, not coming.

After all, basketball is played by players, and the coach is just an assistant.

Carl didn’t talk to O’Connor this time, but talked directly to Walken Dean.

"We need to make adjustments in the lineup."

Karl knows that if he continues to lose like this, he will definitely leave the team before the end of the season.

Then, there's Walken Dean.

Just like the Suns next door are branded with D'Antoni, this Nuggets team also has a deep imprint of Karl.

Once Karl leaves, the Nuggets will most likely fall into more turmoil.

If the successor coach doesn't have the ability to turn the tide, then Walken Dean will be the next to leave.

So now in a sense, the two of them are grasshoppers on a rope.

When one is prosperous, both are prosperous; when one is lost, both are harmed.

"If we can survive until the trade deadline in February, Phoenix will most likely agree to send Bell away."

Walken Dean and Carr share the latest updates on the trading market.

The reason why so many trades in the NBA happen on deadline day every year is because no one wants to give up until the last minute of many negotiations.

"I think we should test the transaction value of Lin and Melo on a small scale."

Karl thought for a while and then said.

If it were still the same time in November, Bell's arrival would solve the problem.

But it is no longer of that level. After the quarrel broke out between Lin Ying and Anthony during the game, he also knew that the conflicts within the team had intensified.

In other words, they may have to face the problem of choosing between Lin Ying and Anthony.

"Is it really that bad?"

Walken Dean was somewhat reluctant to accept it.

Although based on his understanding of Karl, he knew that Karl would come to him to explain the seriousness of the matter.

Carl nodded.

"Okay, I'll give it a try, but in the end our decision still depends on what Mr. Kroenke wants."

Kroenke, referring to Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke.

This boss is very low-key and has the nickname "Silent Stan".

He is not the most famous owner in the NBA, but he is the largest sports tycoon in the world.

The four major sports leagues in the United States, except MLB, have his teams in the remaining three leagues, and the fifth major league, the Football League, also has his teams.

Of course, these are not his biggest assets. His biggest asset comes from the Premier League team Arsenal.

In less than two years, he has become Arsenal's second largest shareholder with his excellent business acumen.

Basically, it can be said that he can play all sports in the world.

Although he is not as involved in the operations of the Nuggets as Cuban, some key decisions must be approved by him.

Because one Anthony represents the core of the team, and the other, in addition to his own strength and talent, has a huge Chinese market behind him.

That market has already enriched the Nuggets' wallets in just one year.

So if it comes down to having to choose one of the two, then this choice can only be made by Kroenke.

Of course Karl would not object. It is best for the boss to do this kind of thing.

If someone else did it, even if there were no problems at the time, they would easily be fired a few years later because they stepped into the office with their left foot first.

Then, it’s time to explore.

Although Walken Dean has done a good job of keeping things confidential, rumors about Lin Ying and Anthony's transactions soon appeared in the trading market.

This wave of fans is both expected and unexpected.

Unexpectedly, it was Lin Ying.

The Nuggets started the new season with a wild card. Unexpectedly, as the season progressed, they found that this card could not be played.

Many people can see that Lin Ying threatens Anthony's status as the Nuggets boss.

So it’s not surprising that Lin Ying is put on the shelf.

Unexpectedly, the Nuggets also put Anthony on the table!

Lin Ying has made such rapid progress, can he threaten Anthony's position in the Nuggets in just his second year?

The trading market suddenly became lively.

You must know that Anthony is one of the top five or even top two super scorers in the league!

There is something good to watch on this year's trade deadline.

…

Lin Ying was not surprised when he saw the trade rumors.

After all, he took the initiative to bring this up with Karl before, which showed that he was mentally prepared.

However, despite being one of the protagonists of the rumors, he did not feel that it was time for him to prepare to leave.

Based on Karl's trust in him, if it really comes to that point, Karl will talk to him first.

It's even possible that Karl will try to find a suitable next home for him.

Don't be surprised, if you admire someone, you will want to do your best to make them better.

Because for me, it is also an inexplicable achievement.

So how should he play or how to play, just wait and see.

So even if a reporter asked him about rumors after the game, his answer was very consistent:

"have no idea."

…

Half a month later.

The Nuggets' record is still ups and downs, and the conflict between Lin Ying and Anthony seems even more irreconcilable.

It was at this time that Walken Dean almost knew the transaction value of Lin Ying and Anthony after going around in the free market.

On this day, he and Karl locked the office door and specifically told the security guard not to let anyone come over to disturb them, and then they started chatting in a low voice.

The rumors outside are still based on rumors.

But if something substantial really leaks out, then neither of them can live with it.

"Two people, I used two methods."

Walken Dean first gave a general summary.

Then, he said what the two methods refer to.

Lin Ying, he used the questioning method, that is, directly asked the other 29 teams about their interest in Lin Ying.

"result?"

"Eight teams are interested in Lin Ying."

"Which eight?"

"Lakers, Warriors, Nets, Rockets, Hornets, Thunder, Suns, Bulls."

Carl nodded.

Several of these teams were interested in Lin Ying during the draft.

Now that Lin Ying is doing well, it shows that their original vision was right, and their interest is naturally greater.

that is……

"bull?"

The only thing that surprised Karl was this.

Before this, they sold Camby in the second round and had been ridiculed by fans for a long time.

As a result, there is another drama of "I was wrong, I actually still want Lin Ying"?

Isn’t this obvious to others? In fact, you guessed it right. Am I really a fool?

"Yes, the trading chips they can provide are currently the most attractive."

Walken Dean gave an affirmative answer.

This is true, the Bulls' chips could have been exchanged for Kobe.

Of course it would be more than enough to replace Lin Ying.

"Where's Mero?"

Karl then asked proactively.

"Melo, I selected ten teams with good chips to have the most superficial communication."

Walken Dean used several adjectives in his answer.

This is normal. It is not only a problem of Anthony's transaction value, but also a problem of Anthony's character.

If it goes too deep, Anthony may simply give up his responsibility and force the Nuggets to trade him.

"The results of it?"

"Without exception, they all expressed strong interest in acquiring Merlot, and..."

Warken Dean said with an emphasis on his tone,

"There were a few teams that were like, 'Take whoever you want.'"

Karl was stunned for a moment.

Anthony's current transaction value is really high!

After all, a superstar has been created, and the contract is still good for four years. The value of this transaction is too great!

"Mr. Kroenke went to Europe and won't be back until half a month."

And after the exchange, Walken Dean also gave a message.

This means that it will take half a month.

Karl rubbed his forehead and nodded with difficulty.

The trade deadline is getting closer.

At this moment, the NBA announced the All-Star starting lineup.

This year's NBA All-Star vote leader belongs to Howard, who received an astonishing 3.151,081 votes!

This number of votes broke James' voting record last year and increased by 500,000 votes!

As the Magic's record rises and more fans pay attention, Howard's terrifying inside destructive power at his peak is amazing.

He even won praise from fans: he is the only player in the league who can replace James alone.

East: Wade, Pierce, James, Garnett, Howard.

West: Iverson, Kobe, Stoudemire, Duncan, Yao Ming.

One very interesting thing is that last year they were both in the starting lineup. This year Iverson is still in the starting lineup, but Anthony is gone.

This wave shows two things:

First, the base of Chinese fans is indeed large. Even if Stern has reduced the voting ratio twice, it still has no effect;

Second, Anthony really relied on Chinese fans to start the All-Star Game last year. Now because of the incident with Lin Ying, the fans don't vote for him and he can't get in.

And what further verifies these two points is that there is Stoudemire in the starting lineup!

This is the first time in his career that he has been selected as a starter!

The Suns have played so poorly this season, and his data has not improved significantly compared to last year.

After playing in China, the popularity skyrocketed!

The competition for places in the Chinese competition will be fierce in the future!

It was a pity for Lin Ying that he was ranked third among the Western Conference forwards in the end.

The Western Conference is fiercely competitive every year, but even so, Lin Ying still defeated Nowitzki and... Anthony in the votes.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the Nuggets' current situation.

If the Nuggets didn't have this wave of conflicts and kept winning like they did at the beginning of the season, Lin Ying's data would be better, and it would be a sure thing to make the All-Stars this year.

…

The All-Star Game is approaching, and Lin Ying is waning because of the rumors.

But this day Durant found him.

"The league invites me to participate in the HORSE competition this year. How about you come with me?"

"horse?"

Lin Ying was stunned for a moment.

I haven't really paid attention to this thing yet.

This translation means "horse".

You have to tell him Wade, "This is my horse" and he might know.

But when has the All-Star Game ever had an individual event like this?

Lin Ying didn't know what it meant until Durant followed up and explained it.

This game is not a new invention. It has been included in the All-Star Game as early as the last century, but it was later canceled and moved out again this year.

To be honest, this project is very interesting.

To sum it up simply in one sentence, it is: Shooting Imitation Contest.

The first player shoots a ball in a random way, and the second player must imitate it successfully within 24 seconds, otherwise he will get the letter "H".

By analogy, whoever collects "H-O-R-S-E" first will be eliminated first.

If the first player fails to make a shot, the second player will complete the shot through designated actions. Failure to do so will result in a letter.

According to Durant's words, the league has only asked him what he means.

Lin Ying originally didn't want to go. After all, no matter how fun the game was, he had no interest in it now.

But something Durant said made him change his attention:

"Mom said we should compete, right?"

Enjoying hardship is also the spice of life.

…

Time flies, and it’s the end of January in the blink of an eye.

The league announced the All-Star bench lineup.

Anthony was not selected as a substitute...

It's really miserable to be at the top but not make the All-Star team.

It was at this time that Kroenke returned.

During the month and a half he went to Europe, he battled wits with the Russian Usmanov. In the end, he not only won, but also acquired a wave of shares in his allies, becoming Arsenal's largest shareholder.

This time he came back as a victor, full of joy.

It's just that before his butt gets warmed up, he realizes that it's time to get ready.

Anthony or Lin Ying choose one?

Is this telling him not to sell tickets to the Pepsi Center, or is it telling him to throw away the newly developed Chinese market? !

Thanks to Cibai and Shadow for liking my tips~