The NBA started with helping Iverson win the championship

Chapter 148 The Crashed Howard
When we arrived at the Houston airport, Dumas was already waiting for Li Xun at the pick-up gate.

The two called a car and headed towards Artest's residence.

"Hey, Lee!"

After seeing Li Xun, Artest was as enthusiastic as meeting his long-lost relatives.

He and Li Xun had spammed each other with trash talk before.

This kind of thing is usually left on the court, trash talk itself is part of the game.

Artest is also a strange person, sometimes his emotional intelligence is ridiculously high, and sometimes his emotional intelligence is extremely low.

"Long time no see, Ron."

"You played very well in the playoffs, definitely a historic performance."

Li Xun smiled and praised Artest.

This is not a joke. The Rockets can still fight the Lakers for seven games with two core injuries in the team, which is really a historic performance.

Hearing Li Xun's praise, Artest was full of pride.

"Okay, I am willing to join the Pistons!"

Artest said this directly.

Dumas and Li Xun looked at each other, is this the end of the matter?
I haven't said anything yet, so I agreed to join the Pistons?

Li Xun can actually guess what Artest is thinking.

If he were to choose, the Lakers would definitely not be the team he most wanted to go to.

The main reason is that in the playoffs last season, as soon as he was killed by the Lakers, he turned around and ran to join the Lakers, which had a bad influence.

Of course, his popularity is not as high as that of Durant in later generations, and no one will call him to join the enemy.

Under normal circumstances, the main reason for Artest to leave the Rockets is actually to go to the championship.

Now that the Pistons traded for Yao Ming, Artest felt that the Pistons had more championship potential than the Lakers.

He also knew about Yao Ming's serious injury, after all, he was a Rockets player.

But in his view, since the Pistons dared to trade Yao Ming, they must have the confidence to let Yao Ming make a comeback.

With Yao Ming, Li Xun, and a lot of good players, plus the addition of himself, the Pistons are of course more like champions.

And the contract given by the Pistons is also bigger.

湖人那边给的是5年3400万，活塞这边给的是5年4000万，第一年起薪700万。

The chances of winning the championship are higher and the money will be more. Artest now only needs Li Xun's attitude.

An attitude that takes itself seriously.

He was also afraid that after going to the Pistons, Li Xun would treat him like a young man.

If it was another player, he could still fight.

But in the Pistons, Li Xun and Da Ben, who is about to join the team, are no match for him.

Now Li Xun came to Houston to see him in person, and he has expressed a very sincere attitude.

Artest is not a scheming player, he has achieved his goal, so he agreed directly.

……

Li Xun didn't slow down until he left Houston.

Signing Artest was much easier than I thought.

Originally, I was thinking about how to trick this guy into going to Detroit, but I didn't expect to win it without any effort.

"Li, are you satisfied with the new lineup?"

"There is no need to adjust the lineup."

"We still have some cap space."

Dumas sat in the office and asked Li Xundao.

Li Xun shook his head, Dumars had already done his best, so there was nothing dissatisfied with such a lineup.

He wanted Curry himself, and Dumars got Curry.

I wanted Yao Ming, so I got it.

Big Ben and Artest also came.

Keeping Rasheed and Iverson, Dumars did as well.

If he can't win the championship this year, Li Xun himself will not let him go.

"Mr. Dumas, thank you for your continued trust in me."

"Don't worry, the Pistons will definitely win the championship this season!"

"There will be no surprises, you can now buy cigars and champagne."

Li Xun said confidently.

Dumas let out a long sigh of relief. With Li Xun's words, he was completely relieved.

In his opinion, Li Xun is not the kind of young black player who likes to boast.

Since he said that he will definitely win the championship this year, he must be at least [-]% sure.

"Okay, then I'll stock up on a batch of cigars and champagne, hoping to use them this season."

……

Halfway through the offseason, the Pistons' one operation after another shocked the entire league.

In particular, the last signing of Artest directly became the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing dissatisfaction among many people in the league.

The Lakers are of course the most dissatisfied one.

They were determined to win Artest, but they were poached by the Pistons.

In desperation, he had to find Ariza back and give him a good contract, which was considered to dispel Ariza's idea of ​​joining the Rockets.

"The Pistons' reinforcement this year is amazing. They have introduced one of the best centers in the league at the moment."

"Takes away the best perimeter defender in the league again."

"I hope that Li Xun's leadership ability can be worthy of this lineup, and the situation of being 4:1 in the finals must never happen again."

Zen Master Jackson was obviously very angry, and he was angry at the piston for a while.

He never expected that Artest would choose to join the Pistons.

Artest's offense is not good, but his defense is excellent, and he can also act as Kobe's bodyguard on the court.

With a salary of only six million yuan, signing it is simply too cost-effective.

Fortunately, such a cost-effective player was snatched away by the opponent Pistons, so it is no wonder he is happy.

After Li Xun heard the news, he was not angry at all, and was overjoyed.

In his view, the Zen master simply said that the grapes were too dark because he couldn't eat them.

Can make Zen master so yin and yang, it shows that the operation of the Pistons this year has put a lot of pressure on him, which has made him in a state of dementia.

Zen Master has always presented himself as a gentleman, and rarely talks to players.

The more well-known talk was with James. He said that half of James' points were obtained by walking, and he would walk once every two catches.

James almost vomited blood, and responded directly: "When he said that sentence, I lost all respect for Zen Master."

With the exception of the Lakers, the reactions of all parties in the league were mixed.

The Western Conference teams are actually not too worried about the Pistons' operations. After all, if they want to face the Pistons, they must first defeat the Lakers.

The top teams in the East are a little anxious.

They are now looking around to find out what is going on with Yao Ming.

Isn't it said that there are fractures and fractures?Logically speaking, this should be completely reimbursed.

But why the Pistons still want to trade him.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

If it is Yao Ming in a healthy state, paired with Li Xun, and this year's Pistons will renew or strengthen their generals, this Pistons will be a bit too strong.

Strong enough to scare these Eastern teams.

Howard was going crazy. He never dreamed that he would run into Yao Ming while hiding in the East.

The two centers he is most afraid of are O'Neal and Yao Ming.

When O'Neal beat him, he was really merciless, and every time he saw him, he would scold him.

As for Yao Ming, Howard fell into a disadvantage almost every time he faced Yao Ming.

As a result, these two goods, as if they had been agreed upon, all ran from the west to the east in unison.

O'Neal joined the Cavaliers, and Yao Ming joined the Pistons.

These two teams also happen to be the Magic's main opponents in the playoffs.

It is conceivable how broken Howard is now. Now he can only hope that Yao Ming's injury will not heal, and that O'Neal will not be able to play when he is old.

(End of this chapter)