warrior godfather

Texas, Houston.

In mid-February, the sky of Aerospace City is blue and transparent, with a few white clouds floating, the breeze is blowing, and the climate is comfortable and pleasant. It is worthy of being a well-known retirement city in the United States.

Zhang Yu, Curry, Butler, Clay, and Chandler walked out of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Ayesha hugged Riley and followed Curry. Leonard, Thomas Jr. and Parsons walked together , Leonard was expressionless, while Thomas Jr. and Parsons were whispering something and laughing constantly.

The All-Star Game of the 2012-2013 season will be held in Houston. Tomorrow is the first day of the All-Star Weekend. Houston is also vigorously warming up for the All-Star. When everyone walks out of the airport, they can see a huge billboard head-on. Above are the ten players who were selected as the starters of this year's All-Stars, as well as the NBA's promotional slogan for this season - "Big things are coming".

Hosting the All-Star weekend is a good thing for Houston fans, allowing them to participate in the All-Star carnival without traveling far, but what makes them slightly dissatisfied is that Harden was not selected for the All-Star starter, but was selected for the All-Star The substitute made this All-Star Game a little flawed.

However, people have already expected this result. The competition for guards in the Western Conference is too fierce. The time when Harden really rose, that is, in this half of the season, even if he has home court advantage, his popularity is still not high enough, and he is not as good as old players like Kobe and Paul. The guard, compared with the most popular Curry, is even worse.

Previously, in the third round of the All-Star voting results announced on January 1, Curry was successfully elected as the vote leader with more than 4 million votes, occupying a starting spot in the Western Conference backcourt.

Kobe ranked second with more than 115 million votes, James ranked third with more than 113 million votes, Ross, who had been slightly behind Durant in the first two rounds, achieved a lead in the third round, and ranked third with more than 108 million votes Fourth, Durant ranked fifth with more than 106 million votes.These five are now recognized as the five superstars. Except for the Lakers led by Kobe who have only risen to seventh in the Western Conference after half a season of fighting, the teams led by the other four happen to be the top four in the league. The data is also at the forefront of the league, and this vote can be said to be well-received.

Except for these five people, only Anthony won more than 102 million votes, and there was no other player who won more than one million votes. A starter in the Eastern Conference frontcourt.

The last starting spot in the East was won by Garnett. His statistics are very average, only 14+7 per game, and the Celtics are only ranked seventh in the East. They were selected entirely based on the popularity accumulated in the past. It can be seen from carving zero.

The remaining two frontcourt starters in the Western Conference are Howard and Griffin. Butler is more tragic. He only got [-] votes less than Griffin, and he missed the All-Star starter.

However, he was later recognized by the coach and selected as an All-Star substitute, which is a bit of consolation.

To the surprise of Warriors fans, Chandler was also selected as an All-Star substitute for his outstanding performance on the defensive end, making the Warriors the team with the largest number of All-Stars in the league.

The Warriors have gained more than that. Leonard, Thomas Jr. and Parsons were selected for the Rookie Challenge. Among them, Thomas Jr. and Parsons were selected for the first time. They did not get many opportunities to play last season. After the team rotation, he showed his strength and was invited by the league.

This obviously has a lot to do with the Warriors' No. [-] record in the league. Thomas Jr. and Parsons played under high exposure, which is an important reason why they were still selected for the Rookie Challenge in the second grade.

Since January, the Warriors have played a total of 20 games and achieved a record of 16 wins and 4 losses. Before the start of the All-Star Game, they ranked first in the league with a total record of 45 wins and 7 losses.

Of the four games the Warriors lost, two were the second back-to-back games, and Zhang Yu lost Curry on a rotation. The other two games were because the Warriors were in poor form, but they caught up with their opponents in excellent form. Just lost the game by accident.

In fact, after the Warriors lost a back-to-back game, many Warriors fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Zhang Yu on the Internet. The team clearly had a chance to break the Bulls' winning record, but Zhang Yu always rested Curry. Not a veteran in his 30s, what a pity if he didn't win 73 wins in the end?
Some media also expressed puzzlement about this. Many celebrities said that Zhang Yu's rest for Curry is very "ridiculous". Curry doesn't need a rest at all. He should play every game and help the team win. What a superstar should do is not to be able to play, but under Zhang Yu's "forced", sitting on the sidelines in suits and leather shoes, watching his teammates lose.

These remarks are quite powerful and sound reasonable. How can there be any reason for stars to start taking turns before they are 25 years old?

But Zhang Yu completely ignored it, and took a rest when it was time to take a rest. Even if he lost another game, he would not be moved.

Later, when interviewed by reporters, Zhang Yu expressed his thoughts:

"Our goal this season is only one, and that is to defend the championship. Other things are not worth mentioning. I have never considered the issue of breaking the Bulls' historical record. Even if we are undefeated in the regular season, the league will not award us additional awards. A championship trophy, so I will not let Steph take a little risk, his health is the most important. And we are still No. [-] in the league now, and we have all the home court advantage in the playoffs, which is enough."

Zhang Yu's answer caused a lot of discussion. In fact, everyone knows that the regular season is a qualifying match. The alliance arranges a long schedule of 82 games. It is purely from a commercial point of view. The schedule is short, and advertisers are the first to disagree.

But few people speak so bluntly like Zhang Yu, and more importantly, he actually rests popular stars during the game, nakedly expressing his disdain for the regular season.

Immediately, the media bombarded Zhang Yu for disrespecting opponents and fans, but the Warriors fans who were dissatisfied with Zhang Yu's rotation of Curry before turned to support Zhang Yu.

Fans just want the home team they support to win the championship, everything else is secondary, and Zhang Yu does not prevent Curry from watching Curry play when Zhang Yu is not at home. After the Warriors lost a few inconsequential regular-season games, put up with the jeers from Heat fans.

……

Thomas Jr. and Parsons were selected for the Rookie Challenge, and they also had a motivating effect on Middleton, Jamichael Green and Bazemore, who had not played too many times. They actively invested in training during the All-Star Weekend and strived for an early into the regular rotation.

In the past three seasons, the Warriors have contributed several players to the Rookie Challenge each year. Although they have no chance this year, as long as they perform well next season, they can still be selected.

And they are rookies that Coach Z likes. Even if they don't believe in themselves, they will not doubt Coach Z's vision. The three of them firmly believe that as long as they train hard, they will definitely get a chance to play.

……

As soon as Zhang Yu and his party walked out of the airport, the alliance reception staff who had been waiting here in advance greeted them and led Zhang Yu and others to a bus.

After everyone got on the bus, the bus drove at a constant speed for half an hour, and stopped at the door of a five-star hotel near the George Brown Center.

After everyone got off the car, they divided into two groups. Curry, Chandler and others went to the hotel arranged by the league. Clay followed them. Although he was not selected as an All-Star, he accepted the invitation of the league to participate in this year's three-point contest .

And Zhang Yu was the head coach of the Western All-Star team last year. According to regulations, he cannot be re-elected. This year, the head coach of the Western All-Star team will be the Thunder head coach Brooks who is second in the Western Conference.

As a coach who has not been invited by the league, Zhang Yu can only find a place to live by himself, while Ayesha and Riley, as Curry's relatives, can live with Curry.

After Zhang Yu bid farewell to everyone, he made a phone call and waited for a while. A silver-gray Bentley Mercedes stopped in front of him.

He opened the door, sat in, closed the door, and the Bentley started smoothly.

Zhang Yu turned to look at Mark Baum sitting in the driver's seat, and said with a smile:
"I didn't expect you to come here in person... You didn't rent this Bentley, did you? You also have real estate in Houston?"

"Of course, Houston is a good place. I have made plans. When Rosie and I get old, we will spend the summer in Indiana and come here to retire in the winter." Mark Baum nodded of course.

"Evil capitalists! Do you have houses in all the big cities in the United States? You don't care about property taxes and maintenance costs? Those properties are idle and cannot create any value. This is very inconsistent with your investment philosophy."

"Haha, those are just small money, Ronan, you have to learn to separate your business from your life. I like dollars, but no matter how many dollars there are, they are just a piece of green paper if you don't spend them. With these properties, I can go wherever I want." No matter where you go, you don’t need to stay in those cookie-cutter hotels, that’s enough.”

Mark Baum smiled indifferently, and then looked at Zhang Yu jokingly:
"And...you are also a capitalist. You were just a small capitalist before, but now you are already a big capitalist. Even in Wall Street, your net worth should not be underestimated. After all, not everyone can spend nearly 10 billion US dollars in cash .”

Since November 2012, when the two began shorting neon coins, the exchange rate of neon coins against the US dollar has continued to fall. By February, it had fallen by 11%, setting a new low in 20 months, the lowest since 33. The worst performance in the same period.

Under the reminder of Zhang Yu, Mark Baum left the market not long ago and raked in 36 billion US dollars. They are the biggest winners of shorting neon coins this time. Even Soros, who has always been good at this, has far less gains than the two people.

Zhang Yu invested a total of US$13 billion in principal by mortgaging shares and borrowing from banks, far less than the US$50 billion in principal invested by Mark Baum. However, under crazy leverage, he still gained more than US$9 million in income. Net worth soared.

"I won't be able to get it out anytime soon. Mission Bay will start construction soon, and the money will be invested one after another, and it may not even be enough. At that time, I will still have to worry about money." Zhang Yu spread his hands.

"You still worry about money? Last time you were short of money, you shorted the real estate market in the United States; this time you were short of money, you shorted neon coins. Next time you are short of money, which country do you plan to target?" Mark Baum joked.

Zhang Yu raised his hand and rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment:
"Hmm...North America and Asia have done it, why don't you go to Europe next time? South America and Africa don't seem to have much to squeeze..."

"Okay, don't forget to call me... Wait, you can't be serious, right?" Mark Baum looked at Zhang Yu's serious expression and said in surprise.

"Otherwise? Can such a thing be joked?" Zhang Yu glanced at Mark Baum.

Mark Baum's expression changed, and he lowered his voice and asked:
"Which country? Are you sure? Is the risk high?"

Shorting this kind of thing is addictive, especially shorting a country's real estate market and currency, which is equivalent to shorting a country's overall economic trend, making an enemy of a country, the kind of financial market that turns hands into clouds , The feeling of covering hands as rain fascinated Mark Baum deeply.

However, he does not have Zhang Yu's advanced vision. As a banker who has not integrated into the inner circle of Wall Street, he does not have access to such information, so he can only rely on Zhang Yu's vision to participate in the world's top gluttonous feast. A piece of meat was bitten off the country's body.

Zhang Yu smiled slightly:
"You can pay attention to the European granary first. There may be accidents in Eastern Europe in the past two years."

"Eastern Europe? Mao Xiong is going to attack the European granary?"

"It's not enough to do it, but it will definitely not be peaceful...Well, a friend of mine is teaching at a university in Huaxia, receiving special allowances from the central government, and has a lot of research on international politics and European geopolitics, so...you understand Yes." Zhang Yu said vaguely.

Mark Baum was shocked and nodded again and again:

"I understand. When I get back, I will send someone to analyze the economic situation of the European granary in detail. This time, is it targeting the hryvnia?"

"Don't worry, the situation in Europe's granary is different from that in Neon Country. There is a high possibility of a fight. If you prepare too long in advance, it will increase the cost, and there will be time next year." Zhang Yu said.

"Okay, I see. I'll wait for your notice..." Mark Baum turned his head and looked Zhang Yu up and down, hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong? You can't say anything." Zhang Yu asked strangely.

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little bit emotional, you are such a freak, you can make countless fortunes in the financial market, but spend most of your energy on coaching a team, man, don't you know what it means to enjoy life? The current record of the Warriors is good enough, why don't you find a head coach, simply be a boss, and experience the happiness of being rich?" Mark Baum advised.

Zhang Yu shook his head:

"Mark, coaching the Warriors is my joy. After realizing the freedom of wealth, money is just a number, and people need a sense of accomplishment. No matter how much money I earn, how much can I spend? Like you, buy a dozen buildings Live and play in a mansion in turn? Or travel around the world, or even go to space to see? Or have a grand party every day, drunk and dreaming? I am not interested in these things, I like basketball, and my goal is to make the Warriors Building a dynasty and making money is just my means to get there, so I'm not going to stop."

Mark Baum shrugged:

"Well, I can understand that geniuses always have some special pursuits, and they don't care about things that are difficult for others to get. If I have your sharp financial sense, I must focus on making money."

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"I can chase my dream, I must thank you, Mark, without your help, I would have no way to short the secondary market, it is impossible to accumulate so much wealth so quickly, buy the Warriors, and it is impossible to coach At the same time, you can short neon coins and accumulate funds for building a new arena, thank you.”

Mark Baum laughed:
"Ronan, if someone else said that, I would have thought he was mocking me. If you hadn't reminded me that the secondary market was going to collapse, all my wealth would have been wiped out in the financial crisis in 2008. You It is equivalent to saving my life, and whether it is shorting subordinated bonds or shorting neon coins, I have made a lot of money. Without me, you will also be rich, but it is only a matter of time; but without you, I'm either on the roof now, or I'm just hanging out in Indiana and waiting to die, and I thank you."

"Then it seems that I should ask you for a consulting fee? It's not much, just take 1% of the income."

"Impossible, do you want money! I operate your funds every time, and I haven't asked you to collect money yet!"

"Are you not afraid that I will find someone else to cooperate?"

"Don't be kidding, Ronan, you are not that kind of person. If you value money so much, you won't spend your time on warriors. You just said that after wealth and freedom, money is just a number."

"Okay, you won. Don't forget to pay attention to the situation in Eastern Europe. Although we don't need to prepare now, we must seize the opportunity."

"Don't worry, I will arrange it when I go back. If Eastern Europe really gets into chaos, it will not only be the hryvnia that will fall, but the ruble will also be affected. This is a big piece of fat. We must not let this good thing go. Chance!"

……

On February 2, the 15-2012 NBA All-Star Game officially kicked off.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Zhang Yu and Mark Baum went to the scene to watch the Rookie Challenge.

This year's rookie challenge is the same as last year. It is divided into two teams. O'Neill and Barkley each select 10 players, and then they will have a showdown.

Interestingly, when the three recognized strongest players, Irving, Davis and Lillard, were selected, Leonard, Thomas Jr. and Parsons were looted by the two, and finally Parsons was robbed by O'Neal Selected, Thomas Jr. and Leonard were selected by Barkley.

After the selection, O'Neal questioned Barkley:

"Chuck, why are you robbing me? Don't you dislike warriors?"

Barkley laughed and said:
"I don't like the Warriors, but it doesn't mean I'm stupid. They are rookies trained by Coach Z and can join the Warriors' rotation. They are much better than others. Why didn't I choose them?"

"You criticize the Warriors while still picking Warriors players, how shameless are you?" O'Neal raged.

"Hehe, don't worry about my shame. I lost my face when I kissed the donkey's butt. Anyway, I will win this time. You can wait to lose!" Barkley said triumphantly.

Facts have proved that Barkley was right, but the process was beyond everyone's expectations.

O'Neal's top star is Irving, Barkley's top star is Davis, but it was Barkley's Faried that got the most attention that night.

来自掘金的野兽派中锋全场22投18中，狂砍40分10篮板的大号两双，率领巴克利队以163:135连续第二年战胜奥尼尔队。

Barkley is not as good as O'Neal in playing, but he is more comprehensive than O'Neal in terms of team building considerations.

O'Neal may have had enough of not being able to shoot, and he likes shooting guards very much. He chose three guards, Irving, Lillard, and Kemba Walker, while Barkley loved the inside and chose Davis. For pure inside players such as Faried, Vucevic, and Tristan Thompson, Leonard can also play inside.

In the case of an absolute advantage in size, the Barkley team had the upper hand from the beginning, crushing the O'Neal team in interior scoring and offensive rebounds, and finally won by a big score.

When Faried encountered an opponent who was not as athletic as himself, he played very brutally. He wished that every shot would end in a dunk. No one from the Barkley team could compete with him. In the end, he won the MVP trophy of the Rookie Challenge.

The three second-year rookies of the Warriors didn't make much effort. After playing for more than ten minutes, paddling and fishing, they took a rest.

They are different from other rookies. They have seen the big scene of the finals, and they have no interest in recreational games like the Rookie Challenge. They are just perfunctory.

The next day was the individual events. The first event was the skills challenge. Jeremy Lin would have participated, but after he was injured, he had to withdraw from the competition, and Irving took his place.

In addition, the contestants include defending champion Parker, Holiday, Jeff Teague, Brandon Knight and Lillard.

After some competition, Lillard won the skill challenge championship with a time of 29.8 seconds.

This older rookie has also gained more attention from people. This season, he averaged 18.4 points, 6.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. By.

Then came the three-point contest, contestants Clay, Paul George, Irving, Novak, Ryan Anderson, Matt, Bonner.

This is the third competition Irving participated in. He was also selected as an All-Star substitute. Except for not participating in the slam dunk contest, he did not fail in any other activities. He can be called a model worker.

In last year's three-point contest, the contest between Curry and Clay was too exciting. Curry's three-point contest won three consecutive championships, which pushed the three-point contest to a climax, which was unforgettable.

This year's three-point contest without Curry seemed a lot more dull. Clay made it all the way, scoring 20 points in the preliminaries. In the final match against Irving, he scored 24 points, beating Irving's 22 points and winning the three-point contest.

The final slam dunk contest was even more lackluster. Terrence Ross won the slam dunk contest with a leaping child and changing hands under the crotch. The process was drowsy.

After the game, a reporter interviewed Zhang Yu, who was watching the game from the sidelines, and asked him his opinion on the slam dunk contest. Zhang Yu replied with a smile:
"The slam dunk contest needs a savior. No, one is not enough. It needs two saviors. Only a wonderful slam dunk contest can save the slam dunk contest."

"How long do you think it will take for this savior to appear?"

"It's not far away, I have a hunch, just a few years later, maybe three years, maybe four years, the slam dunk contest will usher in its savior. At that time, we will be crazy about dunking again!"