warrior godfather

Chapter 621 I hope you don't follow the old path
The summer of 2015 was as hot and dry as ever, but the trading market was silent.

Last summer, the Cavaliers stirred up the situation in the league and formed the Big Three. This summer, there is no big fish in the trading market. The teams are just making minor repairs, and there is no big deal.

After the end of the summer league, the NBA officially entered the long draft period, and Zhang Yu finally ushered in the only rest time of the year.

He first went to Europe for half a month, visited London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Madrid, Copenhagen, Reykjavik and other cities, and then returned to China and rested at home for more than a month. Back to America.

Originally, he wanted to wait for the pre-season training camp to start before returning, but the Chase Center has been renovated and is about to be put into use. He must come back early to attend the opening ceremony of the Chase Center.

On September 9, Zhang Yu followed Rick Wertz to visit the completed Chase Center.

"The overall planning of Datong Center is 84000 square meters, which can accommodate 18 people. It includes a multi-functional area, two office buildings, a theater, and more than 064 square meters of office and experimental space, which has been rented by Uber, and 54000 square meters of catering. Retail space, nearly a thousand parking spaces, and a park of more than 9300 square meters..."

"We have more than 64 digital display screens, the largest in the United States, and the largest centrally suspended LED screen display in NBA history, and even the largest in all stadiums, with a total area of ​​9699 square feet, which can be located anywhere in the arena. Bring the best watching experience..."

"We also partnered with the regional sports network NBC Sports Bay Area to install San Francisco's first all-outdoor LED screen outside the venue, with a total area of ​​3108 square feet. The game will be broadcast during home and away games, and anyone can watch it on the outside of the venue. Enjoy restaurants and leisure activities outside the game, in short, everything we do is fan experience first, we even installed LED screens in the media interview room, which is unique in all NBA venues..."

"The floor of the Chase Center is made of brand-new high-tech tough materials. On this, the friction of the sneakers will be greatly improved, minimizing the probability of accidents such as sprains and slips..."

"We've also built a brand new training center with all the facilities to give the players the best possible experience..."

Zhang Yu spent the whole morning listening to Rick Wertz's introduction, walked around the entire Chase Center, and was very satisfied with this high-tech modern arena.

The completion of the Chase Center cost 13 billion U.S. dollars. It is the most expensive arena in the United States, but it is also the arena with the highest technological content in the league. It can bring the best viewing experience to Warriors fans.

And because of the Warriors' outstanding performance over the past few years and Curry's great popularity for the Warriors, many commercial contracts have been signed before the Chase Center is put into use. The sales of boxes and season tickets are also very smooth, and the cost recovery is just around the corner. .

In addition to JPMorgan Chase spending a huge sum of US$3.5 million to buy the naming rights for 20 years, well-known giants such as Pepsi, United Airlines, Hewlett-Packard, Lingsheng and other well-known giants have reached a founding partnership with the Chase Center, which can bring a total of 6000 million to the Warriors. Annual income in dollars.

In terms of ticket sales, 30 top courtside boxes for businesses are fully booked, with annual fees ranging from US$120 million to US$200 million, which can bring nearly US$4800 million in revenue to the Warriors. Zhang Yu left two , one for Mark Baum and one for himself, just in case.

The price of 44 large boxes on the second floor of the stand ranges from 4000 to 40000 US dollars per game, and the price of 60 small boxes for four people on the top floor is lower, so the supply is in short supply.

1.2 season tickets have been sold, and they are still being sold continuously. Rick Wertz’s plan is to sell 1.4 season tickets, and the remaining 4000 seats are reserved for individual passengers who bought tickets before the game. .

Due to Zhang Yu's order, the ticket price of the Chase Center is not as expensive as in his previous life. The median price of the 1.2 season tickets is 4.5 US dollars, a decrease of 1 US dollars.

However, Rick Wirtz adopted a compromise method. The ticket prices for the first and second tiers of stands have increased by at least 20%, and the ticket prices for courtside seats have almost doubled, but the facilities are also among the best in arenas across the United States. top notch.

The ticket price on the top floor is very cheap, only 5%-8% higher than the seat price of the same grade in Oracle. Although the facilities are not as good, it allows the original Oakland fans to come to the game without feeling shy. .

In addition, the Warriors and the San Francisco Metropolitan Railway Bureau have cooperated to launch an event that holders of season tickets or game tickets on the day can take the San Francisco Light Rail to and from for free on the day, reducing the cost of watching the game for Oakland fans on the east coast.

This series of measures, together with the large high-definition LED screen outside the arena, minimized the complaints of Oakland fans about the relocation of the arena. The high-end boxes and high-tech modern facilities satisfied the Silicon Valley elite of Chongxin Technology.

The Chase Center has really taken into account the needs of Silicon Valley's elite middle class and Oakland's blue-collar fans, and all of this is inseparable from Zhang Yu's initiative to lower ticket prices.

With the support of Bay Area fans for the Warriors and the financial resources of Silicon Valley elites, even if the top tickets are increased by 15%, the attendance rate will not be too low.

But Zhang Yu voluntarily gave up this part of the income, and also gave Auckland fans transportation subsidies, which increased operating costs, so that most of the original Auckland fans could still afford tickets.

Although they can only sit on the top floor, the Chase Center's excellent architectural acoustics and stadium line-of-sight design allow them to have a better viewing experience than watching the game at the Oracle Center.

After the ticket price of Chase Center was announced, it was quite different from the forecast of the outside world. Rick Wertz took the initiative to reveal that Zhang Yu specifically asked for such a price.

The American people have been edified by the capitalist society for a long time, and they know that capitalists do not want to give up even a penny of profit. They have always squeezed as hard as they can, and never consider issues from the standpoint of ordinary people.

However, Zhang Yu invested in the construction of a new arena for the Warriors, and also took the initiative to lower ticket prices for ordinary fans. He is also a meritorious coach who led the Warriors to three championships. His reputation in the Bay Area is getting higher and higher, and he is loved by Warriors fans.

……

After Zhang Yu visited the Chase Center, he attended a dinner party. All the representatives present were business partners with the Chase Center. Mark Baum, as a shareholder of the Warriors, attended the event. Lacob invested in the Chase Center. Also there that night.

In this dinner, Zhang Yu is undoubtedly the protagonist.

The Warriors won the championship and retained the core lineup. Curry is at his peak, and the Chase Center is completed. Everything is thriving. These companies are very optimistic about the future of the Warriors and frequently show their favor to Zhang Yu.

There were also many representatives of Huaxia enterprises at the scene. Although the Datong Center is too regional as an arena, Huaxia enterprises are not interested in naming rights, but they are eager to advertise on the sidelines.

Enterprises in many fields such as liquor, sports brands, banks, and food companies have signed contracts with the Warriors for sideline advertising, which is another large commercial income.

Originally, there was an online loan platform that wanted to buy a sideline advertisement for the Warriors at a high price, but Zhang Yu refused.

In a few years, this kind of P2P online lending platform will be stormed. Zhang Yu doesn't want to be involved in this storm, let alone endorse them.

The Warriors have a lot of fans in China. If someone really goes to these platforms for loans because of the Warriors' sideline advertisements, then Zhang Yu is entrapping the fans.

After this dinner, the construction of the Chase Center was officially announced to be completed, just waiting to be put into use.

……

On September 9, BIOFREEZE, the training center of Chase Center, ushered in the first batch of users.

Today is the opening day of the training camp. After a summer vacation, the Warriors players regrouped to prepare for the new season.

This time, they will leave the familiar Oracle Center and come to a new stadium, which is also the battlefield for next season, with anticipation in their hearts.

Antetokounmpo, as usual, was the first to arrive.

He has always been diligent, and he often arrives early and leaves late during training. He takes the initiative to practice outside the team's prescribed training time, and this time is no exception.

When he saw the luxurious locker room, he was amazed and said to the Warriors equipment manager Eric Howson who had been waiting here:

"Is this really our dressing room? It's incredible, I thought I had entered a luxury hotel!"

Eric Howson had expected Antetokounmpo's surprise, because after seeing the locker room at the Chase Center for the first time, he was also very shocked, and immediately introduced Antetokounmpo:
"Giannis, your position is here, your equipment is in the cabinet, and the position next to you is Drummond and Andrew's, the same as before..."

The locker room in the Chase Center is circular and has a large area. The central floor is the Warriors logo. The players' wardrobes form a circle, and there is a huge 70-inch screen in the middle.

There is a 32-inch high-definition display screen on each player's wardrobe. In front of the wardrobe is a fixed soft-backed chair that can be rotated 360 degrees.

When Zhang Yu is explaining tactics on the big screen, the players can turn around and look at the display screen on the closet directly, which is convenient and clear. This is a unique configuration in the league.

The Warriors players who came one after another after Antetokounmpo were also shocked by the luxurious locker room in the Chase Center, and they all smiled.

Green yelled:
"That's right, a champion must be treated like a champion!"

At this time, Zhang Yu walked into the locker room, and Green immediately smiled and said:
"Boss, the new arena is not cheap, is it?"

Zhang Yu usually does not arrive early during training, so as not to put pressure on the players who come after him, they are always stuck, and this time is no exception.

Hearing Green's question, he smiled and said:
"Of course, it cost me a full 13 billion dollars, just to let you play in the best stadium in the league!"

"Wow, 13 billion!" Antetokounmpo widened his eyes.

"My God, that's a lot of money!" Newcomer Looney murmured.

The main players were relatively calm, but they were also shocked. Curry exclaimed:
"Boss, you have given us a big surprise!"

The Warriors team once visited the construction site of the Chase Center, but at that time, the main building of the Chase Center had just been completed, and the internal facilities and structure were only on paper. The engineer showed them the design drawings, but where did he see them? understand?

This was the first time for everyone to see the interior of the Chase Center. Just a locker room made them extremely excited.

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"Come on, let me show you the training center. The locker room is nothing. The training center was built by the team in conjunction with Acerson and Google Group. It will definitely help you a lot..."

Afterwards, Zhang Yu led the players to visit the training center. Every time they went to a place, everyone talked excitedly for a while.

The BIOFREEZE training center has two standard-sized basketball courts, six hoops, a gym covering an area of ​​4000 square meters, a sauna room, a hydrotherapy room with a float tank, an air-conditioning therapy room, a Cinema, a games room, a bar, a barber shop.

In addition, there is a unique "consciousness room" in the league, where the use of mobile phones is not allowed, and players can relax, meditate or participate in brain-stimulating games on iPad and virtual reality devices, led by a psychotherapist. The teacher is in charge of management.

Inside these facilities are all the latest equipment. Players can use spa rooms, sauna rooms, and air-conditioning therapy rooms to relax muscles and repair physical fatigue after training. They can also relax in theaters, bars, game rooms, and awareness rooms. Spirit.

These are things that the Oracle Center does not have. Looking at the entire league, there is no second arena with such complete facilities.

After visiting the training center, the Warriors players were very excited, especially young people like Wiggins, Looney, and Wood.

The Oracle Center does not have a supporting training facility, and the Warriors can only train in an indoor training facility in Oakland, with old facilities. The BIOFREEZE training center in the Chase Center is full of technology, which is most suitable for their appetite.

Even the main players, who were a little sad after leaving the Oracle Center, felt much better.

Their brilliance was obtained at the Oracle Center, and they have deep feelings for it. When they changed the arena, they were actually not particularly willing in their hearts.

But the luxurious training center in the new arena has diluted the sadness in their hearts and made them look forward to the new season.

Finally, the Warriors players came to the training field, which is the essence of the training center.

The Warriors teamed up with IT giant Accenture to set up numerous data collection points in the Chase Center. Whether it is an official game or training of the Warriors, all the movement data of the players can be detected and collected. There are also a large number of sports The camera will fully record every shooting action of the players.

These sports data will be stored in Google Cloud to form a database.

Oracle has specially developed a set of software for the Warriors to track every shot taken by Warriors players in official games and training, and then analyze and compare the newly obtained data with the existing data in the database. displayed in a manner.

Based on these data, the data analysis department can obtain the status and tactical effects of the players, formulate tactics and training plans for the coaching staff, and put forward effective suggestions.

When Zhang Yu briefly introduced the data collection and analysis system of the Chase Center to the players, everyone half understood, but it did not prevent them from being shocked.

The Warriors coaching staff also looked amazed, and Ron Adams whispered to Cole:

"Now is really a data age, I feel really old..."

Cole did not leave the Warriors this summer. For some reason, Silas was favored by the Rockets, but Cole was not invited by other teams and signed another one-year contract with the Warriors.

It may be that his time as an assistant coach is too short, and he does not have more than ten years of assistant coaching experience like Silas, or it may be that Zhang Yu is too dazzling, making people ignore Cole's achievements as an assistant coach. Opportunity to coach an NBA team.

But Cole also made it clear to Zhang Yu that he will only work for another year, and he will leave next year regardless of whether he has a chance.

In response to the vacancy left by Cole, Zhang Yu is already contacting another assistant coach, and the result is about to come.

……

Throughout the morning, Warriors players visited the training center at the Chase Center before officially starting training in the afternoon.

First, the basic physical test was carried out. When Zhang Yu got the physical test data of the players, his brows first frowned, and then slowly relaxed.

Green and Clay's physical condition is relatively poor. Green is a bit overweight, and Clay's body fat percentage is high. Both of them need to lose fat.

Curry's physical condition is as perfect as ever. He trains very hard every summer and is not self-disciplined like a superstar.

Leonard gained a little more weight, reaching 226 pounds, but his speed and agility did not decrease. It can be seen that he worked hard in the summer.

Antetokounmpo continued to gain weight, and his weight came to 238 pounds (108 kilograms), but his speed only dropped a little, and his terrifying talent was fully revealed.

Other rookies and basic-salary players are also in good condition. They need to compete for playing time and big contracts, and they never dare to slack off in the slightest.

Zhang Yu did not criticize Clay and Green, but just mentioned that they are no longer the rookies of the past, and Zhang Yu has to save face for them in front of young players.

The two didn't regard this as a big deal. After learning about his physical test data, Green said nonchalantly:

"Boss, don't worry, I will lose weight soon, and by then, I will be in the best condition to welcome the new season!"

Clay said lightly:
"Sorry, boss, I didn't control my diet very much, and I won't eat randomly anymore..."

……

Shortly after the start of the training camp, on October 10, the preseason began.

The Warriors' opponents are the same as usual. They are the Lakers, Kings, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Nuggets and other teams that are relatively close. They are basically in the same division, and they can play a few more games to warm up.

According to the habit, Zhang Yu reduced the playing time of the starting lineup, tested the lineup, inspected the status and strength of the substitute players, and provided a reference for the new season's rotation lineup.

But in less than 20 minutes of playing time in the first game, Zhang Yu discovered two problems-the three-point shooting percentage of Clay and Green dropped a bit sharply.

Clay's three-pointers during training were still very accurate, but in the game, he couldn't make them, and the chances of wide open shots were repeatedly hit.

It can be clearly seen that he neglected the training of three-pointers in the summer, and his shooting without pressure is not a problem, but when confronted, he can't find the rhythm of his shots.

Green reduced the three-point training during training, and his shooting percentage also dropped. Zhang Yu only thought that he was going to start three-point training after losing weight, and didn't ask much.

However, in the game, Green didn't shoot three-pointers directly. Although the opponent didn't dare to let him go, the only few open shots he made were none of them.

He definitely didn't follow Zhang Yu's instructions to practice three-pointers in Xia Tian.

After Zhang Yu saw the performance of the two, his face was always very gloomy.

The performance of Clay and Green reminded Zhang Yu of very bad memories of "Tieguanyin" and "Vampire".

But there is still more good news. Curry's state is maintained very well, with three-point accuracy, smart breakthroughs, and even made progress, passing the ball more steadily, reducing random passes, and the number of turnovers has further decreased.

In addition, Leonard is in a hot state. In the limited playing time in the preseason, he rarely missed three-pointers in mid-range singles. He even developed a one-handed three-pointer with an accuracy close to that of Curry.

This season is the most accurate three-point season in Leonard's career. After four years of training, he has finally fully grown up.

Other young players are also continuing to improve. After Antetokounmpo gained weight, his strength and confrontation have greatly improved, and his control skills and low-post footsteps have also improved greatly. Combining the two, the success rate of face-to-frame breakthroughs and low-post singles has increased significantly. He really lived up to his nickname "Greek Monster".

Dinwiddie's passing has become more stable, and he can often send it, but his talent is still too mediocre, and his confrontation is average. He can only make a three-pointer with one hand, and it is difficult to break through to the inside to score.

Wiggins' three-pointers have improved a lot. This is the result of his hard work for a year, but his movement and control skills are still relatively average. His touch is not good enough. It is not easy to be able to practice three-pointers well, and he is unable to take care of other aspects.

This is also Zhang Yu's advice to Wiggins after the end of last season, let him practice three-pointers, start from 3D, and slowly improve his ability to attack with the ball.

Although Wiggins is eager to surpass Bogdan, he has one of the biggest advantages, that is, he has a gentle personality and strong obedience. But it didn't take much energy.

Wiggins' touch is stiff, but Wood is the exact opposite of him. His touch is very soft, which is an innate talent.

One offseason has passed, and Wood's three-pointers have been well practiced. Although they are not particularly accurate, they have achieved a breakthrough from scratch. It can barely be said to be a space-based insider, but the defense is still the same as before. Oops.

However, Zhang Yu had no intention of entrusting Wood with important tasks. He just used him as a special weapon to deal with specific opponents at specific moments. He had no requirements for his defense. Instead, he praised his performance and asked him to continue to work hard.

After being encouraged by Zhang Yu, Wood was very excited, and his enthusiasm for training was high, and he practiced three-pointers even harder.

Looney has high hopes from Zhang Yu, but he only continues to improve in rebounding. He is very stable in protecting the backcourt rebounds, and his sense of frontcourt rebounds has become more acute. In terms of the necessary skills of a center such as single defense, his performance is very average.

It takes time to accumulate all these before you can see the effect slowly. Zhang Yu is not in a hurry, and encourages Looney to train well.

In the new season, Zhang Yu intends to let Olynik be the starting center. Looney and Wood share the bench time, and the five players will die at critical moments.

Olynyk has not improved much, but he is a rookie with immediate combat power. Although his potential has peaked, he can shoot three-pointers, pass the ball, and is very smart in defensive positioning. He also has the ability to draw offensive fouls. In terms of ability, the starting center for 20 minutes in the regular season is enough.

Covington's three-pointers and defense are good, but he suffers from no room to show, but in the new season, he will be an important substitute on the Warriors' front line, sharing playing time with Wiggins and Antetokounmpo. Zhang Yu's formation provides new changes and will not be buried on the bench.

Bogdan is accurate in three-pointers, but his confrontation is slightly poor, and his ability to handle the ball is average. He just took over Middleton's role and is responsible for leading the bench to score points.

Livingston and McConnell have no room for improvement, but they have stable ball control and each has a unique skill. Zhang Yu will give them more opportunities in the new season, and take turns with Dinwiddie to share the organization in the rotation pressure.

Zhang Yu used a preseason game to examine the status of the players, but he also paid a certain price for it.

He changed the lineup and changed tactics at will. The Warriors had mixed results in the preseason, winning and losing, and finally ended the preseason with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses.

In this process, the data collection system of the Chase Center played an important role. It can accurately track every game player's shot, running distance in the game, breakthrough success rate, defense in place rate and other details of the game, helping Zhang Yu Accurately judge player progress and status.

……

At the end of the preseason, Zhang Yu left Green behind after a training session.

Green wondered:
"Boss, what can you do with me?"

"Drummond, didn't you practice three-pointers in summer?" Zhang Yu asked.

Green's three-point shooting percentage in the preseason was only 27.8%, and he made 18 of 5 shots, which was very poor.

But he said nonchalantly:

"I spend my time practicing defense, you know, boss, Kawhi's scoring ability is getting better and better, and Steph, Klay, I just take care of the defense."

Zhang Yu frowned, opened his mouth, and wanted to say something, but closed it anyway.

Green is overweight, and he still trains defense?What about cheating ghosts?

But today is different from the past. Green is no longer a young rookie, but the best defensive player. He was selected to the best third team, the best first defense, and won three championships. He has become famous and the team needs his defense , Passing the ball, Zhang Yu can no longer treat him with the attitude of the past.

He could only suppress his anger and said:
"Practice three-pointers well. The team needs you to open up the space. This is also the biggest threat to your offense. Don't waste it."

"Okay, boss, don't worry!" Green replied carelessly, "It's nothing else, I'll go first..."

Zhang Yu looked at Green's leaving back, narrowed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, shook his head slightly, and murmured:
"I hope you don't go down the old road..."

　Ask for monthly tickets and recommended tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)