warrior godfather

Chapter 739 Heaven and Hell
In the hot summer air, time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it came to September 9, and the training camp of the Warriors officially opened on this day.

The official opening time of this season's training camp is September 9, but the Warriors will participate in the preseason game held in China, so the training camp started three days in advance.

Originally, the Warriors could not continue to participate in the China Games this summer. In the past five years, the Warriors have participated in the China Games in 2013 and 2016. According to the rules of the league, a team cannot participate in the China Games three times within five years.

However, rules are meant to be broken, and the Rockets made an exception before. This time, under the operation of Mark Tatum, the Warriors were also allowed to participate in the third China game as an exception.

The reason is also very simple. The Warriors have just won three consecutive championships and established an undisputed dynasty. They are the most legendary team in the NBA. pass.

This time, the Warriors will train in the Bay Area for half a month, and will set off on October 10 for China to have two games with the Timberwolves.

Compared with last season, this year's pre-season training camp has lost many old faces and added many new faces.

Green, Leonard, Dinwiddie, and Olynik left, Clay was injured, and the five champions of last season were all absent. The newcomers Jaylen Brown, Markkanen, Aminu, and Jerebko , Connaughton, and Boucher are either rookies or substitutes.

With the addition of many newcomers, the atmosphere on the first day of the training camp was quite dull.

They are all cautious in front of the Warriors, a group of prestigious champion players, and the old Warriors headed by Curry are not very enthusiastic in the face of these rookies and substitutes traded by old teammates.

There was no bright smile on Curry's face either. The news that the team was going to trade Clay made him very depressed.

He and Clay have fought side by side for many years, and they have a deep friendship, just like brothers. He is the last person in the Warriors who does not want to see Clay leave.

It's just that he also read the news and knew that Zhang Yu offered Clay a big contract, but Clay refused and asked for a maximum salary of 2 million + the position of the absolute main force. It is normal for Zhang Yu to send him away.

But apart from Curry, everyone else applauded Zhang Yu's operation deep in their hearts, and even wished that Clay would leave early.

The salary space of the Warriors is so large. Curry, Antetokounmpo and Wiggins have already signed big contracts. If Clay signs another 2 million maximum salary, others can only sign a minimum salary.

They don't want to generate electricity for love, but they don't want to leave the Warriors.

In the past few seasons, the Warriors have been the most trafficked team in the league, with championships, ball markets, and contracts. They also have a large number of fans internationally, and their market value is even higher than that of the Knicks.

Playing in the Warriors, you can get the teaching of Coach Z, you can win championships, have exposure, and you can sign commercial endorsements, which is a paradise for newcomers.

And Clay wants to get the maximum salary and the absolute main position. He just wants to block the way of rookies and has irreconcilable conflicts with them.

After Clay was injured, all the rookies of the Warriors, especially the backcourt rotation, are paying close attention to the team's follow-up.

They were all very dissatisfied when they learned that Clay had rejected a contract extension of hundreds of millions and asked for a maximum salary and an absolute main force.

You have torn your Achilles tendon, why do you need such a big contract?Still want to play the main force?
Even a 4-year 1 million contract is too much, and Wiggins, who has full potential, only got 4 years 1 million. You, a player with a serious Achilles tendon injury, why sign the same contract as him?

These rookies are not Warriors fans. They don't care how much Clay has contributed to the team. They only value strength, how capable they are, and how much money they get. This is the rule of the NBA.

Wiggins is clearly the No. 4 pick with outstanding talent, but he accepted a 1-year contract extension of 3000 million yuan. In this era when 4000 million yuan is flying all over the sky, and [-] million yuan is the maximum salary, this is only a mid-to-high contract because he was in the top three. He has been playing as a substitute all season, and he has not shown the strength of a star. If he wants to sign a maximum salary, he can't even say this.

It's not that Zhang Yu didn't give Wiggins a chance to perform, but Wiggins was limited by the natural lack of ball feel, and his technical progress was quite slow. It took three years to polish his shooting and movement control to second-rate The striker's level mainly depends on his physical talent to play.

Three years ago, Wiggins had never played a game in the NBA, and the template was Carter, but now, he has played in the NBA for three years, but only at this level, and the template has become Rudy Gay.

So Bill Duffy's highest request is only 4 million in 1 years, not 4 million in 1.2 years.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, although Wiggins did not make much technical progress, he still had good statistics as a bargaining chip in the Timberwolves. He averaged 23 points per game, enough to be among the top strikers in the league. His explosive physical fitness also made the Timberwolves management full of expectations before he could sign A maximum salary extension contract of $5 million for the next five years.

But in the Warriors, he has neither data nor skills. He can only sign such a big contract purely relying on his physical fitness and his short-term highlight performance in the finals.

Wiggins, who is on the rise, is still unable to sign a maximum salary, and Clay, who has suffered a serious injury, should not sign a maximum salary.

Fortunately, Zhang Yu did not disappoint the Warriors' rookies, rejected Clay's request, and even further put him on the shelf, which made them more satisfied.

This is what a championship team should look like!

They came to the Warriors to grow and improve, to win championships, and to sign big contracts, not for the feelings of Warriors fans, to accompany Clay after a serious injury and help him prove himself.

Although Clay has not been traded until now, the rookies are not worried that Clay will come back to compete with them for positions and contracts.

According to media reports, there are many teams interested in Clay.

But if a strong team wants to compete for the championship, it must make good use of every precious lineup spot and every dollar of salary space. They don't want to raise Clay for nothing for a year, and they didn't make an offer to the Warriors.

And the team that could support Clay for nothing for a year didn't want to pay too much for it. The offers they put forward were unsightly. They all wanted to take advantage of the fire and were rejected by the Warriors.

As of now, the Warriors' deal with Clay is still stagnant.

With the opening of the pre-season training camp, the interest of various teams in Clay has also continued to decrease. In recent days, there have been no trade rumors.

But the rookie is not worried that Clay will stay. He has already torn face with the team. With Zhang Yu's absolutely strong character, how can it be possible to send away Butler and Leonard at their peak, and let Green at their peak play as a substitute? Will he compromise for a Clay after a serious injury?

What they are most concerned about now is that after Clay was injured, the starting second position is vacant, and who can fill this position.

Among them, Bogdan and Jaylen Brown are the most nervous. They can both play the second position. One is the sixth man of the Warriors in the first two seasons. of.

Caruso and Connaughton are not strong enough and can only play as substitutes. Brogdon also has the strength to compete for the No. [-] starting position, but on the first day of the training camp, Zhang Yu clearly told the team that Brogdon will be The backup point guard for the new season is destined to miss the starting No. [-] position.

After the training camp opened, Jaylen Brown and Bogdan competed fiercely for the starting position, and they were the two most hardworking people in the training camp.

Zhang Yu also encouraged this healthy competition and specially created conditions for them.

In every training match, Jaylen Brown and Bogdan will be divided into different teams, and both offensive and defensive ends are directly matched.

Zhang Yuhe arranged a lot of tactics for the two, allowing them to fully demonstrate their strength in front of their teammates and each other.

In fact, Zhang Yu already had a starting candidate in mind.

He is more inclined to start Jaylen Brown. Although Bogdan's performance last season was far better than that of Jaylen Brown, it was because Cole did not give Jaylen Brown enough playing time. Adapt to the NBA in one season and hone your skills.

His talent is better, the upper limit is much higher than Bogdan, and he is the perfect candidate to replace Clay.

However, Jaylen Brown is a newcomer to the Warriors after all. Bogdan has more seniority and has made great contributions to the Warriors' past two championships. Zhang Yu can't make a decision with one word. Only when people are convinced.

Fortunately, Jaylen Brown did not disappoint Zhang Yu. He performed extremely well in the training camp, steadily overtaking Bogdan, and took over Clay's starting position logically.

The talent gap between the No. [-] pick and the first-round pick is too great, and when the talented No. [-] show is working extra hard, there is no suspense about Jaylen Brown's victory.

Although Jaylen Brown is not like those second-round picks and undrafted picks that the media likes to report, he leaves an impression of extreme hard work, but his level of hard work is not bad at all.

Last season, Kerr didn't like to use Jaylen Brown, even in the regular season, he only gave him more than ten minutes of playing time. He would rather reuse Crowder and Amir Johnson in the second round than give Jaylen Brown a chance.

When he was selected by Tanhuaxiu, he thought he had come to heaven, but he fell into hell. He could only sit on the bench and watch his teammates go to the field in pain, fighting hard for victory, but he could only play soy sauce in garbage time .

The team's victory or defeat has nothing to do with him, and the fans dislike him very much.

The rookie selected with the No. [-] lottery turned out to be unstable in the rotation. What a waste of draft picks!

However, Jaylen Brown has a tough character. He did not indulge and degenerate because of the harsh environment. Instead, he trained hard and was always ready, waiting for the opportunity to make a big splash.

However, he never waited for this opportunity, but he waited for the news that he was traded to the Warriors.

But this is not bad news. Jaylen Brown didn’t want to stay with the Celtics for a long time. When he learned that he was traded to the Warriors, his first reaction was ecstasy

He can finally get rid of Cole, and he can be taught by Coach Z!

This is the dream of countless rookies and Jaylen Brown's wish.

On the day of attending the press conference, Jaylen Brown was extremely excited. He met his idol Curry and Zhang Yu, whom he had admired for a long time.

What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yu attached great importance to him, prepared a training plan for him, and said that he would do everything possible to give him the opportunity to play and exercise. He will be the first substitute in the third position and will also Sharing playing time with the rotation Bogdan at the second position, it was revealed inside and outside that he is the future of the Warriors' striker.

This made Jaylen Brown full of fighting spirit. After the press conference, he went all out in the summer league, and then followed the training plan of the coaching staff to train hard without even taking a day off.

He had enough rest on the bench last season, and he doesn't want to live that kind of idle life anymore.

From the end of the summer league to the start of the training camp, he trained hard for two months, and his strength has greatly improved.

The first summer after his rookie season was the easiest time to increase the ball. He adapted to the confrontational intensity of the NBA and accumulated experience for a season. He also became a real NBA player, knowing where his shortcomings are and which skills he should improve.

Moreover, the training plan of the Warriors coaching staff is very targeted, focusing on improving Jaylen Brown's defense, long-range three-point shooting, mid-range shooting and movement control skills, so that he can develop in the direction of a forward scorer with both offense and defense. His physical gift for the role.

This is exactly in line with Jaylen Brown's wishes. He doesn't want to be a pure 3D player, he wants to be a star, and the Warriors expect him to be a star.

He saw the hope that he couldn't see in the Celtics, and he was full of motivation. He spent a lot of time in the arena every day, carefully polished his skills, improved his confrontation ability, and shed tons of sweat.

Finally, one summer passed, and his strength improved by leaps and bounds. He seized the opportunity of Clay's injury, successfully took the position, and entered the starting lineup of the Warriors.

Bogdan also trained very hard in the summer, but he was limited by his talent, and he was only slightly better at three-point long-range shots. He was not as good as Jaylen Brown in other aspects, so he could only stay in the rotation.

But he is also convinced by this result. Jaylen Brown's starting position was won by his outstanding performance in the training camp for half a month. People can only accept reality.

At the same time, Wiggins and Looney also won the remaining two starting spots without any suspense.

After Wiggins signed a big contract, he reserved the position of the starting small forward. He also performed very well in the training camp. Although he was not as good as Leonard, he was good enough to enter the ranks of the league's first-class forwards except for breakthroughs with the ball. .

After three seasons of continuous training, Wiggins' three-pointers, defense and mid-range jumper are finally polished and mature, and can take on [-]% of Leonard's tasks.

After two seasons of accumulation, Looney has finally become a qualified center. He has skills in defense, rebounding, screens, support, switching, and mid-range shooting. He is just not very proficient, but it is enough.

The Warriors don't need him to take on any important responsibilities, as long as he can withstand more than 20 minutes of regular time, he will have five small harvests of death.

(End of this chapter)