God of NBA point guards

Chapter 264 Gloves and Rain Man's Wrath

The next day, October 10, Zhou Quan went to the team to report.

The preseason will start on the 10th, and they will start tomorrow. In order to get in touch, he will also participate in this preseason.

In the locker room of the headquarters, all the players have arrived except Zhou Quan.

"Michael, you met Iron Fist. Does he have a bad temper and is not easy to get along with?" Sam Perkins asked in a low voice.

He has a very good relationship with Jordan, and Zhou Quan and Jordan are deadly rivals. Facing Zhou Quan, a super fierce man who has swept all the villains in the league, and a first-class heavyweight professional boxer, he is a little worried that he will not get along well.

Michael Cage was taken aback, then laughed.

"Say it!"

Sam Perkins said angrily.

Apart from Kendall Gill and Schramf, other people also looked over at this time, obviously they were also very concerned about this issue.

Kendall Gill and Schramf didn't speak. They are both newcomers to the Supersonics, and they are not familiar with these old people.

That's why they rushed to Los Angeles a few days ago and took the initiative to meet with Zhou Quan, just to build a good relationship with the team leader first.

Michael Cage said with a smile: "I thought he was difficult to get along with. He must have a big air and a temper, and he would beat people when he met, but I was wrong, Sam, as long as you are not his opponent, he is a very easy person to get along with." .”

"Really?"

Sam Perkins couldn't believe it.

Iron Fist even fought Jordan, and Jordan is also an extremely difficult person to get along with. Will a person with a personality like Iron Fist be easy to get along with?

At this time, there were footsteps outside, and then several people walked in, led by the general manager Whithit, followed by Zhou Quan, two other executives, and the coaching staff headed by George Karl.

After Ballmer took over the team, he did not change the management in large numbers. He only changed a financial director and a president of operations. He also served as the chairman of the team, but he didn't manage much.

Seeing Zhou Quan and the management coming, all the players stood up immediately.

Zhou Quan didn't wait for the management's introduction, he walked out with a smile and said, "Hi everyone, you can call me Zhou Quan, Zhou, or Iron Fist."

"Boss."

Kendall Gill exclaimed with a grin.

"Alright." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"Boss."

Many fringe and role players with low qualifications shouted.

"Iron fist."

Some qualified main players and important rotations also shouted.

Zhou Quan nodded and started shaking hands with everyone.

With his memory, he was very clear about everyone's information. After some communication, the players felt very comfortable, and the atmosphere in the locker room changed from tense and dull at the beginning to relaxed.

Even if some of them were rebellious, they didn't dare to squint their teeth due to the pressure of his heavyweight first-class professional boxers.

Seeing Zhou Quan handle the locker room with ease, Whithit and other management and coaching staff also breathed a sigh of relief.

……

The next day, the Sonics set off to start the preseason, and the team's season ticket sales and jersey sales for the new season also began.

The price of season tickets for the new season has increased by 25% compared to last season, a quarter, which is a huge margin. This shows that the management is very optimistic about the football market and believes that the arrival of Zhou Quan will not hurt the football market.

And the sales volume on the first day also fully shows that the management did not misread it. 33% of the season tickets were sold, which can be described as very hot.

And Zhou Quan's jersey sales are also very good, the first batch of [-] jerseys sold out.

This makes the management very optimistic about the operation of the new season and full of confidence.

At the same time, Zhou Quan's Tekken III also started selling. Skechers itself has a flagship store in Seattle, and specially opened Zhou Quan's brand store, and sold more than 500 pairs of Tekken III on the first day.

In the next ten days, Zhou Quan participated in seven preseason games, averaging only 25 minutes per game, and the Sonics ended the preseason with 5 wins and 2 losses.

These few preseason games have allowed the Sonics to complete the initial run-in, but the run-in is far from over.

In the original Supersonics, the rain man was responsible for hitting the basket. Now the Supersonics, the impact on the basket is not so strong, basically shooting.

Zhou Quan didn't have any offense in the preseason. He mainly passed the ball, organized the offense, observed the characteristics and playing styles of his teammates, and became familiar with his teammates.

After the preseason, the media's evaluation of the new Sonics was mixed.

"The supersonic speed of the Rain Man period was full of destructive power, but the supersonic speed of Iron Fist no longer has this element, and the viewing pleasure of supersonic speed has been greatly reduced." The New York Times.

"Obviously, the Supersonics in the Iron Fist era are more efficient than the Supersonics in the Rainman era. Iron Fist's big hands enveloped the entire team, and his performance alone will determine the fate of this team." Los Angeles Daily .

Zhou Quan didn't bother to care about these media's comments. After the preseason, the official training camp started, and he devoted himself to the team's running-in.

In addition to the team's tactical training, this offseason was delayed due to other things. He did not conduct any technical training, and now he has to start again.

He has completed four shooting trainings before, and now he chooses two shooting trainings again. As long as he completes these two trainings, in addition to his own technical improvement, the basic shooting skills and offense can be improved by one level.

It itself is upgraded by two levels, but after completing three items last time, it has already been increased by one level. This cannot be superimposed, so if you complete two more items, you can only increase by one level.

He chose the 80-level rebound shot and the 76-level turnaround jumper. The former can be trained for 13 rounds and the latter for 16 rounds.

Adding up to [-] training sessions, it only counts if you make a shot, and only if your technical movements meet the standards. With someone helping to pick up and pass the ball, it will take three months to score an average of [-] goals for three hours a day.

In addition, Philip has hired seven people for him, one housekeeper, three security guards, one gardener, one chef, and one cleaner. The annual salary of the six people needs to be more than 20 US dollars.

The housekeeper is an Anglo-American woman in her 40s. It is said that she has one-eighth of Chinese blood. She majored in housekeeping in college. Her name is Melan Wellington.

Two of the three security guards are white, and the other is Chinese, all of whom are men. The gardeners, chefs and cleaners are all women, of which the gardeners are black, and the other two are Chinese.

The villa is already in normal operation. After playing the preseason, he moved in from the hotel.

There was also a congratulatory party that day, and all the teammates were invited.

……

After the preseason, the lineups of each team were basically determined, and the media began to analyze the situation of the new season.

TNT TV divided all the teams into four grades, which are the championship-level teams in the first tier, the strong playoff teams in the second tier, the ordinary playoff teams in the third tier, and the teams in the fourth tier. Teams outside the playoffs.

In the first gear, the Bulls, Knicks, and Pistons are in the East, and the Supersonics and Suns are in the West.

"The new season may still be a situation where the East is strong and the West is weak, but it has become balanced, but the competition in the East will be more intense."

"Detroit's economy continues to decline. The Pistons chose to trade the Iron Fist because of operating cost issues. The team owner is selling the team and has lost the will to chase the championship, but the Iron Fist trade brought Gary Payton and Sean Cam to the team. Pu, plus Joe Dumas, Sekali, Ulrich, this is ironic, a team that does not want to chase the championship, but still has the strength of the championship, can only be said to be the "legacy" left by the Iron Fist So rich."

"The Knicks, the iron-blooded team created by the magic operator, is already in its third season and has fully matured. It was eliminated by the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. This season, the team's strongest opponent is probably still the Pistons. , and Jordan's Bulls."

"Bulls, as long as Michael Jordan is here, this team will still be the most competitive team in the league. It is said that he has been training extra throughout the offseason, and even traveling around the world with his family brought his trainer, There is no interruption of training. In the new season, he will start again with the Bulls."

"The Suns lost to the Pistons in the Finals. Charles Barkley had sharpened his sword for ten years, but was smashed by the Iron Fist. In the new season, he will have the most brutal competition with the Iron Fist in the Western Conference."

"The Supersonics stopped in the Western Conference finals last season, and then the Iron Fist won. It was almost rebuilt. It does not have the strength of the championship level. The reason for being selected is only because of the Iron Fist."

TNT also evaluated the five teams in the first tier, and there was no obvious bias, which was generally recognized by the media and the industry.

In addition, there are four teams in the second tier, the Eagles and Magic in the East, the Mosaics and the Spurs in the West.

Among the four teams in the second tier, including O'Neal, there are three super centers. With the Knicks, the four super center teams are all selected into the top two teams.

Many media have seen this, and they have shouted that the new season will be a competition between traditional center teams and guard-centric teams.

But there are also many media who believe that among the five teams in the first tier, only Ewing is a super center, and the teams of the other three super centers are all in the second tier, so the league is still dominated by guards.

In addition, ESPN also divided the teams into tiers. There are five teams in the first tier. The East is the same as TNT, but the West is the Suns and Mosaics, but the Supersonics are summarized in the second tier.

The explanation given by ESPN is that the Supersonics have no low post, no height, and no rebounds. Except for Zhou Quan, no one has the ability to attack. Once the fast break cannot be played, they will be very passive in positional warfare.

"Iron Fist is really powerful, but he is only one person with limited energy. He can't make up for the height of the inside and the lack of rebounds. He can't carry the Sonics."

"Last season, the Pistons had Rodman, Sekali, height, interior defense, and rebounds, but now the Sonics have nothing."

ESPN's evaluation of the Sonics has also gained a lot of recognition.

Zhou Quan's evaluation of ESPN can only be said to be speechless, are you blind, you can't see a rebounding machine as big as Rodman?
Inside defense, the Sonics have no height in the low post. It is true that no player can hold the four super centers in a single defense, and they don't even have first-class basket protection ability. But the Sonics have a strong flank defense, and it is normal to have weaknesses. Possibly strong in all aspects.

Low-post offense is indeed the Supersonic's weakness. The main center Perkins often pulls to the three-point line, and Rodman can only play a second offense, so the low-post offense depends on him and Kendall Gill's breakthrough layup.

……

The new season starts on November 11th, and the 5nd is the Sonics media day.

Although Seattle is not an international super metropolis like New York and Los Angeles, it is definitely an emerging international city, and the city's sports atmosphere is very strong, otherwise the four major sports leagues would not all flock here, so come to There are a lot of media reporters at the meeting.

"Crack clap..."

Zhou Quan stood at the C position and took photos with his teammates from the media.

"Iron Fist, after the preseason and the official training camp, what do you think of this team? TNT thinks it is the first championship-level team, but ESPN thinks it is not. What do you think?" The New York Times reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if the first stage or the second stage, the media can't decide our height, what finally determines our height is our own efforts and strength.

I have made clear my own positioning for the team long ago. Our lowest goal this season is the Western Conference Finals, and then strive to hit the Finals.

This seems to be in line with the positioning of these two media for us, either the first tier or the second tier.I personally agree with the second gear more, because it will give us relatively less pressure. "

"Tekken, do you like Seattle?" the Seattle Times reporter asked.

"I like it very much. I have already bought a house here." Zhou Quan nodded and smiled.

"Can you disclose the specific address?" The reporter immediately asked.

"NO, I don't want my private life to be disturbed." Zhou Quan refused with a smile.

"Iron Fist, what kind of performance do you think the Pistons will play this season? TNT and ESPN both think that the Pistons are in the first tier, what do you think?" the Los Angeles Daily reporter asked.

"The Pistons' lineup does still have the strength to hit the championship, and they are the first team." Zhou Quan said.

"If the Pistons win the championship this season, will you regret leaving?" the reporter asked.

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "Everyone knows the reason why I left the Pistons. Except for the fans there, everyone wants me to leave, so it's not my turn to regret."

"Then what do you think is the probability that the Pistons will continue to win if you continue to stay in the Pistons?" The reporter asked again.

Zhou Quan pondered for a while and said: "If Rodman also stays, we still have a great chance of winning the championship, at least [-]% or more. I think the chance is greater than that of the Bulls."

"The Pistons are more likely to win the championship than the current Supersonics?" The reporter asked again.

"That piston." Zhou Quan said without hesitation.

"That is, you think this supersonic is not as good as that piston, why?"

"Because of defense, this is one of them." Zhou Quan said.

The media agrees with this reason. Two defensive teams and three defensive teams are absolutely different defensive thicknesses.

Zhou Quan said again: "But the Sonics' defense is also very strong. Last season, they were the team with the second-lowest points per game in the Western Conference, only higher than Mosaic. Although Sean Kemp and Gary Payton were missing this season, they still The joining of me and Rodman will not reduce the defensive strength, so this reason is not the main reason.

The main reason is that we are basically rebuilding. The main lineup is all newcomers and there is no old man. We need time to adjust and build a new offensive and defensive system. We need time to grow. "

Far east, the Detroit Pistons are also holding their media conference.

The leader of the Pistons is Joe Dumars, Gary Payton is just an ordinary player, not an All-Star, and Sean Kemp is not a leader, so the old leader Joe Dumars can only continue to lead the locker room .

Joe Dumars has Seikali on the left, Sean Kemp on the right, and then Gary Payton, who are called the four kings of the new season by the Detroit media.

"Rain Man, Gloves, I heard that you are not satisfied with coming to Detroit, is that true?" The first question was a New York Times reporter.

Sean Kemp twisted his neck, his eyes flashed fiercely, like a wild beast, he growled in a low voice: "NO, I am very satisfied, the trade brought me from a garbage team to a Pot [-] championship-caliber team."

Gary Payton snorted coldly and said: "This is the media's nonsense. We like this place and are full of gratitude to this city. It is here that we are taken in, otherwise we are just abandoned garbage."

The answers of the two couldn't fool the media, at least the local media scoffed. After the two guys were traded, they were full of complaints. How could they like Detroit?It's hard for them to believe that these two guys will stay here after their contracts expire.

"Do you guys hate supersonics?" the next reporter asked.

Gary Payton said very firmly: "They abandoned us. After we reached the Western Conference Finals, this is a kind of abandonment. Yes, we hate the Sonics. After we reached the Western Conference Finals, they traded us. , I curse them that they will never be favored by superstars in the future."

"Will you hate Tekken because of this?" the reporter asked again.

"Shet, we don't like him. He made our home team trade us. It's all shit! He betrayed the Pistons and got us traded by the team. It's all his fault." Gary Peyton cursed indiscriminately.

"Gary, Sean, if you reach the finals in the new season, who do you like to meet the most?" Another reporter asked.

"Supersonic." The two said in unison.

……

(End of this chapter)