NBA: Back to 97, to be the Jagged Bishop

Chapter 433: How am I worse than Big Ben?
"You showed up? I thought you were kidnapped!"

"Where have you been in the past three months? I called you at least 10 times, but none of them got through!"

After seeing Kongbu, Stern started questioning him before Kongbu could speak.

"Huh? Don't you know that I have returned to China? Have you never thought of asking old Thomas for my phone number in China?"

Kongbu frowned and said unhappily.

"Do you think anyone is willing to deal with that guy old Thomas?!"

"The team's relocation has been discussed, but the arena in Brooklyn is too old and needs to be renovated. It will have to wait at least another half year."

"That means you'll have to stay in New Jersey for one more year."

Kongbu didn't care at all. He moved to New York a year earlier and a year later, and it would have little impact.

After leaving the NBA headquarters in New York, Kongbu returned directly to New Jersey and met with the Nets generals and assistant coaches in the afternoon.

"Kong, the three months since you left have cost me half of my life."

"Just because of the issue of Marc Gasol's contract buyout, I went to Spain at least three times."

"His brother Pau Gasol is really good. Is this little Gasol really worth my efforts?"

"I don't see a trace of the characteristics that a top center should have in him."

Old Thomas doesn't like white centers very much. To be precise, he just doesn't like white players, including Larry Bird.

"With your eyesight, if you could see his extraordinary qualities, you wouldn't be kicked out by Dolan."

Kongbu did not miss this opportunity to tease Lao Deng.

"Then tell me, what's so strong about this guy?"

"Let's put it this way, his younger brother can do everything Pau Gasol knows. Pau Gasol's defense is far inferior to his younger brother."

"By the way, Gasol also has top-notch three-point firepower."

Old Thomas was secretly surprised by Kongbu's words.

When it comes to evaluating Gasol's strength, Kongbu is not exaggerating at all. Although Gasol's career achievements are higher than Gasol's, in terms of combat effectiveness, Gasol is still stronger in Kongbu's eyes. .

In terms of offensive ability, Gasol is not inferior to Gasol at all. In terms of attack range, Gasol is even stronger than Gasol.

Needless to say, the defensive ability is not for nothing. The DPOY in Xiaojia's hands is not for nothing. He is a serious inside gate, which is not even a bit better than Dajia.

In terms of organizational ability, the two brothers are evenly matched in this aspect. They are both top players in the post. Looking at the data, it is Xiaojia who has more assists. However, the two have different roles in their respective teams. It cannot be said that Xiaojia is better than Jiajia in this aspect.

The only thing where Gasol is not as good as Gasol may be rebounding. His data in this area is much worse than Gasol.

Rebounding can be said to be the only shortcoming of Xiaojia. Fortunately, the Nets have no shortage of rebounders, so you don't need to pay too much attention to this aspect.

Because Kongbu has not been at the training ground, the newcomers have not been able to enjoy the blessings in the training field. They are still pure raw melons, and their strength is still in their rookie stage.

There are still more than half a month until the regular season starts, and Kongbu can just use this time to improve their strength.

In early October, the preseason started, and Kong Bu was in charge every game.

Garnett and Ray Allen simply didn't let them play, and Ade, Artest and Rondo didn't let them play for too long. They only played for a few minutes and came off, just to let the rookies play. Preseason.

There are a total of six preseason games, and the Nets lost the first four games, and they lost quite miserably.

By the time the fifth game began, as Marc Gasol and Durant gradually improved in strength, it was extremely easy for the Nets to win the preseason game.

In the last preseason game, Durant even scored 39 points, while Marc Gasol had 25 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

Kongbu knows very well that as long as Gasol and Durant enter their peak period, his Nets will truly be the best in blocking and killing, and there will be absolutely no opponent.

However, Kong Bu didn't feel much joy in his heart. He was now half-dead worried about Sun Yue.

In the preseason, Sun Yue played as the team's starting point guard, and his average playing time per game was the same as Durant's. However, Durant averaged 33 points per game in six preseason games, and Sun Yue averaged 3.3 points per game. It's a gap that makes people despair.

And this gap may continue to grow as Durant gradually reaches his talent ceiling!

Sun Yue's score is low. On the one hand, his shooting percentage is very low, and on the other hand, he is too "selfless". As the scout report said, he likes to share the ball too much.

As for passing and ball control, he does have the ability in this area, but compared with point guards at the level of Rondo and Paul, they are really inferior.

There are three types of selflessness on the court. One is selflessness with strength. Obviously you can score, but your teammates have better scoring opportunities, so you choose to pass the ball to your teammates.

The other is helpless selflessness. Due to limitations in height, athletic ability, etc., his own offensive ability is too poor, but his passing and control ability is very strong. Passing the ball to his teammates can help the team gain a greater advantage.

The first is Chris Paul, and the second is Rondo.

Sun Yue belongs to the third type. He is fake and selfless. He is restrained on the court and dare not shoot, so he can only pass the ball, regardless of whether the timing of the pass is appropriate or not.

There is nothing Kong Bu can do. Even with the blessing of the training field, Sun Yue can quickly enter his peak period, but is Sun Yue really strong in his peak period?He doesn't seem to be strong, and there is no obvious improvement compared to his current strength.

"It seems that now I can only get a three-point calibration device for Sun Yue to use first, and cultivate his confidence first."

"If I can help him get a point guard template in the future, he will skyrocket."

"If you can't get it, then you have no choice but to make do."

……

After Game [-], Kombu got a call from Ben.

"Boss, are you still short of people in your team?" Ben asked shyly after making the call.

Kongbu was startled. Are you kidding me? The new season is about to begin, but Ben hasn't renewed his contract with the Bobcats yet?
"Ben, what's going on? You haven't renewed your contract with the Bobcats yet? What happened? Jordan is sick again?"

Kongbu couldn't understand why Jordan was so crazy that he hadn't renewed his contract with Ben until now.

"I can't really blame Jordan for this. The Bobcats have too many insiders, and they are all young people. If I were the team owner, I would definitely give priority to renewing the contracts of those young insiders."

"In addition, Grant Hill is also facing a contract extension this season, and Bosh, they still have to leave some space to wait for Chris Paul to renew."

Big Ben said with a helpless smile that he quite understood Jordan's difficulties.

Kongbu nodded. After hearing what Ben said, it seemed that Jordan did have his own difficulties.

"Didn't any other team contact you? Damn it, I went on vacation for three months this offseason and barely paid attention to NBA news. That guy Thomas didn't tell me that you were still a free agent." "Yes, Nick. I've been contacted by St. Louis and the Heat, but I'm not very interested in those two teams."

"The Suns in the Western Conference also contacted me and offered me an annual salary of 500 million."

Big Ben's tone was full of helplessness. The Suns' annual salary of 500 million was an insult to him.

I am indeed not young, but no matter what, I will not be reduced to an annual salary of 500 million.

Under normal circumstances, Ben would have left the Pistons this season and received an annual salary of US$1500 million from the Bulls.

Of course, this annual salary is a bit exaggerated, because this season is indeed a watershed in Ben's career. From this season on, his combat effectiveness began to decline rapidly.

"That's really too little, Ben. If you are willing to come to our Nets, I will offer you a three-year, $3 million contract."

"Or a five-year pension contract of 5 million yuan. After these five years, you should be almost retired."

Under normal circumstances, Ben would retire in 2012, and he would retire just after completing the five-year contract.

Daben didn't think anything about it, "Five years, I'll stay by your side for the rest of my career, and I won't go anywhere."

"The Raptors dynasty, the Bobcats dynasty, if nothing else happens, I will be a member of the Nets dynasty next. I participated in three of your four dynasties."

"As the only three-dynasty player in NBA history, my life is worth it."

Daben said with a laugh.

Kongbu was filled with emotions. Time really flies by. He still vaguely remembers the scene when he traded Ben to the Raptors in 97, and even remembers Ben's expression when he saw him for the first time.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Ben is already old and has entered the end of his career. He is also at the age of reaching his fourth year.

Of course, for a head coach, a 40-year-old is still a young man. As long as Kongbu is willing, he can work in the coaching profession at least until he is 70.

After hanging up the phone with Big Ben, Combs called Thomas Sr. and asked him to quickly draw up a contract. Before the new season officially started, he signed Big Ben to a five-year, $5 million contract. .

When Old Thomas heard that Big Ben could still get a contract worth 4000 million US dollars, he couldn't help but complain a little.

"You are so nice to Ben, but you are so stingy to me."

"How am I worse than Big Ben? He can get an annual salary of 800 million, why do I only have 500 to [-] million?"

Kongbu glanced at him and said, "Old man, if you hold a press conference now to announce your comeback, and then you can play for a few 10 minutes and average more than 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, I will also give you How about your 800 million?"

Old Thomas was speechless. He was already over [-] years old. He felt very tired even if he sat on the bench for a whole game, let alone playing on the court.

Big Ben signed the contract very quickly. After all, everyone knew the basics. It was impossible for Kongbu to tamper with the contract. Big Ben didn't even look at the contract and directly signed his name.

Since then, the Nets have added another general, and the number of veterans on the team has changed from the original Garnett and Ray Allen to three.

……

After six games in the preseason, it’s time for the regular season.

Needless to say, the opening game will definitely be an away game against the Knicks. Perhaps it is precisely because the opening game is played at the Knicks' home court every year that Combu is so eager to relocate the team.

The Nets' lineup has changed a lot this season. Last season's starting five was Ade, Garnett, Artest, Roy and Garondo. This season it has become Marc Gasol, Garnett, Durant, Ray Allen and Rondo, the starting lineup has changed three people.

When Kongbu looked at the starting lineup under his command, the first thing that came to his mind was the Big Three or Big Four of Green Kai.

Now I have gathered three of the four giants without knowing it.

If Kongbu really has a collecting habit, it wouldn't be difficult for him to trade Pierce from Greencap.

Although Pierce is currently known as the soul of the Green Kai team, as long as the bargaining chip provided is attractive enough, it is impossible not to trade Pierce.

For example, if Kongbu takes out Ade to replace Pierce alone, I'm afraid Green Kai will have to send Pierce over overnight.

The Nets' lineup has changed tremendously, and the Knicks' lineup has not changed at all.

They need to face an extremely difficult decision this offseason. Both Marion and James have reached the time to renew their contracts.

Marion entered the league in 99. After completing his four-year rookie contract, he signed another four-year maximum salary. This year's contract expires.

James entered the league in 03. This year also happened to be the end of his rookie contract and he needed to renew it.

Between the two, the Knicks will definitely choose James first. There is no doubt about this. James is definitely the better solution in terms of overall combat strength and commercial value.

But without Marion, the impact on the Knicks' overall combat strength is really great.

They are also in the free market, looking for a reliable No. [-] player. There are also top No. [-] free agents this year, such as Randolph.

But Randolph's request is a maximum salary plus a sign-and-trade, and the Knicks can't meet his request no matter what they say.

Getting a maximum salary is difficult enough. The Knicks' salary has already exceeded the luxury tax. Randolph's annual salary is 1600 million US dollars, and the Knicks have to pay an extra 1600 million US dollars in luxury tax.

It's almost equivalent to saying that Randolph is more expensive than Jordan...

In addition, signing and then trading is something the Knicks cannot do at all. Where do they have any leverage in the team to trade.

When they learned that Big Ben had not signed with any team, they became interested in Big Ben.

Big Ben can play the fourth position, and Ou Pang's physical fitness is getting worse and worse. When O'Pang is not on the court, Ben can also play as the center.

However, they did not want to give Ben too high a contract, so they offered a two-year contract worth US$2 million.

Da Ben is not a fool, how could he agree to them.

The Knicks may also feel that other teams will definitely not give them a higher contract than theirs, and they may just spend their money.

They never dreamed that when the regular season started, Ben would return to Kongbu's command.

The Knicks have harvested nothing in the free market and have not signed first-line stars. Their strength this season has shrunk a lot compared to last season.

There are currently three core players: James, Tracy McGrady and O'Fatty. Whether it's O'Fatty or McGrady, their strength is declining as they play.

The Nets' overall combat power has become stronger, and the Knicks' overall combat power has become weaker. The strength gap between the two sides is even greater due to the ebb and flow of one another.

The Knicks were able to compete with the Nets last season, but how can they have such qualifications this season?

(End of this chapter)