Basketball: The Chosen Victim

Chapter 38
At noon, Wu Di invited his teammates to Yangcheng Restaurant for morning tea. After enjoying the friendship of the landlord, he took Scott and Grant to discuss the team lineup.

"Wu, your observation is very meticulous!"

Scott first boasted, and then said:

"But you may have underestimated Williams' scheming. Williams' poor performance at this time is actually aware of the crisis, and he lowered his value to avoid being traded."

"That's right, Williams' lowest shooting percentage in a single game last season was 38%. It's impossible to drop so sharply all of a sudden."

Grant frowned and echoed that Williams is only 28 years old and an All-Star player, and he is the best bargaining chip they can take in the trading market.

If you want to start rebuilding around Wu Di, what Williams can get in exchange will be very critical.

Now in the first game of the preseason, Williams started to play poorly, obviously unwilling to cooperate with the wishes of the Cavaliers management.

Wu Di was also awakened, Gan, he recalled that this guy had two open shots on the court and missed, probably that's why he thought so...

Sure enough, in reality, it is much more difficult for the team to complete the reconstruction than in 2K. Not only is it difficult to find external talents, but there are also many internal obstacles...

"You don't have to worry too much about this. I warned him last night. If he behaves like this again, he will pay the price he deserves."

Grant comforted that as the general manager who came from the assistant to the general manager, he also has certain means to deal with such scoundrels.

For example, he was suddenly cut off one day before the trade deadline, or he was sold directly to a team that didn't need him.

But these are measures of last resort, which is equivalent to injuring the enemy one thousand and self-injury eight hundred.

If it is not the last step, Grant does not want to make such a move, but the initiative is obviously not in his hands now.

"Reinforcement cannot be completed overnight, but if you can continue to maintain this performance, our attractiveness to free agents will also be greatly improved!"

Scott patted Wu Di on the shoulder and said, there is no doubt that the Cavaliers are in urgent need of reinforcement, but it will take time.

"Pay attention to rest in the past two days. In the next game, we will play away against the Wizards. They have this year's No. [-] pick, John Wall. Now the topic of your fight is very hot on the Internet, pay attention to it!"

Wu Di nodded. He could feel the expectations of the league's top management. The first preseason game was against the defending champion Lakers, and the second preseason game was against the Wizards with the No. [-] pick.

Wait, second preseason game, why not...

Wu Di suddenly thought of a method that might make Williams take the initiative to stop being bad!

He took this method out to discuss with the two of them, and they also felt that this method was worth a try, just waiting for Williams to take the bait!
In the evening, with a lot of local products from Guangdong Province prepared by Wu Xiuhua, Wu Di boarded the flight back to Cleveland.

During his flight, this year's No. [-] overall pick, John Wall, made his preseason debut against the Magic.

Brother Qiang deserves to be Brother Qiang. The speed point guard is at his peak as soon as he plays. He scored 28 points, 21 assists, 10 rebounds and 4 steals in only 3 minutes of playing time.

If he played three quarters and 36 minutes like Wu Di, it's hard to say whose score will be higher.

However, although Brother Qiang has great statistics, the Wizards still lost by 83 points behind 110:27 in this game. There is no other reason.

Wu Di's college teammate, Evan Turner's debut results also came out. Facing the Pacers who selected Paul George, he played 31 minutes and scored 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block.

In comparison, Paojiao at this time seemed inferior. He only scored 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 2 minutes of playing.

But Evan Turner complained to Woody about head coach Doug Collins.

The reason is that he can only play as Jrue Holiday's substitute in the team, and has very little possession of the ball, even though he has already scored the highest score of the team.

"I can understand Collins' appreciation for Holiday. Holiday's defense is really good, but his position on the court overlaps too much with Iguodala. They are both defensive players and lack offensive ability. People, leaving one on the field is enough..."

Turner complained about his suffering, and it was a mouthful.

Wu Di looked at the team's specific data. Indeed, Brother Yi's shooting percentage was only 41%, but he took 12 shots. Pigman's shooting percentage was only 22%, but he took 9 shots.

In contrast, Turner's shooting rate is as high as 70%, but the number of shots is not as high as that of his brother, only 10 times, which is only 22 more than Pigman's 1% shooting rate.

When encountering an outrageous coach like Collins, Turner lost all his confidence:

"Wu, do you think I should change my style of play and lean toward Iguodala's defense, or I'm afraid that Collins will never recognize me..."

Turner’s tone was full of helplessness. He only entered the NBA in his senior year. He is 2 years older than Holiday. He has achieved such impressive results, but he still failed to get the approval of the head coach. I really don’t know when he will be able to. It's time to start...

In contrast, Wu Di quickly established a detached position in the Cavaliers.

So Turner is now a way to admire this junior from the bottom of his heart.

"Don't, don't, you still need to pay attention to talent in defense. Even if you practice defense until you vomit blood, you can't compare with Holiday and Iguodala. No matter how hard you practice at that time, you will only be their substitute. That's all."

Wu Di hurriedly said, Turner was crippled by Collins in this way in his previous life. He was obviously a top point guard seedling with both offensive and organizational skills, but he failed to show his strengths...

"You have to continue to improve your offensive ability. Collins is not a good coach in terms of performance. Do you remember that his greatest achievement is to bring out Jordan and Pippen... But it doesn't stand up to scrutiny, you think, If you were given Jordan and Pippen, you still couldn't buy a ticket to the Finals, how rubbish it would be..."

"Practice the longboard to be long enough first. Collins will definitely not be able to do it like this. When your own Phil Jackson comes over, maybe you will take off!"

Wu Di's words awakened Turner. Yes, Jordan and Pippen couldn't make it to the finals. Collins' level is too hip. Fortunately, he still regards Collins' words as a standard.

After talking a few more words, Turner's anxious heart was completely relaxed, and he regained his confidence again, expressing that he would stick to his style of play.

"By the way, Evan, do you have a suitable agent to recommend?"

Wu Di asked, he wanted to find another agent.

"No, you know, I'm old, and I probably won't have any endorsements, so I never found an agent."

Turner replied that it can be seen from the model of the car he bought that he is usually more budget-conscious.

"Is that so..."

Wu Di was in a difficult situation. After experiencing the Schwartz incident before, he wanted to find someone to recommend a reliable agent to him. He asked Scott for help before, but Scott's original agent had retired.

"You may be able to ask your boss Daniel Gilbert, he is actually very powerful in the circle, after all, he is the team owner."

Turner's suggestion made Wu Di's eyes shine. Indeed, it would be the best time to ask Gilbert about the agent. It can not only get a reliable recommendation, but also enhance the trust between the two.

……

After returning to Cleveland, I took another long sleep to adjust the jet lag. The next afternoon, I took the team's special plane and set off for the capital of the United States, Washington DC.

Due to the relatively close distance between the two places, the special plane arrived in the sky over Washington D.C. after flying for an hour.

The Washington National Airport, where the plane chose to land, is not far from the city center. When it lands, you can overlook the Capitol, the Obelisk, and the Lincoln Memorial at close range.

This is Wu Di's first visit to the American capital.

There is one thing to say, the buildings in Washington are quite impressive. Although they are generally a bit short, there are no tall buildings as far as the eye can see, and the materials used look quite good.

The MCI Center, the home of the Washington Wizards, also continues this style of tonality, with luxurious decoration and luxurious VIP suites.

If you want to say that the team with the most name changes in history, the Washington Wizards are definitely on the list.

The Chicago Packers, Chicago Zephyr, Baltimore Bullets, Capital Bullets, and Washington Bullets are all former nicknames of the Washington Wizards.

This made Wu Di couldn't help thinking, could it be that he is called a wizard now because he is a genius in naming?
(End of this chapter)