The strongest unicorn in basketball

Chapter 151 The New Season
The time came to mid-November. In previous years, the regular season of the league had already been played for half a month. However, the negotiations were still deadlocked and there was no possibility of any breakthrough.

The players still refuse to sign the agreement, and even intend to protect their rights through legal channels.

The league also decided to fight to the end, and the NBA will suspend the game indefinitely.

In the few days after the talks collapsed, the two sides maintained a cold war, but it also allowed the two sides to calm down completely.

So the turning point finally appeared. On November 11, the two sides decided to sit down and talk again.

After a full 15 hours of negotiations, on the 25th, there was finally substantial progress, and the two parties finally reached a consensus:

1. The players agree to reduce the proportion of salary expenditure to 51.2% in the new season. In the next few years, adjustments will be made according to the league's income, and the adjustment range will be between 49% and 51%;

2. The agreement also includes some abandonment rules, as well as the rookie contract terms derived from Derrick Rose;

3. The player's maximum salary ratio remains unchanged.

Although both parties are not satisfied with this agreement, with the reaching of this consensus, the NBA can finally restart.

The alliance that has been waiting for a long time, this machine that has been stopped for a full 169 days, is spinning again at high speed, and starts to recover at the fastest speed.

The league decided to start holding preseason games and various transactions, signings and other matters on December 12.

And Li Pu also returned to the Thunder's training hall on the 8th to meet his long-lost teammates.

"Are you Prince?"

"it's me!"

"How can this be you?"

"Why isn't this me?"

Collison looked at Li Pu, whom he hadn't seen for nearly five months, and couldn't believe his eyes. How did this guy grow so big?
"No, aren't you supposed to be the kind...very...how should I put it? It's just..."

Collison was at a loss for words for a moment, not knowing how to describe it.

"Crabs are not meat, the body is well trained!" Durant greeted Li Pu from a distance.

"Hahaha, that is, I will not be your chopstick brother in the future!" Li Pu joked after hugging Durant.

"That can't be done, unless you become O'Neill, you can't escape this name!"

In fact, although Li Pu is much stronger, he still looks very thin because of his height. Standing with Durant, he is still two chopsticks.

But upon closer inspection, the muscles on the two of them had obvious lines, and they were completely muscular men!
"Hi Kevin! Prince! Nick!"

While the two were exchanging greetings, a figure appeared beside them.

"My name is Jimmy Butler!"

The young guy in front of him with a cropped head is none other than this year's Thunder rookie, Jimmy Butler.

"Hello!" Durant didn't think too much about Butler, but just nodded casually, not showing much enthusiasm.

No way, although Butler was nominated for the best team in the Big East during his college days, but for a player who entered the NBA, it is not an honor!
Therefore, Durant has no impression of Butler at all.

Instead, Li Pu asked with scrutiny, "Jimmy, what's your relationship with MJ?"

"MJ? What MJ?" Butler was taken aback,
"How many players can play basketball... It seems that there are really two..." Li Pu suddenly remembered that both Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were called MJ, so he quickly changed his words: "Michael Jordan!"

"I have nothing to do with him! Why do you ask that?" Butler shook his head quickly.

"Prince, what the hell are you doing?" Seeing Li Pu's strange question, Durant thought that Li Pu was going to mess with something.

"Kevin, don't you think he looks a lot like Jordan?"

"What does he look like?"

"Look again!" Li Pu blocked Butler's eyes, revealing his nose and mouth.

"Huh? It's really a bit like it!" Durant looked at it and found that it was a bit like it.

At this time, Butler stood there trembling, not daring to move.

I've always heard that after coming to the NBA, rookies will be bullied, but why are the two bosses in my family bullying me in such a different way?
"Jimmy, play hard! Try to be the next Jordan!" After the joke was over, of course Li Pu still had something serious to say.

"I'm not the next one, I just want to be myself!"

Although Butler's words were tough, it could be heard that this guy was encouraged by Li Pu's words.

"Okay, okay, this is the end of the greetings, I don't have time for you to chat, this season I believe everyone is very clear, the media is the devil's schedule, we must recover as soon as possible to finish this season!"

The familiar chicken soup, the familiar taste, still has the same taste. It is worthy of Brooks' chicken soup. A few words can make people enter the state.

The fact is that, as Brooks said, this season's schedule is terrifying.

Since it is necessary to complete 4 regular season games in just 66 months, back-to-back is no longer a big deal. Let's see what back-to-back is, and what is four games in five days?

It can be said that as long as you can't use people to death, use them to death!
Alliances are simply the essence of capitalists.

Due to the shrinking season, each team has only two preseason games, one home and one away. The preseason game starts on December 12 and ends on December 16.

I don't know if the league did it on purpose or adhered to the principle of proximity. In the two preseason games of the Thunder, the opponents were actually the Mavericks.

Mavericks at home on the 18th and Thunder at home on the 20th.

Regardless of the fact that the Mavericks are the defending champions, they signed Carter before the start of the season and traded for Odom. They are about to win consecutive championships, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that last season's championship has spent all the Dallas people. Luck, not to mention the core lineup is also one year older.

In today's Mavericks, the average age of the starting five is over 34 years old. How can this be the Mavericks?Is it clearly the Dallas nursing home team?

With such a lineup, what can they use to win consecutive championships?

It would be great to finish the regular season of this devil's schedule!
As for the two preseason games, the two teams played well in the first quarter, and the next three quarters were basically training the new lineup to check whether the newly signed players are qualified?

The final two preseason games ended with the Thunder winning.

But both teams didn't care much.

And with the end of the preseason, the Thunder finally confirmed their lineup for the new season. The lineup has hardly changed, but the overall strength of the team has become stronger!

PG: Westbrook, Lin Shuhao, Eric Maynor
SG: Sefolosha, Harden, Daequan Cook
SF: Durant, Jeff Green, Jimmy Butler

PF: Ibaka, Collison,

C: Lee Pu, Nazr Mohammad, Cole Aldridge

(End of this chapter)