From sparring to superstar

Chapter 104 102. The scene of deja vu

After the Clippers announced the deal, public opinion was in an uproar.

Sterling crazy?
The sugar man in the second grade, played 80 games, played 31 minutes, averaged 9.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and finally played something.

Seeing that this No. 25 pick has the possibility to stand up, he is only [-] years old and only started playing basketball in college. There is still a high probability of playing basketball. The growth period of a center is already long.

Not to mention that his performance has improved this year. His performance in his rookie season was so poor. In the summer of 99, many teams still offered Olowokandi, but they either wanted to be empty-handed, or the wages they gave were too high. , those offers Sterling rejected.

As a result, the Clippers sent it away for a lottery ticket that hadn't started scratching yet!
Jermaine O'Neal, a high school rookie, has been in the NBA for four years and has played less than 400 minutes in total. Not to mention forgotten, he is almost unknown.

In the fourth grade last season, he averaged 4 points and 12 rebounds in 3.9 minutes per game. The statistics were almost all obtained in garbage time. In the eyes of the public, they have long been rotten in the hands of the Trail Blazers.

As for the latest news from the Trail Blazers, Sabonis has the idea of ​​​​retiring because of the impact of a knee injury.

Last season, the Trail Blazers were able to reach the tiebreaker with the Lakers, thanks to Sabonis' defense at the basket. Once he retires, it will have a fatal impact on the strength of the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers have been looking for a center to replace Sabonis since the draft, but they have no room for space, and no high-ranking picks, and they hit a wall everywhere.

这时候快船队把一个身高213公分、体重122公斤，二年级场均9.8分8.2板1.8盖帽的中锋送到了开拓者队，还只换回了场均4+4不到的边缘人。

Some experts suggested that the NBA investigate Sterling and Paul Allen. He suspected that Paul Allen gave Sterling money in private.

This statement has been supported by a lot of people. One is rich, one is greedy, loves to take advantage of small things, and is stingy. They really seem to be able to do this.

...

Li Ao just said that, he didn't expect to change back.

It's not too surprising, the Trail Blazers are worrying about the center position.

He averaged 10 minutes per game in his rookie year, 13 minutes per game in his sophomore year, and only 8 minutes per game in his shrinking season. After each season, O'Neal wanted to leave, but he couldn't leave.

In 99, O'Neal's rookie contract expired and he was free. He felt that the sea and the sky were free, but he went out for a walk. Almost all other teams gave a basic salary. Some teams gave an annual salary of 300 million, but it was not guaranteed.

He barely played for three years, not to mention the 17th overall high school student, even Milicic, the No. [-] pick in the NBA at the same age, is not favored by anyone.

In the end, Paul Allen threw out a four-year $4 million contract extension, and O'Neal went back to waste time.

O'Neal, who has been neglected for 4 years, is only a very small number of sharp-eyed people who think that he still has talent. Even Paul Allen feels that O'Neal has been crippled at this time, otherwise Sabonis wants to retire. Tianzun and Pippen took it, and just let O'Neal take the lead.

Li Ao remembered that Big Bird seemed to be planning to use Dell Davis, a center who had just been selected to the All-Star, as a bargaining chip to trade O'Neal.

Using Olowokandi to compete with Dale Davis, when Li Ao first thought of this, he thought it was useless, but after thinking about it, he still had a certain idea. In the Trail Blazers, a player who had just been scored by O’Neal averaged 38 points per game. For a center with 16.7 rebounds, if there are other options, the probability of the Trail Blazers refusing to trade with the Pacers is still higher.

Dale Davis was selected as an All-Star, not because he really has the strength of an All-Star. Last season, he averaged 10 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Top-level offensive rebounds, averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds per game last season, but defensive rebound protection has always been poor, averaging 6 defensive rebounds per game, only twice in the season, the Pacers averaged 42.1 rebounds per game last season, But he averaged 43.2 rebounds per game.

The defense is good, but there is a certain distance from the best defensive team. Playing center and power forward, the defense is outside the top five.

This is a high-quality blue-collar with first-class defensive ability and excellent offensive rebounds, but his strength has little to do with the All-Stars.

The main reason for being selected as an All-Star is that there is no center in the East, except for Mourning and Mutombo, he is the only one.

In the past two years, including the next few years, as long as the centers in the East can average a double-double per game, they can basically enter the All-Star.

In terms of transaction value, the 31-year-old Dale Davis averaged 10+10+1 per game, which is already the brightest year of his career. As a pure defensive player, his statistics and abilities cannot be better. The year is not as good as the year.

And Olowokandi is 25 years old. Although he is not good, he seems to be still on the rise.

The main reason is that there is still a precedent ahead.

The No. 89 pick in 8, Peves Allison, averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds per game in his rookie year, which was worse than Olowokandi. He was sold off by the Kings after his rookie year. Get rid of his five-year $1200 million contract, which was considered a maximum salary at the time.

As a result, Perves Allison suddenly went berserk in the third grade, averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Let each team send out the same chips, choose one of Olowokandi and Dale Davis, and the former is estimated to be in the majority.

And put it on the Trail Blazers, with Paul Allen's character shown in previous operations, regardless of whether he thinks O'Neal has been crippled, he is more willing to send him to a non-competitor team , A team like the Clippers is undoubtedly the best choice, no matter how talented the players are, they will rot.

Stop thinking about it, Li Ao turned his attention back to himself.

O'Neill finally broke free from the cage, opened his eyes, and Li Ao knew that this talented high school student who had been abandoned for 4 years absolutely wanted to show himself with all his strength.

Li Ao likes this kind of aggressive teammate very much.

It's just that you have to sign a contract now?
Although he knew that the Clippers were doing these things, just pretending to kill you, but it did meet his signing requirements.

Now he is in a much better environment.

No Clippers player should be blind to provoke him, he is very reasonable.

Now the Clippers management has given away Olowokandi's half-scratched lottery ticket, which is equivalent to confirming his status in the team.

He decided to check first, and if he didn't enjoy his stay, he could just apply for a deal.

...

The heat of the Clippers' trade didn't last long, and people's attention was taken away by another team.

The Magic announced two consecutive signings!
The Magic offered Hill with a maximum salary, but the Pistons did not keep it. They used Hill's bird rights as a bargaining chip to exchange Chucky Atkins, Ben Wallace and other players.

Hill's original maximum salary offer of 25% of the starting salary of the salary cap has also been raised to 30% of the salary cap, with a starting salary of $966 million, a total of $7 million in seven years.

For another signing, the Magic offered McGrady, who ranked fourth in the competition for the best sixth man last season, a six-year offer of $6 million. McGrady accepted it immediately and fled the North without looking back.

In addition to announcing the signing of Hill and McGrady, the Magic also revealed that the meeting with Duncan was very successful, and they will enter the stage of contract details communication with Duncan.

This wave of operations by the Magic has received polarized evaluations.

Both Hill and Duncan were reimbursed at the end of last season, and both were still seriously injured, both of which had a great impact on athletic ability.

But if both of them recover from their injuries, in people's eyes, they are no worse than the OK combination!
麦迪虽然合同大，但上赛季场均15.3分6.3板3.3助攻1.1抢断1.9盖帽，比同年龄的皮蓬拉风多了。

The birth of the strongest team or the birth of the injured team has become the hottest topic at the moment.

The Clippers just ignited a small flame in the free market, and the Magic detonated this lively summer.

When the time came to July 7, Li Ao left Los Angeles and came to Santa Ana.

This is the capital of Orange County in the greater Los Angeles area. It is a small place with a good environment and is mainly agricultural. The main product is oranges. This year, the Southern California Summer League was held here.

Li Ao is very interested in this summer league, because the Chinese men's basketball team has participated in this event. Hu Weidong also played against Kobe in this event. It seems that he scored several three-pointers against Kobe.

At noon, Li Ao came to a homestay area where fruit picking was a selling point. All participating teams of the Southern California Summer League were arranged to live here.

He was just about to find someone to ask where the Clippers lived when he heard greetings.

"Leo, here."

Li Ao followed the sound and saw that Gentry was walking towards him quickly, and he also went up to meet him.

"Leo, you... well, why did you come so late?" Gentry said carefully.

"I came here as soon as I got off the plane. The taxi driver was flying fast. It took 40 minutes to arrive in an hour. How fast can it be?"

"I'm not talking about this, I'm asking why you rested for so long, the injury on your hand must have healed long ago."

"Uh... haven't I been suspended? I've been training these days, and I also want to play games earlier. I'll come over as soon as the suspension ends."

Gentry: (￣┏Д┓￣°*)
This guy took the ban seriously?

It seems to be really serious!
Gentry didn't know what to say for a while, he thought Li Ao was playing a big game, but he was training every day.

He didn't think Li Ao was lying about this matter, after all, he was the one who started training hard immediately after the ten days of Crazy Three.

This violent handsome guy seems to be different from what he thought.

Don't think about this anymore, the CPU is about to smoke.

He walked towards the residence with Li Ao and said: "Even if you are suspended, you can still participate in team training. Your style of play is mainly off the ball. You need more training with your teammates to find a tacit understanding faster."

"You didn't tell me sooner!"

Hey, I have a bad temper, say something and you will be angry.

Gentry was angry, and replied, "You didn't ask!"

Gentry regretted it after talking, what should I do if I was beaten?Why did the boss choose the most remote corner for them to live in?A room is only a few dollars short, so why are you so stingy?Now if he is beaten, there may not even be someone to call an ambulance...

"Oh, yes, I didn't ask, and you have no obligation to tell me."

Gentry: (O_o)?
Is that reasonable?
Wait, it seems that people beat Olowokandi for no reason.

They could have gone to the Lakers, and the Lakers' No. 5 pick was ready, but they were cut off by the Clippers.

Who is not crazy to put this on?

At this time Olowokandi ran to provoke, isn't this looking for a beating?

Suddenly, Gentry jerked awake.

wrong!

My brain is going to break!Actually empathized with this violent handsome guy!
...

At the corner of the homestay area, there is a small square.

There are three full-court basketball courts on the square.

There are several houses around the square, the appearance is very beautiful, the surrounding fruit trees are full of forests, and the roadside is full of flowers and plants, which is too beautiful to behold.

Since the de-manufacturing of the Greater Los Angeles area, places like Orange County have benefited the most. After the environment has improved, it has become a famous rural tourist attraction in California.

Clippers players, assistant coaches, and trainers are bragging and farting in the square, which is very lively.

The arrival of the two made everyone quiet.

Naturally, it is not because of the arrival of the head coach Gentry that he is quiet. Gentry's coaching style is not serious. He is serious in the Clippers, just get along with his teammates happily. He has been an assistant coach for 20 years. Good at getting along with team members.

Everyone on the Clippers, from players to assistant coaches to trainers, focused their attention on Li Ao.

This scene seemed familiar to Li Ao.

He scanned around, and they were all the same group of people he saw in the locker room last time, players on rookie contracts, rookies, undrafted players, and players who didn't play in the NBA, except that Olowokandi became Jr. O'Neal.

Veterans are absent, such as newcomer Greg Anthony.

Li Ao smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Li Ao, and my English name is Leo. I've been practicing basketball for almost a year. I think you all know me. I hope we can get along happily in the future."

Teammates: 0ДQQДO
The teammates stared wide-eyed.

Recalling the scene of that day... the shadow!
Real psychological shadow!
The one with the biggest shadow is Odom. He had nightmares for several days. He was also involved in the incident that teased the rookie at that time. Popcorn, ketchup...even the basin of water was taken from the bathroom.

It's just that I didn't expect Olowokandi to choose the most insulting way to directly splash people in the face.

He proposed to play with water, in case this violent handsome guy found out about it, he felt that he was going to be cold at the time, and wanted to run away with the plane all night. After several days, Li Ao didn't come to the door, so he slowly Relax.

They were actually talking just now about how arrogant Li Ao would be when he came, and what they could do. The last one who was beaten had already been carried away overnight, so they endured it.

In a person's life, patience will pass, anyway, the salary will not be reduced by one point.

But what about this self-introduction?

This sunny and cheerful smile is different from what they thought!

Get along happily?Is this what this guy should say?

Now there are two images popping up on the heads of the teammates, one is Li Ao knocking the opponent out alive by pressing Olowokandi, and the other is the smile of Li Ao's sunny boy...

The CPU is collectively smoking...

On Li Ao's side, he touched his nose, well, no one paid him any attention.

It's okay, let's get along slowly... Eh?

He saw a bald head with a round head running in front of him, it seemed like a big Q!

Quentin Richardson took Li Ao's backpack and suitcase, and said, "Leo, your room is over there. Let me take you to have a look. I asked the waiter to clean it this morning."

Teammates: Vaco!This bastard!
(End of this chapter)