no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 188 The 2011 NBA Draft, a turning point in history (please subscribe and vote for me)

"Are you retiring?"

After returning to the United Center after the championship parade, Xu Yong was a little surprised when he heard O'Neal tell him that he was going to retire.

Because O'Neal has managed his weight well this season, it won't be a big problem to play another year next season.

"Five is enough, and I don't want to be on tiptoe when I retire." O'Neal joked with a smile.

Hearing this, Xu Yong understood immediately.

Injuries are the biggest enemy of athletes. Nowitzki walked with a limp after retiring because he persisted for too long.

And speaking of it, O'Neal didn't get much playing time against the Mavericks in the Finals, so he probably wanted to leave in a dignified way.

"Aren't you afraid that Kobe will get sixth?" Xu Yong asked with a smile.

"If he can do it, then congratulations to him, although I know he has little hope." O'Neal sounded generous, but he still did not forget to lose.

However, from the perspective of Xu Yong, a reborn player, Kobe's career did stop at five championships.

The biggest reason is that Kobe is getting older and his competitive status has begun to decline significantly.

You must know that in NBA history, excluding ancient times, there are currently only two players who can lead their team to win championships after the age of 35, Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In addition to their own outstanding abilities, those two people also have a very important reason because the team is also strong.

So unless something deviates from history happens, in this world, O'Neal will have the same number of championships as Kobe.

"Oh, by the way, my Bengal tiger just gave birth to a baby tiger. Do you want it?" O'Neal then asked.

It was obvious that he was giving Xu Yong good food in return for a season.

"...Can males get pregnant? Transgender tigers?" Xu Yong was stunned for a moment.

He had seen those two tigers before, the Bengal tiger even came to smell him, and he had seen the sturdy little tiger brother with his own eyes.

"What? No, no, I have two Bengal tigers, raised separately." O'Neill explained.

Xu Yong understood immediately.

Then, he happily accepted O'Neal's special gift.

The experience of raising a tiger as a pet should be very good.

However, if O'Neal retires, Yao Ming's replacement next season will be a lot of problems.

In the finals, O'Neal will serve as Yao Ming's substitute more often. However, O'Neal signed a two-year, 2 million contract with the Bulls last summer with a player option in the second year. Now that the team has won the championship, he is also good in the finals. If you perform well, most of them will break out of the contract and seek a long-term contract.

You must know that he is only 32 years old, and he has size and shooting. There are still teams willing to take a gamble on him.

So Yao Ming's substitute next season will be Asik?This sounds a bit confusing.

If this problem is not solved, if Yao Ming is forced to play more and then gets injured, it will be a big problem.

But Foreman performed so well last summer, I believe he will be good this year.

As soon as I thought of Cao Cao, Cao Cao came.

Foreman was about to go to the office, but when he saw Xu Yong here, he pulled him aside to chat.

"I heard that when you were at Arizona State, you played against San Diego State?" Foreman asked Xu Yong a very detailed question.

Xu Yong nodded. Although it was two years ago, he still had the impression of that game.

Because in that game, there was a future super giant Leonard.

At that time, Leonard's skills were extremely rough, and he was basically the same type and style of play as Draymond Green, whom he had played before.

The only difference may be that his hands are bigger than Green's.

But even this characteristic may not be a good thing for him.

Because his ability to control movement is also average, it makes his big hands look not like Jordan's, but Rondo/O'Neal's, and he may not be able to develop shooting.

"Do you remember Kawhi Leonard?" Sure enough, Forman was really asking about Leonard.

Xu Yong nodded.

"How do you think he compares to Jimmy Butler?" Foreman then asked.

The reason why he asked Xu Yong was because after two months of investigation, he found that what Butler and Xu Yong described were almost exactly the same.

This may not sound strange, the seniors understand the juniors.

But the problem is that Xu Yong has never played with Butler, and apart from training together for a few months during the offseason, the two of them never see each other.

This made Forman feel that Xu Yong had some insight into people.

So when we bumped into each other, I just happened to ask Xu Yong what he thought. If this wave of people really chooses someone Xu Yong also values ​​​​in the end, it can bring the relationship between the two closer.

"If Jimmy scored 8 points, Kawhi would have scored 10 points." Xu Yong made a comparison.

The contrast surprised Forman.

"Okay, I understand." Foreman didn't ask any more questions, but patted Xu Yong on the shoulder and left.

This made Xu Yong stunned. He seemed to have...a higher score?

However, Foreman's sudden appearance made him focus on this year's draft.

It’s really hard to say who the team will choose this year.

Although Forman just asked about Butler and Leonard, what the Bulls currently lack most is the inside.

Some of the opportunities given to Asik last season were too smooth. His RBI data for a weak team was okay, but high-intensity games were difficult for him.

Although people can be signed in the free market, the Bulls have little salary space, so they still have to rely on selecting people if they want a future.

I don’t know if Butler can really come to Chicago.

After the championship parade, Xu Yong gave himself a short vacation.

The cows who plow the fields have to rest for a few days. After playing basketball for two lifetimes and winning the championship, can’t they enjoy themselves?
The main thing he does these days is to buy things. He usually doesn't have much time to spend with his parents. Now that his parents rarely come, he always buys things.

Although he could just send the money directly to his parents, in many cases what his parents need is not the money, but the process of you accompanying them.

He even bought a Ferrari sports car that his father had always wanted and took him for a ride, and secretly took him to visit nightclubs in Chicago.

This is probably the most meaningful thing between father and son.

Then another thing he did was collect star cards.

Star cards, as the name suggests, are cards with celebrity portraits printed on them. The earliest cards can be traced back to the end of the 50th century. Of course, the most popular cards were in the [-]s. They were first given as gifts from tobacco companies, and later extended to candies and toys.

It's just like eating instant noodle collection cards when you were a kid, except that its collection significance and value are higher.

This is Xu Yong's special personal hobby. In his previous life, he had a thick album of star cards, but he put this hobby aside before this life to make up for his regrets.

But now, I have money, leisure, and conditions.

So he spent money to buy some of the ones he could, and then planned to wait for their original owners to sign them during the new season, and then frame them, so that when he retired, he could collect several walls.

After finishing all this and sending his parents back to China, the draft was about to begin, so he also went to New York.

Mainly to support his junior Jimmy.

Regardless of whether Butler ends up with the Bulls, the junior who came to Arizona State University because of his suggestion, he also wants to know where he will end up.

The second most important thing is to experience the draft again.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye, but the experience of the draft is still fresh in my mind.

This is similar to the feeling that most people have many years after graduation, and they always want to go back to campus to take a look, as if it was yesterday.

Only this time, he didn't have the chance to sit in the green room. Instead, he accompanied Butler and his adoptive parents to wait by the stands.

Little Jimmy looked at Xu Yong with eyes full of admiration.

Senior, championship, second-year FMVP, Satan who created the God-killing War, Xu Yong has too much aura worthy of his admiration.

Moreover, Xu Yong specially came to the scene to support him, which moved him even more.

After Xu Yong chatted with Butler for a while and asked him to calm down, he then looked at the little green room.

There are many old acquaintances in the little green room this year, including Kemba Walker, who just led his team to win the championship, Leonard, who played against him in the previous invitational tournament, and Klay Thompson, who competed in the Pac10 League as a sophomore.

Oh, yes, and the "Czech Yi Jianlian" Jane Wesley who he had teased with Sandek was about to kiss his girlfriend.

One thing must be said here. The NBA and the players union must sign a contract. This contract will stipulate many rules such as salary cap, maximum and minimum salary, transfers, etc., which is the labor agreement.

The collective bargaining agreement is time-limited.

Therefore, when the old version of the labor agreement expires, because the new version of the labor agreement cannot be reached at the first time, it will trigger a shutdown of the league.

All the shutdowns you know about were all for this reason.

This is understandable, because the collective bargaining agreement is signed for several years, and the NBA's income is high. The players naturally hope to collectively increase their wages, but how can the capitalists easily agree to such a thing?
This year, it happens to be the time when the old version of the labor agreement ends.

So the NBA is already expected to be suspended next season.

Yes, you read that right, most people already knew this before the NBA officially suspended its season.

So the direct result of this is that many people who can choose are not participating in this year's draft. From the perspective of Seo Yong's rebirth, the 2011 draft showed a lot of talents. In fact, it was a smaller draft than the 2009 draft. Little year.

A small draft year means that draft picks are worthless and many unexpected things will happen.

At this moment, the photographer on the scene scanned the stands, and Xu Yong appeared on the LED screen.

There was a burst of cheers at the scene.

With his brilliant performance in this year's finals, Xu Yong's popularity has swept across the United States like a hurricane.

His appearance undoubtedly adds a strong color to this small draft year.

And on this occasion, fans on social media inevitably pulled out the Grizzlies and beat them to death.

"The Grizzlies made the greatest trade of the 21st century in the draft two years ago. It's a pity that they don't have a first-round pick this year."

"Xu is already a championship and FMVP winner. On the other hand, Thabeet scored an astonishing 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds with the Rockets last season. The Hornets traded Kobe. Compared with this, it is simply not good enough."

"If the Grizzlies had Xu Yong last season, I even think they could beat the Mavericks. But if the Bulls don't have Xu Yong, then... the Grizzlies will win the championship!"

"You guys are going too far. I have to say a few words for the Grizzlies. The selection of Xu Yong is required by the Bulls. If there is no Bulls, the Grizzlies will definitely use their second pick to pick... bit.”

"Indeed, if that's the case, Xu Yong will go to the Thunder. Thunder championship?"

……

While fans were teasing him on social media, Stern came to the stage from behind the scenes and officially started the 2011 NBA Draft amid daily boos from fans.

His expression looked a little haggard at this time. The impact of the NBA suspension on the league is obvious. By July 7st, he will be busy.

The first pick belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After James and O'Neal left one after another, the Cavaliers were left with a mess that they couldn't even reinforce due to salary issues.

In addition to Yao Ming's own wishes, another important reason for acquiring Yao Ming was that the Rockets did not want to accept the Cavaliers' contract.

So they can only choose to mess up, dive into the lottery, and win the penultimate place.

Although they didn't have the worst record, they finally received "Stern's blessing" and were awarded the No. [-] pick.

There is not much suspense in the selection of this lottery.

Kyrie Irving hasn’t let himself go yet.

Irving played a total of 11 games in college and was injured, but his talent is visible to the naked eye and his ability to combine man and ball is at a historical level.

If it were a big year in the draft, he might fall out of the top three due to the sample size of the game, but in such a small year, there is no suspense.

In fact, the lottery results are similar to what Xu Yong knows.

Jan Vesely kissed his beautiful girlfriend after being drafted by the Wizards, while Kemba Walker headed to Charlotte as the only draft choice Jordan didn't make a mistake.

Then the Bobcats also selected Bismack Biyombo with the 7th pick through a three-party transaction, forming the internal and external twin stars in the best model of reconstruction.

And it was this transaction that sent Fredette, the "Lonely God" who would dominate the CBA in the future, to the Kings.

The Warriors successfully selected Klay Thompson with the 11th pick, and the Splash Brothers were officially born.

However, I don’t know if it’s because of the upcoming lockout that the managers of each team have no intention to spend too much energy on the draft. Unlike the frequent transactions in 09, this is almost a lottery, and there is only one transaction.

Until, the 13th pick.

This pick became magical because of Kobe, and this time, there was a transaction that surprised Xu Yong.

This pick originally belonged to the Suns, but the Suns sent Carter and this pick to the Mavericks through a trade.

The chips the Mavericks paid were the signing and exchange of Brandon Haywood and Caron Butler, as well as this year's No. 26 pick.

Carter scored 42.2 points on 13.5% shooting with the Suns last season. His scoring was a career low and his performance was also struggling. He also has a one-year super contract of 1830 million in the new season, not to mention that he is already 34 years old.

This basically belongs to players who have no other way out except buying out.

Although Caron Butler was reimbursed last season, he was only 31 years old.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is cheap. The new contract is 3 million for three years and 2400 million for one year, which is a fraction of Carter's.

Although Haywood, as the addition, is also a garbage contract, next season is the last year, so this kind of contract is easier to deal with at the trade deadline.

Therefore, the transaction reinforcement allows Nash to make a rush in the last year of his contract next season, and then saves almost 1000 million in expenses. The cost is only to turn their No. 13 pick into the No. 26 pick. This deal is quite cost-effective.

You must know that Jennings, whom they selected two years ago, was ignored by everyone because of competition without even performing as well as in history.

After the Mavericks got the 13th pick, they selected Kawhi Leonard from San Diego State University.

Yes, the Mavericks intercepted Leonard!

Xu Yong was a little confused, so the ultimate goal of this deal is Leonard?

But the Mavericks already have Marion, why would they choose Leonard?

No, how could they fall in love with Leonard? !

But in fact, the most shocked person at this time was not Xu Yong, but everyone in the Spurs draft room.

Popovich was stunned.

They have already negotiated a deal with the digital player with the 15th pick, and are just waiting to select someone.

You must know that Leonard's draft prediction is in the middle of the first round. This pick is enough for them to securely win Leonard.

But the Mavericks actually traded a lottery pick directly!

Leonard was also a little confused.

He had already communicated with the Spurs and thought he was going to Texas.

It turned out to be Texas, but it was Dallas.

After seeing Leonard selected in the Mavericks draft room, Cuban, who was present in person, breathed a sigh of relief.

As for their selection of Leonard, the key lies in Forman.

The Bulls' championship changed a lot of things.

For example, their team model of top-end talented young people and current superstars directly swept the team-building Heat, which inspired many teams.

You have to know that the salary cap is constant. If you give it to the Big Three, your role players will be poor.

The direct impact of that is that once one of your giants fails to perform properly, you are nothing.

But the Bulls' model has superstars and a strong rotation to ensure the lower limit, and talented young people can reach the upper limit.

This led to previous rumors that the Thunder might trade Westbrook.

But Cuban saw more, and he also saw Foreman’s draft vision.

The selection of Rose may have been done with one's eyes closed, but the selection of Xu Yong, James Johnson, and Ty Gibson in 09 showed his level of skill.

Xu Yongyong didn't need to say more. Johnson was a starter for the Grizzlies last season. He played a major role in the Grizzlies' black eight, and Gibson also started many games last season.

So Cuban has been paying attention to the trends in this year's Bulls draft.

Whatever Foreman likes, I, Cuban, have to take a look at it.

So when Foreman set his sights on Leonard and tried to trade up draft picks, Cuban made his move after fully understanding Leonard.There is a major premise here, that is, the draft in this period is not as thorough as it will be in the future. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Spurs to get Leonard with the 15th pick in their history.

The draft was still going on, and Xu Yong slowly came back to his senses.

In fact, judging from Jennings' experience, players may not necessarily be able to perform well in a different environment.

Leonard's growth is closely related to the culture of the Spurs. It is still unknown how the Mavericks will develop.

If it can really grow, the Mavericks' future competitiveness will be very impressive.

Moreover, Nowitzki's style of play stayed at the end of his peak for a long time, and it took almost until 2016 for him to decline significantly.

History has taken a wonderful turning point here, which is interesting.

Butler saw Xu Yong's expression at this time and couldn't help but look at Leonard on the court.

Suddenly a thought came to his mind: Will this be his lifelong enemy in the future?

The draft went on and on, and we soon reached the end of the lottery.

When the draft came to the 28th pick, the Bulls used the No. 30 pick and some cash to trade with the Raptors to get the pick that originally belonged to the Heat and selected Jimmy Butler.

The main purpose of this operation is to prevent Forman from intercepting the Spurs with the 29th overall pick.

When he was selected, Butler couldn't hide the excitement on his face. He stood up and gave Xu Yong an excited hug.

On the one hand, it is because he entered the first round, and his previous prediction has always been in the early second round;
On the other hand, and more importantly, he really went to the Bulls and played with the seniors he respected!

Xu Yong also patted Butler on the back.

Since Noah was traded away, he has lacked a younger brother role in the team, and Butler, who is also from Arizona State, is a perfect fit.

And if Butler can develop into the level he has historically been, that will be very important to the future of the Bulls.

You must know that Rose will not listen to the advice, and the injury will occur at any time, and Yao Ming will not be able to keep playing.

Moreover, the 28th pick is more compatible with Butler than the original 30th pick.

After hugging Xu Yong and his adoptive parents, Butler took the Bulls hat from the staff and trotted onto the stage.

His happiness showed in his behavior.

The Bulls fans at the scene also gave a burst of cheers.

Although their understanding of Butler is limited, Xu Yong personally came to support him, and he is also Xu Yong's junior student. This is worth looking forward to.

And as a rookie selected by the defending champion, Butler also attracted a lot of attention on social media at this time.

However, most people's reaction to the Bulls' choice was completely different from that of the Bulls fans at the scene.

"Height of 1 meters, wingspan of 98 meters, in-situ bounce of 2 centimeters, run-up bounce of 01 centimeters, and a standing reach of 81 meters. To sum up: static talent is not good, and dynamic talent is not good either."

"Don't the Bulls lack inside players? Why did they choose a swingman again? They have Tony Allen as a substitute at shooting guard and Shane Battier at small forward. Isn't this really incomprehensible?"

"And Butler played in a junior college as a freshman and served as a basketball supervisor for a year in his junior year, just because he is Xu's junior? This is a perfect relationship!"

"It was said that the Bulls originally wanted to draft Kawhi Leonard, who was a backup."

"Although Leonard's dynamic talent is poor, his static skills are at a historical level and he has big hands. It's better not to use this spare tire."

"I hope Foreman slaps me in the face again, although I think it's almost hopeless. This is really the worst draft pick by the Bulls in the past ten years!"

……

"I'm excited to join the Bulls, we just won a championship and I know where we're going and I'm going to give it my all."

Butler was also full of expectations when he was interviewed by reporters in the audience.

Although, maybe not many people take this seriously.

At the end of the first round, after paying a large amount of cash, the Heat bought back the Bulls' No. 30 pick from the Raptors, and then took Norris Cole.

So this wave can be regarded as a wave of transactions indirectly made by the two opponents, the Heat and the Bulls.

After Butler was selected, Xu Yong took him to a nightclub in New York to celebrate.

"Do you know the impact of the shutdown?" Xu Yong asked him while smoking a cigar in the private room of the nightclub.

Butler shook his head. To be honest, he was only focused on training. Although he had heard about the lockout, the specific content was unclear.

"Three aspects. First, your summer league and preseason games are gone, which means you guys don't have time to adapt to the NBA this year."

Xu Yong's first words stunned Butler. He originally wanted to compete with Leonard when he played against the Mavericks.

"Second, your income is gone, and the team cannot sign contracts and pay wages during the lockout."

Now Butler is even more confused. After being drafted by the NBA and having no income, who are you going to talk to?

"Third, you can't use the team's arena, and neither can I. Players have no relationship with the team during the lockout."

Butler was really confused now.

"There are two solutions." Xu Yong said and put down his cigar.

Butler was all ears.

"The first one is to play in the Drew League. There should be many NBA players going there this year. If you want to train, you can do it in Tempe."

Butler nodded. The Drew League is quite famous in the United States. He has heard of this.

"What about the second one?"

"Go to overseas leagues, but you have to sign with a team that has NBA opt-out clauses." Xu Yong taught patiently this time.

Because you are the other person's senior, will the other person be willing to be your younger brother?
The answer is no. The relationship between people is never that simple.

If you want others to trust you, you have to help them when they need it most.

The reason why Rodman was willing to be Jordan's little brother was not only that Jordan was strong enough, but more importantly, it was because Jordan recommended Rodman to the Bulls, who was no one interested at the time, and gave the latter a chance to continue playing in the NBA.

"I choose the first one." Butler said after thinking for a while.

"The right choice." Xu Yong nodded.

Butler is just a rookie now, and he won't be able to get a big contract overseas.

And this year's shutdown won't last long, as the Christmas season will begin.

"What about you, senior? Are you also going to play in the Drew League?" Butler couldn't help but ask.

Xu Yong nodded.

He has actually considered returning to the CBA to play for a few months, just like Yi Jianlian, to increase the influence of the CBA.

Although the CBA has clauses that restrict foreign players from jumping out, there are no restrictions on domestic players.

But he gave up later. The reason was simple: the level of the CBA league was too low.

A player's condition needs to be maintained by high-level competitions, and abuse will destroy his condition.

Moreover, the exchanges between him and Yao Ming actually revealed that they had the same ideas.

Because of problems in the grassroots soil and education system, it is unrealistic for the men's basketball team to take the popular route.

A very key factor is the popularization of sports as a profession, which is a concomitant product of economic development.

When you are under great pressure to survive, it is impossible for you to invest the next generation in sports.

This means that the men's basketball team can only take a highly refined route, which is why he and Yao Ming want to send good prospects to places such as the United States and Europe, rather than promoting the opening up of foreign aid.

Butler's face instantly smiled when he heard this. If that were the case, he and Xu Yong could compete on the same field.

You must know that he is a rookie. Regardless of whether there is a lockout or not, he will not have many opportunities to play in his rookie season, let alone playing with Xu Yong, so this is really rare.

After talking about business, Xu Yong also ordered some girls.

What Xu Yong expected and made sense was that when Butler went to the next room to practice ball handling, he brought three big girls in with him.

The 28th pick is indeed a perfect match for him.

……

The draft ended. The Bulls only made a selection in the first round and sold the second-round pick directly.

It is impossible for a player selected in the late second round of this draft to get a chance on a championship-contending team.

In contrast, it is obviously better to target the free agency market later.

Of course, due to the shutdown this year, it is unknown when the free market will open.

Time flies to July 7. Because the owners and the players union still cannot reach an agreement, the NBA officially ushered in the fifth shutdown in history.

As Xu Yong and Butler described, at this moment, players, whether they have a contract or are free agents, are all free.

For example, Deron, who was traded to the Nets last season, immediately went to play in the Turkish League.

Obviously, when the lockout is coming, capable players have already thought of their retreat.

Moreover, stars like Deron all have opt-out clauses, and they are basically rushing to gain visibility in other countries' leagues.

Xu Yong did not go to the Drew League immediately. He first returned to Tempe with Butler to start training there this summer.

Grover also arrived in Tempe at the same time and will help Xu Yong undergo intensive training in the summer.

In addition to consolidating the original skills, this time he will also focus on strengthening two basic abilities: physical fitness and passing.

Although he had long expected that he would be beaten when playing under Thibodeau, the reality still exceeded his expectations.

Can you believe it lasted 44 minutes in the finals?
Although he only targets young guys like this, unfortunately he is one of them.

Therefore, his physical fitness still needs to be improved. If he does not practice enough to play 44 minutes in the finals, he will be unqualified.

And with Grover here, it's not impossible to do it, it's just that he will be a little more tired.

Then there is the passing aspect. His passing is not bad, but whether it is good or bad depends on the game.

In the game where he performed abnormally in the finals, he made a lot of mistakes after being targeted due to his poor touch. Even if the entire finals was calculated, his average number of mistakes per game was not low.

This is normal. If a second-year player plays in the finals with high efficiency and low turnovers, it is really like playing a video game.

So he still needs to practice more in this area.

Vision and reading do not require training, but passing strength and angles need to be strengthened through training.

All in all, it was another fulfilling summer for Xu Yong.

Time flashed to mid-August, and Xu Yong and his team of five left Tempe for Washington to prepare for the Drew League.

Yes, not only Xu Yong and Butler, Harden and the others will also join them.

There are many NBA players coming here to play this year, and this is also an opportunity to test their training results over the past month or so.

Regarding the Drew League, we need to popularize some necessary knowledge.

First, except for the front row of the auditorium, that is, the seats on the sidelines, which are sold through the community, the remaining tickets are free, and the players will not gain any income from the game. It is a "pure" basketball league;

Second, also based on this "pure" principle, those violent elements and street ball players with bad records will not be allowed to participate in the game. There will be specialized people to review them, so it is safer than street basketball. alliance;

Third, the game starts in June every year and is divided into regular season and playoffs. The finals are played in mid-September, but the players of each team are not fixed and only need to be determined before the game starts. It is precisely because of the regulations that it is possible for NBA players to participate in the Drew League;
Fourth, the league will not promote the joining of NBA players. For those fans who line up early in the morning to watch the game, seeing NBA stars in the game is an absolute surprise and a close contact.

From these knowledge points, you can actually understand why it is so popular.

Prior to this, in early August, James and Durant had already used a peak showdown to advertise this year's Drew League.

James landed in the air and produced a quasi-triple-double of 33 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, which was very personal. He lost to Durant, who scored 59 points on the opposite side.

In that game, James showed the results of his post-up training, which was still a big improvement compared to last season.

Xu Yong's previous judgment was correct, James really worked hard this time.

Then, Xu Yonghui and Butler joined a team called Cheaters II to face the Home team led by Kobe Bryant.

Harden, DeRozan and Ayers joined another team, and they will face Durant's team later.

There were only about 8908 fans at the Washington Park Arena at No. 100 May Avenue, crowded on both sides of the arena. Except for a few people who paid for tickets and had seats, everyone else stood and watched the game.

At this time, they didn't know who would come to this venue, although many of them came to try their luck because of the air landing of James and Durant.

Then they got really lucky.

When Xu Yong came in through the door with Butler, Satan's shouts could already be heard.

As the new FMVP, he is absolutely popular now.

After entering the venue, Xu Yong followed the Romans. After greeting three other teammates who were basketball enthusiasts, he turned around and performed a windmill dunk for the audience, which instantly detonated the audience.

Speaking of which, he didn't have much chance to dunk under the intensity of the finals, but he was going to enjoy it in the Drew League today.

And not long after he finished warming up, the arena was boiling again because Kobe was here.

Kobe's appearance triggered another burst of shouting at the scene. Although the Lakers were swept last season, Kobe's current No. 1 popularity cannot be overshadowed, but it is no less popular than Xu Yong.

Along with Kobe is Derrick Williams, this year's second overall pick.

There have been news reports before that Williams became a disciple of Kobe this summer and has been training with Kobe for two and a half months.

After Kobe came in, he walked towards Xu Yong. When Xu Yong saw it, he also smiled and stepped forward.

The two hugged each other and talked about their summer training.

In fact, it was a pity for Xu Yong not to play against Kobe in the finals. After all, they had two common masters: Olajuwon and Jordan.

And he knew that if something unexpected happened, Kobe would never make it to the finals again.

"Senior, I'm going to guard Kobe." The warm-up was almost done, and when the game was about to start, Butler asked Xu Yong for help.

"Are you sure?" Xu Yong asked with a smile. He knew that Butler was very competitive, but asking him to guard Kobe would destroy his self-confidence.

Butler nodded firmly, his eyes full of desire.

Xu Yong thought for a while and agreed. After all, Butler had not guarded against him during training.

Soon, the game began.

Williams jumped to get the ball for the Home team.

Kobe didn't ask for the ball at first, but stood aside and watched Williams play.

This is obviously because he wants to see the success of his disciple's training.

Unfortunately, Kobe didn't see it in the end, because the person guarding Williams was Xu Yong.

Xu Yong did not give face to the rookie who was also ranked second. He came up with a steal, and then came down quickly and directly performed an actual 360 turn dunk.

The fans at the scene were delighted with the opening scene.

Xu Yong was able to play in both the main match and the exhibition match.

Kobe was not happy when he saw this. He has to look at his master to beat his disciples. If you are so direct, I won't be polite.

Because it was an exhibition game and there were no double-teams, Kobe beat Butler one-on-one.

Then Kobe quickly discovered that Butler's defense was much stronger than he expected, especially in confrontation, which was higher than that of ordinary rookies.

And just when he turned around to break through, Butler struck the ball so fast.

This moment caused a burst of exclamations from the scene.

However, Kobe's reaction was really fast. He felt that the ball had been cut and immediately reached out to retrieve it. He also used strong confrontation to knock Butler away and then turned and drifted towards the baseline to hit the ball.

This moment detonated the whole audience. His reaction ability and the stability of his shots after strong confrontation highlighted his handsomeness.

After Kobe Bryant scored, he looked at Butler, trying to find some frustration in the latter.

But in the end, he didn't find even a trace.

Butler even went directly to the baseline to serve like nothing happened.

"It's interesting." He thought and couldn't help but look at Butler a few more times.

Even if he attaches great importance to young players, he will not pay attention to a late first-round pick in a young draft year.

But it was at this time that he suddenly felt a little dazed.

Why does this guy look so much like the braised egg on the poster on the wall at home when he was a kid?
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(End of this chapter)