no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 226 2014 NBA Trade Deadline

After defeating the Pacers, the Bulls gradually got on the right track.

When the time came to the end of January, they returned to the fourth position in the Eastern Conference, and the win gap with the third-place Raptors was narrowed to 1 games.

At this time, the results of the All-Star voting and the substitute lineup were released one after another.

Eastern starting lineup: Paul, Wade, Xu Yong, Anthony, James
Substitutes: John Wall, Irving, George, DeRozan, Millsap, Bosh, Anthony Davis

West starting lineup: Curry, Kobe*, Durant, Griffin, Love

Substitutes: Parker, Lillard, Harden, Aldridge, Nowitzki, Noah, Howard, (Leonard)
There are many things worth paying attention to in this year's voting results. For example, Curry was selected to the All-Star for the first time in his career by averaging 24 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and he became a starter as soon as he was selected.

In the five seasons since Curry entered the league, his three-point shooting percentage has reached 44%, and in the last two seasons, he has averaged nearly 8 three-point attempts per game.

After increasing production and continuing to maintain a stable shooting percentage, Curry showed a rare three-point talent in history.

The Warriors are undoubtedly the biggest winner, because after Curry suffered a serious injury and was reimbursed for the season in the 2011-2012 season, they provided Curry with a four-year, 4 million contract at the end of the season and completed an early extension. With the salary cap This is already a visible child labor contract.

Another example is that although Kobe Bryant only played 6 games this season and is still injured, he was still selected as an All-Star starter.

However, Kobe has stated that he will not be able to play in the All-Star Game. His starting position will be replaced by Harden, while Leonard will be an alternate to enter the All-Star. This is the first time in the latter's career that he has been selected to the All-Star.

In addition to the list for the main game, the list for individual competitions was also announced this time, among which the list for the three-point contest attracted attention.

Because in addition to Curry, who had the loudest voice, Xu Yong's name also appeared.

This moment made fans pay full attention to the individual events.

Compared with James, who waited six years before finally participating in the dunk contest, Xu Yong's direct participation without any hype was a complete surprise to the fans.

With the departure of Yi Jianlian and the retirement of Yao Ming, the aura of the Chinese national team on the Bulls has faded, and the whistle has gradually returned to normal. Against this background, when the league invited him, he regarded it as paying "protection money" for the team.

Moreover, he is the only one selected for the main game of the Bulls this season. He focuses on participating in the main game, but he has some ideas about the three-point shooting contest.

His three-point level is not low. When he was at Arizona State University, he scored 7 three-pointers on the spot. He was also very efficient in his first two years as a rookie.

However, with Rose's injury and him starting to hold the ball more, the number of three-point attempts decreased significantly, and he shot less, so his production and ability naturally declined.

However, this season, as Butler dilutes the ball rights, his off-ball offense ratio has increased, and his three-point ability has returned a lot.

This time the All-Star Game was in New Orleans, and Xu Yong took Adams with him. The latter was successfully selected for the rookie game due to his outstanding performance in the past period.

Of course, this time it’s not just the two of them, but also agent Schwartz.

Xu Yong is among the busiest in the All-Star Game every year.

And this time, in addition to promoting his STX series of sneakers, Schwartz also negotiated a big signing for him.

He will replace Robert Pattinson (who plays the vampire Edward in The Twilight Saga) as the face of Dior Cologne Homme.

The endorsement deal between Pattinson and Dior was signed in 2011. The contract is 3 million for three years and it expires this summer.

Xu Yong signed a three-year endorsement contract of 3 million yuan with them this time. He will become the spokesperson with the highest endorsement fee in the history of cologne perfume.

As for the reason why Dior was so anxious and even finalized it in advance, it was because it was afraid that Xu Yong would be poached by competitors.

After all, Xu Yong's current popularity is here, and there is a huge Chinese market behind him. Of course, the most important thing is his good looks.

After all, it’s hard to imagine James endorsing cologne.

They went to Dior's New Orleans branch.

When he first entered, Xu Yong saw a familiar poster in the glass display window in the corridor.

Charlize Theron.

Theron has been the face of Dior Women's fragrance since 2004.

Xu Yong has some special feelings for Theron when he was a teenager. After all, when he just entered adolescence, it happened to be when Theron was popular.

Sexy and mature, but also very dignified. It's really rare to see these two temperaments combined.

Especially the ridiculous Dior advertisement, it was the most amazing advertisement he had ever seen.avi.

Moreover, Sai Huang is also very devoted to her career. The movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" completely subverted Xu Yong's perception of her.

And he remembered the last time he saw Theron at the Staples Center. [South African Diamonds] really never gets old.

The signing of the agency contract went smoothly. Although it was at the branch, the senior management of Cologne was basically dispatched. It was obvious that they valued Xu Yong.

After signing the contract, Xu Yong went to AJ's event.

When Xu Yong went there, Butler was already there.

Thanks to his outstanding performance this season, Butler was also won by AJ. Like Xu Yong back then, he was promoted as a rookie.

But since he doesn't have to participate in the main game this year, he can basically go back tomorrow. Well, as he said before, he went on vacation with Brown.

On the second day of the All-Star Game, Xu Yong appeared on the sidelines early.

Not long after he sat down, Harden took Curry and sat next to him.

A very interesting thing is that Curry was selected as the All-Star starter for the first time in his career, which made many people ignore that he was actually in the same class as Xu Yong and Harden.

During the joint trial training in Chicago, they were still talking and laughing.

But now Curry is a newcomer to the All-Star game, and Xu Yong already feels a bit like Uncle Curry.

Xu Yong also met Jordan in the back row.

The two occasionally communicated through text messages, but they only met last summer when they were discussing the brand, so it was more than half a year ago.

However, this did not hinder their current friendship. Jordan even got up and came to the front row.

After hugging Xu Yong, a look from him made Harden take the initiative to give up his position aside.

"Where is Chicago in the Eastern Conference now?" Jordan asked after sitting down.

"Fourth." Xu Yong replied. Jordan must have been busy with other things recently and hasn't paid much attention to league games.

"Charlotte is No. [-]," Jordan continued.

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

It had been so long since I had chatted with Jordan that he didn't react at all.

"The Bobcats have a good chance of returning to the playoffs this season." He nodded. The last time the Bobcats made it to the playoffs was four years ago.

"I know Kemba (Walker) will become an All-Star." Jordan looked proud. If he hadn't been there, he would have been tempted to smoke a cigar to prove that he was also a unique basketball god in terms of draft vision.

Xu Yong just smiled.

Kemba Walker is indeed the most successful case in Jordan's draft career, but it is also the only case.

You must know that the Hornets have made the top ten lottery picks in recent years. Michael Gilchrist, the second pick in 2012, and Cody Zeller, the No. 2013 pick in 4, both of them are sorry for their own draft picks. Instead, Walker, the No. 11 pick in 9, came out. It is easy to conclude that Jordan was most likely ignorant in choosing Walker.

"But the atmosphere in the league is so bad now." Jordan then frowned.

"You mean Al (Jefferson)?"

"Do you think Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis deserve All-Star status?" Jordan did not answer, but looked at Xu Yong and asked.

Xu Yong shook his head: "If I were the coach, I would give Al a vote."

He didn't agree with what Jordan said before, but he recognized Jefferson's point.

In addition to the newcomers worthy of attention such as Curry and Leonard, this year's All-Stars also have a big controversy, and that is the selection of the Cavaliers' twin stars.

The Cavaliers are now tenth in the Eastern Conference, but they have two people selected to the bench.

欧文场均20.8分3.6板6.1助攻1.5抢断，戴维斯场均20.8分10板1.6助攻1.3抢断2.8盖帽。

而黄蜂队东部第六，当家核心艾尔·杰弗森场均21.8分10.8板2.1助攻1.1盖帽，50.9%的命中率。

Leaving aside Irving, Jefferson and Davis belong to the same competitive position. With similar statistics and a clear advantage in record, he is obviously more worthy of an All-Star position this year.

You must know that this is a substitute selection, not voted by the fans, but voted by the coach.

Fans can say that they play better, but coach You can't say that he chose Davis just because he is a local insider who comes once in 50 years in the eyes of the media, right?
"But looking on the bright side, Al can play in the playoffs this year, while they will most likely have to go fishing." Xu Yong continued.

Jordan was a little unhappy at first, but after hearing what Xu Yong said, he couldn't help laughing.

Chatting with Xu Yong always makes people feel happy at the last moment.

Xu Yong also smiled. Jordan played a big role in promoting the STX independent brand.

But after a while, he suddenly stopped smiling and his face became serious.

He suddenly remembered one thing.

Will the Cavaliers really not make the playoffs this year?
He had the impression that the Cavaliers had a very small chance of winning the No. [-] pick one year. Although he couldn't remember which year, that had not happened yet.

If the Pelicans can still make the playoffs this season (Stern has been waiting for the opportunity to supplement New Orleans' No. [-] pick), this means that this year's No. [-] pick is likely to be the Cavaliers.

This year's No. [-] pick is Wiggins. As far as history is known, he was traded by the Cavaliers for Love.

Yes, this season's Western Conference All-Star starter, Love will most likely make the second team by the end of the season.

This also means that it is possible for the Cavaliers to form a lineup of Irving, James, Love, and Davis?
If the Big Three doesn't work, then...the Big Four?

These are true four-stars, and they are all All-Star teammates who have been proven to be suitable for James.

And because the salary cap is about to skyrocket in 2016 (Davis' rookie contract ends in the summer of 2016), this lineup is completely sustainable.

I thought this season's Pacers would be the best team James has ever played in, but I didn't expect that a better team would appear soon.

The competitiveness of this team may even exceed that of the previous Bulls.

Tsk, why are Irving and Davis so good? They couldn't even make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

I can only hope that Gilbert can be tougher. James treated you like that back then and don't let him go back this time.

While they were chatting, the individual competitions on the court continued, and soon it was the three-point shooting contest.

"Can we make it to the finals?" Jordan asked as he looked at the court.

"It won't be less than 6 points." After Xu Yong finished speaking, he stood up and prepared to play.

Jordan was stunned for a moment, and he didn't understand why Xu Yong, who was so nice before, suddenly became unlovable.

There is a very important change in this year's three-point shooting competition. It adds [Advantage Point], that is, you can choose a point to place 5 flower balls, which increases the full score from the original 30 points to 34 points.

And this year, like last year, it is also divided into east and west. There will be an internal confrontation first, and then the players with the highest scores in the preliminaries on both sides will compete in a 1-on-1 final.

This competition system has more chance than before, and of course it is more exciting.

The highlight this year is Curry and Xu Yong. It depends on whether they can make it out of the preliminaries.

But when the preliminaries were finished, although Xu Yong did score higher than 6 points, and it was 16 points, he still lost to Bill's 18 points; Curry also scored 16 points, losing to Belinelli's 19 points. They both returned home.

After the preliminaries, the reporter interviewed the two people in a very entertaining way.

"My goal next year is to reach the finals."

Xu Yong's answer directly caused the scene to boil, because it means that Xu Yong will continue to participate in the three-point shooting contest next year.

"Me too." Curry on the side also nodded in agreement.

"I will also participate next year." At this moment, Harden also came into the camera.

Stern was laughing happily in the stands and couldn't help but add drumsticks to the three of them.

The finals haven't even started here yet, and they have already hyped up next year's competition in advance.

In the final, Bill and Belinelli had a fierce battle. The two scored 19 points to tie the game. Then in the final, Belinelli won the first three-point shooting contest after the reform with 24 points.

The last day was the All-Star game. There was an interlude before the game. Because it happened to be Bill Russell's birthday, the DJ led the audience to sing a happy birthday song to "Lord of the Rings". This scene was quite warm. of.

Then during the main game, Xu Yong noticed a very detail, that is, James was traveling at the wrong time.

The head coach of the Eastern Conference this year is Vogel, so James can play whenever he wants.

Of course, this is not what surprised Xu Yong. After all, he has known James for so long, so what surprised him was that James was traveling to the peak.

What surprised him was that James was actively playing ball for Irving and Davis.

And at the end of the game, the Eastern team defeated the Western team 160 to 159. Irving scored 31 points and won the All-Star Game MVP.It's hard not to think about it.

Xu Yong even had the feeling that James had already hooked up with Gilbert.

But after having this awareness, he felt that things became interesting.

If we can defeat such a Cavaliers team and win the championship, let alone the championship, this Eastern Conference championship will definitely be the most valuable in history.

And if the Big Four can't break out of the Eastern Conference, James may really be abandoned by Nike.

After all, 2015 happens to be the year when James' contract with Nike ends.

Just thinking about it is very motivating.

……

After the All-Star Game, Xu Yong returned to Chicago.

There are a few days off after the All-Star break, and then right after is the annual trade deadline.

When Xu Yong came back, he saw Butler training there. Naturally, it was impossible for him to go on vacation with Brown.

However, just a few days later, when Xu Yong and Butler were eating breakfast, Brown came back.

He was still recovering from the operation and was recuperating at home in Washington, but he didn't expect to come back at this time.

"I'm going to Philadelphia." Brown came in and reported to Xu Yong.

Hearing this, Xu Yong did not seem very surprised, because it was a high probability that Brown would be traded, and he might not go to Philadelphia as he said. He would probably be laid off if he went. After all, he could no longer play this season. .

"I went over there to recuperate." Xu Yong stood up and gave Brown a hug.

Brown is a bit unlucky to say the least. He spent all his time with the Bulls, but he was absent during the Bulls' championship season.

This is the same as Dampier back then, and has somewhat of a [champion insulator] attribute.

However, he has been holding on during the most difficult two years for the Bulls, and his contribution is indelible.

Brown packed up his things and left Bieye.

Xu Yong and the others then took out their mobile phones to read the details of the transaction.

The Bulls sent Kwame Brown, Morris Jr. and two future second-round picks to acquire Seth Bean Hawes from the Digital People.

Xu Yong was surprised when he saw Hawes' name.

This is a deal that does not seem to be quite equal, because Hawes is the starting center of the Digital People. This season, he averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and his three-point shooting rate reached 39.9%.

The Bulls' bargaining chip, Morris Jr., was obtained in the first round last season. The Bulls used one first round plus two second rounds to get him.

This little bargaining chip is theoretically not enough.

But when he worked out the details, everything became reasonable.

First of all, Hawes's contract will expire this summer, so his trade value is not as high as the data shows, because he is a completely free agent at the end of the contract, and what other teams get in the trade is likely to only be used for half a year. right.

Secondly, there was another trade before this, that is, the Digital People team used Holiday to reach a deal with the Kings, and got Lawrence Noel, the No. 6 pick selected by the opponent last year (who has not yet appeared in the game), and a player before next year. Five protected first-round picks.

Because Digital Man's record this season was not improving but regressing, the Philadelphia Supermarket officially opened, and Digital Man's new general manager this season, Sam Hinkie, began the [process].

Then everything makes sense. The digital people have even sold the current top player Holiday, and they need to train Noel next season, so they naturally have no reason to keep Hawes.

Foreman seized the best opportunity and then captured Hawes under extreme circumstances.

Why say limit, because this is basically the biggest bargaining chip the Bulls can provide.

After reading this deal, this is already a very considerable reinforcement for the Bulls, because Hawes is another space insider after Yi Jianlian and can bring real tactical reinforcement to the Bulls.

After all, although Adams performed well, as a rookie, it is still unknown how he will perform in the playoffs.

And after reading this deal, Xu Yong discovered that the Bulls had another small, big deal and signing.

Forman made a trade with the Nets for Teague, in exchange for a player named Tornak Shenglia.

Xu Yong had no impression of him at all. The introduction said he was a 2-meter power forward, the No. 06 pick in 2011, from Georgia.

Looking at the type, you can tell that this is a standard European shooting power forward.

But if he has no impression at all, there is a high probability that this person has never made a name for himself in the NBA.

This is normal, after all, Teague has played so poorly this season and his trade value is very limited.

And because Anderson is more suitable to play the fourth position, Shenglia was also used as the third forward.

The next signer also confirmed this.

The Bulls signed Roger Mason, who was waived by the Kings.

Mason is a 1-meter shooting guard. The highlight of his career was with the Spurs. When Ginobili and Parker were injured one after another, he carried the Spurs' perimeter banner.

His characteristic is that he can shoot three-pointers, but his disadvantage is that only three-pointers are reliable.

But it can be seen from his being laid off that he does not have much gas in the tank. This signing, like Shenglia, is also supplementary.

In other words, in this series of operations, only Hawes can enter the rotation, and the rest can be looked at.

"Steven recently said he wanted to find a house in the city, closer to the arena." Butler said at this time.

"Let him come." Xu Yong put down his phone, knowing what Butler meant.

Speaking of which, from O'Neal, to Butler/Yi Jianlian, to Butler/Brown, and now Butler/Adams, this team has witnessed the changes of the Bulls over the years.

……

Two days after the transaction was completed, Xu Yong met three new players in the team's locker room.

Then he was attracted to Hawes at a glance.

First, Hawes is very tall, with a height of 2 meters taller than Adams.

The second is his hairstyle.

There is a very unique iron tower shape behind his head.jpg.

If you didn't know he was American, it would look like the Eiffel Tower.

Hawes was very talkative and was chatting with the others not long after entering the locker room.

This is a good thing, because at this point in the season, there is not much time left for newcomers to get used to it.

One month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the season is coming to an end.

It's been a bit of an up-and-down month for the Bulls.

Mainly a Hawes problem.

Although his character seems to be very good, Hawes is not willing to play as a substitute in his contract year, so he has a strong desire to take action on the court.

But he only likes to shoot from the outside. If he fails to make a shot, he will be caught by his opponent for counterattack.

His performance focuses on the difference between theory and reality.

After all, players are not machines and have their own considerations.

Kobe's original invention of "double-teaming contract-year players" was not unreasonable.

Then in a training session, Xu Yong broke out during a rare training session with the team.

He grabbed Hawes on both offense and defense during the full-court confrontation, beating him directly.

Because the only advantage Hawes has over Xu Yong is his height, but this guy doesn't like to go inside when he enters the league, so there is no option to play in the low post.

Seeing that Hawes was a little unconvinced, Xu Yong led the bench team to beat Hawes's bench team, then asked Hawes to join the starting team, and then continued to beat the starting team.

After these three quarters, the rest of the Bulls were a little depressed, and Hawes was even beaten to the point of collapse.

Especially when he tried to play Xu Yong in singles in the last quarter but was directly blocked by Xu Yong.

And after finishing this, Xu Yong spat trash talk at him: "Let me clarify now, people outside say you are soft, and they are absolutely right."

Hawes's face turned red. He was actually the same as Noah back then. He was a bit thorny and not timid on the court. However, he did not dare to refute now because he would not get any good consequences if he offended Xu Yong in the Bulls.

Then after that training session, Hoyson suddenly became much more honest.

But one very interesting thing is that Thibodeau watched the entire process from the sidelines and witnessed Hawes's embarrassing process.

Theoretically, after Xu Yong treated Hawes like this, he should DNP, or at least reduce Hawes' playing time.

But he didn't do that. Instead, in subsequent games, he increased Hawes' playing time.

This made Hawes very moved. He knew his shame and then acted bravely. He played obviously much more reasonably than before, which also greatly increased the Bulls' inside depth.

Finally, in a game at the end of the season, he played his career representative game against the Heat.

Because this game no longer affects the rankings, many main players on both sides have taken a truce. The Bulls' Xu Yong, Butler and Adams are not playing, and the Heat's Wade, Granger and Bosh have also chosen to take a truce.

The game turned out to be Hawes's career masterpiece.

他最终轰下18分16篮板8助攻7封盖的准四双数据，成为了自奥拉朱旺之后，联盟23年以来完成这一数据的球员。

And it's worth mentioning that he faced the famous Roy Hibbert.

This feeling is like the CBA's Yang Hansen beating Wang Zhelin. Although Hibbert also scored 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, he only made 26 of 9 shots and was obviously suppressed.

However, there was an interesting scene on the sidelines. Xu Yong, wearing a suit, applauded Hawes' performance several times during the game.

After the game, Hawes hugged head coach Thibodeau excitedly in the tunnel.

If it weren't for Thibodeau's constant trust, he would never have the chance to perform like this.

You must know that such a game will be very helpful for him to get a big contract in the summer.

However, Thibodeau acted very calmly, and said something after that: "The person you should thank most is not me, but Xu."

Hawes looked puzzled, and at this moment, Thibodeau said the reason.

It turns out that after beating Hawes before, Xu Yong found Thibodeau and hoped that Thibodeau would not abandon Hawes because of what he did.

The reason is actually very simple, because Xu Yong knows that Hawes is not actually the softie that the outside world says.

A softie will not average close to 1.5 blocks per game for several consecutive seasons.

Hawes's advantages and disadvantages are obvious. In terms of advantages, he is accurate in three-pointers and inside in space. I won't talk about it because he was born as a point guard since he was a child. His movement control and passing skills are also rare among big men. .

In terms of shortcomings, there is no inside attack, and then it is slow.

So to sum up, as a starting center, Hawes is easy to target, but as a backup center, he is the best version the Bulls can find.

Because although there is no inside attack, the Bulls only value his space ability and do not need to attack in the low post. This is like Rodman. The Bulls signed him because of his defense and rebounding.

As for being slow and easy to target, this is a common problem among most big men inside. At least he has the frame protection.

So the fundamental problem with Hawes is his mentality. The operations of Xu Yong and Thibodeau are aimed at his mentality.

After learning the truth, Hawes was surprised and turned around to apologize to Xu Yong in the locker room.

Xu Yong didn't say anything, he stood up and gave him a big hug.

Many contract-year players are like bulls. Seeing the data is like seeing a red cloth, and they can't hold back.

Hawes was able to pull him back, which meant he was still saved.

In fact, if you want a big contract in the contract year, it is easiest to produce data, and it is human nature.

But it's definitely not okay to hurt the team because of this.

Besides, NBA managers are not stupid, especially as data analysis becomes more and more advanced, they can distinguish the difference between brush and real data.

This is why a player who averages double digits per game suddenly disappears from the league, while another insider who contributes 5 points and 3 rebounds can stay in the league.

If Hawes plays well, the contract he can get will not be worse than his data.

(End of this chapter)