no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 269 [Brothers Basketball] [Hometown Basketball] [Dream Basketball]

Xu Yong is paying attention to the dynamics of James and Durant.

The news is now released, the teams Durant will meet: Pacers, Raptors, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Thunder.

At first, Xu Yong thought he had missed it, but after taking a closer look, he found that there was indeed no warrior inside.

This doesn't make sense at first glance. After all, Durant must be leaving the Thunder for the championship, but it seems reasonable because of James' current tragic experience.

Even Xu Yong felt that Durant might not really leave the Thunder because options like the Knicks appeared in his meeting.

What can I do in the Knicks? There's no way he's going to play with Rose.

So this looks more like the kind of force-forcing operation that Kobe used to do back then.

Then the teams James meets are even more interesting: Lakers, Thunder, Mavericks, Spurs, Warriors, Cavaliers.

These teams, except for the parent team Cavaliers, are all Western Conference teams.

Xu Yong felt that there was a high chance that the fans' complaints would come true, and James would be beaten away again because his intention to run west was too obvious.

And among these teams that met this time, James was somewhat trying to break the rules.

Because he used to consider some reasons when choosing a team, such as going to Miami for brother basketball, and returning to Cleveland for hometown basketball. But now, if you go to Los Angeles, it can still be school district basketball, but if you go to the Warriors, Thunder, or Pippen basketball?

But this makes Xu Yong more and more curious about how this year's drama will be performed.

The wait was long, and at this time, Xu Yong, who was participating in activities in China, experienced two very interesting things.

The first thing is related to endorsements.

When it comes to choosing endorsements, Xu Yong has been very cautious from the beginning. He would rather have fewer endorsements than random endorsements, because he knows that the fan base is the least able to afford consumption.

And the brand he was chosen to endorse this time was particularly unique because it was a family planning product. Yes, it was the kind he heard the commentators beside him promote from time to time before his rebirth.

"The internationally renowned sports protection brand xxx invites you to watch the xxx competition", "xxx gold lasts, the fun is overtime", "xxx gold lasts, outputs long-lasting combat power"...

Xu Yong is actually not that resistant to this thing. After all, family planning products are not sex toys. They are essentially positive publicity because they can reduce the spread of many sexually transmitted diseases and protect women.

So Xu Yong did not completely refuse, but said that he wanted to try it out first.

Then he received a box of family planning supplies with all different styles, such as ultra-thin, threaded, granular, mace, strawberry, banana, apple, ice, heat, ice and fire, and even unheard of vibration and Fluorescent type.

While Xu Yong was eye-opening, he also accepted it.

Of course, this matter has to wait until he returns to the United States. Although he is not as traditional in relationships as before, he is not a harvester.

The second thing is related to Wang Zhelin.

He has several stops in China, the second stop being his own hometown of Shanghai.

Yao Ming was also in Shanghai. When he arrived, Yao Ming came to pick him up. When he was having dinner at his house, Xu Yong unexpectedly found that Wang Zhelin was also there.

And after eating, Wang Zhelin came to ask him some questions related to the NBA.

But Xu Yong could tell from the exchange between the two that Wang Zhelin was not determined to play in the NBA, and many of his questions were reserved.

For example, he asked if he went to play for the Grizzlies in the summer league and if he got a non-guaranteed contract, when would be the latest to switch to a guaranteed contract? Because the CBA also started in October, if he didn't get a guaranteed contract, he would still I think it would be better to stay in China or something like that.

Xu Yong actually doesn't think there is anything wrong with Wang Zhelin's mentality, because he went to work normally after not playing basketball before his rebirth. Who doesn't like having more money, less things to do, and being close to home at work?

This is also the main reason why Xu Yong admires Ding Yanyuhang and admires Watanabe Yuta with admiration, because if you want to take this path, you need not to go to work, but to give up everything and fight for it.

After talking to Wang Zhelin and leaving Yao Ming's house, Yao Ming chatted with him about Wang Zhelin.

Xu Yong can tell that Yao Ming attaches great importance to Wang Zhelin, which is understandable. After all, they are both traditional centers and Wang Zhelin is the leader in the country.

"He can't." Xu Yong was also very direct.

Compared with talent, mentality is actually more important. Butler is an extreme example. Even for himself, his mentality in this life is far more positive than in the previous life. If a person does not have the will to fight hard, you cannot push him. Go forward.

Moreover, even if mentality issues are put aside, it is not that difficult for traditional centers to survive in the NBA.

Yao Ming didn't say anything. He probably knew that Wang Zhelin's chances of entering the NBA were slim.

In the car leaving Yao Ming's house, Xu Yong took out his mobile phone and saw the news that Westbrook had jumped out of the last year of his contract.

This in itself is very normal news, because of the situation this summer, it will inevitably be necessary to jump out of the contract and renew a big fat contract.

But the problem is that there are differences between Westbrook's team and the Pelicans, and the reason for this disagreement comes from this year's draft.

Westbrook would rather the team choose Ingram than Ben Simmons, who has no shooting ability and needs to hold the ball.

Even if Simmons hasn't played a game, he already feels threatened.

So this time, the free market, which was already very lively, became even more lively.

In four seasons with the Pelicans, Westbrook averaged a triple-double in three seasons and moved his position to the first line.

Last season, he ranked fourth in the MVP votes, only lower than Xu Yong, Curry and Durant, and even higher than James.

If he also enters the free agent market, it will really mean that three of the top five MVPs in the league last season have entered the free market, which is even more exciting than the free market in 2010.

However, this is not the most exciting thing he has seen. The most exciting thing is that Durant did not originally plan to meet with the Warriors, but the Warriors did not know what they did to get themselves a chance to meet with Durant.

When seeing this, Xu Yong was curious +1. You must know that the Thunder lost to the Warriors in the conference semifinals last season. If Durant really went, [defeat to Durant] would still appear. Is this different from what the Warriors have won? There is not much difference in the crown, just because Durant's position is much higher than that of Iguodala in history.

At this time, Daddario suddenly came to China to participate in brand promotion activities.

Before this, Daddario was somewhat famous in China. In addition to the classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Rock" starring him and "The Rock" Johnson also had a very good box office in China last year. .

In addition, he was with Xu Yong at the end of last year, and his popularity in China has increased rapidly. It is not unexpected to come to China to participate in brand activities, but it is a bit sudden, and this is the first time for the latter to come to China.

Her second stop was Shanghai. Since she arrived at night, Xu Yong arranged an event and put on a hood and sunglasses to pick her up at the airport.

Daddario was very happy to see Xu Yong coming to pick her up in person.

Here I want to talk about this girlfriend who doesn’t have a strong sense of presence, but gets along well with Xu Yong.

In addition to the face of an angel, the figure of a devil, and his own colored contact lenses, Daddario also has a great feature: a lively and cheerful personality.

What reflects her personality is that she particularly likes to share her personal status on social media and then interact with her fans.

It can be said that unlike other actresses Xu Yong has come into contact with, Daddario is not as wild as Scarlett, nor as cold as Theron. He is more low-key and gentle, and more like an ordinary person in life. girl.

Xu Yong took her to see the night view of Shanghai and took a cruise on the Huangpu River.

"It's so beautiful." Daddario looked fascinated at the river view and night view of Shanghai.

"It's nothing like what I know."

Xu Yong laughed when he heard this. David West also said similar words when he came to China.

"Do you want to try something different?" Xu Yong turned around and asked.

"Different?" Daddario looked confused.

“Not very healthy, but delicious.”

After getting off the cruise ship, Xu Yong took Daddario to a roadside stall to eat skewers.

But something was different from what he imagined. Daddario's acceptance of things like skewers was much higher than he thought.

Especially when he saw her fanning her mouth while eating the spicy food she wanted, Xu Yong suddenly felt that it would be good to keep doing this.

In the next few days, the two of them would participate in their own activities during the day, and then Xu Yong would take Daddario to some well-known places in Shanghai at night.

Daddario's visit to Shanghai this time can be said to have a comprehensive understanding of Shanghai's night scene.

Of course, in addition to shopping, they also do their favorite things in the evening.

Life is life, and sex life is sex life. Daddario's behavior between bed and real life is completely two people. This has nothing to do with personality, but to do with body hormones.

That is, a few days later, the two people will discuss some very interesting topics.

"Do you prefer strawberry or apple flavor?"

"Ice or hot?"

People who don’t know think they are talking about the delicious food these days!

All in all, the spokesperson for family planning products was the final winner this time, because the trial that Xu Yong originally expected to take a long time to conduct was brought forward directly, and because the results were quite good, he finally accepted the endorsement before leaving.

No need to think about it, this will definitely become a hit, because Xu Yong's performance on the court focuses on "lasting strength", which is too consistent.

After the trip to China, Xu Yong's trip to Asia also ended. Because the national team's training camp followed immediately, he did not return to China, but stayed in the country to rest.

At this time, the free market is coming to an end. In fact, there are many big fish in the free market this year. In addition to the ones mentioned before, there are also Andrew Drummond, Mike Conley, DeRozan, Horford, Bradley Beal, etc.

It's just that most of these people have chosen to stay on the team this year.

It was at this time that Green's podcast was launched in the United States, arousing intense attention.

Xu Yong was bored and watched the live broadcast of this program.

Green described the entire process of his accident on the show.

Interestingly, he also thinks Xu Yong did it on purpose, but he thinks the league should ban the Golden Rooster’s independent shooting movements, just like Mutombo’s finger-wagging movements.

"On the one hand, it is dangerous. On the other hand, it is important that Dirk announced his retirement after last season. We have to respect him. This shooting action should be banned."

From the beginning of the program, Xu Yong felt strange. When he heard this, he suddenly realized where that feeling came from.

Green, it seems that the way you speak has changed?

The previous Green was quite arrogant and loud-mouthed, but now the Green felt a little soft to him.

Is it because there is an egg missing?

It doesn't seem impossible. Daddario has strong estrogen, so his demand in that area is relatively large. Now that Green has lost an egg, his male hormone secretion is less, so he has really become soft as the fans said?

Why does this sound so reasonable?

Of course, this podcast talked about a lot of things. In addition to the egg issue, no, the rules issue, they also talked about the Warriors' summer situation.

The host asked Green about the recent rumors between Durant and the Warriors, and asked him his opinion on Durant possibly joining the Warriors.

"You know I can't comment on these things as a player, but what I'm saying is that what is allowed by the rules is allowed when it happens, and although that has some negative consequences, the point is that it is allowed. .”

From Green's words, you can completely feel his welcome to Durant.

"But that would mean you lose Harrison Barnes." The host reminded that Barnes' contract also expires this summer.

"If that's the case, I believe Harrison can come off the bench and he needs to accept that role and get used to it."

Green's subsequent attitude was very interesting, because if Durant came, it was obvious that Barnes wouldn't be able to keep him.

What Green said was simply a yin and yang move.

But his attitude is not surprising at all, because he and Barnes’ wedding (Barnes invited other core players of the Warriors but not him) was not pleasant. Now that Barnes is gone, what else can he do? After being upgraded to Durant, it's already good that he didn't laugh out loud.

"So if LeBron goes to the Warriors, what do you think will happen?" The host then asked James, because before that, news about James and the Warriors had also leaked.

"You know, LeBron is my brother, and we are very good friends privately." Speaking of James, Green looked even happier.

"As a brother, of course I welcome him to our team, but I am worried that this will have a great negative impact on him. He needs to be cautious. Of course, as I just said, I will welcome him very much."

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he heard this. While Green perfectly displayed the typical American double standard, he basically expressed his thoughts implicitly through this podcast program. He welcomed Durant when he came, but he didn't like James when he came. welcome.

Therefore, Green's intention to arrange this show at this time point can be said to be very clear.

He doesn't have James' ability to influence the management's decisions, or Xu Yong's ability to have the management proactively seek his opinions, but he has his own methods.

Think about it, now that he has expressed his opinions in such a high-profile program, it will inevitably spread to the ears of Durant and James.

It has to be said that Green's ability to play tricks is quite good.

But, not much.

Because if James ends up going to the Warriors, then James and Green will have knots in their hearts before they even start working together.

"Of course, what we have to mention this time is this red wine..."

When Green finished his statement and started selling red wine, Xu Yong also turned off the show.

Then, he picked up the wolfberry tea on the table.

Daddario went back two days ago, but he felt a little bit hollowed out.

At this moment, he received a text message from Harden.

Durant decided to stay with the Thunder!

He almost burned his mouth.

He made a cross-country call to Harden and learned from Harden that Harden was the first to receive notification from Durant.

Gee, compared to others, Durant really treats Harden as a brother.

But for this reason, this is a [spoiler] before the official news comes out.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yong said he was a little embarrassed.

Green had just finished expressing his stance when Durant made his decision.

After confirming his eyes, he was treating Green like a monkey.

Think about the history of Durant being sprayed with Green's formula and Green's formula closing the loop. This is simply a reversal of polarities.

And his previous prediction was right. Durant probably never thought about leaving the Thunder.

Here I have to talk about some of the things the Thunder did in this past free market.

They did not choose to keep Howard, but used the money to renew Howard's contract to sign several high-quality substitutes in the free market, including signing super sixth man Jamal Crawford for 3 in three years, and using a They brought back Jeff Green with a 4200-year, 1 million contract, and finally signed inside player Dwayne Dedmon with a 1500-year, 2 million contract.

Generally speaking, the Thunder's failure last season made the management realize that it is not feasible to form a giant lineup like the Cavaliers.

So the Thunder seemed to have let go of Howard in vain, but the overall strength of the team's lineup has actually improved.

Of course, the main reason why they dare to do this is because they currently have Clint Capela in their lineup who just finished his second year.

Last season, Howard missed 35 games due to injury, but he started 35 games. The overall effect is not much worse than Howard. Even in terms of fit, as a high-quality blue-collar worker, he is more suitable for Durant and Harden than Howard. .

Thunder's lineup for next season: Harden, Robertson, Durant, Ibaka, Capela; bench Crawford, Anthony Morrow, Jeff Green, Jerami Grant, Dedmon, lineup The strength is unprecedentedly powerful.

So Durant's move was just like Kobe's back then, and he got what he wanted.

It may even be better than Kobe's back then.

Because the Warriors posted it themselves, Durant didn't refuse, and then took advantage of the situation to delay the Warriors' reinforcements.

Now the Warriors basically have no choice but to choose James.

But what Green just said in the podcast directly planted a time bomb for the previous cooperation between James and the Warriors.

Xu Yong is looking forward to it now. If James finally falls out with the Warriors, Green doesn't know what he will say.

Green's formula can't come out because the Warriors haven't won the championship yet, but Green's trash-talking ability, being able to spout "real ring" trash talk to Butler, is really worth looking forward to.

The next day, Westbrook was the first to make the decision. He announced that he had reached a 1+1 contract with the Pelicans and announced that he would stay with the Pelicans.

Westbrook doesn't want to stay on a long-term contract, because if he and Simmons don't match up technically, they may lose a lot of status in the league.

But this 1+1 signing is equivalent to giving him a try for one year. If he is not suitable, he can leave, and he can even force the team to replace Simmons. Not only does he have the initiative, but he even has the say. right.

This can be said to fully grasp the essence of James' behavior.

Shortly after Westbrook made his decision, Durant officially announced that he would stay with the Thunder.

This made Xu Yong feel that Durant had informed Harden and Westbrook in advance before making a decision.

After all, the relationship between the three Thunder brothers in this life is completely different from the previous life that Xu Yong knew. They really have very deep feelings for each other.

The news broke, while Oklahoma City fans cheered, it also made Golden State fans scold them.

Why is Durant just fishing?

And at this time, there is no news that James has announced that he will join the Warriors. After Green's trouble, James will not come, right?

It was really, thinking about Durant, looking at James, and finally taking a closer look, it was still Barnes.

Fortunately, the waiting of Warriors fans did not last long. Later in the evening, James posted a personal status on his social media.

"I have been very interested in economy and technology since I was a child. It was my childhood dream to work in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but it didn't happen due to many factors. But this time I can join the Bay Area as a professional basketball player. I am very excited. , I will realize my dream there in another way, yes, Golden State, the king is coming (crown picture)!"

The topic of dreams was something Xu Yong never thought of, because most of the time, dreams are relatively empty, the kind of things that are just made up when you really can't find the words.

In particular, a black kid from a slum said that his dream is to become a programmer, which is more science fiction than Bollywood.

Not to mention that you can't compete with playing basketball and being a programmer.

But something is better than nothing. After brothers basketball and hometown basketball, dream basketball is officially launched!

(End of this chapter)