no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 306 The shortest offseason

Antetokounmpo felt quite uneasy when he shook hands with Xu Yong. If I had to make an analogy, it was probably the feeling when James was kicked off from the C position at the 75th, and then saw Jordan enter the court. kind of scene.

He thought of N possibilities, but never imagined that Xu Yong would say such things to him.

The future is his!

Yes, the future is his. Xu Yong is 30 years old this year. No matter how great a legend is, he should start to decline after he reaches 30 years old.

Of course, what's more important is that Leonard is standing next to him, and Xu Yong said such words to him, which really makes him honored.

"Thank you, I will work hard!" Antetokounmpo said excitedly.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

If it weren't for knowing the true meaning of this sentence, this scene of a famous rookie's expectations for a future superstar would be very heartwarming.

It's just that Leonard's expression is a little weird. After all, strictly speaking, he is the core of this Raptors team.

After completing the handshake ceremony, returning to the locker room to celebrate and then returning to the scene, the championship award ceremony was held on site.

During this process, Jokic seemed very excited. You must know that the incident of Xu Yong hanging the Olympic gold medal in front of his locker in the locker room before the season is still fresh in his mind.

But the most excited person is neither the Mavericks coaching staff nor the Mavericks players, but the Mavericks owner Ballmer.

In that manual, it is stipulated that a team can have up to 35 people entering the park. Excluding the players and coaching staff, not many people can come, and only a handful of bosses can come.

After all, NBA teams are just one of their properties for most owners. Even if they are not, as capitalists, letting them stay in the park for three months is too torture for them. Ballmer is one of the only one.

If you want to ask what the original motivation is, it is the love for the big toy basketball, but you have to go deeper. As the league's number one and having Xu Yong, the Mavericks are the team most likely to win the championship.

Now that he has got his wish, only in the second year after he bought an NBA team, no one is happier than him.

He hugged everyone on the Mavericks team excitedly. When hugging Xu Yong, he kept patting Xu Yong on the back and kept nagging.

Xu Yong enjoys this feeling because compared to businessmen like Raunsdorf, bosses like Ballmer who truly love basketball are easier to get close to.

And compared with the former Mavericks boss Cuban, Ballmer has another advantage, that is, although he loves it, he will delegate power to the management instead of intervening.

Let people who are good at doing what they are good at is the simplest truth, but it is also the rarest reality.

The championship award ceremony was held first, followed by the FMVP awards ceremony.

It was at this stage that not only the players on both sides, but also most of the fans watching the live broadcast became excited.

Because the person presenting the award is Kobe!

Although there have been many rumors before, the league has not made a public statement, so this is an expected surprise for most fans.

Kobe was also excited. In order to participate in the championship award ceremony, he entered the park and began to quarantine half a month ago.

But the first moment he came in and saw Xu Yong, everything seemed to be worth it.

They had made a promise, and now it was time for them to fulfill it.

Tatum is also very understanding of the world. Originally, the president would usually announce the result at this time, but he handed the envelope to Kobe.

Kobe was a little flattered, but finally took it after Tatum's signal.

After opening it, Kobe pretended to be surprised before seriously announcing the result.

"The winner of the 2020 Finals Bill Russell Trophy is...Xu Yong."

In fact, there was no suspense, but Kobe still did enough foreplay.

After the announcement, he also picked up the FMVP trophy and handed it to Xu Yong, then smiled and hugged him.

场均30.5分7扳5.5助攻2抢断1盖帽，徐永拿到了属于他个人的第6座FMVP奖杯。

"Don't be so nervous, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Xu Yong said to Kobe with a smile when he received the trophy.

Kobe laughed loudly, and then hugged Xu Yong vigorously.

After receiving the FMVP trophy, Xu Yong also delivered a special acceptance speech.

"This past season was a particularly difficult season for us, of course, not just for us, but also for the league and all fans. Our winning of this trophy is the result of the joint efforts of all of us. It proves the impact of the epidemic. The difficulties it brings can be overcome, and I think it will also inspire everyone to overcome the epidemic. Finally, I would like to quote something from a science fiction novel in our country: Courage is the hymn of mankind."

Xu Yong's speech brought the final end to the uneven season of 2019~2020.

Although there were twists and turns, the final result was quite acceptable.

However, due to the epidemic, the upcoming 2020~2021 season is destined to be extraordinary.

Because the finals have already been played in October, and there are a series of things such as the offseason, draft, free agent market, preseason, etc., which means that the number of games in the new season will be compressed and the season opening time will be postponed.

Even before the league proposed closed competition in June this year, the new season was predicted to not start until March 6. Even then, the latest news was that it would not start until late January next year.

In this case, the number of games in the new season will only be more than 50 at most.

And according to the current situation, games will basically be held in the park next season.

All this indicates that the new season may be more tortuous than this season.

Moreover, the Mavericks' championship this year is also somewhat lacking. Due to the epidemic, they will become the first championship team in history without a championship celebration parade.

But as Xu Yong said, this is part of mankind's victory over the epidemic.

The short offseason is precious.

However, just the day after the season ended, Wright suggested to Xu Yong that he should conduct another closed training session in the offseason.

Young people are full of energy. This is the sweetness they get after winning a championship.

However, Xu Yong did not agree this time.

He himself is immune to injuries, but others are not.

As a reborn player, he knows that if nothing unexpected happens, the new season will start in December. For the Mavericks, because there are still season training camps and preseason games, they will have only one month of rest at most. Continuous high intensity can easily lead to injuries.

Or in other words, the most important thing for the Mavericks players this summer is rest.

Xu Yong also took advantage of this time to spend time with their four children.

Xu Hao would stay with Xu Yong every summer, get in touch with basketball, and then hone his skills. Although he is still young, perhaps due to genetic factors, his interest in basketball is inherently strong.

If Xu Yong can play in the NBA until he is 45 years old, then they might actually have a father and son on the same stage.

Putting down everything to spend time with his family was Xu Yong's most comfortable time.

When the time came to November, good news began to come.

The big thing is that after more than a year of fighting, although the epidemic is still continuing, its toxicity has weakened, which provides a glimmer of possibility for the stadium to reopen in the future.

On the small side, labor and management have reached a consensus that the new season will officially start on December 12.

For fans, especially those in North America, it is very happy to see the new season start before Christmas.

This is also a good thing for the league, because the start of the season at this time is similar to the last lockout, which was also the start of the 2011 season. The number of 72 games in a single season is much better than expected.

On November 11, the 18 NBA Draft kicked off. Due to the epidemic, this year's draft will adopt an online mode, and ESPN will broadcast the entire process live.

This year's draft is a bit special, but this year is also one that attracts great attention from the outside world. The main reason is that Edwards, the top pick, is the favorite.

This guy who was given an autographed jersey by Xu Yong has shown amazing talent since high school, and his performance has been even more impressive after entering college. Before the outbreak of the epidemic, he had already locked up this year's No. 1 pick.

In addition to Edwards, there is also James Wiseman, who is said to be very talented in dynamic and dynamic situations, and LaMelo Ball, who is the most talented among the three goals.

Even from Xu Yong's perspective, this year there are many talented rookies such as Haliburton, Vassell, Maxey, and Bain, and the overall strength is still very strong.

Xu Yong also paid attention to this draft. What surprised Xu Yong in the end was not the top three picks, but when the draft came to the Mavericks, the Mavericks chose an expected choice. They selected Desmond Bane with the 30th pick.

Xu Yong still knows something about Bain, because this person has a well-known nickname: Meat Curry.

As the name suggests, his three-pointer is what he eats, but he has a strong body and a tough defense.

Wright does not have a three-point skill package, and Bane can make up for this in this position.

The reason why he fell to this pick is because his physical condition is relatively poor. As a shooting guard, he is short. His bare feet are only 1 meters, which is comparable to Oladipo.

Moreover, he does not have Oladipo's wingspan, has short hands, and is physically strong and lacks flexibility and speed, which all affect his selection.

But Xu Yong knows that Bain has organizational potential, which is something that scouts have overlooked.

Therefore, in the Mavericks' organizational structure, it is not impossible for Bane to replace Wright as the starting point guard in the future, and it is even a better choice.

After all, neither Wright nor DeRozan currently has three-pointers from the outside, and the offensive space is still quite crowded during positional battles. Many times, Malone is forced to only use Rose to play the starting No. 1 position, and even after Rose was injured, he could only use a rookie. Pu'er.

In general, the Mavericks have just won the championship, their lineup is seeking stability, and their core rotation will not actively seek changes.

Moreover, their current team composition is very similar to the Bulls that completed the dynasty before. The core is Xu Yong, the second leader Jokic, and the third leader DeRozan, supplemented by some good role players.

For them, DeRozan's rediscovery of himself in the playoffs last season was the team's greatest reinforcement.

DeRozan also jumped out of his contract this summer and signed a four-year, $4 million contract extension with the Mavericks.

Because of the salary cap increase, this is an extension contract that is much lower than the maximum salary.

This not only allows the Mavericks to retain their immediate combat capabilities, but also maintains the flexibility of space for future reinforcements. It is a contract acceptable to both parties.

As for the Mavericks' opponents in the new season, the Lakers have been looking for a third giant in the summer.

Finally, after a series of efforts, they successfully signed Fred VanVleet with a 4-year, 9000 million contract.

Not to mention VanVleet's reputation as an embarrassment to the giants, this is already the biggest player the Lakers can sign.

But more importantly than VanVleet, they retained Anthony Davis with a five-year maximum salary.

In the new season, the Lakers' Big Three of VanVleet, James, and Davis have also officially set sail.

Although VanVleet's star power is not close, and although James will be 36 years old next season, as long as the Lakers' legs are still there, everything will not be a problem.

The lineups of the Warriors and Thunder have not changed much. The Clippers signed back Gallinari to strengthen their outside shooting.

Overall, because the connection between the season and the competition is too short, and there are almost no big fish whose contracts expire this year, the entire free market is relatively free of big waves.

This also makes the outside world generally believe that the Mavericks have a high probability of being able to defend their title in the new season.

However, under such mainstream voices, another voice began to emerge.

Some people believe that the Mavericks' park championship does not have much gold content and lacks persuasiveness.

Especially after the release of Patil's "Dallas Dynasty: The Beginning" championship documentary, which triggered a violent response, the argument that "the Mavericks were able to win the championship because they trained three months longer than others" became popular.

In the era before Xu Yong was reborn, there was a popular argument that the reason why the Lakers' championship in the park was questioned was because the winner was James instead of Curry.

Interestingly, the person who made this argument was James' agent Rich Paul.

History cannot be assumed, and this argument eventually became the argument used by some James to counterattack.

But now facts have proved that no matter how the opponent's strength changes in the park championship, no matter who wins the championship, it is inevitable to be questioned.

Because there are no home and away games, these objective factors in closed games are always unavoidable.

In other words, the Mavericks won the championship, but there is only one way for them to win full recognition from the outside world: do it again in the new season.

(End of this chapter)