NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 194 Chain reaction, major transactions that caused a sensation in the league

The transaction between the Bulls and the Timberwolves was for the Bulls to send four players, Tyson Chandler, Luol Deng, Raja Bell and Chris Duhon, plus a 2009 first-round pick, in exchange for the All-Stars from the Timberwolves. Power forward Kevin Garnett.

This 5-for-1 deal is the most sensational super deal since the start of the free market. After all, Garnett is an MVP-level player in his prime. Teaming up with Wang Chong, the two MVP players join forces to let The Bulls instantly became the favorite to win the new season!

Who would have thought that the Bulls, whose results have been perfect this season, would actually make such a huge gamble!

But after the shock, a closer analysis shows that the Bulls may not necessarily have made a profit in this transaction. After all, the price the Bulls paid to get Garnett was a bit too high.

Tyson Chandler is the new Defensive Player of the Year and the mainstay of the team's defense. The Bulls were able to win 69 games during the regular season, and Chandler's defense in the penalty area was indispensable.

Luol Deng and Laja Bell are the Bulls' strong defensive points on the outside. Bell, as a standard 3D player, is not only a top defender on the outside, but was selected to the All-Defensive Team. He is also the Bulls' most accurate player in three-pointers, 42 % three-point shooting percentage is higher than Wang Chong.

As for Luol Deng, although his technical characteristics are relatively simple, his future is full of possibilities at the age of only 21. A forward who can stably contribute 21+16 per game at the age of 6 will definitely not develop in the future. Too bad.

These three players are all the Bulls' starting lineup this season, averaging more than 30 minutes per game.

If you look purely at star status and commercial value, none of these three people can compare to Garnett.

But if you measure this deal from the perspective of a team, it's really hard to say.

Indeed, Garnett is known as a defensive kaleidoscope. He can be both inside and outside. While his defensive ability is strong, he also has good offensive ability. So far, he has averaged 20+10 double-doubles per game for nine consecutive seasons. He is stable. horrible.

But even so, Garnett cannot be split into three parts. When it comes to the court, Garnett can only participate in the game as one of the starting five.

The Bulls formed the Big Three lineup of Wang Chong + Garnett + Billups as they wished, but what about the remaining two positions, shooting guard and center?

Wang Chong and Billups have just completed their contract extensions, and now with the addition of Garnett, who has an annual salary of 07 million in the 08-2375 season, the Bulls' salary space is completely locked, let alone signing any free agents. To make up a 12-man roster, the remaining players will be calculated based on a basic salary of 150 million, and the team's total salary will exceed 6000 million.

The league's previously announced salary cap for the 2007-08 season was US$5563 million, and the luxury tax bottom line was US$6786 million.

This means that the Bulls' maneuverability is almost zero. There is only a mid-level contract exception of 535 million that can be used to introduce a player of considerable strength, but who can be signed for a mere 500 million?

What made the Bulls strong before was not only Wang Chong's super scoring ability, but also the perfect fit of the team's overall lineup and the outstanding performance of the main players.

Now the Bulls have dismantled half of the team to trade Garnett. The gimmicks are full, but can the Bulls' real combat effectiveness really be stronger than this season? No one knows, it will only become clear after actual combat testing after the start of the new season.

But no matter what, Garnett joining the Bulls and teaming up with Wang Chong to win the championship was like dropping a bomb on a calm lake, instantly making the entire league boil and making other teams anxious.

Even the runner-up team with 69 wins in the regular season is not satisfied with the status quo. It pursues Garnett at all costs in order to achieve further breakthroughs. How can other teams that can't even make it to the finals continue to be salty?

The Magic, which successfully returned to the playoffs this season, took the lead in following the Bulls' lead and struck a deal with the Seattle SuperSonics to acquire All-Star forward Sharad Lewis in a sign-and-trade deal. Lewis and the Magic What was signed was a six-year super contract worth 6 million.

This contract was definitely a top-notch high-priced contract in 2007. Currently, there are only a few players such as Kobe Bryant, Duncan and Garnett with total contracts in the league exceeding million.

Although Lewis is a very good player and has been selected as an All-Star before, that's all. The peak season of his career was the just-ended 06-07 season, averaging 22.4 points and 6.6 points per game. Backboard.

With such performance alone, he can sign a large contract worth 100 million yuan, which is obviously a premium contract.

But there is no way. The Magic itself lacks enough attraction and competitiveness. If you want to get excellent players, you can only use this method.

The introduction of Lewis was considered a success for the Magic in the early stages, because if things develop normally, the Magic will reach its peak in the 08-09 season. With Howard's one-star and four-shooting system, the Magic successfully defeated the Magic in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics and the Cavaliers led by James, who lost Garnett, were defeated in the finals only because Howard was beaten by three Lakers inside players.

But the longer Lewis's contract of 07 million yuan is, the greater the loss will be, because Lewis was already 28 years old in 33. Under normal circumstances, when this five-year contract is completed, Lewis will be 2000 years old, and his competitive level must have improved. Not a slight decline, and the salary in the last two years will reach more than million.

No matter what, the Magic are at least actively recruiting and have successfully secured an All-Star player.

This made Cleveland next door look greedy.

Although they are both in a small ball market, the Magic have never lacked superstars. Earlier, they had O'Neal and Hardaway, and later they successfully attracted Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady to join them. Although the Magic also failed to achieve success after these stars joined. , but the feeling is completely different.

Now, the Magic has the No. 1 pick Howard, and they have spent huge sums of money to attract All-Star small forward Lewis, and their strength will surely increase in the new season.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers, although they also have the No. 1 pick James, their lineup is hard to describe. Although Ben is also an All-Star player and has been selected to the All-Stars far more times than Lewis, he is essentially just a blue-collar player and his only contribution on the court is Just defense and rebounding.

If the Cavaliers want to succeed, they must also attract a star with outstanding personal abilities.

The best target right now is of course the Seattle SuperSonics, which has made up its mind to rebuild.

The SuperSonics are actually quite unlucky, because the butterfly effect brought by Wang Chong caused them to directly lose Durant, who will be the league's top superstar for more than ten years.

The SuperSonics, who had the fifth pick in the first round, only selected Jeff Green in the end. This bargaining chip that was supposed to be used by the Celtics to trade for Ray Allen went to the SuperSonics in advance, causing the butterfly effect to reappear.

The Celtics, who already have two perimeter players in Pierce and Durant, do not plan to introduce another defender, so the Sonics did not consider selling Ray Allen.

Unexpectedly, this really caused the Cavaliers to make a big mistake.

On July 7, the Cavaliers reached an agreement with the SuperSonics. The Cavaliers sent guard Larry Hughes and center Zarjunas Ilgauskas in a package, plus a first-round draft pick, to acquire the All-Star from the SuperSonics. Guard Ray Allen and power forward Chris Wilcox.

This transaction once again successfully caused shock to the league.

The melon-eating people watching the excitement couldn't help but sigh, what kind of fairy fight is this summer? Why are they all big moves?

Needless to say, Ray Allen is recognized as the league's strongest three-point shooter. He was the Sonics' scoring leader in the 06-07 season, averaging 26 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game, leading all scorers in the league. It’s good enough to rank among the top five defenders.

You must know that the league is still dominated by the four shooting guards. Kobe, Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Carter are all still in their prime. With the addition of a rising star in Wade, Ray Allen can occupy a place among these strong men. The strength can be imagined.

As for power forward Wilcox, he is not an ordinary person. Although his career data performance is slightly lower than that of Big Z, he is different from Big Z who is tall and only suitable for the center position. Wilcox is 2 meters tall and athletic. Outstanding ability, full mobility as a power forward, and often performs explosive dunks.

One thing that makes the Cavaliers very passive this season is the allocation of playing time between the two centers Big Ben and Big Z. Both of them are only suitable for the center position. After taking the position of Big Ben, it is basically destined that the Cavaliers will have no inside offensive means except James. , and on the big Z, the defense inside becomes a problem again.

After switching to Wilcox, although the strength is slightly downgraded, he and Ben can be played together as power forward and center respectively, and the lineup structure will become more reasonable.

Moreover, this transaction is not a replacement transaction between Big Z and Wilcox. Big Z and Larry Hughes are mainly used as bargaining chips to exchange for Ray Allen. Wilcox is just Just an addition to match the cap space.

The joining of Ray Allen has allowed the Cavaliers to put together a rather luxurious lineup, with the three All-Star players James + Ray Allen + Ben, although in terms of guard position compared to the Bulls King Chong + Garnett + Billups is slightly inferior, but it is definitely the best configuration in the Eastern Conference, and it is also the lineup that the Cavaliers tried their best to put together for James.

It is worth mentioning that with this deal, the four recognized kings of the 03 class have good lineups and teammates in their respective teams.

Wang Chong partnered with Garnett, Wade partnered with O'Neal, and Anthony partnered with Iverson. All three were regular season MVPs. Although O'Neal has aged and no longer has the dominance of the past, the skinny camel is bigger than a horse. No one will underestimate the shark in his twilight years, not to mention that O'Neal has teamed up with Wade to win a championship and is ahead of everyone. James' partner, Ray Allen, has the smallest status among these people, but he also has Ben Wallace. Regardless of whether Ben is a blue-collar worker or not, at least he is quite capable in terms of personal honors. He is the four-time NBA champion. The best defensive player, five times in the best team and five times in the best defensive team. In the league in recent years, only O'Neal and Duncan, who has been swinging at power forward and center, are better than him.

If you compare two with one, the difference won't be that big.

At least from the perspective of neutral melon-eating fans, among these four, Wang Chong and the Bulls are definitely T0 in strength. The remaining three and their respective teams can only be ranked due to various problems. in the T1 ranks.

But even T1 is a legitimate playoff team and has a high probability of entering the second round or even the Eastern Conference Finals.

In this case, those who are lagging behind will be even more anxious.

Yes, this refers to the No. 24 in Los Angeles.

Seeing that in just half a month during the offseason, there have been several large-scale transactions in the league, but the Lakers have made no move. It is fake to be in a hurry.

Kobe's choice is to directly force the Lakers to force him and ask the Lakers to make a formal trade request if the Lakers do not immediately carry out trade reinforcements.

In fact, without Wang Chong, a troublemaker who traveled from the future, Kobe would have almost joined the Bulls after the 06-07 season.

At that time, because Kobe was unable to improve his record with the Lakers, he chose to ask the team to trade him.

After trying to persuade the Lakers to no avail, the Lakers management actually asked other teams for prices.

At that time, the Bulls had the best chance of acquiring Kobe.

At that time, Kobe's favorite was the Bulls, but because the Bulls were still unwilling to add Luol Deng to the bargaining chip, the deal ended in vain.

Because Kobe had the right to veto the trade, the Lakers had no way to force Kobe to be traded away at that time.

After Kobe made a fuss, he found that he had no way to join the Bulls. Even if he forced himself to go, half of the Bulls team would be dismantled. By then, the Bulls' record might not be much better than that of the Lakers, so he finally chose to stay with the Lakers.

But the situation is different now. At this time, because of Wang Chong, Kobe is under much greater pressure than in the original 06-07 season. After all, although the original Kobe had no achievements, he still had two The leading scorer is the base, and there is no clear contrast from Wang Chong, the kid from next door.

However, precisely because of Wang Chong, the Lakers have a better bargaining chip than the original 06-07 season.

So after Kobe Bryant forcefully forced him to leave, the Lakers management worked overtime urgently. After some bargaining, they finally reached an agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies to package and trade Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Eddie Curry to the Grizzlies. Get Grizzlies star Pau Gasol.

Although this deal is not as outrageous as the original deal of Pau Gasol to the Lakers, it is still reasonably priced. After all, the Lakers got an All-Star power forward in his prime without paying a first-round pick. .

This is also related to the butterfly effect brought by Wang Chong.

The Grizzlies were extremely lucky to get the best No. 2011 pick, Oden. Although Gasol is a power forward and Oden is a center, there is no conflict between the two, but the Grizzlies obviously want to rebuild the team around Oden. Gasol's big contract that won't expire until seems a bit cumbersome, and his soft style of play has long been disliked by the Grizzlies management.

This wave of transactions allows the Grizzlies to acquire Hinrich and Ben Gordon, young guards in their playing years who can accompany Oden to grow and build the team.

As a result, the Lakers' three-high interior lineup for the next two consecutive championships has been formed in advance. The three big men of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are already very good in this league. His dominance under the basket, especially Pau Gasol's technical characteristics, are simply born for Phil Jackson's triangle tactics. His gentle and passive personality is also the most suitable teammate compatible with the strong personality of Kobe.

The alliance's series of trading operations made even Wang Chong a little dumbfounded.

What the hell is this? Is the butterfly effect so exaggerated?

He felt a little bit like the development of things was out of control.

Kobe acquired Gasol more than half a year in advance, and the tacit understanding will be further improved. James has the most suitable outside shooter for his style of play in Ray Allen. The strength of the Lakers and Cavaliers will be greatly improved in the new season.

But the biggest improvement is undoubtedly the Bulls.

After trading for Garnett, the Bulls' starting lineup was almost split in half.

There is a saying that when the Timberwolves management asked to add Bell, Wang Chong was still a little hesitant, but hesitation would lead to defeat, because he was worried that the Celtics would take advantage of him when he hesitated, so Wang Chong was still very decisive. agreed.

Anyway, Bell is not a crucial part of the Bulls' next system, and it is not difficult to find a replacement. At least his strategic importance is not at the same level as Garnett's.

In fact, it only took two days for Wang Chong to find a suitable candidate to replace Bell.

James Jones, one of James' famous knife-wielding guards in the future, was also an excellent three-point shooter when he was young.

In the 06-07 season, Jones played 76 games as a substitute player for the Suns, averaging 18 minutes per game and contributing 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. After the contract expired, the Suns had no intention of signing a contract with this pure three-point shooter. After all, Jones' 37.8% three-point shooting percentage is not outstanding for a player who can only shoot three-pointers.

In the summer of 07, Jones found a new home, the Portland Trail Blazers, and averaged 07% three-point shooting in the 08-44.4 season, second in the league that season, second only to three-point shooting. Nash with a rate of 47%.

This performance allowed him to successfully obtain a long-term contract from the Heat.

At this stage, Jones has not signed with the Heat, so Wang Chong can make the first move.

When Jones faced the Bulls' one-year contract offer of 1 million yuan plus the promise of a starting position, he agreed without much hesitation.

Although he can command a higher price from other teams based on his ability, the promise of being a starter is absolutely impossible.

Although he didn't understand why the Bulls, a team in last season's finals, actually let him start as a bench substitute.

Jones' defense is definitely not comparable to Bell's, and he is not even qualified to lift the opponent's shoes, but in terms of three-point shooting ability, he is even slightly better.

For the Bulls, who have Garnett and are fully equipped in terms of assistance and defense, the need for top perimeter defenders is actually not that great.

Garnett and Tyson Chandler are defensive players with completely different styles. The former has mobility that is not inferior to outside players, and the defensive radius is exaggerated. The original Celtics defensive system in the 07-08 season was basically It was supported by Garnett's own efforts.

The most important thing is that a fixed-point three-point shooter with an annual salary of 200 million is already worth the money in Wang Chong's opinion. What else does he need a bicycle?

(End of this chapter)