NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 286 The alliance is suspended and Wang Chong’s honeymoon trip
When Jimmy Butler walked onto the stage, his mind was still dizzy, and he felt like he was in a dream.

The Chicago Bulls actually drafted themselves? How can this be? Is this reasonable?
Putting aside the various reasons why Butler is not optimistic about Butler's prospects by league scouts, the Bulls have Wang Chong, who is recognized as the best small forward player in history. Why choose him as a small forward player? Become a substitute for Wang Chong? Does Wang Chong need him as a substitute?

At least in recent years, Wang Chong has almost maintained full attendance, and his average playing time per game is very stable, basically maintaining more than 38 minutes.

A 46-minute game, Wang Chong played 38 minutes as a small forward, leaving only about 8 minutes for the substitute small forward. If you can just find a swingman to take over, do you need to waste a first-round pick?
Moreover, the Bulls had never tried out Butler before the draft, so why did they suddenly decide to select him?

The confused Butler looked confused. After walking onto the stage, he shook hands with Stern. When he looked at the camera with a stiff smile, Butler still couldn't come to his senses. He didn't even know that he was When he came down from the stands, his manager took the initiative to greet him with a look of excitement on his face.

"Jimmy! We are developed! The Bulls management just called me. They told me that Wang Chong valued your potential, so he chose you, and the Bulls will train you as the main force of the team! Looking forward to it You become Wang Chong’s right-hand man!”

Butler opened his mouth wide. In just a few minutes, all kinds of unreasonable things seemed like a dream.

Are you really that lucky? How could he be favored by Wang Chong?
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The Bulls used the 30th overall pick in the first round to select Jimmy Butler, which also attracted the attention of various teams in the league. Although it is generally believed that Butler is not a player worth mentioning, both in terms of potential and development prospects. It's not ideal, and the Bulls still have the number one small forward in history, Wang Chong, and there's basically no chance of getting ahead.

But the Bulls' performance in the draft in the past two years has been so dazzling that people have to guard against it.

Starting with second-round pick Monta Ellis, the Bulls have had a smooth draft every year and have always been able to pick players with good abilities.

But in line with the principle of not wasting, Wang Chong chose to use this first-round pick to select Isaiah Thomas, who was supposed to be the 30th pick in the second round, the last pick in the draft.

But the Bulls did such a good job of keeping things secret that they didn't even invite Butler during the trial. Who would have thought that they would play like this?

The Bulls made two attempts in the draft to select these two players respectively, which left many experts completely confused. What was the purpose of the Bulls' draft? What they are most in need of right now is small forwards and point guards. Why do they still need to choose?

Therefore, when the Bulls selected Butler, everyone could not help but wonder whether this was another high-quality player who could be selected as an All-Star in the future. Teams whose draft picks were close to the Bulls also had some regrets, and the pick fell to second place. Outside of the ten picks, there is basically no big difference in strength between the first-round picks and the second-round picks. These teams are also pinching their noses and selecting bigger players from the short ones. If they had known that the Bulls would like Jimmy Butler, , they will definitely cut off Hu in advance without hesitation.

This kind of operation can only be done by time travelers like Wang Chong who have the ability to foresee things.

Now that they already have Curry, the Bulls don't actually need Thomas. One defensive black hole is enough. Wouldn't one more one make the team's entire defensive system collapse?
But after all, the Bulls have a second-round pick, so they can't just let it go, right? The only valuable player in the second round is Thomas. In Wang Chong's opinion, there is no problem with this choice, and it can be considered a rainy day.

Because what the league is about to usher in on July 7st is not the opening of the free market. Many players whose contracts have expired have entered the free market, seeking big contracts to make big money.

By successfully winning Butler in the first round, the ultimate goal of this draft has been achieved. The Bulls still have a second-round pick, which is closer to the middle and lower reaches. This position cannot reach the two better second-round picks in 2011. Players, Bojan Bogdanovic, the first pick in the second round, and Chandler Parsons, the eighth pick in the second round.

But if we measure it by a superstar, a main player of a championship-winning team, Thomas must be unqualified.

The most important thing is that as the lifeline on which his career depends, once his speed and explosiveness are compromised after suffering an injury, his lethality will decline sharply.

The draft has ended successfully, but the players in the league are feeling uneasy.

Thomas, nicknamed the Strongest 175 on Earth, has undoubted strength. He has a strong ability to fight immediately. In his first season in the league, he averaged 11.5 points and 4 assists per game and was selected for the All-Rookie Second Team.

All in all, the success story of Isaiah Thomas will definitely become a good story in the league, inspiring all basketball fans of average height and telling them that even small people can dominate the league.

At 1 meters, this height is too short in the NBA, which makes him an even more exaggerated defensive black hole than Curry. The Celtics must use the entire team's defensive system to make up for his vacancies on the defensive end.

Gasol, Curry, Millsap...each of these players makes other teams covetous.

And in the playoffs, facing ultra-high-intensity high-pressure confrontation, Thomas' efficiency value is far lower than that in the regular season, and he is simply unable to win the game with his personal ability.

The 11-12 season is a troubled season. If the Bulls are really like the original 11-12 season, the two main guards, Curry and Billups, both fell down due to injuries, and Thomas Jr. At least he can come up and provide some support, which is better than having to rush to find a point guard in the free market when the time comes.
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Jimmy Butler, Isaiah Thomas.

However, considering that the picks of these two players are not high, it is estimated that the Bulls do not have any special expectations for them, and may simply be to fill the bench lineup after being selected.

In the third season of his career, Isaiah Thomas became the core of the Kings' perimeter offense, averaging 20.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.

It's a pity that although Thomas is very strong, his height will always be a fatal flaw that limits his upper limit.

Thomas's peak period was undoubtedly with the Boston Celtics. In his short two seasons with the Celtics, Thomas performed in a performance that put defenders across the league to shame, especially in the 16-17 season. He averaged 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game during the regular season, ranking third in the league in scoring, and led the Celtics to the first record in the Eastern Conference.

On July 2011, 7, the NBA's old labor agreement officially expired, and the new labor agreement has been unable to reach an agreement in several previous negotiations. Representatives of the players union will conduct final negotiations on the labor agreement with representatives of the employer. If the negotiations Still unable to reach an agreement, the NBA will officially enter a lockout period, and no one knows when the season will resume.

This is not the first time this has happened. There have been four lockouts in NBA history. The most recent one was in 1998. It was also because the collective bargaining agreement could not be unified. The league was suspended for nearly half a year, which directly led to the 1998-99 Each team only plays 50 games during the season.

This time the league's suspension has become even more violent, so much so that many rumors are circulating that the NBA is likely to be disbanded directly, and all the league's more than 400 professional athletes will be unemployed without a ball to play.

Time soon came to July 7. After three hours of negotiations, the labor and management parties were still unable to reach a unified opinion. The negotiations finally broke down and the league officially entered a lockout period.

During the shutdown, teams are prohibited from contact with players, and players are not allowed to use the team's various arena facilities. The tense and dignified atmosphere made many players feel uneasy and worried about losing their jobs due to the lockout.

At the same time, overseas basketball leagues are getting ready to start. The European League, the Turkish League and even the Chinese CBA have all mobilized to attract NBA stars to play in their own leagues, even if they only play for half a season or even a few games. Being able to promote their respective leagues to a great extent was something that was completely impossible before the NBA was suspended.

As the most well-known top superstar in the league, Wang Chong, coupled with his identity as a Chinese, soon received invitations from many CBA teams. Many teams were even willing to pay sky-high appearance fees, just for Wang Chong to play during the NBA lockout. Play for them and they'll release him as soon as the lockout ends.

But Wang Chong was not interested in this.

He is basically a max-level player now. He can even bully the ultimate BOSS at will. It is really pointless to return to the novice area to bully others. Moreover, the salary that the CBA team can offer is not enough for Wang Chong, who is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, it's not that much.

More importantly, Wang Chong regarded the league suspension as an opportunity to take a long vacation early on.

从7月1日开始停摆到11月26日停摆结束，足足5个月的停摆时间，绝对是一次漫长的假期。

This is a rare opportunity, and Wang Chong is planning to use this long holiday to officially complete his wedding to Jessica.

It has been almost a year since we proposed last summer, and it’s time to officially get married.

Starting from this year, Jessica's film appointments have gradually become less and less. It's not that she has become outdated, but Wang Chong's suggestion. Since she won the role of Marvel's Black Widow, there has been no problem in terms of exposure. , Jessica will always be the hottest top star in Hollywood as long as she plays the role of Black Widow well in the next ten years.

Because of this, Jessica is not so busy anymore.

From the second half of 2010 to 2011, the only thing Jessica was busy with was the filming of Avengers: Endgame. The crew will wrap up filming in August. The rest is the production of computer CD special effects, and then wait for the release in mid-8 to bring the world A little Marvel superhero shock.

In other words, Jessica can rest in early August. After the wedding, the two can also go on a post-wedding honeymoon trip, which is simply wonderful.

But unlike Wang Chong, who knew the development of the plot, other players in the league were living in dire straits.

Players who have been completely cut off from their teams due to the lockout mainly have three options.

Some of them are going overseas to play. The European League, Turkish League and CBA have NBA players flowing in. Most of the contracts signed by these players with overseas teams are of the type that will end their contracts as soon as the NBA lockout ends and return to the league, just to play in the league. During the lockout, I have a job, I can make money, I can play ball, and I can maintain my competitive status.

Some players choose to hold some private events themselves and invite some players to participate.

The last group of players, those who are relatively stable like Wang Chong, have neither considered playing overseas nor participating in some private wildball events. They completely disappeared during the lockout. These players are obviously optimistic about the end of the league lockout.

In any case, July 2011, without the opening of the free market, without player renewals and signings, was definitely the quietest and most undercurrent year in the league in recent years.

Without all kinds of news, time flies so fast that most fans quickly forget about the NBA. Most fans are just keen to watch and discuss the game. Without the topic, they will naturally forget about the league's various issues. matter.

Time came to September before we knew it, and a blockbuster news detonated the entertainment and sports circles across the United States.

Well-known celebrity couple, basketball superstar Wang Chong and American sweetheart Jessica Alba completed their wedding in Florida.

Although both of them are top figures in their respective industries and are extremely well-known, their wedding was held in a low-key manner. Both parties only invited their relatives and friends in the industry to attend.

After the wedding, the two publicly announced their marriage on social media and attached wedding photos.

Wearing a gorgeous white wedding dress, Jessica was as beautiful as an angel descending from her. It made countless male compatriots envious and jealous of marrying such a beautiful Wang Chong.

The post-marriage honeymoon trip of Wang Chong and Jessica has already begun.

The first stop for the two of them was China.

Although he had already held a wedding in the United States, Wang Chong still had to hold a Chinese-style wedding when he returned to China. As an authentic Chinese, Wang Chong must register his marriage information in China, and he can see the limited version of Chinese wedding Jessica It's definitely worth the money.

Whether it's cheongsam, Hanfu, or traditional Xiuhe suit, wearing it on Jessica is definitely a very eye-catching thing.

However, Wang Chong and Jessica did not stay in China for too long. This honeymoon trip for newlyweds, while both of them had time, naturally left their footprints in the most beautiful places in the world.

Maldives, Bali, Europe... From September to November, for three months, Wang Chong and Jessica traveled to the most romantic places in the world together. Their honeymoon schedule was full until the end of November. Just returned to Los Angeles.

At this time, although the league's collective bargaining agreement negotiations have still failed to reach an agreement, the players' union, which represents the labor side, has obviously become impatient.

(End of this chapter)