NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 238: Tearful Farewell, Newcomers Join the Team

Nike's decision to sign Lin Chuan with a big budget this time was also a gamble.

After all, inside basketball shoes have never been easy to sell.

"Lin Chuan, whether the new season can be profitable or not depends on you..."

In the office, a voice sounded expectant.

A few days later, at the draft, the Thunder did not select Adams, whom they had long favored, in the first round, but instead chose Antetokounmpo, who many people considered a lottery pick.

And through a trade, they got the 27th pick and signed Rudy Gobert.

Time flies and it is June 6th.

Tomorrow is the first day of trading.

At this time, he was at Westbrook's home.

Also still here is Kevin Durant.

Westbrook held a barbecue party at his villa today, and all his teammates who were still in Oklahoma were invited.

But it was already past 11 o'clock in the evening and most people had left.

But Westbrook specifically kept both of them.

The three brothers sat in the living room, not saying a word.

After a long time, Westbrook finally spoke up to break the silence.

"I guess Presti has also told you that I'm going to be traded."

After he finished speaking, he stared at the two people sitting opposite him.

Lin Chuan and Durant looked at each other and nodded.

Seeing that the two were fairly frank, Westbrook sat back on the sofa.

"Oh, I didn't expect that I would be abandoned by the team so early."

He looked at the hideous scar on his right knee and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"During this time, I have been doing rehabilitation training at home and in the training hall, thinking that if I can recover sooner, maybe I can break the doctor's previous statement that I will be reimbursed for the season, come back during the finals, help the team, and help you play more easily."

He stood up and moved around a few times, as if to show the two of them how well he was doing.

"Actually, I almost did it. If you guys didn't sweep your opponent, I might still be able to play in the fifth or sixth game and at least make some contribution to the team's championship."

"In fact, you have made a lot of contributions. You played in all the regular season games. I didn't play in the first round of the playoffs. It was you and Lin Chuan who led the team to sweep the Rockets."

Durant quickly spoke up and interrupted Westbrook.

Westbrook was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
"Kevin, I only played two games. Lin Chuan led the team alone in the last two games. You remembered it wrong."

Durant wiped the sweat from his forehead somewhat awkwardly, and said that he made a mistake, but he also made contributions in the two games he played.

"Yes, 0:2 was a lot of pressure for them, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy for me to beat them in the next two games."

Lin Chuan also said.

"Haha, maybe."

Westbrook looked at Lin Chuan and suddenly fell into silence for a moment, then said,

"Lin, no one expected your sudden appearance."

"In fact, even Kevin and I never thought that you would fight like this."

Durant nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, in the training matches before this, Lin Chuan has always shown the level of an ordinary center, and it is even difficult for him to play as a substitute."

"Yeah, but I don't know if he got it or what, but he just suddenly became a star and soared to the top. Now he is a top star in the league."

Westbrook said this and looked at Lin Chuan, who made him scratch his head in embarrassment.

"Moreover, you have shown a wide variety of skills during this period of time. Not only are you a center with the offensive and defensive skills, but you are also very skilled in many outside shooting techniques, even to the point of perfection, including playmaking."

"People only think you are like Sabonis, but in fact, only after playing with you on the court will you know that you are not only good at passing the ball, but also can organize the offense in the interior. Your organizational ability may be almost the same as Paul, who has the best passing ability in the league today. Moreover, given your vision, you may be even better in organization."

"you flatter me."

Seeing Westbrook's words becoming more and more exaggerated, Lin Chuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

This is such a compliment that one can only say that he is the greatest person in history.

Westbrook smiled, suddenly walked up to Lin Chuan, bent down and stared at him.
"After I was injured, you also demonstrated your ability to lead the team on your own, as well as your compatibility with Kevin."

"To be honest, it would be more suitable for you two to appear together than for me to be there."

"Hey, don't say that! You have a strong impact! You can help us open up the situation at the critical moment! Don't listen to the nonsense of those netizens who don't understand football!"

When Durant heard Westbrook say this, he immediately became anxious and retorted.

"Okay, Kevin, don't rush to refute me. Although I was unable to play with you in these games, nor was I able to sit on the sidelines to support you, I was in the ward and watched every game live."

Westbrook smiled and sat back on the sofa, and continued,
"I watched every subsequent game, and you played very smoothly. Everyone had a clear division of labor, and I couldn't find any flaws."

"But the game against the Spurs was so difficult because of you. We almost lost the game in the seventh game. If you were there, we could have easily beaten them. There would be no need to play so hard. Why don't you say something, Lin Chuan? Isn't that right?"

Hearing Durant say this, Lin Chuan also said,
"That's right. We almost lost against the Spurs because of your absence. We almost lost in the Western Conference."

"Nonono, that's not the case."

Westbrook shook his head.
"The fundamental reason why it's so difficult to play against the Spurs is that they have too many tricks, and even caused Lin Chuan to miss a few games due to injury. If they played fair, we would have won at most 4:1."

The two wanted to talk, but Westbrook waved his hand to stop them.

"Okay, stop saying those words of regret and reluctance to part with me. There's no need for that!"

"Speaking of which, I get carried away easily, my shooting is unstable, and I like to attack the basket and squeeze the space inside. I am aware of these shortcomings. Because of these reasons, you two and I are not that compatible. The 74 wins in the regular season seem to be a result of good cooperation, but it is just based on personal ability. So after seeing you win the trophy, in addition to congratulations, I also thought that I might leave the team."

"Although I was a little surprised to be traded this offseason, and maybe it was a little early, I can understand why the manager did this for the sake of the team's strength and the establishment of a dynasty. So, don't feel sorry or sad anymore. We are all adults, and I have already prepared myself mentally."

Westbrook's words surprised Lin Chuan.

He didn't expect the other party to say that.

"I've learned about the players in the trade. To be honest, they are really suitable for you two. They are all top three-point shooters. Now, the Thunder team can have enough space, and you can display your offensive talents freely."

At this time, Westbrook looked at his phone.

"It's 12 o'clock, brothers, the trading day has begun."

Immediately afterwards, pieces of news were pushed out.

Well-known reporter Woj also quickly announced the transaction information on Twitter.

"The Thunder sent Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin to the Warriors in exchange for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green."

As soon as this news was released, it caused heated discussion on Twitter.

By the time Lin Chuan opened his phone, there were already more than a thousand comments.

Westbrook was somewhat relieved to see the trade revealed by reporters.

"The next time we meet on the court, we will be rivals."

Durant and Lin Chuan remained silent, not knowing what to say to the brother who was traded away.

"Alright, get out of here! Enemies on the field, don't stay in my house anymore! I'll beat you up in the new season!"

Westbrook stood up and sent the two out jokingly. Team trading is a business issue, and he didn't want the two brothers to feel guilty about it.

After sending the two brothers out the door, Westbrook turned around, took a deep breath, and his eyes turned red.

How could he not care at all?

Since being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the draft, he has been giving his all and playing as full a role as possible every season.

Over the past few years, he has grown from a young boy into a top player in the league and one of the top three point guards.

This season, he even got injured while fighting for the team.

But when the team needed an upgrade, they traded him without mercy.

He knew it was to make the team's lineup more reasonable and to ensure a three-peat.

He also knew that this was because his playing style did not match that of the other two.

He doesn't blame his brother.

He is even more grateful to the fans.

But he felt sad for this cold-blooded team.

Next season, he will be reborn from the ashes and make a comeback with his recovered self and his own Warriors team!

Maybe I can't lead the team to win the championship.

But he will definitely give his best performance every time he faces the Thunder and prove with his strength that it was a wrong decision for the Thunder to trade him!

The next day.

7 month 1 day.

Lin Chuan came to the gym to practice and saw that Durant had already arrived here.

As expected, both of them had dark circles under their eyes.

It looked like he had been up all night.

Westbrook was traded, and the two of them had already known the news.

But when the team officially announced the news, they were still so excited that they couldn't sleep.

The news quickly caused an uproar on the Internet.

No one would have thought that the Thunder, who had just successfully defended their title, would once again trade their championship hero to the Warriors during the offseason.

Just like they traded the team's best sixth man Harden last year, this time they traded All-Star point guard Westbrook.

Many people have questioned Presti's vision.

Well known.

After Harden was traded to the Rockets to become a leader last season, his performance this season can be said to be excellent.

Not only did he bring the Rockets into the playoffs again after three years.

He also played 25+5+5, a top guard statistic, and was selected into the best team.

Many people still think that Presti traded away a shooting guard with MVP potential in order to save a little salary.

This time, he once again traded the visibly strong Westbrook for a fledgling point guard, Stephen Curry.

Although they reached the Western Conference semifinals this year, they even played seven games and narrowly lost to their opponents.

But there are still many people who are not optimistic about Curry.

The reason was that he withdrew from the game due to an ankle injury in the last game.

This is the seventh ankle injury in his career.

And he is only in his fourth year of playing.

It can be said that he is injured twice every season due to this injury.

This also made many people worried, thinking that Presti was too old and had lost his eyesight, trading away a tough guy for a glass man.

Most people are more optimistic about Thompson and believe that he will play a greater role.

After all, his attendance rate has been very high up to now and he has not suffered any serious injuries.

But even so, many people still think that the Thunder lost money in this deal.

A top point guard in exchange for a glass man and an off-ball three-point shooter.

I don’t know what the Warriors had done to Presti that made him make such a deal.

Many die-hard Thunder fans expressed their sadness online, and some even posted messages asking the Thunder to cancel the deal.

What they want is a guard with high attendance and fighting spirit, not someone who can only play in half of the games in a season and spend the rest of the time sitting on the sidelines in a suit like a Hollywood star who comes to the catwalk to watch a show.

Many fans gave Presti a new nickname.

God of draft picks, devil of trades.

The draft has produced three top players for three consecutive years.

The transaction was a mess.

If Lin Chuan hadn't stepped up, they might not have won a single championship.

Many people believe that Presti's trade was again a request for salary space.

Because at the same time, the Thunder also announced that Lin Chuan signed a four-year maximum salary contract.

The Thunder's space suddenly exploded.

After Westbrook was traded away, the three players acquired in exchange are all in the rookie contract period.

As a result, the Thunder's salary successfully dropped below the luxury tax line again.

"Presti once again helped the team save money, knowing full well that this trade would make them regret it in the future."

“Stupid management!”

This is what fans said on the Internet.

As for Green, no one even cares about him.

A power forward who is less than two meters tall, most people think he is just a bonus.

Many people within the Thunder also agree with the above remarks.

Ibaka even went to question his manager, but he just returned to the gym with an angry look on his face and continued training.

Durant thinks so too.

Although he had seen the terrifying explosive power of Curry and Thompson when they were in good three-point shooting form during the match against the Warriors, he was still worried about injuries.

In response to Durant's concerns, Lin Chuan simply comforted him that everything would not be as he imagined.

"Curry won't get injured again. Don't worry, he will grow into a guard with a high attendance rate."

Although Durant felt strange, he knew that Lin Chuan had never lied to him, so he no longer doubted it.

(End of this chapter)