Legendary star

Chapter 748
On October 2007, 10, the NBA arranged a total of three games, namely the Suns against the Lakers, the Pacers against the Celtics, and the Spurs against the Cavaliers, as the opening game of the new season.

Due to the big moves of the Celtics, Suns and Lakers this summer, these three teams have received a lot of attention in the new season, especially Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul- The Celtics, which Pierce formed the Big Three, have been placed high hopes by many media. In USA Today's list of fans' support for the championship, the Celtics ranked 18th in the league with an 30% support rate. The second place in the team, as for the first place, is the defending champion Pacers, although the Pacers' 26% approval rate is enough to crush the Celtics, but compared with last season, support the Pacers to win the championship The number of fans has been greatly reduced.

The support rate of 26% means that more than a quarter of NBA fans support the Pacers to win the championship. However, after the opening game of the new season, the number of fans who support the Pacers to win the championship has fallen off a cliff.

In the opening game against the Celtics, the Pacers' second-in-command, All-Star power forward Jermaine O'Neal collided with Celtics center Kendrick Perkins while fighting for rebounds. He was carried off the court on the spot. According to the team doctor's report after the game, the Pacers club officially announced that Jermaine O'Neal will miss all the remaining games of the season due to a knee injury. It is undoubtedly a very huge blow, and Jermaine O'Neal's season reimbursement also means that in the remaining games of this season, Meng Xu will carry the team forward alone.

As the saying goes, blessings never come singly, and misfortunes never come singly. Just one week after Jermaine O'Neal was reimbursed for the season, the Pacers' starting center NN Hilario was found to have a testicular tumor during a team physical examination and required tumor resection surgery. , the most optimistic estimate, NN-Hilario will also miss 50-60 games. The two insiders were reimbursed one after another.

After five championships in six years, the Pacers seem to be under a spell. After Jermaine O'Neal and NN Hilario, the Pacers' starting point guard Tony Allen also started the new season for half a month After that, he missed due to injury.

Only half a month after the start of the new season, the Pacers have lost three main players. Under such circumstances, the outside world is naturally full of negative voices for the Pacers, and some media even pretend to publish some sympathy in the newspapers. The Pacers’ article was disgusting to the Pacers who had already fallen into the quagmire of injuries. As for the New York Times, it even published an article, saying that this was God’s punishment for the arrogant Meng Xu. Today's newspaper.

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"Larry, Rick, our inside line needs to be strengthened. The return date of Jermaine and NN is undecided. Darko, Jeff and DiBacon will not last until the end of the season." Tony A After Lun was absent due to injury, Meng Xu replaced Tony Allen and took the No. 1 position again. After Meng Xu changed to the No. 1 position, James Posey was transferred to the starting lineup. Continuous injuries, As a result, the Pacers' internal rotation was not open, and the always strong bench lineup also lacked stable scoring points. Therefore, in a team meeting organized by Larry Bird and Rick Carlisle, Meng Xu asked Larry -Bird made a request to strengthen the inside line.

"Yeah, Larry, DieBacon can only play about 15 minutes now, Darko and Jeff have too much playing time." After Meng Xu spoke first, Rick Carlisle also expressed his feelings Attitude, the new season has played more than a dozen games, but due to the absence of many main players, the Pacers' current record is only 7 wins and 5 losses, and they are currently only ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. For the Pacers, it is undoubtedly very unqualified, and as the head coach, Rick Carlisle is now under a lot of pressure.

"I have been looking for a substitute insider, and I have locked a few targets, but now most of the teams in the league are unwilling to trade with us, and the asking price for the teams that are willing to trade with us is too high, so the ball It will take some time for the team to strengthen the inside, of course, I promise you that I will definitely bring you a good inside player within a month."

As the helm of the Pacers, Larry Bird is actually not prepared for the series of injuries the Pacers have suffered this season. The Pacers themselves have a very strong inside line. It didn't matter, but now two were injured at once, which made the originally very deep inside line become stretched in an instant, but the regular season has started now, and there is no way to find free agents from the free market.

"Larry, I think we can start with the Grizzlies. Kwame Brown's contract has the last year left, and the Grizzlies have no intention of renewing his contract, so we can try to trade with the Grizzlies and get him over. , but his salary this season is nearly 1000 million, which is a little higher.” Meng Xu can also think about Larry Bird’s dilemma now, so after thinking about it, Meng Xu recommended a good one to Larry Bird. Candidates, Kwame Brown's talent is nothing to say, but it has not been played out, from the top high school student hand-picked by Jordan to the top parallel importer.

"Larry, Meng's suggestion is good. As for his salary, our total salary this season has just exceeded the salary cap. Even if we sign him, we won't be able to pay much luxury tax. If his performance does not reach the expected level, we can cut him." Get rid of him, or give him up after the end of the season.” After Meng Xu proposed Kwame Brown, Rick Carlisle thought about it, and felt that Meng Xu’s proposal was good. The Grizzlies have now started to rebuild. -Brown's salary of more than 900 million US dollars is also a heavy burden for them. If the Pacers choose to trade with them, it is tantamount to lifting a burden for the Grizzlies.

"I'll think about your proposal again. I'm afraid Herbert won't easily agree to pay the luxury tax for such a player." Benefiting from the new broadcast contract signed during the offseason, the NBA's salary cap this season directly It has soared to 7200 million US dollars. The Pacers, who have been paying the luxury tax for the past few seasons, suddenly discovered this season that our total salary has dropped below the luxury tax. They can pay a luxury tax of 2000 million U.S. dollars per season, but they probably have objections to paying the luxury tax for a parallel import champion.

"Larry, you also said that other players are unwilling to trade with us, so Kwame Brown may be our only chance, and we don't need to pay any price to trade Kwame Brown. A second-round pick Adding a few million special cases is enough." Meng Xu saw Larry Brown's hesitation and worry, so Meng Xu began to persuade him, the Grizzlies now hope that someone will take Kwame Brown's offer , so the asking price of the Grizzlies is definitely not high. As for the luxury tax, according to the current total salary of the Pacers, even if Kwame Brown is traded, he will not be able to pay much luxury tax.

"Okay, I'm going to contact the management of the Grizzlies." After Meng Xu finished speaking, Larry Bird thought about it for nearly a minute before nodding and agreeing to Meng Xu's proposal. -Bird took out his cell phone and dialed the number of Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace.

On the other end of the phone, Chris Wallace was obviously surprised that Larry Bird contacted him, and when Chris Wallace heard that Larry Bird was interested in Kwame Brown, Chris - Wallace's excited tone can be heard on the other end of the phone.

Finally, after a while of pleasantries, Larry Bird and Chris Wallace reached an agreement on the details of the deal Kwame Brown on the phone. The Pacers only need to pay this season's second-round pick and $300 million. As a special case, Kwame Brown can be obtained from the Grizzlies. Finally, Chris Wallace, who was a little afraid that Larry Bird would regret it, urged Larry Bird to send him the transaction fax as soon as possible. Then he reports to the league for approval.

(End of this chapter)