Chapter 583 Persistent Hatred
As soon as the All-Star Weekend ended, the NBA entered a fast pace.
The first trade deadline is the last opportunity for major teams to strengthen before the playoffs, but strangely, not many teams are willing to make large-scale adjustments for the playoffs this year.
Since Dwight Howard requested a trade, Howard has taken turns with 29 other teams in the league.
The result? Other teams cannot provide enough gifts to satisfy the Nets when it comes to "marrying" Howard home.
Just when the drama had stalled, Howard announced that he would stay with the team, at least through the season.
When reporters asked him if he would stay in New Jersey, Howard's answer was yes: "Of course, I am a loyal player."
No matter how worried the Nets are that Howard will leave after the season, the only thing they can do now is to believe in each other's loyalty and let the Big Three maintain a semblance of unity and enter the playoffs to fight again.
Howard worked hard for several months to get this result, which made the media people who were waiting to share the traffic very angry.
They called the Nets "cowards." How dare they believe in the loyalty of players who have scandals with 29 other teams?
Furthermore, if you don’t trade, where will the traffic come from? Without traffic, how can the media attract outside attention?
The media was sickened by how things turned out, but that's what happened.
Howard will not leave for the time being, so the most attractive players on the trade market are the Bucks' fourth-year player Evan Turner and the Warriors' Tyreke Evans.
The former was the fifth overall pick in 2010, and was selected by the Bucks as a safety card in the draft that year.
The disadvantage of the safety card is that it is too safe and does not give people surprises, but Turner's situation is worse. Not only does he have no surprises, but he also brings a lot of shocks.
As a defender, his defense is poor, his three-point shooting ability is poor, and his first step is extremely slow, which makes his ability to hold the ball very embarrassing.
Attacking with the ball is the pearl of a personal offensive system, and it is the most difficult part to practice. However, if you have the ball without explosive power and shooting threats, it will also be difficult to function.
Turner is a piece of shit-flavored ice cream. It looks nice, but only he knows how stinky it is when used. However, he is still young enough. Although his shortcomings are obvious, if they want to keep him, the Bucks need to provide him with one. A salary of US$44 million in four years is unaffordable for them who already have three maximum salaries in hand.
The Warriors are in the same situation as the Bucks.
In other words, Evans' current situation is what is most likely to happen after the Bucks renew Turner.
As a rookie in the 2009 class, Evans averaged 20+5+5 as soon as he entered the league and was regarded by the Warriors as the core of the future. The Warriors even offered him a max-salary contract extension that season after the lockout ended. However, the decline in Evans' performance has caught up with the increase in salary. Coupled with the rise of new stars such as Leonard, Lillard and Thompson, Evans' status has become embarrassing.
He's not without quality, but he's no longer worthy of his high salary compared to the rest of the team.
The Warriors hope to use Evans to strengthen the inside line. To this end, they asked Gasol Jr. of the Lakers and Gasol Gasol of the Spurs, but they were both persuaded to leave.
Suddenly one day, Warriors general manager Bob Myers called the Clippers and asked "if Blake Griffin can be traded."
This is because Arn Tellem said at the beginning of the season that only Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo are "untouchable" players on the Clippers team.
Traim's response was as Miles expected: "Griffin is also untouchable, but I won't hang up."
Negotiations between the two parties began.
Myers proposed trading Evans for Griffin.
Trem smiled and said: "From the data point of view, Blake is the number one power forward in active service. And Tyreke Evans's functions overlap with Frye's. Why should I give up the number one power forward in active service and go to For a player with overlapping functions and premium price? ”
Of course, Myers didn't expect the one-for-one exchange to be successful, so he began to slowly test it out by adding additional draft picks.
Start by adding a first-round pick.
Then came two first-round picks, three first-round picks, and even proposed three first-round picks plus a first-round pick swap, plus a second-round pick.
Treme knew in his heart that if Miles was negotiating with a rebuilding team, this deal might actually succeed.
But the problem is that the first-round picks provided by the Warriors are from 2015, 2016 and 2019 respectively, and the first-round pick swap is for 2020.
GOAT has hinted many times that he may retire around the age of 35. What is the significance of the Clippers trading Griffin in exchange for a first-round pick that will not be cashed out until 2016 at the earliest?
"Do you think you're negotiating a trade with Sam Hinkie?" Traim asked bluntly, "We don't need so many draft picks."
Miles asked: "Are there any other possibilities?"
"If we add Damian Lillard, we're done."
The lion of Trilem opened his mouth.
"This is impossible!" Miles flatly refused.
"What about Kawhi Leonard?"
"Even more impossible!"
"Then it would have to be Klay Thompson," Traim said. "There's no way we're going to trade Blake without any immediate return."
Thompson's position with the Warriors is delicate.
In terms of strength, he probably ranks fourth in the starting lineup, behind Lillard, Leonard and Joe Johnson, and on par with David Lee. But his 3D potential was highly praised by Warriors consultant Jerry West.
However, in order to allow these players to enter the starting lineup, the Warriors have to let Leonard play the fourth position for a long time. Leonard is obviously more suitable to play the third position. Because Thompson and Johnson's positions overlap, the team can only make adjustments.
If the Warriors bring in a star big man, Thompson will inevitably have to come off the bench.
Therefore, this trade is not out of the question for Miles.
"We need to discuss it internally..." Miles hung up the phone.
Trem immediately called Yu Fei and reported the progress of the transaction.
Yu Fei has always been open to trading Griffin.
Because Antetokounmpo will develop inside sooner or later in the future, the best position for him is the fourth position, and the fifth position is paired with a traditional center who can protect the basket and shoot three-pointers, such as Lopez . Griffin, while good now, is not a good fit for the Greek Freak in the long run.
Yu Fei doesn't mind trading Griffin if he can get equivalent returns.
Unexpectedly, the warrior made a big splash as soon as he opened his mouth.
Klay Thompson? If this deal goes through, Yu Fei can imagine how fierce the team's outside firepower will be.
Currently, Thompson is averaging 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game for the Warriors. His three field goal percentages are 42+40+82. As an outside shooter, he is already a marksman. What is valuable is that he defends well and can be regarded as the best 3D player at the moment. one.
But no matter what, it's just 3D. If they can get the league's No. 1 power forward, most teams will trade him without hesitation.
Miles held a management meeting to discuss the deal, and most people at the meeting were in favor of the deal.
Acquiring Griffin would allow the Warriors to immediately open a championship window.
Only the "LOGO man" firmly opposed it.
At the meeting, West quarreled with the crowd and refused to give in. In the end, he even threatened to resign.
In terms of position alone, West is just a consultant with no internal administrative power at all, but as a respected and legendary figure, he has even greater say in meetings than Miles.
He had such an attitude that he would not hesitate to resign to block the transaction, so the Warriors had no choice but to stop the transaction.
Finally, Myers and his colleagues reached a consensus and put the deal on hold.
After he made a decision within the team, he sent a text message to Tram to express the Warriors' position - they decided to try the playoffs again with the current lineup. If they do not achieve satisfactory results after the end of the season, they will quickly If the ship still wants to trade Griffin, the two sides can negotiate again.
Trem forwarded the text message to Yu Fei.
This result is not surprising. In Yu Fei's impression, West has indeed done similar things.
But the situation of the Warriors in this world is completely different from that in the previous life.
Lillard is not Curry, and there is no Splash Brothers bond between him and Thompson. In addition, with a reserve core like Leonard, the Warriors will never think about problems in a way that focuses on the unsolvable problems on the outside like the main timeline. Firepower.
Therefore, when they suffer big losses on the inside, they may come back to trade again.
Yu Fei was not in a hurry.
As long as he's not in a hurry, the Clippers' management won't be in a hurry.
The 2014 trade deadline is destined to be the most boring trade deadline in history.
Howard didn't leave, Evans didn't leave.
But Evan Turner is gone.
The Bucks sent Turner to Denver in exchange for Zimmer Fredette and three second-round picks.
It's an underwhelming deal because it doesn't affect anything. However, the Clippers, who passed by Thompson, did not miss any opportunities to strengthen.
Traim then called the Philadelphia general manager's office, which was undergoing a clearance sale, and wanted to trade a second-round pick for Spencer Hawes.
Hawes is undoubtedly the kind of insider the Clippers need most.
He averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds per game and shot 39% from three-point range.
In terms of data, he cannot be acquired with a second-round pick.
But considering that the 76ers are a team with no lower limit for losing, the gold content of 13+8 per game in such a team will undoubtedly be discounted. Moreover, Hawes is also a typical "anti-finish" type player.
His best performances tend to come early in the season.
Taking this season as an example, he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game in November, with a three-point shooting percentage of 51+50+80. In this era of declining centers, he looks like an All-Star.
Then this month, Hawes' monthly averages were only 8 points and 8 rebounds, and his three field goal percentages were 32+28+78.
It's hard to say whether the environment in Philadelphia has corrupted him, but such poor recent performance has caused his trade value to plummet.
For Hinkie, such a player has no value to retain, and it is business to exchange him for draft picks as early as possible.
Therefore, when Treme proposed to trade Hawes for French butcher Ronny Turiaf and second-round draft picks in 2015 and 2016, Hinkie simply agreed.
After learning that he had been traded to the Clippers, Hawes tweeted excitedly: "I can't wait to play on behalf of the Clippers!"
Yu Fei interacted with him: "Your jersey number is the same as Kwame's, how do you solve this problem?"
Hawes replied: "We will resolve this dispute using rock, paper, scissors."
This is also not a deal that can change the situation, but with this deal, Treme has an explanation for the fans.
After all, the team currently has limited resources and there are no good trading partners on the market.
Getting Hawes was a surprise.
The 2014 trade deadline ended amid complaints from the media.
On this day, the most important trade in the NBA was the Bucks' exchange of Turner for Fredette, followed by the Clippers' acquisition of Hawes with almost no effort.
Then what? The rest of the trade gimmick is less topical than Hinkie's 76ers having 30 second-round picks over the next three years.
After the trading window closes, the final suspense of the regular season is the final ranking of each team.
The Clippers' goal is to adapt to the new lineup while ensuring the second position in the Western Conference.
The Spurs in the Western Conference are 4 games ahead of them. Unless something unexpected happens, it is almost impossible to catch up with the Spurs.
Entering March, Rivers put Hawes into the starting lineup.
He wanted to find out whether Hawes's condition was really as bad as the data showed, or whether it was because of the 76ers' "bad" strategy that affected his performance.
The results were disappointing.
Hawes's form has indeed declined.
Although his performance with the Clippers was not as bad as with the 76ers, it is almost impossible to expect him to return to the level he was at the beginning of the season.
With the Clippers, Hawes averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds per game, and his three-point shooting percentage increased from 28% to 36%. This is the only good news. His outside touch is recovering, but other aspects are not much different from when he was with the 76ers.
Rivers gave him a few games to regain his form, but he failed to do so, so Rivers decisively put him on the bench as a substitute.
Then, Rivers put Pachulia back into the starting lineup.
The regular season has entered its final stage, and the Clippers do not intend to spend more game time on trial and error.
Time came to late March, and Yu Fei gradually entered the playoff mode. In the 36 minutes per game arranged by Rivers, he went all out, averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists per game. He led the team to a ten-game winning streak during the critical period of the blocking stage, successfully beating the third The famous Warriors opened up 3 wins.
With only 7 games left in the regular season, the Clippers' record is 56 wins and 21 losses.
Although the outside world had a premonition that the Clippers were about to rise after Yu Fei joined, the team that only won 34 games last season now ranks third in the league with a record of 56 wins, which is still amazing.
If you don't count inconclusive reinforcements like Pierce, it can be said that Yu Fei alone helped the Clippers win 22 more games. Moreover, the regular season is not over yet, and 56 wins is not their limit.
"Do you want to be the MVP this season?"
When the Clippers played the last city derby of the season against the Lakers, a reporter asked Yu Fei this.
"I won't take this kind of personal honor to heart even I can't remember how many times I have won it." Yu Fei said with a smile, "If I am elected, I will congratulate myself and then focus on the playoffs. .For me, the championship is the most important thing.”
The reporter asked curiously: "But, you have more championships than MVPs."
Yu Fei glanced at Kobe who was practicing shooting seriously in the distance.
"No one would think that there are too many championships." Yu Fei said, "And, from a historical perspective, I am not even the person with the most championships."
The reporter wanted to ask Yu Fei whether he understood the difficulty of winning eight championships in the modern era.
Winning 8 championships in 13 years in a league with 30 teams and a comprehensive salary cap system is the same as winning 11 championships in 13 years in a non-commercial league with only eight teams and no rules governing super teams. Championship, the difficulty is completely different.
Does he really understand?
Maybe I will never understand.
Maybe this is just his modesty, but the humility of the strong is often the shame of the loser, because the cost of this humility is based on the pain of the loser.
As Yu Fei walked by the sidelines, he noticed that half of the fans were carrying various Clippers items, which represented their stance tonight.
According to the schedule, tonight is the Lakers' home game.
Half of the Lakers' home court are Clippers fans.
Is this a joke?
But you can't blame the fans, because the Clippers' games this year were so exciting, and various highlights are flooding the Internet. Griffin's dunks, Antetokounmpo's professional style of play, and GOAT's personal performance, they have much more to watch than the Lakers.
For now, fans are just facilitators. They supported the Clippers when they were on the rise, and they will back the Lakers if they rise again.
However, if the Lakers are in a long-term downturn and the Clippers win the championship during this period, the Lakers' fundamentals in Los Angeles will be truly challenged.
"Hey, Kobe, have you broken the total scoring record of No. 23?"
Yu Fei asked casually before the game started.
"There are still a few hundred points left." Kobe said, "We have to wait until next season."
"You have to work hard." Yu Fei said, "The day you break the record, even if there is a competition, I will take leave to come and witness it."
Kobe rolled his eyes: "Do you hate MJ so much?"
"I don't hate him." Yu Fei said, "I just can't help but hate him."
Kobe was envious of Yu Fei's ability to maintain hatred for one person for so many years, and this hatred did not seem to weaken with the passage of time.
In Kobe's view, Yu Fei's hatred became stronger as time went by.
Why? Because he can no longer make Jordan pay for what happened back then on the court.
Kobe envied this ability to hate consistently.
Looking back at himself, he no longer hates O'Neal.
Because O'Neal has retired and he is no longer a top competitor, the feud between the two has dissipated with the wind. Occasionally, he also wonders, if they could work together in 2004, could they beat the Bucks at that time?
Unfortunately, this can only be an "if".
Kobe believes that if it happened again, he and O'Neal would still fall out. This is due to their personalities.
Character determines destiny.
Tonight, Kobe was feeling hot and scored 40 points as the Lakers and Clippers went into overtime. However, Yu Fei and Griffin completely dominated the game in overtime, and a wave of 14-0 offensive and defensive suppression took away the Lakers.
The Clippers blew the clarion call to the end of the season.
Starting with the Lakers, they lost only one of the next six games and eventually advanced to the playoffs with a record of 62 wins and 20 losses.
(End of chapter)