Pick Westbrook

Chapter 122 Make up for the weakness of the lineup
The Bucks are short of inside and forward players, and they are still in urgent need.

As the head coach of the team, Li Lai naturally knows this very well, but can he give up Curry?

Li Lai shook his head. I'm afraid that even if the Kings' pick was the No. [-] pick, he would still choose Curry without hesitation, even though Griffin was indeed better at the beginning of his career.

"Because in the tactical lineup of the Bucks, now there is only one undifferentiated three-point offensive master.

Curry will also address the last flaw in the Bucks' offense. "

Of course, Li Lai has already thought carefully about how the Bucks should strengthen their insiders. Since there is no inside player he likes in the draft, he can only make a fuss in the trading market or the free market.

Unfortunately, this year's free market did not have any dazzling big centers, so Li Lai could only turn his attention to the trading market.

He looked at Hammond and said, "Go and contact Steve Kerr of the Suns and tell them that we are willing to accept O'Neal's contract."

Hammond turned his head in a daze, opened his eyes wide and said, "That's 2000 million! And O'Neill is 37 years old!"

In Hammond's view, if the Bucks really get O'Neal in a trade, then this deal may be worse than picking Stephen Curry.

But Li Lai has a different view.

O'Neal in the Suns last season still averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Of course, he can win this data. The dominance has indeed declined seriously, and now that he is one year older, it is obvious that O'Neill's dominance will continue to decline.

And whether O'Neal's physical strength and athletic ability are still there at this age should also be marked with a big question mark.

However, Li Lai clearly remembers that in his previous life, after the swap deal with Wallace, O'Neal was still able to provide the Cavaliers with an average of 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, and he still averaged 23 minutes per game. , especially in that season against Howard, Bynum and other league star centers, O'Neal still did not lose the wind and played well with them.

In fact, as long as it is not a projection-type insider and a dexterous insider, O'Neal at this age can still provide outstanding contributions. After all, he was also No.1 in the NBA.

Hammond reminded: "The NBA has rules on salary matching. When two teams trade players, the salary of one player must not be higher than 125% of the other player's salary + $10.

In other words, if we want to trade to get O'Neal, we have to pay at least 1600 million players' salary. Now we don't have such players in our team! "

Regarding the player trading rules, Hammond has always been very confident. He has memorized both the old rules and the new rules, so he is very sure at this time that even if the Bucks want to trade for O'Neal, the former league No. [-] center, this is also difficult to achieve in terms of trade balance.

Li Lai thought about it calmly and said: "We got rid of two garbage contracts this season, the contracts of Marshall and Malik Rose expired respectively, but Kenny Thomas' garbage contract has not been resolved. Fortunately, his contract It's only $700 million, and we can add Kenny Thomas' contract and do a sign-and-trade with the Suns."

"The players they like are signed by us and then traded."

Hammond admires that Li Lai is a trading genius, and he can memorize the trading rules so clearly in just one season.

If this deal can really be realized, then the Bucks can get rid of Kenny Thomas' junk contract while getting O'Neal, so it doesn't seem like a too bad thing.

"But can the Suns agree?" Hammond frowned.

Li Lai was not worried about this at all.

In the previous life, when the Suns traded with the Cavaliers, they used O'Neal for Wallace + Sasha Pavlovich + the No. 46 pick in the second round.

This is almost a free gift to O'Neal, and he is even willing to eat the rubbish contract of Big Ben Wallace, just to get rid of the huge salary space occupied by O'Neal. Sasha Pavlovic is a completely useless player with scraps. The No. 46 pick in that round had some value.

The reason why the Suns are willing to accept such a deal is that apart from the fact that O'Neal's contract is too big and it is too difficult to send it out, their goals in the new season also account for a large factor.

--The Suns still want to break out of the Western Conference playoffs.

Now the deal proposed by the Bucks is a 700 million rubbish contract and a sign-and-trade. Even the Bucks can send this season's second-round pick. Isn't this better than Wallace's 1500 million rubbish contract?
Hammond saw that Li Lai had already thought up these trading details, and knew that he should have made up his mind, so he could only tell this idea to the general manager of the Suns, Steve Kerr.

The latter not only did not hesitate to open his mouth to the Lions after hearing this trade application, but was also very happy, because this will solve the Suns' salary space of at least 1300 million, which is too much for their next reinforcement.

Moreover, the sign-and-trade deal will not be bound by the salary cap, which is an extremely good thing for the Suns, which already have to pay the luxury tax.

Steve Kerr decisively agreed to the deal.

Later, Li let the Kings use the 33rd pick in the second round of the trade to acquire Danny Green from North Babylon, New York.

The Bucks' work is all over this year's draft.

On the second day, countless melon-eaters and fans had already set up their benches and sat in rows to eat melon seeds, and the next earthquake-level trade in the league did not disappoint them.

雄鹿队与国王队的新秀互换交易：雄鹿队拿出09年探花秀詹姆斯哈登+10年雄鹿队次轮+10年首轮互换权，从国王队那里得到了5号秀斯蒂芬·库里+33号秀丹尼·格林+10年的首轮互换（国王队前四保护）。

Immediately afterwards, the Bucks continued to announce a verbal agreement with the Suns. The Bucks traded Kenny Thomas + the second round of 09 + two players from the Suns for Shaquille O'Neal.

The entire fandom exploded.

Milwaukee fans are the craziest.

"Fuck! That bastard Li Lai is going crazy!"

"O'Neill? That guy is already 37 years old, and he still pays an annual salary of 2000 million?"

"Are the Bucks planning to open charity again?"

"Wait, why are you all paying attention to Shaquille O'Neal? Didn't you realize that we drafted another guard, or a 191cm shooting guard?"

"Oh my god, is that kid with the baby face as good as Westbrook, Dragic and George Hill?"

"What did we do in Milwaukee? After finally making it to the playoffs, that bastard Li Lai started doing it again."

"Demonstrations! We have to unite!"

Li Lai walked in New York with Hammond and Holloway, completely ignoring the fact that his hometown was copied by the fans.

They know that those cute fans are just whining anyway, and when the new season starts, no, even in the summer league, they will go to pay attention to the Bucks' rookie record.

That's always been the case with Milwaukee fans.

There was news from Marshall's home that none of the fans in this parade clamored for Li Lai to hand over the Bucks. The scolding did not weaken at all, but became more intense.

The words about planning a third leg have never been broken.

Because the NBA freeze period will end on July 7, the deal between the Bucks and the Kings will have to wait until that day before it can be officially submitted to the league headquarters. However, Li Lai has already asked Hammond to send a message to O'Neal in advance. .

"Now you belong to the Milwaukee Bucks."

Hammond also asked the Bucks staff to lead Stephen Curry and Danny Green to Milwaukee to sign contracts, and told them to start preparing for the next summer league. completely open.

Li Lai reminded the staff halfway that he would take Stephen Curry and Danny Green to the training hall where Reggie Miller and Westbrook are located. He hoped that they could develop a tacit understanding in advance in the training camp .

After finishing all the work, Hammond breathed a sigh of relief, and then gave Li Lai a look that you understand and I understand, and he said: "The team experienced a sudden change last year, which caused us to have no time to play in this rich and rich world. Apple City has a lot of fun, so this year?
I have already asked seventeen or eighteen girls to hand-copy the Huayan Sutra in the hotel, hehehe. "

Holloway glanced at Li Lai, gritted her teeth and said something shameless.

But because of this passage, Li Lai thought of Jordan Carver who went to Los Angeles alone. He muttered softly, "I don't know how she is doing now."

Li Lai did not give Hammond any answer, and immediately went to Milwaukee with Holloway for the flight.

Hammond shook his stomach, his face full of disbelief, "Aren't you interested in seventeen or eight?"

Before the freeze period, NBA regulations did not allow any team's players and management to contact free agents.

Although the NBA management expressly prohibits this, and every year in the off-season, a few teams that commit crimes will be caught and punished, but no matter how they punish and rectify, this kind of atmosphere is still repeatedly banned and repeated, and even a little bit more. more intense.

After all, who doesn't want to win the favorite player one step ahead of others.

Li Lai, who has always been called a hipster and mentally retarded by others, naturally chose to follow the trend without hesitation, doing the same thing as the management of other teams.

First of all, he contacted the general manager of the Rockets, Dog Mo, and tentatively asked if he had any plans to trade Tracy McGrady.

Last season, McGrady missed the playoffs due to injury, so he also failed to break through the first round of the playoffs with the Rockets, which means that the curse of the first round is still set on McGrady, lingering.

The happy result that the Rockets finally made it to the second round of the playoffs also made Dog Mo and the team's management see a possibility, that is, building a team entirely under Yao's name may be easier to win than a combination of Yao and Mai.

At least, at this stage, McGrady is no longer worthy of being an internal and external partner with Yao Ming.

Moreover, McGrady's injuries over the years have really made the Rockets' management somewhat fed up.

Since they traded McGrady from the Magic in 04, except for the first full season, McGrady has suffered from injuries almost every season. Counting full play and full play, it has been a full five years since last season. Only 5 games!
McGrady has missed more than 100 games, and this attendance rate is really low enough.

Coupled with the serious injury McGrady suffered this time, and he is already 30 years old, and he has suffered such a serious injury at this age, it is obvious that McGrady is going to go downhill.

The Rockets are already thinking about trading Tracy McGrady.

Dog Mo said on the phone: "To be honest, we already had the idea of ​​trading McGrady last season and contacted many teams in the league, but the deal didn't work out.

This year's offseason, we do plan to send McGrady out in exchange for some good players or valuable draft picks. "

"and many more!"

Li Lai frowned and said in extreme confusion: "Did I hear wrongly, the Rockets plan to trade McGrady for powerful players and draft picks?"

Dog Mo said without hesitation on the other end of the phone: "Yes, you heard me right, that's what we think."

Li Lai reminded: "McGrady is the league's salary leader in the new season, with an annual salary of 2324 million US dollars. He is still suffering from serious injuries, and it is obvious that it is difficult for him to return to the scoring leader of the year. It's hard to say whether he can continue to play on the court.

After all this, you still want to use him to trade powerful players and draft picks? "

Dog said shamelessly: "Of course, that's McGrady, the top five players in the league at their peak, even if their strength is gone, their reputation is still there, so selling tickets based on this is not a problem at all.

Tickets, money, do you want money? "

Li Lai finally knows why the Rockets did not trade Tracy McGrady last season. The management headed by Dog Mo really has too much appetite. This is probably more expensive than Lillard plus 2 first-round picks when trading Simmons in his previous life. To exaggerate.

Li Lai still remembers how speechless the Trail Blazers management was when they heard the deal, but they still sincerely planned to use CJ McCollum to trade Simmons. 2 pick swaps!
What the hell!It's dark enough!No wonder it is collectively called a mine by all fans!

This is treating the general managers of the entire league as idiots!

Li Lai's deal with the Kings is at least a win-win cooperation and mutual benefit. Otherwise, how could he give the Kings such a team-building embryo like James Harden so directly.

But on the other hand, looking at this landmine, doing a deal with him is not a win-win situation. He thinks it can be done only if you make money at a loss to him.

"roll roll roll!"

Li Lai hung up the phone immediately after leaving these words. He never wanted to make a deal with this disgusting dick again in his life.

It's just pity for McGrady, who has no place in the Rockets, and I'm afraid he will have to sit on the bench there in the new season.

After confirming that McGrady could not be traded, Hammond provided Li Lai with a list of free agents for this season.

Ben Gordon, Sean Marion, Odom, Andre Miller, Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, Ariza, Rasheed Wallace, Allen Iverson
Li Lai went through the list of free agents.

After the Bucks won O'Neal, half of the urgent insiders have been solved, so Li Lai still wants to win another outstanding power forward player for the team.

Originally, Odom should be the most suitable for the Bucks, but the Lakers won the first championship trophy in the post-O'Neal era last season. They will try their best to maintain the integrity and stability of the lineup. Dom is probably the one they are desperately trying to keep.

It is probably extremely unrealistic for the Bucks to compete with big city teams like the Lakers, and they are still one of the few wealthy teams in the league.

The most important thing is that Odom should be more inclined to stay in Los Angeles. After all, this guy is also a famous nightclub prodigal son, a guy who almost lost his life playing.

In Milwaukee, a remote and cold place, it may be difficult to attract each other.

In addition, the hacker Marion is also suitable for the Bucks' tactical system, but the team has to play a small lineup after he has him. After all, Artest and Marion have slightly overlapping positions.

It's just that Marion can be regarded as a good fish in the free market this season. The estimated contract is around 5 million in five years. If Li Lai doesn't win O'Neal, he can fight for him, but now he can only reluctantly choose to give up.

After all, the Bucks have to keep the salary to renew Artest, and they have to leave room to renew other players.

"In other words, we can only choose players with relatively high cost performance. As for players like Marion, Ben Gordon, Odom, and Kidd, it may be difficult to win the opponent."

Li Lai changed his strategy again and turned his attention to Rasheed Wallace, the Roaring Heavenly Venerate.

Last season, Rasheed Wallace averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Pistons. In the upcoming new season, Rasheed Wallace will also be 35 years old. A veteran player at the same level as O'Neal.

The Pistons have confirmed that they will give up on him, intending to find younger players in the free market, and the team has also advanced to complete reconstruction.

The Pistons, which once dominated the league, also completely disintegrated after the team's brain Billups was traded last season.

In addition, there is Allen Iverson who joined the Pistons last season. He was also completely given up by the Pistons. In addition to the conflict with the team coach, Iverson has never been able to adapt to the tactics of the Pistons. is the most important reason here.

After all, it is extremely inappropriate for a 20th-ranked scorer in NBA history to play defensive tactics.

Hammond reminded: "Iverson has no problem, we can do his work, maybe we can attract him to join.

It's just that Rasheed Wallace and Artest have a deep hatred, can Artest agree? "

Li Lai recalled the scene of Artest embracing Big Ben Wallace after the series with the Cavaliers last season. Te still can't accept Rasheed Wallace?

"There is absolutely no problem with that."

"The most important question now should be how to make Rasheed Wallace willing to join the Bucks."

(End of this chapter)