Pick Westbrook

Chapter 298 Let's Talk
11 month 2 day.

charlotte.

The Hornets challenge the Bobcats away.

Hammond also came to this city and took the initiative to find Li Lai in the locker room.

"The Bobcats management is interested in our first-round pick for next season, but they don't have a power forward who fits our requirements."

As early as the beginning of the season, Li Lai had asked Hammond to trade the Hornets' first-round pick for next season, so as to strengthen the team's lack of power forward position.

Lewis still has the power to fight, but now he has long lost the strength of the All-Star period, and the offense and defense are too obvious, and it is easy to be caught when encountering strong teams.

Therefore, Li Lai hopes to strengthen a more capable power forward player in the trading market, and then delegate Lewis to the substitute position.

In this way, both the strength of the Hornets' starting lineup and the overall strength of the substitute players will have a significant improvement.

"But it's been a few days, how come only the Bobcats are interested in our first-round pick?"

Li Lai was very puzzled by this.

Hammond looked at Li with a knowing look and said, "Do you know how ESPN ranks the strength of the Hornets?"

Li Lai was startled when he heard this question.

He is no longer the boy who cared about the rankings in the past, so he didn't pay much attention to ESPN's team strength rankings this season.

Hammond glanced at Li Lai, who was completely confused, and said, "It's not because of you!"

"Because of your identity and ability as the champion bishop, the Hornets went from No. 25 in the league's strength list at the beginning to No. 19 by ESPN in the end!"

"With the excellent fighting state shown by the Hornets in these two games, we are also considered to be very similar teams to the Kings, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Thunder, and Clippers."

"So, a lot of commentators are talking about the fact that the second half of the Western Conference will be very competitive this season."

Li Lai nodded, and finally understood why the Hornets' first-round pick was so uninterested in the market.

Even though the competition in the Western Conference this season is extremely fierce, because of Li Lai's identity and ability, the management of the other teams are cautious about the Hornets' ability to make the playoffs.

If the Hornets can make the playoffs, then their first-round pick is not a lottery pick, and the transaction value will drop significantly.

Even if the Hornets can't make the playoffs, with the combat effectiveness they showed in the first two games, it will be difficult to get a top lottery pick.

Hammond looked at Li Lai with a sad face and said, "I tried my best to find a deal in the back, but you created some obstacles for me in the front, and even beat the Knicks."

"How does this tell me to negotiate with those league management?"

Li Lai couldn't help but patted his forehead, also feeling extremely headache.

He only thought about how to win the game, but ignored this issue.

"Because the Hornets have only played two games now and have not fully demonstrated their strength, we have to trade quickly."

"Otherwise, if we try to seek a deal when the trading market is about to close, I am afraid that the trading value of our first-round pick will continue to drop to freezing point."

Hearing this, Hammond suddenly turned his head and looked at Li Lai in shock, and said, "You bastard, didn't you say that the Hornets need to be rebuilt as soon as possible?"

"What, what are you doing now?"

"Fight for the playoffs?"

Li Lai looked back at Hammond, pretending to be equally shocked, and said, "Haven't we successfully rebuilt?"

Seeing the back of Li Lai walking towards the entrance channel, Hammond was dazed for a long time before saying: "A Leonard with the 15th pick, a Butler with ridiculously poor physical talent, and a loser who doesn't know Many years of Beverly."

"You call this a successful rebuild?"

"Made, don't those teams that select players with the top five picks directly become championship teams?"

Time Warner Center Arena.

As the owner of the Bobcats, Jordan sat in his exclusive seat next to the dugout.

Unlike Mavericks owner Cuban, Lakers owner Bass and other team owners, Jordan will always sit in the front row with the players when he comes to the stadium to watch the game.

Sitting in this place, in addition to being able to discuss tactics and field details with the players during the game, Jordan can also conveniently enjoy the friendly greetings from the opponent players.

The NBA has given special acquiescence to this unreasonable behavior, and at the same time very much hopes that Jordan can come to watch the game more often.

At this moment, after a simple greeting between Jordan and Hornets player Paul, he began to ponder a matter raised by the team management this morning.

"The Hornets want to trade their first-round pick for next year. My management doesn't even know whether the Hornets are strong or weak."

Jordan is speechless about this, which is why he will come to watch the game tonight.

on the field.

Hornets starting lineup: point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Leonard, small forward Vince Carter, power forward Rashard Lewis and center DeAndre Jordan.

Bobcats starting lineup: point guard Kemba Walker, shooting guard Gerald Henderson, small forward Corey Maggette, power forward Derek Brown and center Byron Mullens.

Game start.

Midfield jump ball.

Jordan took the ball from Byron Mullens.

Hornets attack.

Paul singled Kemba Walker, and as soon as he came up, he made a big loop from outside the three-point line, causing Kemba Walker to foul.

Kemba Walker held his head in regret.

Kenny Smith couldn't help sighing and said: "It's still too young. After all, Kemba Walker is only a rookie this year. When facing an old player like Paul, he will inevitably suffer a big loss."

Jordan frowned as he watched off the court.

Paul's strength has long been recognized by most people, even Jordan himself appreciates Paul's finishing skills in the middle distance.

Can throw, can shoot backwards, can change layups with footsteps, and can pass assists.

This is why Paul's mid-range is very difficult to defend. The opponent is double-teaming or not double-teaming when facing him.

And Paul's shooting rate at the mid-range position is too accurate, so most teams have a headache when trying to solve Paul's point.

"Paul is enough to determine the lower limit of a team. With him in the Hornets, he is at least the goalkeeper team in the playoffs."

"Of course, this season's competition in the Western Conference is under too much pressure. Even if the Hornets have Paul, they may not be able to make the playoffs."

The Bobcats attack.

After holding the ball, Kemba Walker took the initiative to pass the ball to the team's scoring leader Gerald Henderson.

In 09, Gerald Henderson was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 12th pick in the first round, and then started his career.

Gerald Henderson is an athletic wing with outstanding physical talent, able to draw fouls and finish offenses, but the three-pointer is not accurate enough, and he also prefers to shoot mid-range.

This ability characteristic won Jordan's favorite.

Gerald Henderson was also fortunate to have received special training from Jordan. He learned a lot of offensive mid-range scoring skills from the basketball god.

This season, Gerald Henderson averaged 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and his mid-range shooting percentage was 46%. All statistics have reached career highs.

Gerald Henderson tried to single Leonard with the ball in the waist.

Front-to-back singles, lowering the center of gravity, swaying shoulders and changing footsteps, after a rhythm of raising his hands, Gerald Henderson swayed Leonard away by half.

Lean back and shoot.

boom!
Leonard blocked the block from the side, and a solid block slapped Gerald Henderson's scalp.

"This is a side block, and the ball holder is blocked in the middle. Leonard can even block such a shot."

Kenny Smith was already stunned by Leonard's performance.

Barkley said: "Gerald Henderson is 196cm tall and has a wingspan of 209cm. It stands to reason that such a talent is already good."

"But compared with Leonard's height talent, he is far behind. Both height and wingspan have been completely suppressed."

"Even in terms of the height of the take-off and vacating just now, Leonard has a great advantage, which is why the opponent can block the shot from the side."

Jordan stood up excitedly, and repeatedly pointed at Gerald Henderson on the court and cursed.

"Stinky boy, is that how I taught you how to play?"

"Facing players with better physical talents than yourself, you can't learn such a simple move by shaking the lever in the air, and then waiting for the opponent to land before making a move?"

In the face of Jordan's scolding, Gerald Henderson has a hard time.

He really wanted to say that the defensive pressure that Leonard brought to him was too great, coupled with the fact that Jordan Jr.'s frame guard on the inside occupied a favorable position, Gerald Henderson had no room for breakthrough at all, and could only shoot.

This offensive option also allows Leonard to defend Gerald Henderson's mid-range shots more unscrupulously.

It was already very difficult for Gerald Henderson to find a chance to shoot, but he never expected Leonard to be able to block the shot from the side.

"How can he even block shots like this."

Jordan sat back on the bench angrily, and gradually calmed down at this time.

The Hornets showed their very good defensive discipline and defensive pertinence in just one round.

If Jordan thought the Hornets were the goalkeeper of the playoffs just now, because of the competitive pressure in the Western Conference this season, the probability of making it to the playoffs may be very small.

So now, after seeing the overall defensive strength of the Hornets and Leonard's defensive talent, he is willing to believe that this team has a high probability of reaching the playoffs.

"Leonard's physical talent is a bit like my good brother Pippen, and his defensive awareness and defensive ability are also very similar to Pippen in the early days."

"Paul's mid-range offense is very similar to me. The Hornets' player mix even gave me the illusion of the Bulls back then."

"It's just a pity that Leonard is still too young and is far from reaching the height of Pippen. Paul's passing ability is strong, but the Hornets can only rely on him on the offensive end. It is too easy for opponents to target him in the playoffs." gone."

"This Hornets team will only make it to the first round of the playoffs at most. If they are given two to three seasons of growth, they may really hope to become a strong team in the league's championship."

Thinking of this, Jordan is extremely overwhelmed.

The Bobcats are nowhere near being a title contender.

In this year's draft, the Bobcats hold the 9th overall pick. The players they are looking at are point guards Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker.

The Bobcats have a problem at point guard.

When the Bobcats and the Bucks met in the playoffs, they were easily eliminated by the opposing team.

At that time, Jordan was thinking about choosing a point guard with great potential for the team.

It's just that when I think about my draft vision and the players I've won over the years, it's either because of my bad mentality that I'm going to make trouble if I say a few words, or because diabetes has affected my entire career.

Kemba Walker, who Jordan chose this time, also took a lot of risks.

Because Kemba Walker is not an immediate player, and his talent is not the best among the current rookies, but because there is no better point guard player in the rookie conference, he had to choose the opponent.

Originally, the team's management advised Jordan not to focus on players at the point guard position. Klay Thompson and Marcus Morris, who are further back, are both very good players.

But Jordan still went his own way and chose Kemba Walker.

Jordan shook his head at this time, because he had a headache because of the draft.

At this time, Jordan suddenly thought of something, and looked at Li Lai, the head coach of the Hornets and the owner of the team, in great surprise.

"Westbrook, Curry, Cousins, Danny Green, George Hill, Dragic."

"This kid is very good at picking rookies!"

on the field.

The Hornets replaced the two main players, Paul and Jordan, in the middle and late part of the first quarter, and brought Beverly and Jimmy Butler to the court at the same time.

Li Lai hopes that Beverly, Butler and Leonard can accumulate court experience as soon as possible and grow rapidly.

Only when the three grow up, can the Hornets show even stronger strength when facing strong teams in the future.

Of course, the main reason why Li Lai chose to do this was because the Bobcats were too careless.

Before the end of the first quarter, the Hornets defended and opened the gap to double digits.

"This team has no offense, no defense, let alone an offensive and defensive system and outstanding players. I really can't see any future in them."

Stevens couldn't help but say.

He joined a dynamic team like the Hornets as soon as he entered the NBA, so Stevens originally thought that most teams in the league should be like this.

Either on the road to reconstruction, or has completed the reconstruction and is hitting the playoffs or chasing higher goals.

But it wasn't until he met the Bobcats that Stevens felt for the first time that a team was completely clueless and chaotic.

That's how he feels about the Bobcats.

Li Lai nodded in agreement and said: "In fact, the management of this team is not chaotic. The reason why they are like this is because they have no achievements in the draft market every year."

"The rookie player they selected this year, Kemba Walker, is not an immediate player. So far, he has averaged 10 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game, and his shooting percentage is 36%."

"You have to know that the Bobcats are trying their best to train him, and they also gave Kemba Walker a huge proportion of the ball. It's just that this performance is really unreasonable."

"However, the Bobcats did not pay wrong this time. Although Kemba Walker is not an immediate player, nor is he the best talent in the same draft, but he is a predator with a tenacious spirit."

"Kemba Walker's speed is extremely fast, his footwork is extremely agile, coupled with his offensive aggressiveness that is completely inconsistent with his appearance, he will definitely grow into a star-level backcourt player in the future."

"It's just that Kemba Walker has not yet reached the core of the team. He is more suitable to be a second-in-command, or to partner with another star player to form a twin-star combination."

"That way the Bobcats will have a way out."

Stevens was a little surprised that Li Lai could analyze the situation of the opponent's players so clearly. He even wondered if Li Lai would be delayed by the work of the head coach.

At the end of the second quarter, the Bobcats have been completely beaten by the Hornets.

Trailing by a full 18 points at halftime.

Li Lai simply did not give Paul and Jordan Jr. more time to play, but instead gave Leonard, Butler and others more opportunities to play.

Such a substitution arrangement stunned Paul.

In the past, in any game of the Hornets, he didn't have to be a mother and a father, and he had to sort out the team's offensive rhythm, and he had to score a lot of points. The team chases points.

But this season has already played three games in the regular season, and the Hornets have never allowed Paul to overload the game once.

Paul couldn't help rubbing his ankles and wrists, the best rest he's had since his rookie season.

Finally the game is over.

伦纳德拿下了生涯最高分的21分7篮板3助攻1抢断1盖帽，JR史密斯命中了4记三分，得到了20分3篮板2助攻，巴特勒12分6篮板，贝佛利7分5篮板2抢断。

Post-match interview session.

Jordan did not leave the court early because of the team's loss as usual, but took the initiative to find Li Lai.

The two had a brief exchange in the playoffs between the Bucks and the Bobcats. After Li Lai acquired the Hornets, Jordan and Li Lai had another brief exchange on the issue of the team name.

So the two are no strangers.

"Lee, let's talk."

(End of this chapter)