NBA backer king

Chapter 570 Evaluating the Four Major Shooting Guards
On the 20th, Wang Tiejun went to the team headquarters to report.

After leaving the Suns in 97, this is the first time he has returned to the Suns headquarters in five years. There is a feeling of both familiarity and strangeness.

"Welcome back our Sun King."

Entering the headquarters, all the management, staff, and coaching staff lined up to welcome.

"I believe this is a new beginning." Pharaoh said confidently.

"Clap clap clap..."

There was warm applause from the Suns headquarters.

Lao Wang looked at the management and saw many acquaintances, such as Miss Molly from the public relations department, team doctor Andrew John, chief trainer Aaron Nelson, etc., and went up to greet them one by one.

After the welcome ceremony, the crowd dispersed, and Lao Wang followed Colangelo Jr. to the latter's office, along with D'Antoni, assistant coaches Van Gundy Jr. and Frank Johnson.

After sitting down, he asked the assistant coach to bring in coffee, and Colangelo said, "Old K, we still have an assistant coach, Mr. Scott Skelter, who will lead the team to play the preseason game. But the preseason game is over, and the team will come back tomorrow, and the official training camp will start the day after tomorrow."

"Bryan, how is our lineup?" Old Wang asked with concern.

Colangelo got up and took out a piece of paper from the drawer in the office, then handed it to Lao Wang, and said: "There are not many stars in the free market this year. I have contacted two and they are unwilling to come. They are not optimistic about us. I will try my best to trade in the future, and I hope to gain something."

Lao Wang smiled, said nothing, and began to look at the lineup list.

Center: Wang Tiejun, Ewing, Jack Voskull
Forwards: Stoudemire, Marion, Tom Gugliotta, Beau Outlaw

Guards: Nash, Joe Johnson, Anfernee Hardaway, Randy Brown

This is the current roster of 12 people, all of whom have contracts, and there are five marginal players who have not signed contracts for the time being.

Colangelo Jr. introduced: "Old K, your first substitute is Ewing, another Voskull, who is of average strength and a second-round pick in 00.

For the power forward position, Gugliota still has a bit of fuel, and Outlaw has no strength. It mainly depends on whether Stoudemire, who was selected this time, can be cultivated.

The small forward is Marion, and Hardaway can substitute for this position.In terms of shooting guards, Joe Johnson and Hardaway.Point guard, Nash, Hardaway can be a substitute, Randy Brown has no strength.Now the main difference is the small forward, I am going to find another small forward. "

D'Antoni said at this time: "Old K, I am going to start with you, Tom Gugliotta, Marion, Anfernee Hardaway, and Nash, and make adjustments later, what do you think?"

Lao Wang stared at the roster in his hand and said, "Gugliotta is old. We don't need to let him start. Didn't we choose a rookie power forward? Amare Stoudemire, can't he?"

Van Gundy Jr. said: "Old K, Amare is a high school student. Although he is very talented, we are worried that he will not be able to assume the starting position. We will use a veteran to make the transition and let him get used to it before trying to start."

Lao Wang thought about it and thought it was right. Isn't there an idiom called pulling seedlings to encourage growth?He nodded and said, "Yes, we don't pursue the regular season record this season."

Everyone nodded, but there was also a kind of pressure on them.

The Suns ranked last in the Western Conference last season, and Lao Wang now says that he will not pursue the regular season record. The implication is that he is pursuing the qualification for the playoffs. This is their pressure.

When Lao Wang made his comeback this time, he didn't want to pursue honors such as MVP and scoring champion. He didn't even care about the championship. He only cared about whether he could build a Sun Dynasty.

In the Lakers' dynasty, he also won the MVP and FMVP for three consecutive years, as well as personal honors such as scoring champion and rebounding champion in the regular season, one team and one defense.

Throughout his career, 9 championships in 6 years, one of the dynasties, this dynasty is also the only dynasty with three consecutive championships in the modern basketball era of the league. It is of great significance, and he is the absolute core of the team.

He also won the MVP for 96 consecutive years from 00 to 5, the FMVP of 95 years from 97 and 00 to 5, and two AMVPs.

In terms of total career points, as early as the beginning of 99, he had already exceeded 9 points. When he retired, he had played a total of 25316 seasons and had reached [-] points.

In addition, he averaged 36.8 points per game in his career, surpassing Jordan and becoming the first in history.

It can be said that in the entire 90s, except for the first two years that were dominated by Jordan, after that, he was the only player with a strong foundation, and he has long been honored.

However, holding the lineup list in his hand, he feels that this season is not enough.

High school student Amare Stoudemire doesn't know if he can play well. Joe Johnson's defense is average. Last season, he averaged only 9.8 points per game and his shooting percentage was only 42%. Marion was not bad. He was almost 20+10 last season.

Calculate the scoring ability of the main lineup, he counts 20+, Marion has enough shots, 20+ is no problem, Hardaway and Nash can also score 30 points together, not counting high school students, the four main players can also score 70+, the offense should be possible, and they can play a dozen in the regular season.

But entering the playoffs and meeting a strong team, it's hard to say.

"Who are the current strong teams?" he asked.

Colangelo Jr. introduced: "In the west, the Mavericks will be very strong. They belong to the first-tier team at the championship level. The owner of the new home team, Cuban, is willing to spend money. They have Dirk Nowitzki, and they traded for Michael Finley last year. This time we gave Marbury to them again. All three are All-Stars averaging 20+ per game."

"Nowitzki?"

Lao Wang had an impression of this German. He was a rookie in 98. He seemed to play softly, but he was often suspended, made a lot of malicious fouls, and often received tickets. He played for 9 years, and the number of criminals was far less than that of the German in the past [-] years.

Of course, that kid Kobe is even more powerful and has many criminals. Now he has another nickname, the Los Angeles Marlon. After gaining weight to 99 kilograms, his elbows are very thick, and he can be called Malone among guards.

Colangelo Jr. continued: "In addition to the Mavericks in the West, there is also the King. The King had the third record in the West last season, second only to the Trail Blazers and the Lakers. Oh, old K, Bibi, remember, we locals, you talked to him."

"Remember." Old Wang smiled and nodded.

Colangelo Jr. continued: "The Kings offense is gorgeous, their head coach is Rick Adelman, he established the Princeton system in the Kings, and the Kings are very difficult to deal with.

In addition, there are the Trail Blazers who just won the championship, and the Lakers.By the way, the Timberwolves are also doing well now. Garnett is very strong, and his popularity is even higher than Duncan.

I won't talk about the Lakers, you know better than me.As for the Blazers, although Dameng has retired, the lineup is very strong. The lineup of Duncan and Rasheed Wallace is really strong, otherwise they would not be able to win against the Nets. "

Lao Wang is very helpless, the Blazers are all poaching the corners of the Suns, does Paul Allen have a grudge against the Suns?
"What about the East?" he asked.

Colangelo Jr. continued to introduce: "The Knicks are no longer good. The Pistons have started to rise in the past two years. They got Big Ben and Billups..."

Lao Wang was still helpless when he heard this. These two guys are from the Suns again.

Colangelo continued: "They still have Hamilton, Clifford Robinson..."

Lao Wang was taken aback, Clifford Robinson, this seems to have played for the Suns again, right?
"Except for the Pistons, although the Pacers do not have Ewing, they are still strong. They are still the first-class team in the East. The Philadelphia team is not bad. Except for these three teams, it is the Nets, which ranked first in the East last season. I estimate that they will still be the strongest in the East in the new season, and they are most likely to reach the Finals."

Little Colangelo said this, and said: "But the Nets left Van Horn, and Yao lost a good partner."

Lao Wang nodded. Without Van Horn, the Nets are still very strong. In addition to Dayao, there are Kidd, Richard Jefferson and a lot of people.

Colangelo Jr. said: "Old K, how to strengthen our current lineup, I am afraid it will be very difficult. You have to be mentally prepared."

Speaking of this, he said with some emotion: "After you announced your comeback, when I was looking for a deal, it was very obvious that no team was willing to make a deal with the Suns, including those weak teams.

I’m afraid you also know the reason. From the Suns to the Lakers, you won 9 championships in 6 years. You won three consecutive championships with the Lakers. You personally won four consecutive championships and won countless honors. Before you retired due to injury, you have become the public enemy of the league.

So even if the media and the league are not optimistic about your comeback, even if the Suns are bad, the teams in the league will not allow the Suns to get strong reinforcements. We can only make up for it through the free market or the draft. "

There is still one thing he didn't say, that is, old K is still a Chinese*, and he didn't even get a green card in the United States. In the past, when there were not many honors, this was not a big problem, but now, this is a big problem, a matter of position, for the United States, old K is an outsider.

Old Wang nodded and said, "I understand."

At this time, Colangelo smiled and said: "But we are full of confidence in you. As long as you still show strong dominance, I believe that in the next offseason, the Suns will once again be attractive to the free market." , even if they prevent us from reinforcing, we will still be well reinforced."

Then Pharaoh, D'Antoni and other coaches discussed tactical issues.

Tactics are very important to him, because D'Antoni's philosophy was seriously inconsistent with him in the past. Although his speed has improved and he can play fast breaks now, his tonnage is still 130 kg here, so if there are too many fast breaks, it will be a considerable consumption of his body. This requires the team's tactics to be more suitable for him.

If not, he will definitely ask the team to find another head coach.

In addition, defense is also very important, and he has to discuss this with the coaching staff.

D'Antoni returned to Italy after leaving the Suns and coached there for a few more seasons, and it has indeed changed a lot.

Although he still insists on his philosophy, he is no longer so paranoid and more tolerant.

These days, he often discusses tactical issues with several assistant coaches, and he already has a lot of ideas, but these tactics still need the support of the management and old K.

He didn't talk about his offense first, but he talked about defense first, which means that he attaches great importance to the importance of defense, and said: "Old K, the defense is in charge of Jeff, and he will use you as the core of defense to build our defense system."

Old Wang looked at little Van Gundy and looked at the little latter's head. This gentleman is not very old, but his head has started to go bald, the front part is shiny, and his bitter face is already obvious.

Van Gundy scratched his head and began to detail the defensive system he wanted to build.

Lao Wang has won DPOY twice, but this is not important. What is important is that he has won 5 defensive rounds, which is his defensive strength.

Van Gundy said: "Old K, according to the latest physical measurement data you provided, whether it is straight sprinting, back-and-forth running, or lateral speed, your current movement ability is far superior to that of a small forward, so I must put higher defensive requirements on you."

"Yes." Old Wang nodded.

Van Gundy said: "I need you to block the entire penalty area, even reach the two-point area, and return to the basket in time."

"No problem." Old Wang nodded.

Van Gundy said: "The reason why you need to defend is because Nash's defense at the first position is too poor, Joe Johnson's defense is also average, and Hardaway is the same. You need to fill in for them."

Having said that, he added another sentence: "Stoudemire, who the team has high hopes for, is also strong offensively and weak defensively based on his high school data. In the future, he will serve as the starting power forward. Your defensive task will be even heavier."

The defense of these little bastards was too bad. The worried Old Wang wanted to scratch his head, but when he saw the bald head of little Van Gundy on the opposite side, he quickly put down his hand. Only then did he understand why little Van Gundy was worried.

After talking about defense, D'Antoni began to talk about offensive tactics, saying: "Old K, in terms of offensive tactics, I plan to pay equal attention to positional warfare and fast break tactics. What do you think?"

Lao Wang also admires D'Antoni. He was very stubborn back then, but now he knows how to be flexible. He nodded and said, "I don't dislike fast breaks now, but the basis of fast breaks is that we don't lose our defense. We only have a strong enough defense. This is my nine seasons of experience, a team that doesn’t pay attention to defense cannot win a championship.”

D'Antoni broke out in sweat instantly. These words were hitting him, but old K has this qualification. He is No.9 in history with 6 championships in 1 years. In front of old K, he really doesn't have any qualifications to show.

Thinking about when he was in the Suns before, he even thought that if he were to be the head coach, he would have to sell old K to replace a few suitable All-Star small ball tactics, and he felt ashamed.

After stabilizing his emotions, he continued: "Old K, you are the five-time rebounding champion, and you are also very capable of launching fast breaks directly after grabbing backboard rebounds, so this is also one of our important fast break tactics.

At this time, if you directly initiate the fast break, than if you pass it to Nash and he initiates the fast break again, the rhythm will be faster, the links will be fewer, and the opponent will be unable to guard against it. "

Pharaoh nodded and agreed with this fast break tactic.

D'Antoni said again: "Our fast break tactics, old K, your position and your physical fitness determine whether to play fast break tactics. When your physical fitness is good, and your position is good enough when the offense and defense transition, we will play fast. If you do not meet the fast break conditions, we will play positional warfare."

Having said that, he gave some examples.

For example, when Lao Wang's position on the defensive end is too deep and when the offense and defense are switched, he is not required to quickly enter the frontcourt, while others require to advance quickly, and play when there is a good opportunity, and wait for him to play positional warfare if not.

Such a tactical setting may reduce his shots and his tactical status will decline. When D'Antoni proposed it, he was also apprehensive.

But Lao Wang agreed, but he reminded: "Mike, this tactic is only suitable for the regular season. Once it enters the playoffs, the defensive strength will increase. As long as the opponent locks up Nash, without me participating in the offensive in the frontcourt, they alone cannot solve the problem."

D'Antoni was taken aback, but seeing Lao Wang's serious performance and Colangelo Jr. staring at him, he immediately nodded and said, "I understand. I will study tactics suitable for the playoffs. If it doesn't work, then after we enter the playoffs, we will focus on positional warfare. We will only strengthen our fast-break tactics when grabbing rebounds from the backcourt."

Both Lao Wang and Jr. Colangelo nodded in relief at the same time. It seems that this stubborn D'Antoni has indeed matured now.

To be honest, this is also the reason why D'Antoni's preferred fast-break tactics did not achieve any results. Without the Suns, he would not even have the opportunity to display them. Coupled with the Suns' support for Lao Wang and Lao Wang's own status, he has no capital to compete.

After discussing tactics for a long time, when leaving, Colangelo Jr. sent Lao Wang out and said with a smile: "Old K, the league does not support our Suns now. Last season we only got 8 national live broadcasts. The operating income dropped sharply and the advertising revenue was also very little.

However, because of your comeback, we have also received some advertising revenue during this period, and several major TV broadcasters may also increase the number of Suns' live broadcasts across the United States.

In terms of tickets, season ticket sales for the new season have already started, and the average price is 2.4 times that of last season. The situation is not bad, and it's all because of you. "

"Will the national live broadcast be announced in these two days?" Old Wang asked.

"It will be announced tomorrow," said Colangelo Jr.

Lao Wang can't say how many national live broadcasts the Suns will get this time. This is very important to him and the Suns. Without the national live broadcasts, he and the Suns will not get much attention.

Of course, he no longer pays attention to personal concerns. His No.1 status in league history is there. No one can challenge his historical status for at least ten years.

But the Suns need attention, and his teammates need attention, so the national broadcast is still very important.

During the Lakers' three consecutive championships, to be precise, after the Lakers' first championship in 98, he had already become the public enemy of the league. After that championship, it was difficult for the Lakers to get reinforcements.

The next two championships for the Lakers relied on the efforts of him, Kobe, and a group of veterans to complete the dynasty. It was really difficult to win the championship in those two years.

Now, he feels that the difficulties that the Suns will encounter should not be smaller than those of the Lakers at that time. If he shows his strong strength, the Suns are likely to encounter greater difficulties and challenges.

Although Jordan has retired now, there are also many rising stars. The four major shooting guards are very strong, as well as Duncan and Dayao. In the current league, he still has many strong enemies.

Jordan's strength in the last two years has begun to decline, he dare not invest too much in defense, and there are few offensive breakthroughs. The current four major shooting guards are not weaker than Jordan in those two years.

He drove away, blocked by a crowd of reporters and Suns fans at the gate of headquarters, and after signing autographs for some fans, he gave interviews.

"Old K, now that the four major shooting guards are well-known, how do you evaluate them?" A Miami Daily reporter asked.

After pondering, Lao Wang said: "Of the four major shooting guards, I am most optimistic about Kobe. He has my iron mountain relying on his skills and his plum blossom step. After six seasons of honing, his defense has also reached the top. Now he has entered the peak period. In terms of overall ability, the four major shooting guards rank first."

"Do you think Kobe and O'Neal teaming up will pose a threat to you?" The reporter immediately asked.

"It's possible. After all, I'm already disabled. O'Neill said he would rub me against the floor. He might do it, while he was daydreaming." Old Wang said in a teasing tone.

"Ha ha……"

The reporters and surrounding fans burst into laughter.

"Old K, where are the other three shooting guards?" Another reporter asked.

"Followed by Iverson and Tracy McGrady."

Lao Wang continued: "Iverson's offensive ability is very strong, but he is limited by his size and tonnage, and his defense is not good. I think his overall ability is slightly lower than Kobe.

McGrady, for five seasons, has become a top offensive and defensive all-round shooting guard. His overall ability is no less than that of Iverson. However, because of a congenital disease, the future is not easy to say. After a major injury, the decline will be very fast.

As for Carter, the world's top dunker, his personality is not as good as Kobe and Iverson, too gentle, aggressive and competitive. "

"Old K, besides Kobe, among the three shooting guards, who do you most want to work with?" A reporter asked.

Lao Wang thought for a while and said: "Iverson, he is very fast and has unparalleled breakthrough ability. I think I can play quite well with him. But, his defense will give me a headache."

At this time, the security of the headquarters helped him open the way forward, and he had to leave.

(End of this chapter)