God of NBA point guards

Chapter 594 New Season

On the 26th, just before the start of the regular season, Zhou Quan finally completed his credits, passed the final degree examination, and finally obtained two degree certificates in Architecture and Urban Planning and Finance and Accounting.

By the time he rushed back to Seattle on the 27th, the official NBA training camp had ended, but luckily he was able to catch up with the SuperSonics' new season media day on the 28th.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon on the 27th, he went to the headquarters to learn about the team's situation.

After the meeting, Whitsitt said: "Iron Fist King, you should know that the league allows zone defense and has formulated a three-second defensive rule, as well as a two-free throw and one-throw rule for fouls on players without the ball in the last 2 minutes of the game."

Zhou Quan nodded, indicating that he understood.

In the past two years, the league has successively formulated many rules, such as the five-second violation rule formulated last season, the current zone defense, etc. These are all rules to encourage offense and make the offense better-looking and more attractive.

"Iron Fist King, I told you last time that Paul Westphal was poached by the Kings with a high salary. I chose McMillan. What do you think of him?" Whitsitt asked.

"This is your business, I have no objection."

Does Zhou Quan have any opinions? McMillan has been an assistant coach for so many years. He is an old teammate, old friend, and old acquaintance. He still has abilities. Besides, he doesn't want to interfere with management matters.

Whithit seemed very happy and gave the new lineup to Zhou Quan, saying: "Iron Fist King, you know our current situation. If we defend the title again and win another three consecutive championships, we will be an absolute public enemy of the alliance. It will be very difficult." For transactions, you can only find people from the free market.

Patrick Ewing is gone, McCoy is gone, and there is a shortage of people inside. I found two centers from the free market.

One is European center Drobiak, who is 26 years old and 211 centimeters tall. His current weight is 122 kilograms and we plan to let him gain weight to 130 kilograms.

The other is Jerome James, who is also 26 years old, 213 centimeters tall, and weighs 136 kilograms. This weight is enough to be used as a human shield.

Campbell is a bit old. He will be 34 years old in next year's playoffs. He has been injured many times and can no longer be used as a human shield. These two are basic salary human shields. They are generally useless and are designed to deal with O'Neal. "

"Let me see."

Zhou Quan nodded, took it and looked at it.

Center: Ben Wallace, Jerome James, Drobiak
Power Forward: Rashard Lewis, Eldon Campbell, Kevin Willis

Small forward: Bowen, Desmond Mason,
Defender: Zhou Quan, Corey Maggette, Shammond Williams, Arenas

Still the same as last season, they have accumulated six insiders, five of whom can play center. Counting the main center Ben Wallace, there are three big meat shields.

The small forward position is not weak. If Bowen or Mason are injured, Corey Maggette can replace the third position. He is originally a small forward. If Bowen hadn't taken the third position to start, he should have played the main small forward. forward.

There are only four people on the back line, which is a bit thin, but there is no way. There must be enough people inside to deal with O'Neal.

However, Zhou Quan is durable and has never missed a game due to injury. The first position only needs 10 minutes of substitute time at most, and the number of people in the back line is sufficient.

But there is one thing. Williams and Arenas are both point guards, and Corey Maggette is actually a small forward. This means that there is no orthodox shooting guard in the SuperSonics lineup.

He said: "Bob, we need a real shooting guard, otherwise we will be at a disadvantage at the second position. Corey Maggette doesn't even have a substitute. If he is injured, who will play the second position?"

"The main thing is that I can't find the right person. I'm always looking."

Whitsitt explained, and then said: "As for the substitute at position one, I am going to look at Arenas first, leaving one between him and Shamond Williams as a substitute for you, and then find a pointer." Wei comes in.

In fact, I am not very satisfied with Corey Maggette. He is best as a substitute for Bowen. He is not suitable for you as the main player, and it is a bit wasteful to play as a substitute. I plan to use him to trade for a main shooting guard. You see Woolen cloth? "

"Okay." Zhou Quan nodded.

Whitsitt added: "Iron Fist King, what do you think of Arenas? I gave him a two-year guaranteed contract for a total of US$128 million."

Zhou Quan asked curiously: "Bob, did you just choose him at that time?"

Whitsitt smiled and shook his head and said: "The first choice was a Turkish insider named Okur. He was not my choice. My second choice was a swingman named Bobby Simmons.

But I think you feel good about him, and there really aren't any shooting guards that I like, so I chose him. That Okur was taken by the Pistons with the 8th overall pick in the second round. "

Zhou Quan was stunned, I had a bad feeling about him, you really lost your mind at that time, we want shooting guard, you choose a point guard.

In desperation, he smiled and said: "Judging from the first impression, Arenas is a bit like Kobe, with a sense of unwillingness to admit defeat."

Whithit said: "This young man has some personality problems. He is very emotional and has poor self-control. He needs to be sharpened."

"It's up to you." Zhou Quan said nonchalantly.

Whitshit looked at the lineup list in his hand and said: "Iron Fist King, now I have another question, whether to trade Rashard Lewis."

"Defense?"

Zhou Quan didn't have to think twice to know why Whitshit wanted to trade Lewis.

"good."

Nodding, Whitsitt said: "In the first two seasons, he played well in the regular season. Last season was better, but every time he entered the playoffs, his state was far worse than in the regular season. He was not favored by the coaching staff. trust.

In addition, our main opponents in the Western Conference are still the Lakers and Spurs, as well as the Kings and Mavericks. Apart from the Lakers' main power forward, these four teams are not very good. The Spurs have Duncan, the Kings have Chris Webber, and the Mavericks With Nowitzki, Lewis is not competitive in front of these three people. He cannot help defend O'Neal against the Lakers and will be beaten every time. "

Zhou Quan smiled and said, "Bob, you probably haven't found a good trading opportunity, right? Otherwise, you would have traded him long ago."

Whitsitt laughed and said: "That's true. If you want to find a main power forward who can deal with Duncan, Webber, and Nowitzki, you have to get Garnett.

Fortunately we have Ben Wallace, so Rashard Lewis can only be used temporarily and we will talk about it later when we have the opportunity. "

"Bob, do the Spurs have any reinforcements for their lineup this season?" Changing the topic, Zhou Quan asked.

"King of Iron Fist, you attach great importance to the Spurs?" Whithit asked.

Zhou Quan said: "Since my comeback, I haven't played against Tim Duncan in the playoffs in the past two seasons. This guy and I have a common characteristic, which is stability."

Whithit nodded and said: "Yes, you are as stable as a machine on both ends of the offense and defense. But you are stronger. It is absolutely impossible for him to average 50+ per game in the series like you, and it is impossible for him to do so." Averaged a triple-double in steals per game in the series.

In the playoffs next year, David Robinson will be almost 36 years old. As he gets older and older, he will definitely provide less and less help to Duncan. Without a few strong helpers, he will definitely not be able to beat you. "Having said this, he found a Spurs lineup and said, "This is a lineup based on the Spurs' draft and trade. They acquired All-Star guard Steve Smith from the Trail Blazers.

Smith had 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season, shooting 45.6% from the field. His efficiency was okay, but he was not too threatening. Corey Maggette was no worse than him.

In addition, this time they used the No. 28 pick in the first round to select a French point guard just ahead of us, named Tony Parker. The young general Johnson went to the Nuggets. This Frenchman played in France. You can use it. Possibly serving as the starting point guard, Popovich is very bold in employing people.

Also, the main small forward Elliott retired and suffered too many injuries. Mr. Popovich got a young man named Stephen Jackson from the Nets.

This young man was a second-round pick in 97. He was selected by the Suns and was not given a guaranteed contract. He was later abandoned and then went to play abroad. He only joined the Nets last season and played in 77 games, starting 44 games. His performance generally. "

Zhou Quan took the list, looked at it, and said: "This lineup is average and shouldn't pose much of a threat to us. They are not as good as the Lakers."

Speaking of the Lakers, Whitsitt immediately said: "Cobra Grant went to the Magic again, the Lakers acquired forward Samaj Walker from the Spurs, and Rock Mitch Richmond joined the Lakers as a free agent with a minimum salary. There are no other changes. .

In fact, Richmond's agent contacted me first, but Ewing and Chris Mullin had no effect last season, and they had continuous injuries when playing against the Lakers, so I rejected these veterans who wanted to win the championship.Richmond will be 37 next year and has no gas in the tank, just like Mullin. "

Zhou Quan nodded and asked, "Is Mr. Jerry West still with the Lakers?"

"It's still there, but it's probably coming to an end. Jim Buss and Jeanie Buss now have more and more power in the Lakers management," Whitsitt said.

"The Lakers have no reinforcements. They are only stronger than O'Neal. They have no advantages in other positions. Kobe is not a problem. We can still win." Zhou Quan said lightly.

"That's great!"

Whitcht said excitedly: "If we defend the title again this season, it will be another three consecutive championships."

The two chatted for a long time, and Whitsitt suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Ruben Patterson went to the Trail Blazers."

"Can he still find a job in the league?"

Zhou Quan was really surprised. The Blazers' management is really strong. They dare to sign anyone. Can they really manage it well?
He thought of Dayao and asked: "Bob, didn't you say the Bulls would trade Brand? Has it been traded?"

Whitsitt shook his head and said: "No, the Bulls should hope that Yao Min and Brand will team up and try another season. But their core in the new season may..."

Zhou Quan shook his head and said: "It should not be clear who is the core. Yao Min's personality is not suitable for being the boss, and he is a rookie, so he cannot be the core."

"That's what I mean." Whithit nodded.

"In this way, the Bulls' lineup is actually very good. It just depends on whether they can create a chemical reaction." Zhou Quan said.

Whitsitt said: "Brand's personal statistics are good in the Bulls for two seasons, but his leadership ability is very poor. If he can't perform well this season, he will definitely be traded."

After coming out of Whitsitt's office, Zhou Quan went to find McMillan again.

McMillan used Paul Westphal's office. He was very happy when he saw Zhou Quan. While pouring coffee, he smiled and said: "Iron Fist King, you have to support me. I can't do it without your support."

"Nate, do your job well and don't mess around. Our season is very important." Zhou Quan said bluntly after sitting down.

"Of course, I know, after three consecutive championships, I won't mess around. The team will still use the original tactics. You can decide everything on the court." McMillan said very smartly.

He is not stupid. Both George Karl and Paul Westphal became famous by relying on the Iron Fist King. Each of them is a famous championship coach in the league. Now they have received high-paying contracts. He wants to do it too!
……

On the 28th, at almost nine o'clock, Zhou Quan drove to the headquarters.

Among the twelve contract players, only three have been added, namely rookie Arenas and role players, that is, two meat shield centers. There are no major changes in the lineup.

Zhou Quan greeted his teammates, called Ben and Campbell aside who had played in the preseason with the team, and asked about the current situation of the team.

"I'm in good shape."

Campbell first talked about his situation and said with a smile: "It's no problem for me to play the main role, within three to 10 minutes."

"That's right, Eldon. He's in good shape and can at least rotate into the starting position at position four." Zhou Quan encouraged.

Big Ben raised his two running arms and said in a low voice: "Boss, I have been practicing strength for several months. I heard that O'Neal has been losing weight. I think I can withstand him now."

In the last Western Conference Finals, he really couldn't withstand the 170-kilogram shark. He suffered a lot and was knocked over more than a dozen times in one game, so he has been pounding the iron throughout the offseason.

Zhou Quan nodded and smiled: "I have met O'Neal. He has lost a lot of weight. The tonnage should be 150 kilograms now. With your strength and center of gravity, you can indeed withstand him.

But he is more flexible than last season. He is no easier to deal with than last season. Just being able to withstand him is not enough. You cannot guard him. "

Ben scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "Then the weak side will need to help defend."

"Don't worry, the points O'Neal scored on you, I will get them back on Kobe. You just have to use up his energy." Zhou Quan said.

Then he asked about Arenas's situation in the locker room and his performance in the preseason. Campbell said: "That kid chose the No. 0 jersey. He has a bit of a temper. He is a bit lively in the locker room. He makes wisecracks and makes pranks. , I think he has a talent for comedy.”

"Really?" Zhou Quan was a little surprised.

Ben glanced at Arenas, who was more than 0 meters away, and suddenly said: "Mr. No. [-] also likes to take a shower wearing his jersey."

"What?" Zhou Quan was startled.

"Is he afraid that people will see his naked butt?" Campbell said.

"Haha..." Zhou Quan and Daben laughed.

Campbell added: "He is quite domineering on the court, dares to take shots, has good offensive ability with the ball, and his accuracy is not bad, and he also has three-pointers. He just doesn't like to defend, and he doesn't express much after being singled out."

Zhou Quan nodded and ended this round of communication.

The next step is to take promotional photos, which will be used for various official promotions of the team and the league.

After taking photos, there was the media session. After the press conference hall opened, hundreds of reporters and cameramen swarmed in. As Zhou Quan and others entered the hall, all the lenses started to shine.

(End of this chapter)