God of NBA point guards

Chapter 615 This is the wrong decision

The first person from the Sonics to announce his departure was Kevin Willis. He did not get a contract extension from the Sonics and then joined the Spurs as a free agent.

Elden Campbell was the second to leave. Like Willis, he did not get Whitsitt's contract extension and chose to leave and join the Hornets as a free agent.

The annual salaries of these two veterans were not low last year. Willis was 300 million and Earl was 700 million. Whitsitt will definitely not renew his contract. He needs to introduce younger players and at the same time provide the team with the current salary. There is room for young people to renew their contracts.

The third person to announce his departure was Lewis. The Magic finally fulfilled their wish and reached a deal with Whitsitt, and they only signed after the freeze period.

The Magic promised Lewis the main power forward position, and also promised to give him a contract with an annual salary of tens of millions at the end of the contract.

The SuperSonics paid Rashard Lewis, the Magic paid an unprotected first-round pick in 04, and Mike Miller, the No. 00 pick in the first round of 5.

Mike Miller is 203 centimeters tall, a swingman at forward and guard. His position overlaps with McGrady. The Magic chose to use him as a bargaining chip. Just as Bowen and Mason were about to leave the team, Cory Maggette's height is still a bit short for small forwards. The SuperSonics also Need a small forward.

But in this case, Arenas will have to continue to play as a substitute, and the main position at the second position will have to be given to Corey Maggette.

Iron Fist King, Big Ben, Mike Miller, Corey Maggette or Arenas are still missing the main power forward and the backup power forward is also missing.

Now it is necessary to add at least three power forwards, plus Ben Wallace and two meat shield centers, and six people inside can cope with the Spurs' Duncan and David Robinson, and the Lakers' O'Neal.

Whitsitt hopes to trade Bowen and Mason for a main power forward, which may be difficult, as the trade value of these two is not very high.

The Spurs have always wanted Bowen, but apart from Tim Duncan, they don't have any bargaining chip that the Sonics want. Whitsitt doesn't want to be cheap for the Spurs. The Spurs are very strong and will be a strong force for the SuperSonics to win the championship next season. competitors.

As for the Lakers, they failed to dig up Ben Wallace, so they later announced that they had signed a contract with Karl Malone and held a press conference. The postman joined the Lakers for a minimum salary for the championship.

This news shocked both the Spurs and SuperSonics.

"Shark + Postman, the strongest insider combination in history." New York Times.

"The Lakers are aiming for the championship!" Los Angeles Times.

Whitsitt was very lucky to have listened to the words of the Iron Fist King and kept Ben Wallace. Otherwise, unless they get a top defensive center like Mutombo, the Sonics will have no resistance at all under O'Neal and Karl Malone.

But the inside combination of O'Neal + Karl Malone still makes him feel a lot of pressure, and the Sonics still don't have a main power forward.

He is now looking for a defensive power forward with a tough style. A power forward like Rashard Lewis will cry in front of the Sharks and the Postman.

In this way, although the inside offensive ability has declined, there is still an iron fist king to carry the offense. The most important thing now is to increase the inside defensive strength.

On July 7, Whitsitt suddenly received an offer from the Knicks. The Knicks hoped to trade Latrell Sprewell for Arenas, Bowen, and Corey Maggette.

"Are you crazy?"

He asked people to check Sprewell's data. The Knicks' second scoring point in the regular season last season averaged 19.4 points per game, but only shot 40.4% from the field. He accounted for so many points, but his efficiency was so low. , no wonder the Knicks didn't even make it to the playoffs. The more this guy scores, the worse the Knicks will lose. Why does such a person have to change one for three?

He flipped through the Knicks player list, and when he saw Kurt Thomas's name, he felt a little moved.

Kurt Thomas is a blue-collar power forward, 206 cm tall, 30 years old. He played in 82 games last season, started 82 games, averaged 34 minutes per game, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, and shot 49.8% from the field.

The offensive method is single, mainly relying on a precise mid-range shot. He has a strong ability to escape. He has a hit rate of more than [-]% in the near two-point, mid-range, and far two-point range. This mid-range shot is already very good. The Postman is one of the best mid-range shots. Wang also has this hit rate.

But the reason why he likes Kurt Thomas is that Thomas is good at low-post defense, has a very tough style, can shoulder Duncan and Garnett, and is also very good at rebounding. He is the main power forward that the Sonics need.

He looked at the Knicks' quotation list, then looked at the Knicks' player list. After thinking for a while, he picked up a pen and crossed out Sprewell's name on it, replaced it with Kurt Thomas, and then crossed it out again. The names of Bowen and Arenas were mentioned.

Cory Maggette replaced Kurt Thomas alone. In his opinion, the Sonics would suffer some losses because Cory Maggette has star potential, while Thomas is just a blue-collar worker. He also asked the Knicks to add a future Second round draft pick.

After the offer sheet was sent to the Knicks, it came back soon. The Knicks sent a new offer sheet. They agreed to use Kurt Thomas as a bargaining chip, but instead of Corey Maggette, they wanted Arenas and Bowen.

Whitsitt is a little strange. Arenas is okay. He showed his star potential in his rookie season and played more minutes in the playoffs than Lewis. But what does the Knicks want Bowen for?
Now this Knicks is no longer the iron-blooded Knicks built by Pat Riley. Why are they so insistent on a blue-collar small forward who can't attack but only defend?
But the Knicks were in the Eastern Conference, couldn't make the playoffs, and had no competition with the SuperSonics, so he put aside these ideas and began to consider this offer list.

Arenas has potential, but his real position is point guard, so the Sonics do not have a high demand for Arenas. After Arenas comes out, he will basically not be able to keep him if he renews the contract. Now Trading is also possible.

Bowen, in fact, he has never liked this player very much. He only defends and is not very accurate in open three-pointers. He often misses open balls passed to him by the Iron Fist King. Last season, his shooting percentage was only 41%.

In this case, let's trade. Get two people who are not very needed by the team. You can also exchange them for the main power forward that the team needs.

However, he changed the offer sheet, replacing Arenas with Corey Maggette, and letting the Knicks add a chip to replace power forward Osela Hanington.

Maggette is a breakthrough forward and guard swingman with mediocre shooting ability. He only shot 27% from the near two-point range and only 38% from the mid-range. He was also unstable. He only had 26% last season. He was even better from the long range. Some, barely close to 45%, the overall shooting rate last season was [-]%, mainly relying on breakthrough layups to increase the shooting rate. If they only rely on outside shooting, the efficiency is very low.Also because he can't shoot well, Corey Maggette is of little use when playing against teams like the Lakers and Spurs because he can't break in.

He feels that it is better to keep Arenas. Arenas has three-pointers and pull-up jumpers, as well as breakthroughs and higher potential. He is more suitable to play next to the Iron Fist King than Maggette.

Soon, this quotation was rejected by the Knicks. The Knicks insisted on the previous quotation. Soon after, the deal was reached, Arenas + Bowen, in exchange for Kurt Thomas + Hanington.

After the transaction was completed, Whitsitt wrote down the main lineup for next season on a blank piece of paper, namely Ben Wallace, Kurt Thomas, Mike Miller, Corey Maggette, and Zhou Quan.

The main inside combination of Ben Wallace + Kurt Thomas has no problem with low-post defense and rebounding. Thomas also has a good ability to draw space, which can provide breakthrough space for the outside.

Mike Miller, the Rookie of the Year in the 00/01 season, his defensive ability can only be said to be passable, not very good. He lacks offensive ability with the ball and has no speed. His breakthrough ability is not strong and his mid-range shot is inaccurate. If it is a big year in the draft, Maybe lottery picks are not eligible.

But he has an accurate three-pointer and can be regarded as an open shooter. The SuperSonics have Corey Maggette and Zhou Quan on the back line. There is no need for a small forward to hold the ball and break through the offense. The mid-range shooter also has Zhou Quan and Kurt Thomas. , his mid-range shot is not needed, Miller's open three-pointer is suitable for staying next to the Iron Fist King.

At the same time, Mike Miller's three-pointer and Kurt Thomas' mid-range shooting ability can also make up for Corey Maggette's lack of three-pointers and inaccurate shooting.

Overall, the matching attributes of this main lineup are okay, and each other's strengths can make up for the shortcomings of teammates.

Inside, he is weak in offense and defense, has strong rebounding ability, lacks low post offense, has the ability to draw space, has mid-range shooting, and has the ability to play secondary offense.

On the outside, the defense is not as good as last season. The defense of Corey Maggette and Mike Miller is only qualified. Only the Iron Fist King is the strongest gate in the history of the outside line. The Iron Fist King has to bear more outside defensive pressure.

But the offense is stronger than last season, and the ability to take advantage of open spaces is also stronger than last season. He has the ability to break through with the ball, as well as fixed-point three-pointers and mid-range shots from the outside. There is no obvious weakness on the offensive end.

In terms of the substitute lineup, there are two human shields at the fifth position, which is enough, but there is only Osela Hanington at the fourth position, and Mike Miller can only temporarily support him.

At No. [-], Desmond Mason is the No. [-] substitute.There is only one substitute on the back line, Shamond Williams.

There are ten people in total, and there are still two short of the 12-man roster. We need a defender and a forward who can play the fourth position.

Soon, the management informed Arenas and Bowen that they had been traded.

Arenas was very angry after learning the news from his agent. He felt abandoned and betrayed by the team.

"I'm going to let them know it was the wrong decision, the very wrong decision," he angrily told agent Dan Fagan.

Dan Fagan advised: "Forget it, Gilbert, the Big Apple is the best city, and you should be happy."

"Well, I vow to make a name for myself in New York and let the SuperSonics and Iron Fist King see it." Arenas said unwillingly.

As for Bowen, he has already submitted a trade application, and going to the Knicks is exactly what he wants.

The day after completing the deal with the Knicks, the Knicks suddenly reached a deal with the Spurs, trading the newly acquired Bowen for Spurs All-Star guard Steve Smith.

"damn it!"

Whitsitt was a little depressed after hearing the news. The Spurs had always wanted Bowen, and now they finally got it.

Bowen was once again informed by his agent that he was going to play for the Spurs next season, which made him a little disappointed. After all, the Big Apple is the largest city in the world that he most yearns for.

On July 7, the Wizards completed a three-way deal with the Pistons and Knicks, and then Arenas went to the Wizards, Hamilton went to the Pistons, and Jerry Stackhouse went to the Knicks.

Arenas was traded again, and his proud heart was almost depressed to death. The Knicks, like the SuperSonics, became the team he wanted to take revenge on in the future.

Next, Whitsitt signed forward Jonathan Bender and shooting guard Laga Bell from the free market with a minimum salary.

Bender was the No. 99 pick in the first round of 5, the same pick as Mike Miller. He is 211 centimeters tall and can play the fourth or fifth positions. He is extremely physically talented, but he is tall enough to be a center and can complete the free throw line like a guard. He can dunk with his hands and can even shoot three-pointers with great accuracy.

It's just that he has an injury problem, and that's his knees. During the NCAA, it was detected that the cartilage in both knees was severely worn.

After being selected by the Raptors, he was traded to the Pacers. The Pacers gave up after two seasons due to serious knee injuries.

When Bender's injury was severe, he had difficulty walking upstairs. He only played 24 games in his rookie season, averaging only 5.4 minutes per game, and only played 59 games in his second season, averaging 7.9 minutes per game.

Whitshit was signed with a minimum salary and was only used as a marginal player. He was not expected to grow back his cartilage and was not given much time.

Lagabell was an undrafted player in 99. Philadelphia gave up on him after two years. He had little strength and little potential, so he was signed as a marginal player.

(End of this chapter)