Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 47 The First Chance

Wang Hao is not really 19 years old, he has a mature enough mental age to not be so easily dizzy.

Although he has the potential to be cultivated, it is impossible for the team to treat him like this.

Among other things, where does this put Gary Payton?

He immediately contacted Field Simmons, and the two teamed up to win the Summer League championship, and there is still some connection.

"Field, the team wants to take the initiative to arrange training for me, and it's a separate training. What's the reason?"

He has a good relationship with Field, and he didn't intend to beat around the bush, but asked straight to the point.

"Hey, Wang, I knew you were going to ask, and actually, it's really not that big of a deal.

a First of all, don't expect too much, the Sonics are still Gary's team, and you are just his helper. "

For such a statement, Wang Hao has no objection. Today's Gary Payton is indeed one of the best players in the NBA.

It is impossible to replace him.

"However, you don't need to worry, because the team is indeed cultivating you.

Both Paul and Willie hope that you can take on the heavy responsibility of starting the team in the new season. "

"The team starts?"

"That's right, shooting guard, or small forward, it's all possible, it depends on Paul's arrangement."

……

After chatting with Field for half an hour, Wang Hao finally understood what was going on, the team had no money.

In other words, team owner Akeli does not intend to continue to spend money on signings, and the salary of the Supersonics is not low.

According to the 1999 labor contract, the NBA is about to implement a luxury tax, and the penalties and deductions are not small.

However, this plan will not take place until the 01-02 season, and now it is just a buffer period.

To put it bluntly, Akeli didn't intend to spend money.

The salary of the Sonics is indeed not low. The salary of Gary Payton and Vin Baker alone exceeds 2000 million.

It's just that, plus other people's salaries, it's about 3500 million.

This salary is not the lowest, but compared to the 7200 million of the New York Knicks, the 5500 million of the Lakers is really not worth mentioning.

The boss is unwilling to spend money, so as the team manager and head coach, naturally they can only be discovered internally.

Today's Sonics, after a series of transactions, last season's lineup has long been completely broken up.

The newly-introduced Horace Grant and Wen Baker formed an inside line, which can be regarded as a relatively stable starting partner.

Coupled with Gary Payton, as long as there are no injuries in these three positions, they should be fine.

The most serious problem is actually the front line.

Whether it is the introduction of Brent Barry or the signing of newcomers including Wang Hao, it is all to build a forward and defensive line.

In the original time and space, Ruben Patterson was able to serve as the starter of the Sonics as a sophomore, which is the reason.

When no one is available, Ruben Patterson, who is good at defense, can only start the team.

Today, the Sonics have a better option.

Wang Hao's defense is no worse than Ruben Patterson's, and his offense has a three-pointer, which is obviously more suitable for starting.

With his partners Gary Payton and Wen Baker, he can not only respond to Gary Payton on the outside, but also open up space for Wen Baker.

Wen Baker and Gary Payton are both good inside offensive players. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have Wang Hao open up space for them.

In fact, the Sonics also had this idea when they introduced Brent Barry. It is said that they were actively introducing Fron Maxwell not long ago.

First go back to New York to pack up things, then move out of the apartment, Wang Hao went straight to Seattle.

Sure enough, Willie Walker was already waiting, and Wang Hao was somewhat flattered by the general manager's appearance in person.

"Wang, we have arranged training for you. You need to train with Vernon until the start of the new season."

"Mr. Willie, don't worry, I will train well."

As for the Vernon Maxwell that Willie Walker was talking about, of course Wang Hao knew this one.

In 94 and 95, Mosaic won the championship.

The reason why he is asked to help Wang Hao in training is also very simple, it is to improve Wang Hao's three-point shooting ability.

Vernon has won the three-point champion twice in the season and is an out-and-out super shooter.

Moreover, what he is good at is not only three-pointers, he also does a very good job in defense and breakthrough.

The idea of ​​the Sonics is also very simple, they hope that Wang Hao can play the role of Vernon on the court.

However, since Vernon Maxwell already exists, why let Wang Hao develop in this direction?
The reason is simple, Vernon is 35 years old, at the end of his career, and will not play too much time.

Of course, these are not what impressed Wang Hao the most. This guy is not a good person!
Once rushed to the stands to beat the fans.

That is to say, the NBA system was not perfect at that time, otherwise, he would only be worse than Artest.

Of course, this was nothing to Vernon.

The most extreme thing is that he joined the Sonics for half a season. This guy actually stole his teammate's wife.

What's even more ridiculous is that the person he was stealing from was Gary Payton. You know, he and Gary Payton have been best friends for many years.

For this matter, Gary Payton and Vernon Maxwell fought directly in the locker room.

In this regard, Wang Hao, as a melon eater, is quite speechless.

After all, although Gary Payton looks a bit ugly, the problem is, this Vernon Maxwell is not handsome either!

I don't know what Gary's wife thinks.

Of course, this kind of incident may only shock Wang Hao, and it is the same for other NBA players.

After all, this kind of shit happens a lot in the NBA.

It was nearly 9 o'clock when Vernon Maxwell appeared in the training hall.

"Hi, Willie."

"Hi, Vernon, let me introduce you, this is Wang."

"Hello, king!"

"Hi Vernon, I'm so excited to have the opportunity to study with you."

Vernon Maxwell nodded, looking not very interested, with a perfunctory attitude.

Sure enough, after Willie Walker left, Vernon Maxwell said this.

"Hey, rookie, to be honest, I don't want to give you any special training, it has nothing to do with me.

However, the Sonics are willing to pay the salary, well, I will teach you how to play.

It's just that, I only do what I need to do, as for whether you can learn it, that's up to you! "

"I see!"

Wang Hao didn't talk nonsense, everyone said that he was working for money, so he didn't need to make any connections.

Having stayed in the United States for more than a year, he is not too familiar with such a situation.

For Chinese people, helping each other is actually a matter of maintaining contacts.

You help me, I help you, this is not a favor.

It's not that foreigners don't care about human relations, but more often, they only have interests in their eyes.

Regardless of the fact that Vernon Maxwell is the championship and the three-point leader, in fact, he has never been the core of the team.

Not being able to be the core of the team means that he cannot get a big contract, otherwise he will not come out to work after a long time.

For him, a real salary is more important than supporting newcomers.

(End of this chapter)