The way of the center

Chapter 317 Adding Building Blocks
"I'm not wrong, LaMarcus, we did it!" After the game, Anjie was the first to smile at Aldridge.

Aldridge didn't speak, he just put his hands on his waist and looked at An Jie from a distance.This is not because Aldridge doesn't want to pay attention to Anjie, but his character makes it impossible for him to make any high-profile celebrations.Ricard's two most threatening big men have formed a good working relationship.

In this world, there are countless teams trying to put two or more good guys together.But most of the teams did not benefit from it.

Whether it is the Nuggets "golden guns" composed of Anthony and Iverson, or the "tsar combination" composed of James and O'Neal.These examples all represent that basketball is not a simple superposition game.

But Anjie and Aldridge are another positive example.The two of them not only have excellent personal abilities, but also have a seamless connection on the court.

Aldridge was willing to sacrifice, willing to play any role.And An Jie, eager to win, needs an inside partner who can open up space for himself and still be able to score after opening up the space.

These two guys were pinched together by Ricard, and the effect couldn't be more perfect.The two teamed up to defeat the Thunder consecutively. The Lakers and the current Spurs are the best proof of this conclusion.

"Ann 32 points, Aldridge 28 points, the two scored 60 points together. I haven't seen any two inside combination can get so many points under Duncan's guard for many years. First Morris and Ibaka, Then came Gasol and Bynum. Thinking about it this way, it is not surprising that Duncan lost.” When Kenny Smith said this, the fans realized that Anjie and Aldridge had already defeated so many players. What a strong opponent.

They have repeatedly defeated the teams with the best interior defense in the league.Sudden rise, this word is simply suitable for the Trail Blazers.

"LaMarcus, we all know how good your performance in this game is. Will a few tough offenses also make you get rid of the title of soft guy?" At the press conference after the game, the most popular The man was An Jie, but when all the questions about An Jie were asked, people pointed their fingers at the second protagonist of this game, LaMarcus Aldridge.

"Oh, absolutely, never say that word again. If you say that word, I will ignore you for a week." The provocative reporter originally wanted to provoke Aldridge by calling him "soft guy", but unexpectedly Aldridge's answer was so cute.Even Rickard and An Jie who were on the side couldn't help laughing, this guy, when will he hear him swear.

If it were An Jie who answered the question, he might be sarcastic to the reporter.If Ricard had answered this question, he might have pointed the reporter's nose and cursed.But only Aldridge can express his dissatisfaction in a joking way.Perhaps the complementarity between Aldridge and An Jie in terms of personality is also the reason why the two can cooperate happily.

Ricard really didn't dare to think about what would happen if a guy like Anjie and Kobe were on the same team.Fortunately, Aldridge is an excellent assistant.Whether it is on or off the court, he is the best candidate for a superb second-in-command.

"Congratulations to your coach, you can have two such amazing big men at the same time." Wu Hua was the last person to ask a question at the press conference, but his speech was not so much a question as a compliment.

Based on his personal relationship with An Jie, if he wanted to interview An Jie or An Jie's teammates, it would definitely be done within a few minutes of a few phone calls.Therefore, the press conference is just a channel for Wu Hua to obtain information from other reporters.

"You're right guys, I'm proud of them." This was the first time Ricard answered the reporter so gently.

"How on earth did that son of a bitch get trained!" Just as Ricard was majestic at the press conference, Popovich yelled on the Spurs team bus.At the same time, Ricard, Divac, Olajuwon and Jeff Van Gundy all sneezed.They unconsciously put their hands in their pockets this winter, and their bodies are not so strong as they get older.
After defeating the Spurs, the Trail Blazers ranked first in the latest strength rankings.Even when he was with the Thunder, Anjie never achieved such results with his own team.

However, at the beginning of each season in the NBA, there will always be a few teams that perform miraculously.However, there are only a handful of players who can persist throughout the season.

Some teams may sprint for a while with the excitement at the beginning of the new season, and then become more and more mediocre.If it is a little bit, it may be affected by injuries and its strength will be greatly reduced.But the Trail Blazers are different. Their current lineup is very healthy, even though they have been ridiculed by fans as a "veterinary team" in the past few seasons. Their players also work very hard, because Anjie can always mobilize them with practical actions Everyone's enthusiasm.Most importantly, they have an ambitious head coach and general manager.

Orsi is only in his third year with the Trail Blazers, but he has turned the ruins of Portland into a magnificent transformation.Ranked first in the league's strength rankings, you must know that the Heat's fantasy Big Three ranked second.

But even so, Orsi and the Blazers are not complacent.Under Ricard's strong suggestion, Orsi has been working on lineup reinforcement.It is Orsi's goal to create a team with Anjie and Aldridge as the core that can make a difference in the playoffs before the trade deadline.

For now, he's just laying a good foundation.But he still has a lot to do if he wants to build tall buildings.

"Why did you call me here?" Not long after the team defeated the Spurs, Ricard was called to the office by Orsi.Under normal circumstances, these two guys don't meet many times, and they communicate on the phone about everything, unless the matter is extremely important.

"I have a clue about the guy you want." Orsi smiled and took out a file bag and threw it in front of Ricard.As if seeing gold, Rickard couldn't wait to open the file bag, took out the documents and read them carefully.

"Send Luke Babbitt?" Ricard looked at the bargaining chip, put down the document and thought.

"You know, the Rockets are in desperate need of inside players. After Yao Ming retired, the Rockets' inside is a mess. This season, they only have the Argentine Scola and the old Dalembert guarding the inside. Like Luke Babbitt Such a young power forward is definitely a player that the Rockets urgently need. Now the decision is up to you, if you think it is worth it, then we will make this deal.” Orsi did not forget his promise to Ricard, all transfers Operation, Ricard has the right to decide.Because only the head coach knows which type of player the team needs most.

Luke Babbitt was also a big killer inside when he was in college, averaging 31.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, much better than Anjie.Another point that Rickard appreciates the most is that Babbitt, like Anjie, is also a training madman.

It can be said that he is simply a shorter version of An Jie, except that he moves a little slower and his body is not so strong.The technology in the interior is very solid, and the shooting range can even cover beyond the three-point line.Such an insider, if he can be trained, he will be another All-Star, but if he can't be trained, he can also become a practical bench player.Now that Ricard should pay such a guy, it really makes him very entangled.

"What's your suggestion?" Ricard was hesitant. The chips of the Rockets were something he wanted very much, but Ricard was also interested in the guy the Trail Blazers wanted to send.

"If it were me, I would choose to make this deal. Although Babbitt's kid is really hardworking and has solid basic skills. But now the team has Anjie and Aldridge, and they will play a lot of playing time Therefore, we don’t need too many substitute insiders, nor do we need Babbitt’s type of substitute insiders. An experienced substitute insider who can defend and fight is the team’s best during the period when Anjie and Aldridge were off the court. Good substitutes. Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas in our team are already the best candidates for the backup inside position. But if this guy can come to Portland, our second team You don’t have to just look at Crawford’s face.” Orsi knew that this kind of guy doesn’t have much commercial value.However, the practical value to the team is very high.

"You can't have both, I hope Babbitt's kid can find his future in Houston. Orsi, let's make this deal!" Ricard closed all the documents, gaining and losing. This is the NBA trading rules.

"I'm going to talk to Darryl Murray right now, trust me buddy, this will be a profitable business." Orsi winked at Ricard, with Anjie and Aldridge as the core The first step in building a lineup is about to be completed.

On the second day of training after defeating the Spurs, An Jie and others found strangely that the two white insiders, Luke Babbitt and Joel Pulzbilla, did not appear in the locker room, and their wardrobes were also emptied. .There are only two situations where this kind of thing happens, either they are laid off or they are traded.

Now that the Trail Blazers' bench lineup is short of manpower, it is impossible for Orsi to lay off two people at the same time, or two inside players.What's more, Babbitt and Pulzbila are not useless to the team.The only possible explanation is that the two of them were traded.

An Jie looked at the two empty lockers with some reluctance. Although these two white insiders usually don't talk much, when An Jie and the others score a goal on the field, these two guys will always give a standing ovation immediately.Although the two of them are not as strong as Anjie and Aldridge during confrontation training, they will definitely sweat and fight for every defense and offense.But now, with no news, the two big white guys are walking away.It's too late to even say goodbye.

"Good morning, gentlemen." While everyone was still discussing, Ricard pushed the door open.In the adaptive training this morning, Ricard was not present.The guy is never late, let alone miss practice.Now he suddenly appeared without warning, which surprised the players.

"Where did you go this morning, boss?" An Jie asked puzzledly. In this locker room, he was the person who knew Ricard the most.But even he didn't know why Ricard was absent from training.Could it be that something went wrong with his child?
"Me? I have always been in the Rose Garden. By the way, I believe you already know that Babbitt and Przybilla have left us. So now, I have brought you a new teammate." After finishing speaking, Li Calder rushed out the door and waved.

A black player with short hair and a friendly smile walked into the locker room.Sure enough, Ricard really brought an outside line to the team.

"Hi everyone, my name is Courtney Lee." Rickard stood beside Li with satisfaction. He believed that this guy could get along very happily with the team.

(End of this chapter)