Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 313 313. The last two signings!Make up the list of 15 people!The most "star flavor" team in history!

The two signings of the Grizzlies after the opening of the free market can be said to be as powerful as an atomic bomb.

Let the league's teams preparing for the championship next season feel desperate.

Although many core players of the Grizzlies left the team this summer, Paul Gasol, Zach Randolph, Michael Reed, Louis Williams, Artest.

These players are all important figures who helped the Grizzlies win the championship last season. Leaving the team during the offseason will definitely have a great impact on the overall strength of the Grizzlies.

But the Grizzlies' core backcourt double guns last season, Chris Paul and Kevin Martin, continued to stay with the team.

And the best defensive player, Marc Gasol, is also a member of the Grizzlies. Just with this three-man lineup, the Grizzlies only need to make some repairs in other positions, and they will still be one of the biggest favorites in the league next season. one.

As a result, at the beginning of the free market, the Grizzlies successively signed two stars, Tim Duncan and Sean Marion.

Not only made up for the vacancy after Paul Gasol and Artest left the team, in a sense, Duncan's joining also made the Grizzlies stronger.

After these two signings, the Grizzlies' starting lineup for next season has been released, and all five positions are players who have played well in the league.

The scariest thing is that, except for former MVP Kevin Martin, the other four players in the starting lineup are all top defensive players in the league.

Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, and Marc Gasol occupy the best defensive team all year round. Although Sean Marion has not been selected to the best defensive team in his career, his defensive efficiency is definitely the most efficient among small forward players.

As the team that ranked first in the league in offensive firepower last season, the Grizzlies have strengthened their defensive strength in the new season without any changes in the backcourt.

This set of starters definitely makes every team in the league tremble.

The only bad thing is that with Zach Randolph and Michael Reid leaving the team, the Grizzlies' backup firepower has been weakened.

This makes fans very worried about whether the Grizzlies can still produce explosive output like last season in the new season.

Although the Grizzlies strengthened Al Harrington, who averaged 20+ points per game last season, Harrington's offensive dominance is obviously weaker than that of "Big Black Bear" Zach Randolph. few.

It is difficult to still play Zach Randolph's crushing advantage when facing a playoff team.

And the only players currently available to the Grizzlies on the guard line in the new season are rookie Juho Ledi, and Afflalo, who was just traded from the Pistons not long ago, but has not proven himself.

It is still unknown what kind of performance the backcourt combination of Juho Ledi and Efflalo can perform in the new season.

However, fans can be sure of one thing, no matter what kind of individual performances Juho Ledi and Efflalo can perform in the new season, it will be difficult to compare with the "former deer king" Michael Reed, who won the best sixth man last season.

After all, Reed has been the boss of the Bucks, and he is better than Holiday and Afflalo in terms of self-confidence and court experience.

Coupled with the fact that the Grizzlies lost the three-pointer James Jones not long ago, the outside world is currently speculating that the Grizzlies' performance next season may hardly be better than last season.

Even though the reinforced Grizzlies have become stronger in terms of starting lineup, overall, the Grizzlies are more like gradually transforming from a purely offensive team to an offensive and defensive team.

The Grizzlies' offensive firepower in the new season is likely to decline, but their defensive capabilities must have improved.

Right now, the Grizzlies have only thirteen players on their roster, and they can sign up to two players to complete the roster.

And after signing Tim Duncan and Marion, the Grizzlies' current salary space is not crowded, and they are fully capable of continuing to strengthen in the free market.

What is slightly worse is that the remaining salary space of the Grizzlies is not enough to offer a maximum salary, and the current free market has very limited players for the Grizzlies to choose from except for those players who will definitely get a maximum salary contract.

Coupled with the fact that Al Harrington and Gallinari were traded from the Knicks not long ago, the Grizzlies' current striker configuration is already very luxurious.

Marion, Duncan, Al Harrington, Gallinelli and Novak.

If you add players like Kevin Martin, Efflalo and Trenton Hassel who can play both small forwards and shooting guards, the Grizzlies' striker configuration has seriously exceeded the standard.

In contrast, apart from Chris Paul and Kevin Martin, the only players that the Grizzlies can choose from on the back line are Ju Holiday and Efflalo.

Once an injury occurs in the regular season, the Grizzlies' back line will directly break down and fall into a state where no one is available.

The Grizzlies are thinking about strengthening next, and they can only start with the team's weakest guard line.

Everyone in the outside world can see this problem clearly. I believe the Grizzlies management knows better what to do next.

The opening of the free market not only made the league lively, but also made many teams in the league live in fear every day.

I am afraid that when I wake up, I will hear the bad news that the Grizzlies have been strengthened again.

After all, the Grizzlies management has a high vision, and the reinforcements have always been players who are well-known in the league, and the Grizzlies basically don't even look at those unknown existences.

This is also the reason why the teams are reluctant to hear the news of the Grizzlies' reinforcements. It is really frightening to hear every deal, and I am afraid that next season will be one step closer to the finale.

…………

On August 8, local time in the United States, less than a week after the defending champion Grizzlies released the news last time, the Grizzlies once again reported a signing.

And the occurrence of this signing made the teams very surprised. Until the Grizzlies officially issued a document to confirm, there were still people who kept messing in the wind.

According to the official announcement of the Grizzlies, the team has officially reached a contract with veteran point guard Jason Kidd.

The two parties signed a two-year $1000 million contract, of which the second year is a team option, and the Grizzlies can choose whether to implement Kidd's contract for the next year.

Kidd, who was born in 1973, is 36 years old this year, and he is definitely the oldest point guard in the league.

Last season, a very old Jason Kidd played for the Dallas Mavericks and played a full 81 games for the team. His physical condition does not look like a veteran at all.

In addition, the 36-year-old Kidd's average playing time is still as high as 36 minutes.

在36分钟的上场时间里，基德场均能够交出9分6.1篮板8.7助攻以及1.9次抢断，是联盟数据最全面的后卫球员之一。

Jason Kidd is indeed old, and his foot speed is gradually unable to keep up with the footsteps of young players. In many cases, he needs the help of his teammates to make up for the lack of defense.

However, as an old guy who has been selected to the All-Defensive Team nine times in his career, Jason Kidd's defensive awareness is absolutely top-notch in history.

Looking at the entire history, except for "The Glove" Payton, no point guard dares to say that his defense is better than Jason Kidd.

Kidd's core strength is very strong, which allows Kidd to misplace defensive forwards at certain times, and can boldly switch defenses with inside players when defending pick-and-rolls, without worrying about the embarrassment of being overwhelmed by the opponent.

Jason Kidd has been selected to the All-Star [-] times in his career, selected to the All-NBA Team six times, selected to the All-Defensive Team nine times, and won the league assists leader five times.

In terms of field control ability alone, Kidd is definitely a fossil-level existence. When he was young, Kidd was once nicknamed "the base does not attack" by fans.

Even if Kidd is placed two steps away from the three-point line to defend, Kidd is unwilling to participate in the offense.

But as he got older, Kidd's athletic ability began to decline, and it was difficult to pass the opponent in one-on-one and kill the penalty area.

This forced Kidd to put more shots outside the three-point line. Last season, Kidd averaged 5.6 three-point shots per game, which is much higher than the average point guard.

The 40.6% three-point shooting rate is a career high. There is no doubt that Jason Kidd is undergoing transformation under the reform of the historical trend.

During the offseason of this year, Kidd also released a video of himself practicing three-pointers on the Internet. In the video, Kidd made 16 consecutive three-pointers at the top of the arc, which made fans seriously doubt whether this video is Kidd. Clipped special effects.

In his peak season, Kidd averaged 19 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Even though his personal status has declined due to his age in the past two years, Kidd always occupied the position of the Mavericks' starting point guard last season.

No one thought that Kidd would give up the contract offered by the Mavericks during the offseason and turn around and throw himself into the arms of the Grizzlies.

The 36-year-old Kidd's career has been completed, and the honors he deserves are basically in his hands. At present, Kidd is only short of a championship to embellish his entire career.

The Grizzlies' contract for Jason Kidd is not much less than that of the Mavericks, and the average annual contract is only more than 100 million US dollars less than the contract offered by the Mavericks.

This little money is really nothing in the eyes of Jason Kidd, especially when compared with the championship, this is not a multiple-choice question at all.

Kidd is very clear about what he needs more at this stage of his career. The Mavericks can provide him with a place to retire, but he can't bring him the championship ring he dreams of.

The most promising player in the entire league to win the championship next season is undoubtedly the Grizzlies who have just achieved two consecutive championships.

Coupled with the fact that the Grizzlies' back line just needs to be reinforced, and head coach Luke personally called to recruit, Kidd couldn't refuse this kind of temptation.

The signing negotiations between the two parties went very smoothly. Luke didn't even meet with Kidd in private. They just communicated briefly on the phone.

Kidd needs to strive to wear a championship ring like Karl Malone before he retires. No matter which team he joins in the offseason, achieving the goal is the most important thing.

The Grizzlies signing Kidd not only strengthened the weak back line configuration, but also added half a coaching staff member.

Kidd's golf quotient is very good, and he has always been a very creative game engine on the court.

Even though Kidd is a player, he participated in the team's coaching staff during the Nets period and discussed game tactics with the coaching staff.

A coaching staff with the configuration of Luke, Nelson and D'Antoni naturally does not need Kidd to make suggestions, but the Grizzlies will definitely not suffer a loss if they can sign Kidd with a two-year $1000 million contract.

In particular, Kidd's excellent coping ability can easily connect the entire team's offense on the bench. With Chris Paul, it can ensure that the Grizzlies remain calm at any time on the court.

Both Paul and Kidd are very smart players, and when these two play for the same team in the new season, that scene will definitely become very interesting.

…………

After signing Jason Kidd, the Grizzlies currently have 15 players on their 14-man roster.

Originally, Luke planned to reserve the last position for "Mad Dog" Beverly. Beverly's fierce defensive attitude was very aggressive.

Although the offensive ability is very weak, but if necessary, it can be used as a half thug to harass the opponent's main force.

Luke appreciates players like Beverly, who always maintain passion on the court and can always drive the atmosphere of the entire team through desperate defense.

Unfortunately, before Luke sent Chris Wallace to contact Beverly, Luke suddenly received a call from his former disciple Allen Iverson.

Iverson hopes to join the Grizzlies with a basic salary contract during the offseason, and strive to get a fat contract in the free market next year.

Last season, Iverson, who played for the Detroit Pistons, entered the low point of his career. Although he still averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game, the poor offensive efficiency and Iverson's bohemian character made the team Not willing to sign the thorn at all.

It has been nearly half a month since the start of the free market, but no team in the league has contacted Iverson in private, which made Iverson feel unhappy and helpless at the same time.

Under normal circumstances, Iverson was indeed ignored during this offseason, and eventually had to use a $56 contract to join the Grizzlies.

However, after only playing three games for the Grizzlies, Iverson was waived by the management, and finally returned to the 76ers symbolically for a period of time to announce his retirement.

In this life, because of Luke, Iverson has received more honors than before, but the problem of not loving training has never been improved.

After leaving the Timberwolves, Iverson, who was suffering from injuries, deteriorated day by day until he completely entered a trough last season and became a cancer in the eyes of Detroit fans. people.

In the peak season, Iverson averaged 33 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists per game. He is the lone hero who can beat the OK combination to 50+ in the finals.

While playing for the Timberwolves, Iverson also won the regular season MVP and finals MVP under Luke, and he has long since lost the title of uncrowned king.

Even if Iverson's state has declined seriously in the past two seasons, it is enough to crush more than 70% of the players in the league.

After receiving Iverson's call, Luke thought for a moment, and finally decided to sign Iverson with the last spot to complete the Grizzlies' 15-man roster for the new season.

Iverson's extremely confident offensive firepower can contribute more to the team than Beverly. Even though Iverson in this period may not be as good as Michael Reed last season, but after partnering with Jason Kidd in the new season The field is definitely a very beautiful landscape.

After signing Allen Iverson with the team's last spot, the Grizzlies' 15-man roster for next season is full.

Guard:

Chris Paul, Iverson, Kidd, Holiday.

Swingman:
Kevin Martin, Afflalo, Trenton Hassel.

Up front:

Marion, Al Harrington, Gallinari, Novak,
Inside:

Duncan, Marc Gasol, Hibbert, and Yi Jianlian.

Whether the reinforced Grizzlies are stronger than last season is unclear to the fans, but what the fans know is that there is absolutely no team in history that can be more "star flavor" than the Grizzlies next season!
　It's almost too late, this guy is in a hurry, sweating!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)