Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 318 318. The Consequences of the Transaction!According to gossip: next year is the draft year!Luke: What's the matter?
In the second quarter, the two sides entered the competition in the rotation stage.

In order to win the championship this season, the Cavaliers spent a lot of money in the offseason. The management not only signed a star-studded starting lineup, but also made some reinforcements for the bench lineup.

"Big Z" Ilgauskas, Varejao, JJ Hickson, Anthony Parker, "Moon" Moon, Daniel Gibson, Telfair…

Although these players are not considered league stars, their personal abilities are definitely recognized. Everyone has proved themselves in the NBA and proved that they have the strength to make a name for themselves in the NBA.

Especially "Big Z" Ilgauskas, who has been selected to the NBA All-Star team twice in his career. Definitely one of the best players on the bench in the league.

Ilgauskas from Lithuania is 118 meters tall and weighs [-] kilograms. The reason why he can overwhelm the restricted area is mainly due to his giant height.

However, the Grizzlies backup center Roy Hibbert is also [-] meters tall. Although he is three centimeters shorter than Ilgauskas, with his more powerful physical fitness, he can compete with "Big Z" Ilgauskas. Goskas has the upper hand in the matchup.

Throughout the second quarter, Hibbert not only successfully completed the important task of defending Ilgauskas, but also succeeded in many singles "Big Z" on the offensive end, which made Cavaliers coach Mike Brown sit on the court and couldn't bear to look directly at him.

The saying that time is not forgiving is suitable for Ilgauskas in this game.

Even though the 34-year-old Ilgauskas has a lot of experience on the court, facing Roy Hibbert, who is in his early 20s, he can only stand at attention and be beaten.

In his 20s, he was at the most lively stage on the court. Seeing Hibbert play very easily against Ilgauskas' defense, Jason Kidd also hit the ball inside many times.

Help the Grizzlies sort out the offense rationally and try to maximize the offensive efficiency on the court.

In addition, Al Harrington still maintains a stable personal performance at this point.

Facing the "Brazilian diving king" Anderson Varejao, Harrington used ingenious offensive skills to avoid being tricked into a foul by Varejao.

Before joining the Grizzlies, Al Harrington was originally one of the best strikers in the league, with scoring data above 18 points all year round.

His status in the league is a bit similar to that of Tobias Harris in later generations. Obviously, his personal data in each season is very good, and his competitive level has always been maintained at around 20 points.

Even the offensive efficiency can reach the upper-level level in the league, but the popularity is always a little bit worse, not to mention being selected to the All-Star team, and even many fans don't know the guy "Mop" Harris.

The current situation of Harrington is quite similar to that of Harris. The two players have always been in a stable competitive state. It can be said that they are basically as stable as old dogs.

However, this summer, with the help of Grizzlies shooting coach Dell Curry, Al Harrington greatly improved the efficiency of three-pointers, which also allowed Harrington to strengthen the last shortcoming on the offensive end.

Although Harrington's physical condition this season is not as strong as it was at his peak, his comprehensive offensive methods have completely transformed Harrington into an all-round fighter, who can kill the game with almost any means.

Facing the defense of Varejao, the "dipping king" in league history, Harrington cleverly avoided all body collisions that might be misjudged by the referee, and frequently used emergency stop jumpers on both sides of the basket to cause damage.

As a striker swinging in the third and fourth positions, Harrington's lateral movement speed is also much better than that of Varejao.

Taking advantage of the speed visible to the naked eye, Harrington unsurprisingly dominated the entire second quarter, scored consecutive points on Varejao's head, and joined hands with Roy Hibbert to expand the lead to more than 20 points.

Seeing that neither the starters nor the substitutes were able to fight back on the field, Mike Brown has gone from being anxious at the beginning to helpless later, until now sitting on the sidelines indifferently, as if he has recognized this ending.

At the same time, LeBron James, who was sitting off the court and kept biting his nails, showed confusion in his eyes.

Originally, LeBron James thought that the team would make crazy reinforcements during the offseason, and that they would have the opportunity to compete with the defending champion Memphis Grizzlies in the new season.

As a result, once the opening game started, the Grizzlies shattered all the fantasies of LeBron James in only half a quarter of the game.

The whirlwind combination of Paul and Tim Duncan is like a real whirlwind on the field, which makes the Cavaliers unable to get out at all.

The starting lineup can't take advantage of the Grizzlies, and now even the backup lineup is hung up by the Grizzlies. Everything makes LeBron James despair.

James has always planned his life since he was a child. Compared with other players who only care about how much money they can make in their careers, James cares about more things.

He hopes that one day he can surpass Michael Jordan and become the god of a new generation of basketball.

However, the existence of Luke is like a stumbling block, crushing all the beautiful fantasies of LeBron James about the future.

Last season was the second time James led the Cavaliers to the finals. Compared with Jordan in the same period, James, who reached the finals twice, undoubtedly has a higher starting point.

However, during the two trips to the finals, James fell under Luke's hands. The record of [-] wins and [-] losses in the finals was like a nail pierced into James' heart, making James' eyes full of fog, and he could not see anything about the future. hope.

Michael Jordan successfully won the championship trophy in the seventh season of his career, and this year is also the seventh season after LeBron James entered the league.

In order to catch up with Michael Jordan's footsteps this season, James did not hesitate to force the Cavaliers' management, and successfully recruited two stars this summer, making the Cavaliers look extremely powerful.

But right now, the Grizzlies gave the Cavaliers a blow in the opening game, leaving LeBron James, head coach Mike Brown, and the Cavaliers management in a state of confusion.

James doesn't know whether he can win the championship in the future, and Mike Brown, who has lost consecutive playoffs, doesn't know where to go next.

The Cavaliers' management has just signed a contract of hundreds of millions of dollars with "Small Overlord" Stoudemire. If they fail to win the championship this season, James is likely to leave Cleveland.

For the Cavaliers management, this is undoubtedly a devastating blow.

Even the "little emperor" James could not lead the Cavaliers to win the championship, let alone whether the "little bully" Stoudemire could take over this important task from James.

James' personal influence can definitely leave Stoudemire two blocks away. Once James really leaves the Cavaliers, even if the team still has two stars, Stoudemire and Jamison, it will not help.

At that point, the best way out for the Cavaliers is to struggle for playoff tickets, and the worst is to sell stars at a low price and enter the rebuilding phase of the post-LeBron James era...

Changing sides to fight again in the second half, the Cavaliers obviously do not intend to give up this game.

Losing to the Grizzlies is not an unacceptable result for the Cavaliers, but being beaten by the Grizzlies helplessly in the opening game, which is broadcast live across the United States, is something that none of the Cavaliers want to see.

Throughout the second half, the Cavaliers also played a counterattack climax under the leadership of LeBron James. However, Mo Williams and Jamison could not prevent the high pick-and-roll of Paul and Duncan.

In the face of Paul and Duncan's continuous pick-and-roll cooperation, what the Cavaliers can do is to try to limit the offensive efficiency of this "whirlwind combination" through assisting defense.

And when the Cavaliers began to increase the frequency of defense in the second half, Kevin Martin, who was on the weak side, stood up immediately.

In the Grizzlies' tactical system this season, Martin mainly serves as an off-ball attraction on the weak side.

When the Cavaliers put more defensive focus on Paul and Duncan, Martin used his actions to tell the Cavaliers what it means to kill people.

What I have to say is that if a player at the MVP level in the regular season stands on the weak side to attract firepower, I am afraid that only the Grizzlies have such a lineup background in the entire league.

Whenever you change a team, you will definitely use Kevin Martin as the core of the offense to initiate tactics, and dare not be as extravagant as the Grizzlies.

In the second half, Kevin Martin began to exert his strength. Facing Delonte West's defense, he made continuous shots from inside and outside, and almost penetrated the Cavaliers' outside line with his own strength.

At the end of the three quarters, the Grizzlies extended their lead to 26 points.

In the last quarter, Mike Brown stared blankly at the huge gap in strength on the field, so he simply replaced the main lineup early to avoid embarrassment by staying on the field.

Seeing that the game entered garbage time, Luke didn't mean to kill them all. He waved and replaced all the main players, and sent the team's third team to the game.

Let young people like Ju Holiday and Efflalo get more opportunities to experience the true charm of the NBA.

At the same time, Luke also arranged a lot of offensive tactics for Yi Jianlian. Since he decided to send Yi Jianlian to the Warriors, let him play an excellent personal data before Yi Jianlian leaves.

Although there is old Nelson's relationship, and the Warriors have a shortage of insiders, Yi Jianlian will be reused sooner or later when he arrives in the Warriors. However, some things are just a matter of effort for Luke, but they have a huge impact on Yi Jianlian.

"Dududu~"

As the whistle sounded for the end of the game, the Grizzlies finally beat the Cavaliers by 31 points in the opening game broadcast live across the United States, demonstrating their strength as the defending champion with an ending that no one expected!

整场比赛迎来灰熊首秀的蒂姆邓肯14投9中，高效轰出22分10篮板3助攻以及2次封盖。

This is still the Grizzlies clocking out of get off work in three quarters. If Duncan played more than 38 minutes and played the whole game like he did with the Spurs, Duncan's data will definitely be even better.

其他人方面，克里斯保罗14分3篮板11助攻2抢断，凯文马丁19分4篮板2助攻，艾尔哈灵顿18分7篮板，希伯特14分9篮板3封盖等等。

The dominance of the Grizzlies in this opening game amazed the outside world. No one thought that the Grizzlies could beat the powerful Cavaliers by more than 30 points.

Most people think that this will be a thunderous battle, and the two teams are likely to fight until the last minute to barely draw the winner.

In the end, the Grizzlies used practical actions to tell everyone who is the well-deserved overlord of this alliance!
In the postgame press conference, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown looked downcast.

"It was a frustrating game. The Grizzlies showed far more strength than people saw."

"It's hard to imagine that the Grizzlies, who experienced lineup changes during the offseason, could play such an exquisite coordination in a short period of time."

"The linkage between Chris and Tim is unsolvable. I don't think any pair in the league can prevent the tactical linkage between Chris and Tim."

"One of these two is the league's No. [-] point guard, and the other is the No. [-] power forward in the league. Only when you actually meet them on the court can you understand what it feels like to be powerless."

…………

As the Grizzlies beat the Cavaliers by 31 points at home in the opening game, the outside world was shocked by the huge difference of more than 30 points and was speechless.

Before the start of the new season, the fully reinforced Cavaliers were once rated by the media as the second strongest team in the league.

Even in the rankings published by ESPN, the Cavaliers with the Big Four rank second only to the Grizzlies.

There is no doubt that the Cavaliers' prospects for the new season are unanimously optimistic about the outside world, and even the TV station believes that the Cavaliers have the strength to fight head-on with the Grizzlies.

As a result, the defending champion Grizzlies gave everyone a surprise in the opening game, and at the same time made the Cavaliers deeply realize how big the gap is between themselves and the Grizzlies.

This sense of oppression without any power to fight back makes the Cavaliers feel desperate from the bottom of their hearts. If the Cavaliers still cannot win the next time the two sides meet, even if the two teams meet in the finals, the Cavaliers will most likely not be able to escape the bad luck of being swept out by the Grizzlies .

When a championship team has a deep fear of the enemy, everything that follows can look extremely bad.

.........

The next day, before the fans digested the news that the Grizzlies beat the Cavaliers by 31 points in the opening game, the Grizzlies officials suddenly released a news without warning.

Announced that the team has basically reached a deal with the Golden State Warriors. In this deal, the Grizzlies will send Chinese player Yi Jianlian in exchange for only one future second-round pick.

At present, the deal has been preliminarily concluded, and as long as the two parties complete the process, Yi Jianlian will become a member of the Warriors.

The occurrence of this transaction made all the outside teams feel astonished. No one thought that the Grizzlies would trade Yi Jianlian to the Golden State Warriors at such a low price.

It's not so much a deal, it's better to say that the Grizzlies gave the Golden State Warriors warmth.

Although Yi Jianlian was not an important member of the Grizzlies to win the championship last season, Yi Jianlian averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game last season, and his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 37.9%. He is definitely an excellent substitute rotation .

And Yi Jianlian is young enough, coupled with his explosive physical talent, the future Yi Jianlian will definitely become better than now.

And it was such a player, but the Grizzlies sent Yi Jianlian to the Warriors for only a second-round pick. This operation obviously made the outside world unable to understand the Grizzlies' intentions.

However, considering Luke's god-like vision in the draft, many teams are privately speculating that next year will be the draft year that even Luke will be excited about.

That's why the Grizzlies sent Yi Jianlian to the Warriors at such a low price, just to get a second-round pick!
This guess made many big teams excited. A shareholders meeting was held that night to discuss the matter of accumulating future draft picks.

As the saying goes, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. When more and more teams learned from the gossip, the reason why the Grizzlies sent Yi Jianlian to the Warriors at such a low price is because next year is a rare draft year in a century!

This news can be said to have caused an uproar in the league, and more and more teams began to consider whether to perform poorly this season and pin their hopes on next year's draft.

After all, the strength of the Grizzlies this season has been fully demonstrated in the opening game. Except for a few teams that do not intend to give up easily, there are at least 25 teams in the league that are destined to only accompany them.

If next year is really the year of the draft, then I'm afraid we really have to think about it in the long run!

At this time, Luke didn't know that his random move caused an uproar in the league. Even teams with no less than one hand held a meeting that night and decided to play badly, and rushed to next year's draft with all their energy.

Moreover, the lottery picks in next year's draft will become more sought-after, and the price has risen to three times the usual trading chips.

If Luke knew about this, he would laugh and roll back and forth. After all, Luke didn't have that much thought of trading Yi Jianlian to the Warriors.

Although it is said that next year's draft will also produce many outstanding stars such as John Wall, Paul George, Cousins ​​and Hayward, but when it comes to the overall quality of the draft, it has absolutely nothing to do with the draft year.

If these guys are really crazy about next year's draft, it is estimated that sooner or later each of them will cry and faint in the toilet and cannot extricate themselves.

It will be very interesting to think that even a guy like "junior brother" Stephenson can be trained by the team as Michael Jordan in next year's draft.

The reason why Luke didn't use Yi Jianlian to exchange for some more favorable bargaining chips is that on the one hand, he needed the Warriors in this transaction, and hoped that Yi Jianlian would get more opportunities to play when he arrived in the Warriors.

On the other hand, except for Stephen Curry, the Warriors have no player who can make Luke feel excited.

Instead of robbing the trivial chips in this deal, it is better to sell the Warriors a favor, which can also be regarded as paving the way for Yi Jianlian's future in advance.

The most important thing is that Yi Jianlian was exchanged for a second-round pick, and the Grizzlies also vacated a position.

Right now, there are only 15 left on the Grizzlies 14-man roster, and Luke can use the last spot to sign the players the Grizzlies need more.

Although outstanding free agents have been looted by various teams in the league as early as the offseason, there are many strong players in the league who reach buyouts for some reason every year in the regular season.

After these players are bought out, the Grizzlies can sign them with a basic salary contract to further consolidate the depth of the team's lineup.

The Grizzlies are the team with the greatest chance of winning the championship in the new season, and no player can resist the temptation to join the Grizzlies.

As long as the Grizzlies are interested, Luke has the confidence to sign any player who has reached a buyout with another team.

Regardless of whether the player is a star in his early years or a veteran in his twilight years, the Grizzlies have the capital to attract him to join!
Leaving a position on the 15-man roster not only leaves an extra back for the Grizzlies, but also allows the Grizzlies to become richer in lineup operations!
(End of this chapter)