I'm really good at shooting.

Teammates who fought side by side and won the championship together will soon become opponents, and there is a high probability that they will be the main competitors.

Like the old Nelson before him, he also experienced the true meaning of the phrase "business is just business".

……

The opening of the Athens Olympics is on August 8, and there is only less than a month left.

What Sun Hao has to do now is to sign a formal contract with the Mavericks, set the contract period, and then it is time to return to China.

Moving or something can only be done after the Olympics.

It was Nelson Jr. who signed the contract with Sun Hao.

After old Nelson resigned, he really enjoyed life.

Everything was the same as it was before Nelson Sr. returned from Europe. Nelson Jr. was the general manager and Johnson was the head coach.

In a sense, Old Nelson accompanied Annie to Europe, allowing them to complete their induction training ahead of schedule.

Little Nelson's mood doesn't look too good.

Everyone knows his Chinese complex. Three years ago, when the Mavericks had the most Chinese players, they had three Chinese players at one time, but now, they don't have any.

After the talks, the two sides verbally reached a 4+1, the last year is a player option maximum salary contract.

"Sun, are there any good seedlings in China?"

The deal was done, and there was no need for Nelson to bring up the matter of Sun Hao's deal again, so he changed the subject.

Of course, that was the question he wanted to ask, too.

In the past few years, first Sun Hao, then Yao Ming, and then Yi Jianlian, Chinese players have become a Chinese style in the NBA.

Although the Mavericks already have scouts in China, compared to Sun Hao, a member of the Chinese national team, the news is obviously not as good.

"There really is one."

Sun Hao didn't expect Little Nelson to ask this suddenly.

But if you really ask, he really thinks he can recommend it.

With Nelson Jr., the Mavericks must be the most concerned about training Chinese players in the league.

Little Nelson got excited when he heard that someone was really there. He really asked the right person.

The next day, which was Sun Hao's last training day before returning to China, he brought little Nelson to the Evolution House.

The person he wants to recommend is Sun Yue.

Little Nelson was not particularly excited after reading it, but he was quite interested.

This Sun Yue is a defender. Although his shooting is not comparable to that of Sun Hao, his physical condition is really good.

Especially with such a tall man playing point guard, it is somewhat similar to Livingston who was just selected this year.

Of course, it's just the physical condition, and the other aspects are a bit far behind.

But with some training, there is still a chance to play in the NBA.

"I'll get in touch with him."

After reading it, Nelson Jr. also gave such an answer.

Sun Hao is gone, and Sun Yue can be regarded as consolation.

Sun Hao patted Nelson on the shoulder with a smile, and then looked at Sun Yue on the field.

He felt that no matter what Sun Yue should do, he would not be worse than in history.

……

Sun Hao has set off for China, but the NBA free market is not over yet.

Take the Lakers and Mavericks who just passed the big deal, the reinforcements are still continuing.

But the situation of the Mavericks is obviously much better, Fisher and Bryant partner outside, Bell to play small forward, Dirk Nowitzki and Dampier are still there.

And after Finley was traded away, their salary structure became much healthier than before.

Just need to find another opportunity to get rid of LaFrentz's semi-junk contract and bring in a few veteran substitutes.

The Mavericks are still the favorites in the Western Conference next season.

In contrast, Kupchak faced much more challenges.

F4 failed and most of the players left the team.

Now that the Lakers have a contract, even including Sun Hao and Finley, there are only 5 players in total.

They are O'Neal, Sun Hao, Finley, Ariza, and Brian Cook.

These people can just make up a team to start, but their strength on paper can be imagined.

And because there are only 5 people, the combined salary has exceeded 5400 million.

This has already exceeded the salary cap, and all Kupchak can use is the middle class exception and the basic salary.

Kupchak successfully completed the task assigned by Bass Jr., but it was obvious that one head was bigger than two.

But at this time, the Lakers ushered in a piece of good news that was not a player supplement, but far better than a player supplement.

Phil Jackson, changed his mind.

He is willing to continue coaching the Lakers!

If you want to say why, it is actually because of Kobe.

In fact, before last season, Phil Jackson's position has always been very neutral, even biased towards Kobe.

Because of Jordan, he naturally likes Kobe, the number one Qiao Mi.

But the Eagle County incident made him completely change his position and stand firmly on the opposite side of Kobe.

Some people may not understand, but those who know Phil Jackson may know the reason.

Because Jackson's daughter also had the experience of being violated in her early years.

As a father, whether Kobe was framed or not, he couldn't stand it.

Now that Kobe has been traded to leave the team, he has no reason to leave the team.

This is undoubtedly great news for the Lakers.

Kupchak implements Bass Jr.'s thinking and will not let Jackson participate in team management.

But Jackson's return means one thing, the Lakers have to play the triangle offense.

Either when he chooses players, he naturally needs to find players who fit the triangle offense.

The two strong points of Sun Hao and O'Neal are already there. To form a triangle, what the team needs is players who can open up space.

Of course, they also need a sixth man if they can.

Although Kupchak is young, he still has a plan in doing things.

In history, it was he who brought Gasol to the Lakers, and then he went to the Hornets to help the team step by step out of the plight of piles of junk contracts.

From the perspective of the starting lineup, Sun Hao, Finley, and O'Neal already account for three of them. The rest needs a 3D swingman like Bell, and a power forward who can open up space and defend.

After solving these two key problems, all that remains is to make up for the substitutes in other positions.

3D swingman, this should be the most difficult to find.

Typical representatives of this type of players are Bowen and Bell, but they have all entered the defense for a while.

Even in the future, they are the most scarce treasures in the league.

Kupchak searched around but couldn't find it, so he had to settle for the next best thing, looking for a player with a three-pointer but a relatively weaker defense.

This is the same as choosing a mate. You have always set high standards, and the most likely result is "leftover".

But once you're willing to lower your standards a bit, you'll find that you still have a lot of options in front of you.

Kupchak, for example, quickly found a player who would fit the Lakers.

Brent Barry.

Rick Barry, many people's first reaction when they hear this name may be the "piss pot" free throw.

But in reality, he was one of the superstars of the last century.

Hall of Fame member, NBA 50, 8 All-Stars, 5 First Teams, FMVP, MVP all in his hands, a typical winner in life.

In addition to his many honors, he is also... very capable of giving birth.

And his genes are passed on to his sons.

He has a total of 5 sons, all of whom are engaged in playing.

The two most famous of them are also the ones who have been in the NBA for the longest time. They are the second son Joan Barry and the third son Brent Barry.

And the most talented of them all is Brent Barry.

The No. 1995 pick in 15 and a dunk from the free throw line in the 1996 slam dunk contest gave him the deadliest label: Whites can fly too!

Barry is 33 years old, not young, but he inherited his father's precise three-pointers, and the older he gets, the more demonic he becomes.

Playing as the starting shooting guard for the Sonics last season, he still averaged 10.8 points per game, and most importantly, he shot a career-high three-point shooting percentage of 45.2%!

Although the lateral movement is slow, but the wingspan is excellent, the single defense is average, but it is not a hindrance, and the team's defensive awareness is excellent.

Moreover, he is also an excellent team player. His height of 2 meters is considered tall among shooting guards. He has excellent vision and can contribute some unexpected second passes from time to time.

In addition, his contract will not be big when he is older, and the middle class of the Lakers can eat him.

In this way, there is also a starting shooting guard.

The rest, only power forwards are left.

But this is also a headache for Kupchak.

Because after using up the middle class special case, all he has left is the basic salary.

Signing a starter with a basic salary is definitely not an easy thing to do.

Chapter 345 People Sitting at Home, Badges Fall from the Sky

A basic salary, a starter.

This is not grocery shopping, nor is it gathering numbers.

Although Kupchak told Kobe before that the Lakers plan to rebuild next season.

But in fact, Kobe would not believe that.

Without rebuilding, it will definitely not work to just find someone to play the starting power forward.

"Has Carl not officially announced his retirement yet?"

Kupchak's first thought was Karl Malone.

Malone suffered from injuries and internal friction last season, and his performance...was actually very good.

You may not believe it when you say it, but Malone was still the third leader of the Lakers last season, and he was the lubricant between the series of OK combinations.

And his personal state is also very good, shooting 48.3%, which is the best in the past three seasons.

If he is not injured in the finals, the Pistons really can't sweep the Lakers.

However, after experiencing what happened on and off the court last season, Malone has been disheartened.

Including him before, he has already told Kupchak that he will not implement the contract for next season.

But the good news is that Malone has not officially announced his retirement, and Kupchak still has room to fight.

But the premise is that he has to make Malone feel that the Lakers have enough strength to win the championship.

This matter is completely different from what Kobe did before. It can't be done with a single sentence.

Just as he was thinking, his assistant came in and reported on the team's summer league.

The NBA free market and summer league are carried out simultaneously.

Especially in this era, the freeze period is long, and basically the freeze period has not yet ended, and the summer league has already been played.