The older superstars of the NBA

"Zhao, are you really sure you want to do this?"

"What's wrong with this?"

"No, I mean... your previous performance was really unlike a top NBA star! You united your teammates and rarely stood up against them. You would give up your own interests for the sake of the collective. You Everything I do feels incredible..."

"I just didn't expect you to do this now... Of course, not only will I not object, I also very much support what you are doing!"

In the conference room, team general manager Scott Perry was communicating with Zhao Feiyang.

Facing such a thunderous attack from Zhao Feiyang, Perry was completely unprepared.

Although the team has considered replacing Tristan Thompson or Howard Howard, considering that their performance is not completely unacceptable, the management has not come forward to express its position.

Now that Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to bring it up, the management of course readily agreed to the matter.

Soon, the Knicks officially released the news, saying that they would put one of Tristan or Howard on the trade shelf.

As soon as this news came out, it attracted some attention in the league.

This attention was only caused by Zhao Feiyang's initiative to mention it. Otherwise, with just two veteran strikers who have passed their prime, not many clubs would actually pay attention to it.

When the trade turmoil came, game day also arrived as scheduled.

This time the Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Considering that the Cavaliers are the bottom team in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks did not send Zhao Feiyang to start, but let him sit on the team bench to rest temporarily.

While he was resting, Howard and Tristan were also sitting in the team seats watching the game.

Unlike Tristan's still indifferent attitude, Howard took advantage of the time after the game started to quietly change his position next to Zhao Feiyang.

"Hey man, can we talk?"

Zhao Feiyang didn't say anything when he saw it was Howard.

If he wanted to help Howard before, now, he has no idea of ​​communicating at all.

He understands that veterans need to rest at a certain stage, but they must be serious when they should be serious. The team didn't spend tens of millions of dollars just to let veterans play and perform poorly.

Besides, even if they are meritorious officials, don't they still help the team make contributions and help the team win the game? How come I can do it but they can’t?

This isn't anything complicated.

When Howard saw that Zhao Feiyang was silent, his face became more and more anxious.

"Zhao, don't be like this. Even if it's because of our previous friendship, you should at least talk to me! Man, we won the championship together... It's not like you don't even want to talk. Tell me!"

Zhao Feiyang remained silent.

"I know, I was a little lax before, but I don't want to leave here, and I don't want to be misunderstood by you... I want to continue playing with you! Continue to help the team compete for the championship, my fuel tank There is still oil in it..."

Although Zhao Feiyang was a little moved by Howard's words, he still didn't answer a word, just silently watching every move on the court.

Howard really looked helpless now.

"Okay! In this case, I won't say anything anymore...Zhao, I know I did this wrong, but I am willing to change...not just because I want to To help the team and because of the friendship between us..."

"If you have to choose an assistant, that person must be you..."

After Howard finished speaking, he sat back.

Zhao Feiyang still didn't say anything. He didn't even discuss the matter with his teammates. Deep down in his heart, of course he still hopes to fight alongside old teammates like Howard.

The other party has a tacit understanding with me, has enough experience, and can also bring new people to the team. The opponent is still a pistachio, and his relationship with other people in the team is pretty good.

Frankly speaking, apart from loving to play and having little fighting spirit, there aren't any big problems in other aspects.

But acquiescence sometimes becomes connivance.

There are too many teams that threaten the Knicks this season. If we don't unite the team's hearts, I'm afraid it will be too late in the playoffs!

There was no suspense in this game. The Cavaliers did not have the ability to compete with the Knicks. Even if the Knicks mainly had a substitute lineup, the Cavaliers failed to threaten them at all.

When the game went well, Zhao Feiyang only played for 25 minutes. The playing time of other main players has also dropped slightly.

However, the appearances of Howard and Tristan were somewhat surprising.

Head coach Norman Thomas didn't plan to replace them at first, and even preferred to use substitutes from the bench. However, Howard took the initiative to apply to play and had to talk hard in front of Coach Norman before he got a chance to play.

Although his performance is still not very good, his enthusiasm is much higher, especially on the defensive end. He is actually willing to take the initiative to help Jeremy Lin pick-and-roll, even more than once, which really makes many teammates feel uncomfortable. shock.

In the past, Howard would not have easily helped Jeremy Lin in the pick-and-roll.

Because in his opinion, he himself was once a super center in the league and a first-tier player. Jeremy Lin is just a third-rate player to him. How could he be willing to deign to do such a blue-collar thing?

In the entire Knicks team, the only one who can make him willing to cover and do rough work is Zhao Feiyang.

Even for Zach LaVine and Derrick Rose, Howard would never take the initiative to cover them if it wasn't for tactical needs.

But now, it looks like Howard is compromising.

In stark contrast to Howard, Tristan remained indifferent. He didn't seem to be worried about being traded away at all. Not only did he not actively apply to play, he also didn't put his mind on the court at all.

Even during halftime, he was video chatting with Khloe Kardashian.

Such an indifferent attitude made Coach Norman's dislike of Tristan even more obvious.

The game ended quickly.

The Knicks continue to fight.

In the next five games, the Knicks won four of them. In these four games, Howard's performance has been quite remarkable, especially his enthusiasm on the defensive end has improved much more than before.

Tristan still chose to show off, even going out privately for a date during away games, and even pulled a trick of staying out all night.

The Knicks management is still very efficient. After these five games, the deal for Serge Ibaka was finally completed smoothly.

Amid the expectations of a group of core players such as Zhao Feiyang, Ibaka finally came to New York.

At the same time, management also sent Tristan away!

What's even worse is that other teams seem to be less willing to accept Tristan, especially when his contract is not small, so the Knicks have to pay more to send him away.

As soon as Tristan left, the entire New York fans cheered wildly. Many people said they couldn't understand his behavior on and off the court, so they clapped and applauded.

"It's right to send Tristan away. What did this guy do? Is his position in the team very important? He has a share of the credit for the championship, but we may not be able to win the championship without him... .”

"He doesn't play seriously on the court, and he indulges in all kinds of activities off the court. It can be said that he has brought together the worst aspects of NBA players on and off the court... It's better to send him away, otherwise this season will definitely be affected. Until we win the championship..."

"Tristan is past his prime, and I can understand why he can't play like he did before...but I think this guy just doesn't take his career seriously. , otherwise why would he indulge himself like this when he can still fight?”

After Tristan was sent away, Howard's stay has obviously become the biggest problem for the Knicks.

The team management is somewhat controversial about this matter.

Some people think that he should stay because the cost of trading him is too high; some people think that he must spend money to trade him, even if he buys out, otherwise it will be too late once it affects the championship.

When the two sides were in a stalemate, Zhao Feiyang once again became the core figure in deciding the direction of things.

General manager Scott personally approached him to ask for his opinion. Considering Howard's recent performance and enthusiasm on the court, Zhao Feiyang finally expressed his opinion personally.

"Manager Scott, why don't we keep him first!"

"Anyway, the team also needs substitute players. If he is traded away, he may need to find a suitable replacement... If Dwight can continue to stay motivated, then there shouldn't be any big problem in keeping him. ....."

With Zhao Feiyang's words, the Knicks management quickly made a decision to keep Howard.

After hearing the news, Howard also found Zhao Feiyang after a certain game day. He hugged Zhao Feiyang with a grateful face and expressed his support to him.

"Zhao, thank you for your support! I know you won't abandon me... Don't worry! I won't have any problems in the future... In fact, after what happened this time, I I also want to understand that I only have a few years left in my career. If I don’t work hard to stay competitive, maybe I will leave early..."

"I still hope to win a few more championships! This will be good for you, me and the team..."

In this regard, the Knicks' championship lineup has been refreshed again. Although only Tristan has been moved, the arrival of Ibaka has undoubtedly strengthened the Knicks' internal strength again.

However, when the Knicks were in great glory, many Minneapolis fans felt sorry for this.

After all, Ibaka was also a member of the original championship team!

Now, the entire Timberwolves team has been stripped bare by the Knicks' "hair-picking" behavior!