NBA: I am the card dealer

Xue Liancheng naturally knows that trading for Wiggins is not such an easy thing. Wiggins still has great potential now, and the Timberwolves are unlikely to give up.

Maybe next season, or the season after next, Wiggins hasn't played well yet, and then the Timberwolves management will lose patience and choose to take advantage of the situation. In this case, the chances are still great.

and so.

He still prepared some backup candidates.

After thinking for a moment, he replied: "I know. I have several backup candidates. First is Covington, who is familiar with the team. His three-point ability to create space is what we need. At the same time, his defensive attitude and defensive skills are also very good. His arrival will definitely improve our forward line."

Sean Marks frowned. "Ah? This... His functionality is similar to Carroll's, and Carroll's performance is not bad, with even higher scores and even better efficiency. What's the point of trading him?"

Finished speaking.

He just realized it, and in order to save Xue Liancheng's face, he quickly added: "I didn't question your meaning. What I want to express is that since they have the same functions, why not keep Carol?"

Xue Liancheng did not answer, but turned to look at Atkinson: "I think you have the most say, sir. After all, there must be a reason why we lose so many points per game."

Atkinson was a little embarrassed. As a coach, he naturally saw the problem: "Carroll's defensive skills are actually not bad, but not as outstanding as the rumors say. The most important thing is that after being passed by the opponent, his attitude is sometimes loose and he is unwilling to chase and defend. His role in assisting defense is even minimal."

Sean Marks frowned even deeper: "Is that so?"

Atkinson: "It's just that we've been winning recently, and his good offensive performance has overshadowed this. If we want to go further, we really need a player who is more willing to defend to support our defense."

Xue Liancheng's defense is acceptable, but Crabbe is a drag. Although Sabonis is good at rebounding and positioning, his ability to protect the rim is limited. In addition, he is not fast enough and his confrontation ability is not very strong, so the defensive effect is not that good.

In other words, Anunoby is the only player in the Nets lineup who has a certain defensive ability and is willing to defend.

This is really terrible!

Once their offense has problems, losing will become the norm, no doubt about it.

Sean Marks' first reaction was to ask Atkinson, "You didn't talk to him?"

Atkinson looked helpless: "We have communicated, but he doesn't take it seriously. He even thinks he is the second core of the offense and takes the ball to attack from time to time."

This is the pain point of almost all new coaches. If you don’t make a name for yourself, many veteran coaches will not respect the head coach’s opinions.

This situation is even more obvious for the Nets.

Because apart from Xue Liancheng, the other teammates have almost nothing to show for themselves, which makes Carroll feel that he is the team's second offensive option.

In the team, he has already regarded himself as the second in command.

However, the team has been winning, so naturally no one will ruin the atmosphere.

Sean: "But... Covington's efficiency is even lower than Carroll's."

In fact, this is indeed the case.

Covington's overall shooting percentage has always been poor, and his shooting percentage in the new season is only 42.2%, which is really hard to describe.

but.

His three-point performance has been very stable. He can make about 2.5 three-pointers per game, and his hit rate is above average.

This season, Covington's three-point shooting percentage is as high as 37%, averaging 2.4 shots per game, which is still able to maintain quality and quantity.

On the defensive end, Covington fought very hard. After all, as an undrafted player, the first key to his survival in the league is to do the dirty work and defend with all his might.

Although he has established a firm foothold in the league over the years, Covington has not forgotten his original intention and is still making great contributions on the defensive end.

Xue Liancheng saw this point in Covington. Hearing Sean Marks's concerns, he smiled slightly: "Carroll's efficiency was not very good before he came to the Nets, and it has declined seriously."

Hear the words.

Sean Marks was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Okay, I'll go get in touch with him."

This is the greatest affirmation of Xue Liancheng's ability.

If they can make the inefficient Carroll efficient, they can also make the inefficient Covington good again.

only.

They faced another problem.

Sean Marks asked, "What about Lonjo Jefferson?"

Xue Liancheng: "Digital Man's older rookie Saric is also good. We can use Carroll + Longhorn Jefferson to trade Digital Man's Covington and Saric. However, the possibility of Digital Man trading Saric is not very high. Let's try it first."

Saric is indeed a rare warrior. He can shoot three-pointers, grab rebounds, and has a certain field of vision. However, his athletic ability may be average. In addition, he is an older rookie. He was a rookie last year and is already 24 years old. There is basically no potential to be tapped.

But since the new season, Saric has performed very well. He is the team's third-leading scorer and is very reliable.

It may not be easy to poach players now, mainly because Lonzo Jefferson is too lacking in competitiveness.

Sean Marks: "This is a really good prospect with excellent immediate combat effectiveness, but you should also be mentally prepared and not have too high expectations."

Xue Liancheng: "If that doesn't work, we can just trade for Covington first. This should work. Then for Lonzo Jefferson, we can try to contact the Lakers. Pope is very good and has great potential on the defensive end. As for Vonleh, my old partner, his ability is unquestionable. If we can trade for him, it's not a bad idea."

Here, he still misses his good brothers.

After all, after two years of hard work, their cooperation has become more and more tacit, and they can play a huge role on both offense and defense. However, Feng Lai was once again demoted to a substitute, which he never expected.

He still wanted to help Feng Lai.

of course.

The most important thing is that Vonleh is really useful. Not only can he defend, but he also has excellent impact. As one of the two beasts of the Lakers last season, his athletic ability is unquestionable.

Vonleh's physique is that of a swingman, which is what the Nets urgently need. He can make up for the height, increase the impact of fast breaks and counterattacks, and he can also shoot three-pointers from the outside, which fits the Nets' tactical system very well.

Atkinson's eyes lit up as well: "I don't know if the Lakers will let him go?"

Now the whole world has seen that only Xue Liancheng knows Feng Lai's password. In this case, the Lakers are likely to conduct a blackmail transaction.

Xue Liancheng also realized this: "You can make a feint to the east and attack in the west. When negotiating with Kupchak, you can use Covington to test the waters first."

Sean Marks nodded: "I'll call and ask right away."

As he spoke, he took out his cell phone and looked through it.

Kupchak's phone number was quickly dialed.

On the other end of the phone, a deep voice came: "Sean! Who does Xue like?"

Very straightforward, without any politeness, straight to the point.

This is something Sean Marks couldn't handle.

but.

After all, Sean Marks is an old hand, so he still has some reaction ability: "Haha! I really can't hide anything from you. How much do you think Randall is worth now?"

As soon as he opens his mouth, he asks for the other party's potential rising star.

This new season of Supernova is really disappointing.

This move surprised Xue Liancheng and Atkinson. Wasn’t it agreed that Vonleh and Pope would be wanted?

What does it mean to want Randall?

Kupchak: "Trade Anunoby + Carroll + two first-round picks."

This is simply like a lion opening its mouth wide, tearing off the Nets' meat and swallowing it piece by piece in one swoop.

This request is obviously insincere.

Sean Marks: "It seems that you have no intention of negotiating business with us!"

Kupchak: "What can you offer?"

Sean Marks: "Lonjo Jefferson for Randle + a first-round pick."

Kupchak blurted out: "Are you crazy?"

How is it possible to send out Randle and add a first-round pick at the same time?

Obviously, there is no sincerity.

But that's the bargaining process.

Sean Marks said: "Lonjo Jefferson averaged 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and a shooting percentage of 46.5%. Is he not necessarily worse than Randle?"

Currently, Randle is averaging 14.6 points, 8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.9%, which is similar to Ronho Jefferson, and he has almost no three-point ability.

The data does seem to be pretty similar.

But anyone who has watched the game knows that Randle is definitely much better than Ronho Jefferson, and they are not even on the same level.

Sean Marks's convincing words can easily make people doubt themselves. Is it an illusion that Randle is better than Lonzo Jefferson?

Kupchak is no fool: "If you stick to your point of view, there is no need to discuss it."

Sean Marks: "Randall, are you unwilling to let go? Or do you need to hear a higher price?"

Kupchak: "He's not on the shelf right now unless you send Anunoby and two first-round picks."

Sean Marks: "We will never sell Anunoby. Besides, Randle's value doesn't match Anunoby at all. You actually want us to give you a first-round pick. Haha! It seems that you don't have any sincerity to talk to us."

Kupchak: "Then there's nothing to talk about."

Sean Marks: "Really? It would be embarrassing for the defending champions to not make the playoffs."

This time.

But Kupchak was silenced.

If Xue Liancheng's arrival last year saved his and Little Bass's lives, then Xue Liancheng's departure in the summer would have cost them their lives.

What's even more embarrassing for them is that as the defending champions, they may not even make it to the playoffs, which is simply a shame.

But the problem is that there is nothing left for the Lakers to improve.

All-Star?

They do. Anthony, once a top scorer, may have fallen into obscurity in the past two years, but after all, his strength is still there. A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and he can still average 20+ points per game.

Quality role player?

That's too many, Courtney Lee, Pope, Clarkson, Joe Johnson, Josh Hart, Caruso, Glenn Robinson, James Johnson, Vonleh, Randle, Kuzma, Larry Nance, Zubac, almost the entire lineup can play.

But the effect is not good.

Mike Brown could only adjust the lineup. Clarkson, Joe Johnson, Courtney Lee, James Johnson, Anthony, Glenn Robinson, Vonleh, Randle, Kuzma, Larry Nance and Zubac have all been on the starting list.

But no matter how you tweak it, it just can't win.

After much thought, Mike Brown came up with the answer, which was that the team lacked a ball-holding offensive point.

In the entire team, there are only a few players who can cause damage with the ball, including Anthony, Clarkson, Joe Johnson, Randle, and half of Kuzma.

But Kuzma still mostly makes open cuts and fast break layups, and his actual ball-holding effect may not be very good.

Among them, Clarkson and Anthony are absolute ball handlers, but both of them are mainly offensive and have no organizational ability.

So now they need a guard who can dribble through, organize the offense and distribute the ball.

Lonjoe Jefferson is indeed a good candidate. He can hold the ball and break through, but he does not seem to meet the requirements in terms of organizing the offense.

Kupchak thought about it and decided to get straight to the point: "I need a guard. Give Dinwiddie to me and we can still talk."

Hear the words.

Sean Marks subconsciously looked at Xue Liancheng.

Xue Liancheng frowned and thought for a while, then slowly nodded.

With him around, there will be absolutely no problem organizing the attack.

And they have another candidate, Powell.

Therefore, it may not be a bad idea to send Dinwiddie, whose shooting is extremely unstable, out.

Sean Marks: "We can talk, but I need to think about it."

That's it.

The first phase of the talks has come to a temporary end.

After hanging up the phone, several people exchanged opinions again.

Sean Marks called again, calling the Timberwolves' top management, but was mercilessly ridiculed by them.

You want to take Wiggins away with two role players and two first-round picks?

Dream on you!

And the Timberwolves have no intention of trading Wiggins at this stage.

The first choice failed as expected.

They called Hinkie of the Numbers Man again, but Hinkie was also an old fox and was not willing to send Saric at all, but he was still very interested in Carroll.

After all, Carroll's personal data is indeed better than Covington's, and he is more efficient. In addition, Carroll is a well-known defensive player. If you don't study it carefully now, you naturally don't know that there are certain problems with Carroll's defensive attitude.

Sean Marks took the opportunity to add: "When sending Covington, you also need to add a first-round draft pick. After all, top 3D players like Carroll are not available in the market."

Hinkie naturally couldn't agree: "They are the same type of players, plus a first-round draft pick, do you think it's possible?"

Sean Marks: "You can definitely look into it. I'll call you tomorrow."

Hang up when you're done.

This is a roundabout negotiation technique.

The talks here are almost over, they need to talk with the Lakers again.