NBA: James wants to team up with me

Reporters had many questions they wanted to ask Wang Chong. After all, since officially joining the Lakers, Wang Chong has basically not appeared in the public eye. He has been taking care of his children every day. Even if he was occasionally blocked by reporters in public, he refused to be interviewed.

Therefore, the Lakers' media day was also the first time Wang Chong attended a press conference since then.

"Wang Chong, what made you choose to join the Los Angeles Lakers? Was it because you wanted to team up with Kobe again, or was it because you liked the Lakers, a wealthy team, and the big city of Los Angeles more?"

Facing the reporter's questions, Wang Chong's answers were simple and direct.

"Of course, because this is Los Angeles and my family is here, the team here is my main focus. At the same time, the Clippers' salary space can't afford me a suitable contract, so it's the Lakers."

Many reporters felt ashamed when they heard this.

This reason is also what they have speculated many times before. After all, the Lakers really have no obvious advantages in terms of team lineup compared to most teams in the league. If Kobe was three or five years younger, this collaboration could be described as a strong combination, but now it is a bit inappropriate.

And now Wang Chong has finally admitted in person the reason for joining the Lakers... How should I put it? It makes sense and reasonable. Wang Chong is the only one in the league who has the strength and confidence to say this when joining a top team like the Lakers.

The Lakers are the team with the most championships in NBA history, with a total of 16 championships, ranking first in the league. The Celtics were unable to form a Big Three in the 07-08 season due to Wang Chong, resulting in them still having 15 championships, one ahead of the Lakers.

16 championships sounds like a lot, but Wang Chong currently has 8 individual championships. His individual championships alone have reached half of the Lakers' championships, a team with nearly years of history.

Looking at the entire history of the NBA, only the legendary Celtics star and the Lord of the Rings Bill Russell can temporarily suppress Wang Chong in this regard.

But considering Wang Chong's current age of 30 and the development prospects of the Lakers' powerful foundation, it is not impossible for him to surpass Russell in the number of championships in the future.

Some reporters also asked Wang Chong how long he thought it would take to bring the championship to the Lakers.

Unlike when he was on the Cavaliers and declared loudly that he would win the championship that season, Wang Chong was a little more low-key this time.

"The Lakers' current lineup has great potential, but it needs time to get used to each other and grow. There are also some teams in the league that are very strong and are extremely tough opponents. So in my plan, it should take the Lakers two to three years to win the championship."

If an ordinary player said that he could lead the team to win the championship in two or three years, he would definitely be considered arrogant.

But when Wang Chong said this, everyone thought that Wang Chong was being humble in a rare way.

After all, in the past eleven years of his professional career, Wang Chong has won eight championships and almost monopolized the NBA championship. For him, winning the championship is as easy as eating and drinking. Why would it take two or three years?

Everyone also knows who the powerful opponent Wang Chong is talking about.

There is no doubt that it will be the Chicago Bulls with James joining.

James + Curry, the power of this partnership should not be underestimated. In theory, it should be no less powerful than the outside combination of Wang Chong + Curry.

It is undisputed that Wang Chong is stronger than James, but Curry at that time did not have the strength and status he has today.

After James officially confirmed to join the Bulls two months ago, the latter immediately became the biggest favorite to win the championship. No team can shake its championship position, not even the Lakers with Wang Chong and Kobe.

There is really no way. No one is optimistic about the combination of Wang Chong and Kobe. To be precise, no one is optimistic about Kobe. He is 37 years old and has a serious medical history. His dbuff is already full. How can he play well?

As for what Wang Chong said about the Lakers players having great potential, I'm sorry that they really can't see it.

Klay Thompson is just an average All-Star player who averages 20+ points per game. Besides Klay, are there any other players worth looking forward to for the Lakers? Could it be that Wang Chong is counting on the second-round picks like Jokic and Draymond Green to perform well? No way?

Even though they were thinking this, the reporters still couldn't help but focus their attention on the two second-round players the Lakers acquired in the summer. They thought that they must give the two of them an exclusive interview just in case.

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The Lakers media day is over, and the pre-season training camp will follow.

The current head coach of the Lakers is Byron Scott, a coach who is not very good but likes to put on airs.

His playing career was much better than his coaching career. After all, he followed Magic Johnson and Skyhook and won a total of three championship rings. In his peak period, he averaged 21+4+4 in the regular season.

After retiring and becoming a coach, Scott's greatest characteristic is that he can always find a top point guard.

When he coached the Nets in the early days, he had Jason Kidd, and later when he coached the Hornets, he met Chris Paul.

The top point guards usually have a good lower limit when leading a team, although their upper limit is usually limited. Looking at the history of the league, there are only a few people such as Magic Johnson and Curry who can truly serve as the core and win championships.

But whether it is Kidd or Paul, Scott's record can be kept stable at above 60% winning rate, so his reputation in the league is still quite loud.

But unfortunately, after Paul left the team, Scott's true colors were immediately revealed. After being kicked out by the Hornets, he coached the Cavaliers for three years, leading the Cavaliers to win the No. 1 pick twice in three years.

再后来就是14-15和15-16两个赛季执教湖人，分别带出21胜61负和17胜65负球队历史倒数前二战绩，名声彻底黑了。

However, as a head coach, Scott has a characteristic that many coaches do not have, and that is being flattering.

He knows very well who the core of the team is, and he also knows how important it is to keep a strong player, so in many cases he can put aside his pride and humble himself to lick the core players in the team without any bottom line.

This was best demonstrated during his two years as coach of the Lakers.

In the 14-15 and 15-16 seasons, Scott turned into a die-hard Kobe fan, flattering Kobe in every way possible, wishing to make Kobe the best in history.

It is probably because of this that, despite leading the team to only 14 wins in the 15-21 season, Scott was able to continue coaching the Lakers for a year and accompanied Kobe throughout his retirement tour, only to be kicked out by the Lakers.

It goes without saying what it will be like for such a coach to have Wang Chong in his team.

On media day, Scott had already started his journey of being a bootlicker.

"Wang Chong is the best and greatest player in NBA history. I have long dreamed of playing with this great player one day. I never thought that my dream would come true. The Lakers have a bright future with Wang Chong. I have no doubt what Wang Chong just said, that we will definitely win the championship in two to three years!"

When asked who would be the team's core player in the regular season, Wang Chong or Kobe, Scott said Wang Chong's name directly without any hesitation.

He is not a fool. Even Kobe took the initiative to give up his No. 24 jersey to Wang Chong. Isn’t the meaning obvious?

"I will pay special attention to Wang Chong's opinions when I coach in the new season, because I know very well that Wang Chong is not only a player, but also has unique insights in team building and tactical play. Whether it was during his time with the Bulls or the Cavaliers, we could see him holding a tactical board and explaining tactics to his teammates during timeouts. We will of course continue this tradition."

Scott has said this and his meaning is quite clear. Don't ask me as the head coach how the Lakers will play in the new season and how the main rotation will be arranged. Ask Wang Chong first.

This attitude saved Wang Chong a lot of trouble and also made Wang Chong think about continuing to let Scott serve as the team's head coach.

Wang Chong is also an ordinary person and likes others to compliment and praise him.

If his coach was a coach like Larry Brown or Popovich, who has a stubborn temper, puts team basketball first and dislikes individual heroism, Wang Chong really couldn't stand it.

In this regard, there is actually nothing wrong with Leonard leaving the Spurs. Can you imagine that when Leonard has grown up and needs more ball possession and shots to show his abilities, the coach clearly expresses his dissatisfaction with this and asks him to reduce his shots and focus on the team?

Not everyone can be as hardworking as Duncan, or as willing to be a sixth man as Ginobili, who has the ability to be a starting All-Star but is willing to be a substitute.

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During the Lakers' training, Scott focused on Wang Chong's suggestions.

According to Wang Chong's request, the Lakers' five starting players in the new season are Kobe, Thompson, Wang Chong, Green and Jokic.

Although Scott actually didn't understand why Wang Chong wanted the Bulls' bench substitute Green and rookie center Jokic, who was making his first NBA debut, to be the team's starting main players, he did not question Wang Chong's arrangement and did as he was told.

During the training process, he gradually discovered the strengths of Green and Jokic.

First, there is Green. Although he failed to make a name for himself in the Bulls, he has played in the NBA for three years after all. Green's body has grown to its peak condition and his defensive ability is extremely outstanding, which is definitely not inferior to the level of winning DPOY in the future.

In terms of ball control and passing, Green seems a little unfamiliar due to the lack of long-term training with the Bulls, but he will be able to do it with a little training. Even if the Lakers do not need his passing and passing skills, his defensive ability both inside and outside the league is at the top level, and his cost-effectiveness is fully maximized with his annual salary of 600 million.

As for Jokic, the Jokic in his rookie period was indeed a little bit different from his future peak period.

But that was only compared to his own peak period.

Jokic, who played in the professional league in Europe for several years, has perfectly inherited the characteristics of European inside players. He has a soft touch and delicate technique, and his shooting range can reach beyond the three-point line. At the same time, he also has confrontation ability that most European inside players do not have.

Wang Chong's expectations for Jokic have never changed.

因为原本的15-16赛季，与掘金完成签约的约基奇登陆NBA后，首个赛季场均便有10分7篮板2.4助攻入账，这还是他场均出场时间仅为21分钟的情况下。

紧跟着第二个赛季约基奇出场时间增加到27.8分钟，场均数据便立刻增加至16.7分9.8篮板4.9助攻，投篮命中率更是高达57.8%。

Starting from the third season, Jokic officially grew into the league's top inside player, and his personal statistics have never been lower than 18+10+6 per game.

Wang Chong certainly has reason to believe that Jokic, who is by his side, has been given attention in advance, and has received targeted training based on his own technical characteristics, will grow much faster than the original Jokic.

Compared to these two young players who still have great growth potential, Wang Chong's favorite and most satisfied player is Klay Thompson.

It has to be admitted that Thompson is definitely the best piece of the championship puzzle next to the superstar.

His defense is at the league's top level, and his shooting, especially three-point shooting, is second only to Curry in his prime. He does not occupy the ball at all when playing, and his average time with the ball per game is lower than that of most shooting guards on teams in the league, but he can consistently contribute 20+ points per game.

There is only one player like this in the entire league.

In fact, Wang Chong has always felt that the most terrifying thing about the future five-star Warriors is not the combination of Curry and Durant, two MVP-level stars, but that when these two people join forces, the Warriors still have Thompson, who can still contribute 20+ points per game steadily between the two superstars without being affected at all.

Looking at the history of the NBA, there are countless teams composed of superstars, but there are only a few teams with three players who can average 20+ points per game. After all, there are only so many ball possessions in a game. After the first and second core players have divided the ball, there is not much ball possession left for the third core.

During the Heat's Big Three era, James and Wade scored in double digits, and Bosh's statistics were sacrificed.

骑士队2.0时期也同样如是，在森林狼场均可以砍下26+12篮板的乐福，来到骑士队后数据立刻骤降到16分9.7篮板。

But Thompson's statistics have hardly changed before and after Durant came to the Warriors, which has a lot to do with his off-ball play.

This type of player is the favorite type of ball-holding core player like James. Of course, Wang Chong also likes it. After all, he has deliberately strengthened his ball-handling and passing abilities this season. With the support of his super offensive firepower, he can also imitate James and play as a point forward.

Since the overall evaluation of his ability value had already reached 99, although Wang Chong's improvement was significant this time, his overall evaluation of his ability value did not change much.

There are three main abilities that Wang Chong needs to improve, namely ball control, passing ability and passing awareness.

These three abilities were originally 92, 88 and 78 respectively, which are not low and are completely sufficient for a striker.

After Wang Chong's intensive training, these three ability values ​​have been increased to 94, 92 and 90 respectively. Among them, passing awareness has increased the most, directly increasing by 12 points. This is mainly related to his low basic ability value of passing awareness.

Because the lower the ability value, the faster the training will improve. When the ability value increases to above 90, it will be much more difficult to make further progress.

Wang Chong's dribbling and passing abilities improved by only 6 points in total, but his passing awareness reached 12 points, which is twice the sum of the former.

At the same time, Wang Chong also successfully exchanged for an organizational badge of ten cents. Judging from his current organizational and supporting capabilities, it is no exaggeration to say that Wang Chong can at least be compared with the league's second-tier point guards, truly becoming a super numerical monster.